My 101 has been a trooper over the last year. 6k rounds so far, suppressed and unsuppressed, without a single malfunction and no premature wear on the bolt, extractor, barrel or failed headspace to report of. I have also seen PSA AK's self-destruct within 500rnds, so they are still in a grey area on quality as far as I'm concerned. Thorough inspection upon arrival is strongly advised for all future buyers. Best of luck with it, I look forward to seeing updates!
I was this 🤏🏻 close to getting a PSA 101 clone but bought a WBP 5.56 parts kit instead to build a 101 clone-ish build. Got the 90 degree gas block from AoA that works with AKM and a 74 style FSB that also works with AKMs. Cerakoted the bolt carrier. Now I’m just waiting for my Childers receiver.
@@Feldmutze field gauge is the true test because that's the max spec. You can swallow a no-go (min spec) and still be safe. Swallow a field gauge and it's boom-boom time
I hope you continue this series, even if it is a long-term project, and I have to wait a while. The PSA AK101 is the most cost-effective AK101 "clone" rifle on the market, with the other alternatives being a Saiga sporter conversion, an SGL made rifle, and SLR-106 becoming increasingly cost prohibitive for the average shooter.
I'll absolutely be continuing the series. I'm planning to have a 1,000 round review in ~4-6 weeks. This one's taking a bit longer as I have a few other competing projects currently. After a thousand rounds I'll keep going but I'll be tapering back so follow-up reviews will be a bit more sporadic. The cost-effectiveness of the PSA AK101 is actually the reason I chose it too. I was wanting an SLR-106 for the longest time but I can't justify the price compared to what I'm actually getting.
I build AKs and I'll tell you this lol PSA has their own tolerances... Not heat treated correctly and wonky in some areas like their barrel components. I just use WBP parts kits now. The age of cheap AK builds is long over! I stamp my own receivers out of .067 thousand 4140 sheet metal and then kiln heat treat. I dimple my receivers for swell neck rivets and this is something PSA does not do but i have heard they just announced they are lol. Hopefully your 101 holds up ! Love thr channel content ! We need more AK guys on UA-cam
6k rounds through my 101 so far and 0 malfunctions or pre-mature wear. Might be luck of the draw, lol, but it's been fantastic so far and I run it much more frequently than my other AK's now.
You probably already know this but if you lurk the akfiles you'll see people pretty often dumping their 5.45 stashes for 50-55cpr after they sell their rifles.
Been running a 05/23 fixed stock 101 for over a year now. Maybe 1600 rounds of exclusively 855 through it. Mines been running well and it’s super accurate. Another channel dubbed them “gen 2” after a certain time period. I think you’ll like it.
I built out a PSA 101 barreled receiver (fixed stock) with spare parts and furniture I had lying around. I was surprised at how soft shooting it was, not overgassed at all. The only mags I have tried so far are the AC Unity Gen3 and the PSA 556 AK mags and both work fine. The trigger group that fit the best from the stuff I had was the LBE G3. Be looking forward to your updates.
I just stumbled across your channel because I was searching for infos and reviews on various zenitco parts and stayed because your other videos are also very interesting, informative and nicely made so I just had to subscribe with notifs on.
I bought one of these a few months ago. I only have about 500 rounds through it due to not having the opportunity to shoot recently (my son passed away unexpectedly.) My experience with it basically mirrors yours, lots of oil, no issues thus far. Looking forward to how yours wears in comparison to mine. I just received a Rearden Cyka & have it mounted but not shot it suppressed yet. Probably going to put a kns in it as I think it’s going to be very overgassed once the can goes on.
To start, I love your content. Keep it up. I got one too and had fitment issues. I had to hammer in one of the trigger pins since the fit was incredibly tight. I had the same issue with my Russian triangle stock on the rear end. I had to dremel the notch wider towards the receiver so the button could lock in easier. The stock fits great now, but a lot of material from the top, bottom, and notch had to be removed. Edit: I forgot to mention that I had to remove material from the pin as well. It was too wide for the channel on the stock.
Thank you, glad you're liking the videos! Thanks for sharing your experiences with the stock fitment on yours too, it's surprising how widespread the issue is as I've heard the same from a lot of other PSA side-folding AK owners.
