CNC Warrior now offers high-quality imported AK parts kits and barrels. We have worked closely with Triad Armory LLC and Senior Kalishsmith, Dennis Pendry, for years supplying machined parts that are used in production of the beautiful and smooth running AKs that Triad is known for.
Given his need for a steady supply of quality AK parts, Dennis took initiative in recent years to collaborate with KolArms to remedy issues that gun builders have been required to overcome in the past. They improved the fit and finish of some parts as well as the raw materials and heat treat that determine the long-term reliability of the weapon.
Below are some of the differences between the common KolArms Gen2 kits and the KolArms Gen5 kits available here. We offer this analysis to highlight recent improvements made and not to disparage the other available kits or guns built on the previous generation parts.
COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS GENERATION KOLARMS KITS
The Gen5 front trunnion now comes with better heat treating and a finished 23mm barrel bore from the arsenal. Previous generations came with an undersized 22.5mm trunnion that has to be opened up to size. This was historically the most egregious issue since the barrel hole is so important. It ensures the alignment of the barrel with all other components of the gun. The proper sizing, roundness, and placement of this hole is crucial to the safety, accuracy, and proper operation of the whole system. The task of reaming, endmilling, or boring the barrel hole to size is simply prohibitive to most builders either from a cost standpoint or from a risk/reward standpoint. The front trunnion is the heart of the gun build so this bore needs to be sized, formed, and positioned within approx .0005" to be useful.
The Gen5 gas blocks are drilled at the correct angle at the arsenal and are parkerized with the complete unit for protection. The Gen2 gas blocks must be drilled after importation and may rust due to lack of protection in the gas port.
The Gen5 kits have polished and properly sized gas pistons for smoother operation, Gen2 kits have unpolished gas pistons that need to be hand fitted as they may be too tight inside the gas block and can seize with carbon in harsh conditions. It has also been upgraded to a crimp style piston, like the Russian Saiga / AK-100 rifles, with no gas piston rivet needed.
The Gen5 bolt parts are properly fitted, assembled, tested and inspected at the arsenal and not by the builder. The firing pin channel and firing pin retaining pin channel must be reamed in the Gen 2 kits.
The Gen5 rear sight blocks are properly fitted, assembled, tested and inspected at the arsenal and not by the builder. Previous models need to have the gas tube release lever hand fitted and crimped to tolerance to avoid breaking.
On the Gen5 kit the rear sight leaf spring and rear sight are pre-fitted and assembled.
The Gen5 trigger guard is made of better, stronger metal than the Gen2 kits and has the magazine release pivot holes pre-drilled at the arsenal to ensure correct location. Trigger guard is still unassembled so USA builders can use their existing rivet jigs with the extended magazine release included with the kit. This means there will be no fitment issues with USA made jigs or the builder can add a different, aftermarket, magazine release without destroying the provided pivot pin.
The Gen5 kits come with full auto bolt carriers, selectors, and fire control groups with better metallurgy than Gen2 kits. They are now on par with milsurp parts due to the strenuous nature of select fire rifles. All can serve as SOT resource or be easily modified for semi auto only.
The Gen5 top cover uses better metallurgy with reworked recoil button hole for less hand fitting than Gen2 kit.
The Gen5 selector stops are now milled out for magazine tabs, unlike the Gen2 kits, and allow sector stops for semi and full auto. The Gen2 is semi auto only and needs the mag stop recess to be milled to function correctly. Improper fitting can lead to the magazine seating too low to pick up a round from the magazine properly and reliably.
The Gen5 kits have better designed swell neck rivets that work better with USA builders jigs than Gen2. The Gen2 swell neck rivets for the front trunnion are undersized for some USA jigs.
The Gen5 front sight block has been opened to 10mm for a press fit of the windage drum and doesn't need to be reamed out from 9.5mm like the Gen2 kit. Improper or loose fitment can result in loss of zero due to the drum moving during fire. Not a concern in the Gen5 kits.
The Gen5 kits are offered in both fixed stock and sidefolding configurations. The sidefolder model includes a heavy duty steel side folding stock version that utilizes the AKM rivet pattern for ease of install.
The Gen5 folding stock trunnion can be used for mounting CNC Warrior Draco series SBR stocks and pistol braces without the need for drilling.
We supply the complete parts kit either with or without barrel. The 7.62 cal barrel that we offer has a properly sized barrel and gasblock journals, factory reamed chamber, pre-cut and aligned extractor clearance and ferrule mount slots. It is a hammer forged barrel manufactured by Slovakian arsenal.
All parts are included here for a complete gun build except for receiver. For your convenience we will add compatible stamped receivers to our lineup soon but in the meantime we would recommend looking to Childers or Nodak-Spud brands.
We look forward to building these guns ourselves and to share in customer building experiences. We plan to post results on our site as they are available. Here is a look at one of Triad Armory's early builds on a Gen2 kit:
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