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Originally Posted by CosaNostraUSMC
Say an individual has opportunity to take one off of someones hands, what kinds of things would one look for when determining to buy or not? How might an individual distinguish where it's made? More importantly, how would one perform a function check to ensure proper working order, when firing isn't an option at the transaction point?
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You might want to make sure that it is legal, i.e.; semi only, 922(r) compliant, not hot, etc.
I would not assign a wide variety of pricing to any of the generic AKs, usually the country of origin can be determined by the configuration. Guides are available by googling. The Polytech, Valmet, and Galil variants are the most expensive. Most of the semi-auto Eastern Bloc and Russian AK-47s are in the $300-$400 range new.
Given the dilapidated condition I have seen AKs in that still worked fine, if it is a factory gun and all of the pieces are there, it probably works. You could function test the trigger and safety when examining it, if you were concerned. You could also ask the buyer for a money back guarantee, if it did not function as advertised. If he will not, assume the worst and low-ball the price. You can tear it down and check the gas piston out, and the bore for signs of corrosion, but even that should not affect the function. It is probably worth a couple hundred as parts, so you should not be into it very deep, even if it did not run.
HTH.
TR