I snagged one of the barreled receiver kits just like yours and have had some issues. I bought some of the Bulgarian commercial mags and they don’t lock in. I could barely get through a mag without multiple failures to feed. I want to love it, and I hope it just needs to break-in, but time will tell.
Could be worth trying either a Circle 10 magazine or one of PSA's own 5.56 AK magazines. I've had some iffy Bulgarian commercial magazines in my 5.45 before so it's hard to say if PSA didn't cut the magwell out to spec or if it's an issue with the magazines.
I just got mine today and you’re right, the stock is beyond stiff. My dust cover also feels like it’s been welded on the plunger refuses to budge at all. I hope after a few more range trips it gets broken in.
The stock will definitely loosen up over time, though in my experience it takes a pretty long time, much more than just a few range trips. I haven't really seen dust covers loosen up with use. You might want to try re-bending it a bit if you have a vise or you could cut a small amount off the front of the dust cover to loosen the fit.
@@Feldmutzeso after a week and a few range trips the stock loosened up, but I ended up having to get a dock worker with a mallet to get the spring depressed on the dust cover plunger.
Well I'm probably still going to buy the fixed stock psa ak 101 barreled receiver, at 600 beans that's not bad plus it has the 90° gas block. The WBP barreled receiver with 90° gas block is over 1k. I'll try to get both at some point to compare.
I wanted to love PSA so badly but My first rifle from them, the krink, had a catastrophic bolt failure with less than 500 rounds. Can’t justify buying trash for over $1,000.
@@Feldmutze Yeah, it wouldn’t be as frustrating if their weren’t forums describing an identical issue as mine for many years now. The “arming as many people as we can” mantra they push would also imply the guns they sell are more than paperweights…lol
What was the bolt failure you ended up having on yours? It'll be good to know so I can keep an eye out on this one too. The only issue I kept hearing about on PSA's 5.56 AKs is the extractors failing, but allegedly the newer ones have fixed that. By and large, I think a lot of people give PSA more of a pass than they deserve since they have a good mantra. But, if PSA were serious about it, they'd be investing more into their QC rather than spinning up new product lines constantly.
@@Feldmutze My issue was a frozen firing pin due to fragments of a pierced primer entering the firing pin channel, completely seizing the rifle entirely and not fixable without a lot of work. I had to freeze the bolt to let it shrink slightly then beat the pin out of the bolt face with a punch, slightly deforming the hole itself. This was after soaking it in PB blaster and trying to use pliers on the rear to twist it out. It also appears after I removed the firing pin that the head of the PSA firing pin is deformed (this was NOT in the areas I had hit on with the punch), my theory being it’s poor metal quality and/or specs they have been using for years now with no fix. I was able to fit a Bulgarian Ak-74 firing pin in the channel and it’s reinstalled, so I’m going to test and see how long it lasts now. It was interesting to see how the AK-74 firing pin retaining pins and other extractor parts did not fit with their 5.56 bolts however due to what looks like an in house TDP/Specification they made up so it’s a wonder the pin fit the channel, unless I’m missing a detail there lol. I completely agree with that; if they want to be taken seriously, they need to improve the quality of their rifles and QC rather than focus on sheer SKU amounts and paid influencers pushing product that is, frankly, not a finished product.
Nice man! You'll have to keep us posted how it's doing in the long run. I've heard rumors and various hear says that PSA isn't properly assembling their AKs (not using swell necks for the front trunnion apparently).
Thanks! I'll be doing the 1,000 round review relatively soon. There does seem to be an issue with how they riveted the front trunnion as I'm getting very bad dispersion from this rifle and from all the testing I've done to try to isolate it, the rifle remains very imprecise. Still no reliability issues though.
Lol, so right after writing this comment I took my PSA out to the range and had a broken firing pin at only ~550 rounds so disregard my previous that it has been reliable.
Good review! I bought one of the first ones...barrel misclocked and the trunnion was smashing itself, along with malfunctions. PSA swappes it out for a new rifle. I find their chamber is rough as I was having some rounds next ejecting properly, and they were brass. After owning a plethora of AKs this has bren by far thr cheapest in Quality Ive felt. The gas tube lock literally opens on its own. Felt more like an airsfot gun that shoot bullets. Of they didnt paint everything I think thay would help
Why even use a buffer for the recoil rod? If the point is to run the rifle and test it, abnormal wear to the rear will be covered up by it. If you’re ever afraid of damaging the rifle you can always send it back to use their lifetime warranty.
