Dedicated to the purists.
I always thought I would try and keep my AK unmolested and kosher, but that was boring, and uncomfortable. The only next step was to modernize the furniture.
Enter the Magpul Zhukov kit. The Zhukov-S stock, Zhukov hand guard, and MOE pistol grip, all in a very tasteful plum.
Each part comes individually packaged in a cardboard box and inside a plastic bag. The quality of the stock, grip, and hand guard are immediately apparent. Made entirely out of high quality polymer. The plum colour is hard to see without proper light, but it's just the right shade.
Why the Zhukov kit? Out of a select few furniture upgrades, I felt that this would be the most ergonomic and could still be just as modular as a full length rail system (the hang guard is M-Lok compatible).
Furthermore, I don't like the look of stock tube adapters, and, besides the B-33, Zenitco furniture is absolutely hideous IMO. I just liked the look of the Zhukov kit the best. It's clean, it suits the AK well, and has a very good reputation among real steel shooters.
Enough admiring/circle jerking, lets install starting from the rear.
The great thing about AKs are how easy they are to take down. 2 wood screws out from the top, and the stock slides right off.
The Zhukov-S stock is a drop in fit. I didn't have to file away at any part. It also seemed slightly heavier than the wood stock.
It provided pretty much the same cheek weld as the wood stock, but the top of the stock is more blunt/rounded and consequently slightly more comfortable. The stock retracts to 5 positions, each one roughly 1.5cm apart. There are QD sling mounts on each side, as well as a traditional sling loop. The stock folds to the right side and is held in place by a retention pin.
Next, the grip, which is IMO the
worst feature of the AK. It is way too small. It doesn't contour at all to your hand, and the stock plastic GHK grip is an eye sore.
The MOE grip is a night and day difference. It fits my hand perfectly, giving me a positive grip. It's much easier to manipulate the gun one handed.
Like M4 MOE grips, there is a small compartment for batteries and whatnot inside the grip.
Next, replacing the wood hand guard.
I also have a gripe with the traditional AK hand guard. It's too short which disables me from being able to use an over-exaggerated Christ Costa C-clamp grip.
I've got long arms, and it doesn't feel natural or comfortable for me to have to grip the wooden hand guard. I always needed just another 10 cm or so. Great thing about the Zhukov hand guard is that it gives me that room, and then some.
The handguard provides 2 sections of M-Lok slots on the left and right side, and 5 along the bottom. Note that there are no sling points or QD mounts on the hand guard.
The Zhukov hand guard comes with an aluminum heat shield. Unnecessary in airsoft, but necessary for mounting the hand guard itself. It is mounted using 2 pairs of U-shaped brackets that clamp onto the barrel.
Again, just like the grip, the screws were extremely tight. They wouldn't even fully thread/close on my first installation attempt. I ended up taking a small amount of the thread lock off of each screw, then screwing/unscrewing multiple times until they worked themselves in.
The dust cover catch does need to be modified in order to clear one of the stock screws. One minute with a dremel should do it.
Finally time to reassemble. I've purposely left out the front sight purely for cosmetic reasons. Even if I left it on, it's just dead weight, since I've replaced the rear sight with a rail which doesn't align with the front sight. So I guess I'm making it less front heavy.
The last thing I've planned on doing is adding a standard KAC 3-prong flash hider, but that will have to wait until tomorrow (or a later date). The inner diameter is just slightly too small, and none of my drill bits are large enough. Hopefully a 15mm bit will do. The plan is to simply bore out the flash hider, slap it over the end of the barrel, and use the included grub screw to secure it into place.
Now, some more glamour shots:
Total installation time: 2.5 hours. Tools required: 1/8 hex key, flat head, dremel/file.
So far, I'm very satisfied with the purchase. It is very comfortable to wield and much faster to point. Having that extra 10cm makes a huge difference.
If you'd like to see some specific details let me know and I'll try to get back to you.