A buddy showed me a rifle today that was an AR that fires AK rounds anyone have any experience with those? Is it worth looking into? I already have an AK variant so it would be nice to keep one round stocked.

If you only want to stock one round, you are probably better off getting an AK variant that shoots 5.56/.223 like your AR.

 

Personally and in my experience, a 7.62x39 AR is a novelty gun. They are hard to get to run reliably, no reputable companies make quality parts, mags are finicky at best. They are an exercise in frustration.

 

But their are quality 5.56/.223 AKs.

Yes, they exist. I have heard that some have feeding/jamming issues.

Also, here is a current thread where another forum member is trying to source/build one:

 

http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php/topic/79345-ar-upper-build-vs-buy-need-some-help-im-overwhelmed/?fromsearch=1

Wow, your full of questions lately. Don't take it the wrong way, it's good.  Have not seen someone so interested in a long time.  Anyway, an AR15 with a 7.62x39 barrel, bolt and magazine is all you need.  One drawback is the shape of the 7.62x39 cartridge. Because of it's increased taper, magazines must have a greater curve than the 5.56 and that causes feeding problems with higher capacity magazines.  There are things done to the barrel and upper to make it feed reliably.  Some vendors have created lowers specifically to feed this round in an AR platform.  I have one that works well and will building another upper in the future.  I really do not like the AK platform, sorry.

Might as well just get an AK, honestly.

Yea I'm very interested in this sort of thing. Also being on the verge of starting an AR 15 build I want to be sure I'm making the right choices and that I won't regret the decisions I made in the process. Besides I've learned that you guys are some of the best resources for good, genuine answers so as long as my gears are turning, you guys will be seeing a lot of my posts!

CMMG Mutant has been getting better reviews.

All that has been said above is good advice. AR's that run .30Russian are quirky and problematic. Difficult to get to feed reliably, usually due to mag issues.

 

Stick to a 5.56mm rifle, or if you absolutely need to have a large caliber AR, look into the Colt LE901 series.

Built to run .308, but also accepts 5.56mm uppers. I have one, it's an outstanding rifle.

http://www.colt.com/Catalog/Rifles/MARC901Series.aspx

IMO everyone should get an AK in 7.62x39 The ammo is cheap and plentiful and the platform is solid.. Maybe not as precise in the accuracy dept as a AR (especially at longer ranges) but you can hit paper plates at 100 yds all day long.

Might as well just get an AK, honestly.

 

I was an AR guy all the way, but to feed the x39 round, I went the way of the AK.  The AR was designed to eat 5.56/.223 and thought it can be adapted for many other calibers, I like to keep it simple.  The AK was designed to use the x39 round, same principle applies, for me, at least. 

If you only want to stock one round, you are probably better off getting an AK variant that shoots 5.56/.223 like your AR.

 

Personally and in my experience, a 7.62x39 AR is a novelty gun. They are hard to get to run reliably, no reputable companies make quality parts, mags are finicky at best. They are an exercise in frustration.

 

But their are quality 5.56/.223 AKs.

 

 

that is one of the only AKs that I miss.. the one I built to run AR mags.. worked so well..