My reasoning with the buffer was that, although I do want to run the rifle to test the parts wear, I also wanted to have the rifle last a good amount of rounds and keep running since I'm not looking to intentionally run the rifle into the ground. You bring up a good point though regarding obscuring abnormal rear trunnion wear since that would be valuable data, so I'll actually keep the recoil buffer off this in the future. Tbh if/when this rifle starts to have issues it will probably have a lot of heavy wear everywhere else anyway, so the buffer's probably not doing much worthwhile.
@@Feldmutze I understand your reasoning! I like to keep unnecessary wear to a minimum too but if that wear does become excessive you can document it for the people and PSA will help you out. I appreciate the response man and I’m looking to get one soon to put through its paces!
I didn't even know they still offered the AK101AKM so I never looked too much into it, but just at a glance - the 101AKM is more like a WASR, just in 5.56 instead. It has the old 45° gas block, non-folding stock & trunnion, and oddly uses 1/2 x 28 muzzle thread like an AR too.
The gas port erodes quicker on the 45°, but it's only pronounced at very high round counts. Visually, the 90° and 45° gas blocks look very different too, so if you're going for a 100-series clone then it needs the 90°.
Russian ak-101 had the rear sight from ak-74m, 5.45. Did PSA make the proper 5.56 compatible leaf sight? Does the break have the slots that vent gasses forward from the tube portion?
Yes, the rear sight on this is the correct version. The brake does have slots, though they seem larger than normal (at least compared to the Arsenal ones I own) which makes this brake have a lot more flash and blast than it should.
@robertwallace4515 I got lucky getting an un converted Saiga 223 a couple years ago, and i love it. With the 20" barrel. It's a really great rifle. Did the conversion myself, and I couldn't be happier with it.
Man those uneven rivets would drive me crazy. So many people talk shit about it, but I do enjoy my Hellpup and n one has seemed to have issues with those, just the sporter rifles. I suspect the issue isn't the casting in that case and more so the US side screwing up with all the 922r bs.
Mine has been a pos went from like 2 moa gun to 8 on a good day sent it in psa replaced the barrel now im worse off ftf every other round from 8 different mags tried different ammo and if I single load I'm lucky to get sub 10 inch groups at 75 with ak master mount and vortex 1-6 all in all it's trash.
PSA doesn’t dimple the receiver and use swell neck rivets where appropriate…disaster waiting to happen. One of the many issues with their AKs. Don’t expect long term reliability by AK standards.
My 101 has been a trooper over the last year. 6k rounds so far, suppressed and unsuppressed, without a single malfunction and no premature wear on the bolt, extractor, barrel or failed headspace to report of. I have also seen PSA AK's self-destruct within 500rnds, so they are still in a grey area on quality as far as I'm concerned. Thorough inspection upon arrival is strongly advised for all future buyers. Best of luck with it, I look forward to seeing updates!
If only PSA would invest their gains in quality control standardization rather than opening up new and untested product lines....
fast forward a month later and his made it slightly above 500.
lol
@@jellyfrosh9102 Yup. Not surprised it was a firing pin. If it fails, it will usually be that or the bolt face shearing lol.
You have an underrated channel - keep up the great content. Recently got my first modern rifle, an AK with Zenitco handguard.
Thanks for being so thorough, nobody ever gets into it like this.
I was this 🤏🏻 close to getting a PSA 101 clone but bought a WBP 5.56 parts kit instead to build a 101 clone-ish build. Got the 90 degree gas block from AoA that works with AKM and a 74 style FSB that also works with AKMs. Cerakoted the bolt carrier. Now I’m just waiting for my Childers receiver.
You did the better route IMHO
Watch the bolt, headspace, and rivets. Buy a "field gage" to test head space once you get a couple thousand rounds in.
That's a good idea. I have a go/no-go gauge currently that I'll start checking in later reviews, but no field gauge so I'll pick one up.
@@Feldmutze field gauge is the true test because that's the max spec. You can swallow a no-go (min spec) and still be safe. Swallow a field gauge and it's boom-boom time
Great video - thanks for actually diving into the little details and comparing it to the SLR. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses along!
