Invest in an AK-47?

[Paraguy]

Almost pulled the trigger on an AK-47 today but chickened out at the last second.  $719 is a lot to spend on a gun I will likely never shoot.  I like collecting firearms and think this might go up in value, potentially a lot after the election.  Romney could make it into office and the value goes down and I take a hit.
Anybody think I am crazy for not buying or are the chances of this rifle going up in value substantially a pretty good bet?
BTW, for the same amount I could buy an upper for the AR-15 that I would use or get a 44 Mag that I would like and also use.

[crusader rabbit]

Seems sorta high for an AK.  I guess it depends on where it was made.  They are the most plentiful gun in the world, so I don't see a major upside.  Local gun shops around here have all you could want for $249 each. 

I think I'd opt for something I would be likely to shoot.  A .44mag in a lever carbine format might be just the ticket. I have one made by Rossi and I love it.

FWIW

Crusader Rabbit

[tombogan03884]

 Time magazine had an article showing that the best investments over the past 20 years or so had been guns.
The 2 best performing stocks over the last 4 years have been Ruger and S&W, collector guns such as double rifles expecting to get $300.000 at auction are getting 2 or 3 times that amount .
Common fire arms are selling for more used now than they did new 4 years ago.
If Obama wins on Tuesday expect gun prices to be driven up 50%

[TAB]

I have 3 cmmg lowers I bought 4 years ago... Kind of as a why not type deal.  They were cheap.  If obama wins, I will be selling 2.

[RTFM]

Why TAB?
I too purchased 4 AR lowers (neat thing is they are sequential ending in 40, 41, 42 and 43)
Put parts kits in two of them, and purchased 4 more kits for spares.... but never got around to putting uppers on any of them.

I did manage to purchase 2 full AK's one is a junker for $150 or so (not over 200) and my U.S. made RPG arms AK (all new all American parts) for $650

Best $$$$ I EVER spent on ANY of my guns. It is THE ONE gun I'll never give up.... it is just the one for me... sweet sweet shooter too.

[Sponsor]

[TAB]

I don't have a use for them.   ars don't intrest me.  Neither do aks or sks.   now m1, m1c  m1a and several other "old school" semi autos do.   ruger minis do as well, they just suck for accuracy.

[santahog]

AKs are reliable rifles, and till the border gets closed to Wolf ammo, they're cheap to shoot, like cheaper than 9mm..
I have two and they're both accurate to an inch or two, consistently, (with Wolf), at 300 yards.. One is a plain Jane Saiga. I got that one for a few hundred, before the 09 price spike.. They're still nearly twice that. The other is an M+M M10 for $650 a couple of months ago. I like em..
(Never got done with the "upgrades" for the Saiga.. Iron sights still work fine..)

[billt]

If you're going to "collect" an AK-47, the one to get is the new Arsenal Milled Bulgarian Model. They come in at right around the 1K mark, but they represent about the finest AK-47 on the market today, and will never lose their value. These are even more desirable than the Chinese Norinco Models.

This is the first time in a decade they've imported them. Even if Romney wins, Hussein could sign a Executive Order banning their importation before he leaves office. If that happens I wouldn't want to live on the difference that Romney would revoke it once in office. Hussein's lame duck term will be like a stalled hurricane. No telling how much damage he'll do.

[Paraguy]

The AKs in the shop I go to were made in the USA, not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.  Should have paid more attention to the details, not that it would mean much to me, given my lack of knowledge of the platform.  They had 4 models, one was a pistol, one was optics ready/one was not (but cheaper) and the other had a polymer stock. 
I like the suggestion of a 44 lever action, packs a different punch than the 223 and could interchange ammo with the 44 pistol I hope to have some day.

[tombogan03884]

I'd avoid the pistol, it's pretty much just a gimmick unless you want to go through the SBR hassle.
I also would not bother with optics on an AK.