I hope you continue this series, even if it is a long-term project, and I have to wait a while. The PSA AK101 is the most cost-effective AK101 "clone" rifle on the market, with the other alternatives being a Saiga sporter conversion, an SGL made rifle, and SLR-106 becoming increasingly cost prohibitive for the average shooter.
I'll absolutely be continuing the series. I'm planning to have a 1,000 round review in ~4-6 weeks. This one's taking a bit longer as I have a few other competing projects currently. After a thousand rounds I'll keep going but I'll be tapering back so follow-up reviews will be a bit more sporadic.
The cost-effectiveness of the PSA AK101 is actually the reason I chose it too. I was wanting an SLR-106 for the longest time but I can't justify the price compared to what I'm actually getting.
Yup.The PSA ak101 occasionally goes on sale ( currently is) for 679.99 with the standard furniture.
I build AKs and I'll tell you this lol PSA has their own tolerances... Not heat treated correctly and wonky in some areas like their barrel components. I just use WBP parts kits now. The age of cheap AK builds is long over! I stamp my own receivers out of .067 thousand 4140 sheet metal and then kiln heat treat. I dimple my receivers for swell neck rivets and this is something PSA does not do but i have heard they just announced they are lol. Hopefully your 101 holds up ! Love thr channel content ! We need more AK guys on UA-cam
6k rounds through my 101 so far and 0 malfunctions or pre-mature wear. Might be luck of the draw, lol, but it's been fantastic so far and I run it much more frequently than my other AK's now.
You probably already know this but if you lurk the akfiles you'll see people pretty often dumping their 5.45 stashes for 50-55cpr after they sell their rifles.
I actually didn't know that as I don't go on akfiles so that's good to know! I'll keep an eye on there.
Great review. Been thinking about picking one of these up in the next month or so.
Been running a 05/23 fixed stock 101 for over a year now. Maybe 1600 rounds of exclusively 855 through it. Mines been running well and it’s super accurate. Another channel dubbed them “gen 2” after a certain time period. I think you’ll like it.
A GoodEnough channel perhaps?
@@JackTagar that’s the one lol
I built out a PSA 101 barreled receiver (fixed stock) with spare parts and furniture I had lying around. I was surprised at how soft shooting it was, not overgassed at all. The only mags I have tried so far are the AC Unity Gen3 and the PSA 556 AK mags and both work fine. The trigger group that fit the best from the stuff I had was the LBE G3. Be looking forward to your updates.
I just stumbled across your channel because I was searching for infos and reviews on various zenitco parts and stayed because your other videos are also very interesting, informative and nicely made so I just had to subscribe with notifs on.
Thanks for the sub, and I'm glad that you're liking the videos!
I bought one of these a few months ago. I only have about 500 rounds through it due to not having the opportunity to shoot recently (my son passed away unexpectedly.) My experience with it basically mirrors yours, lots of oil, no issues thus far. Looking forward to how yours wears in comparison to mine. I just received a Rearden Cyka & have it mounted but not shot it suppressed yet. Probably going to put a kns in it as I think it’s going to be very overgassed once the can goes on.
My condolences, that's rough.
Awesome video!
Cool VSR-98 hat!
To start, I love your content. Keep it up.
I got one too and had fitment issues. I had to hammer in one of the trigger pins since the fit was incredibly tight. I had the same issue with my Russian triangle stock on the rear end. I had to dremel the notch wider towards the receiver so the button could lock in easier.
The stock fits great now, but a lot of material from the top, bottom, and notch had to be removed.
Edit: I forgot to mention that I had to remove material from the pin as well. It was too wide for the channel on the stock.
Thank you, glad you're liking the videos! Thanks for sharing your experiences with the stock fitment on yours too, it's surprising how widespread the issue is as I've heard the same from a lot of other PSA side-folding AK owners.
I snagged one of the barreled receiver kits just like yours and have had some issues. I bought some of the Bulgarian commercial mags and they don’t lock in. I could barely get through a mag without multiple failures to feed. I want to love it, and I hope it just needs to break-in, but time will tell.
Could be worth trying either a Circle 10 magazine or one of PSA's own 5.56 AK magazines. I've had some iffy Bulgarian commercial magazines in my 5.45 before so it's hard to say if PSA didn't cut the magwell out to spec or if it's an issue with the magazines.
@@Feldmutze I’m planning to pick up some ac unity and psa mags to try. Also, may take a dremel to the Bulgarian mags to see if that will help.
I just got mine today and you’re right, the stock is beyond stiff. My dust cover also feels like it’s been welded on the plunger refuses to budge at all. I hope after a few more range trips it gets broken in.
The stock will definitely loosen up over time, though in my experience it takes a pretty long time, much more than just a few range trips.
I haven't really seen dust covers loosen up with use. You might want to try re-bending it a bit if you have a vise or you could cut a small amount off the front of the dust cover to loosen the fit.
@@Feldmutzeso after a week and a few range trips the stock loosened up, but I ended up having to get a dock worker with a mallet to get the spring depressed on the dust cover plunger.
Well I'm probably still going to buy the fixed stock psa ak 101 barreled receiver, at 600 beans that's not bad plus it has the 90° gas block. The WBP barreled receiver with 90° gas block is over 1k. I'll try to get both at some point to compare.
I wanted to love PSA so badly but
My first rifle from them, the krink, had a catastrophic bolt failure with less than 500 rounds. Can’t justify buying trash for over $1,000.
Damn, yeah having a bolt failure that quickly is completely unacceptable especially when they're charging that much.
@@Feldmutze Yeah, it wouldn’t be as frustrating if their weren’t forums describing an identical issue as mine for many years now. The “arming as many people as we can” mantra they push would also imply the guns they sell are more than paperweights…lol
What was the bolt failure you ended up having on yours? It'll be good to know so I can keep an eye out on this one too. The only issue I kept hearing about on PSA's 5.56 AKs is the extractors failing, but allegedly the newer ones have fixed that.
By and large, I think a lot of people give PSA more of a pass than they deserve since they have a good mantra. But, if PSA were serious about it, they'd be investing more into their QC rather than spinning up new product lines constantly.
@@Feldmutze My issue was a frozen firing pin due to fragments of a pierced primer entering the firing pin channel, completely seizing the rifle entirely and not fixable without a lot of work. I had to freeze the bolt to let it shrink slightly then beat the pin out of the bolt face with a punch, slightly deforming the hole itself. This was after soaking it in PB blaster and trying to use pliers on the rear to twist it out.
It also appears after I removed the firing pin that the head of the PSA firing pin is deformed (this was NOT in the areas I had hit on with the punch), my theory being it’s poor metal quality and/or specs they have been using for years now with no fix. I was able to fit a Bulgarian Ak-74 firing pin in the channel and it’s reinstalled, so I’m going to test and see how long it lasts now. It was interesting to see how the AK-74 firing pin retaining pins and other extractor parts did not fit with their 5.56 bolts however due to what looks like an in house TDP/Specification they made up so it’s a wonder the pin fit the channel, unless I’m missing a detail there lol.
I completely agree with that; if they want to be taken seriously, they need to improve the quality of their rifles and QC rather than focus on sheer SKU amounts and paid influencers pushing product that is, frankly, not a finished product.
Nice man! You'll have to keep us posted how it's doing in the long run. I've heard rumors and various hear says that PSA isn't properly assembling their AKs (not using swell necks for the front trunnion apparently).
Thanks! I'll be doing the 1,000 round review relatively soon. There does seem to be an issue with how they riveted the front trunnion as I'm getting very bad dispersion from this rifle and from all the testing I've done to try to isolate it, the rifle remains very imprecise. Still no reliability issues though.
Lol, so right after writing this comment I took my PSA out to the range and had a broken firing pin at only ~550 rounds so disregard my previous that it has been reliable.
@Feldmutze wow that's crazy!
Good review! I bought one of the first ones...barrel misclocked and the trunnion was smashing itself, along with malfunctions. PSA swappes it out for a new rifle. I find their chamber is rough as I was having some rounds next ejecting properly, and they were brass. After owning a plethora of AKs this has bren by far thr cheapest in Quality Ive felt. The gas tube lock literally opens on its own. Felt more like an airsfot gun that shoot bullets.
Of they didnt paint everything I think thay would help
excellent review bro
Thank you! Glad you liked the review.
I have a ak9 handguard on my psa 101 and have the same issue. I got the cleaning rod to fit by just finicking with it
That's good to know, I'll try messing with the one I have a bit more to see if I can get it to fit.
@@Feldmutze all what I had to do was lossen the handguard slightly from the retainer and then twist the rod around and it fit snug.
Why even use a buffer for the recoil rod? If the point is to run the rifle and test it, abnormal wear to the rear will be covered up by it. If you’re ever afraid of damaging the rifle you can always send it back to use their lifetime warranty.
My reasoning with the buffer was that, although I do want to run the rifle to test the parts wear, I also wanted to have the rifle last a good amount of rounds and keep running since I'm not looking to intentionally run the rifle into the ground.
You bring up a good point though regarding obscuring abnormal rear trunnion wear since that would be valuable data, so I'll actually keep the recoil buffer off this in the future. Tbh if/when this rifle starts to have issues it will probably have a lot of heavy wear everywhere else anyway, so the buffer's probably not doing much worthwhile.
@@Feldmutze I understand your reasoning! I like to keep unnecessary wear to a minimum too but if that wear does become excessive you can document it for the people and PSA will help you out. I appreciate the response man and I’m looking to get one soon to put through its paces!
What is the difference between the AK-101 by PSA and the AK101AKM by PSA the AK101 is $350 more expensive
I didn't even know they still offered the AK101AKM so I never looked too much into it, but just at a glance - the 101AKM is more like a WASR, just in 5.56 instead. It has the old 45° gas block, non-folding stock & trunnion, and oddly uses 1/2 x 28 muzzle thread like an AR too.
@@Feldmutze is there a difference between 45 and 90 degree gas block on an AK and does it matter
The gas port erodes quicker on the 45°, but it's only pronounced at very high round counts. Visually, the 90° and 45° gas blocks look very different too, so if you're going for a 100-series clone then it needs the 90°.
I would like to see more reviews like this from you. However I understand that would be cost prohibitive
I'd like to do a lot more reviews like this too but yeah unfortunately I'd go broke pretty fast if I were to do this for more than just one rifle.
Converting a saiga 5.56 into an ak101 I wanna get a psa101 at some point for a range you comparison
Good luck with PSA
WBP has build ready kits on athletic 800 bucks 🇵🇱
Russian ak-101 had the rear sight from ak-74m, 5.45. Did PSA make the proper 5.56 compatible leaf sight?
Does the break have the slots that vent gasses forward from the tube portion?
Yes, the rear sight on this is the correct version.
The brake does have slots, though they seem larger than normal (at least compared to the Arsenal ones I own) which makes this brake have a lot more flash and blast than it should.
Thanks!
I miss when we could import Russian firearms.
Yeah thanks Trump
Yeah, now we only get this corner cutting "made in america" garbage. I'd rather have a 223 saiga and build it the way I want
@robertwallace4515 I got lucky getting an un converted Saiga 223 a couple years ago, and i love it. With the 20" barrel. It's a really great rifle. Did the conversion myself, and I couldn't be happier with it.
I hate more that the import ban is still in effect, even though it didn't stop anything.
@TexasNationalist1836 you know the russian ak ban came 2014 with Obama correct?
Man those uneven rivets would drive me crazy. So many people talk shit about it, but I do enjoy my Hellpup and n one has seemed to have issues with those, just the sporter rifles. I suspect the issue isn't the casting in that case and more so the US side screwing up with all the 922r bs.
Mine has been a pos went from like 2 moa gun to 8 on a good day sent it in psa replaced the barrel now im worse off ftf every other round from 8 different mags tried different ammo and if I single load I'm lucky to get sub 10 inch groups at 75 with ak master mount and vortex 1-6 all in all it's trash.
That's really bad. How many rounds did you have on yours before you started getting those accuracy issues?
Like 1100 tops
PSA doesn’t dimple the receiver and use swell neck rivets where appropriate…disaster waiting to happen. One of the many issues with their AKs. Don’t expect long term reliability by AK standards.
PSA does not use swell neck rivets and don't dimple their receivers. That's a no go for me.
😂😂😂what was that combat move?
Lol just some (debatably) cool footage that works well for a quick intro/B-roll