Russian Izhmash SGL31-44 / AK105

Because I am a die hard AK74M fan and prefer the fullsize rifle, to be honest I only added an AK105 to have as part of the collection. This is because with a fullsize I have had really good performance out to 500m with optics and irons, and even did well at 600m with PO3.5x21P. I will say that after getting to know the 105 and having plenty of trigger time on it I can see now why it is such a popular rifle. Balance is better than the fullsize and functionally there is little performance difference out to 500m (in my observation). It's a handy and pointable rifle and one that has quickly come very close to my appreciation of the fullsize 74M. Maybe as part of my 2022 page updates I will admit that I like the 105 more than the original fullsize 74M, but maybe not

2022: My two AK105s

My original 105 on top was converted from another SGL31-44 by Mario at Piece of History including selector markings and gas block/ front site block dimples. He did the barrel chop as well and I have found it to be an accurate rifle though again I have not benched this against the fullsize 74M (2022 update, the original clone rifle and my full size 74s shoot pretty closely compared to each other, but my suppressed 105 outshoots them both by a noticeable margin)

In 2017 I sent the paperwork in for a second SGL31 to AK105 conversion and in early 2018 the stamp came back. Work was done on the second SGL by Two Rivers and is top notch as well

During 2019 and 2020 I did a lot of testing with my ZenitCo AK105 and have this rifle dialed in quite nicely. This is the softest shooting AK I've ever owned, and I believe it's most accurate one I own as well. It took a couple years but this is by far my favorite AK rifle in my collection and is now approaching my original SLR105A1R bought in 2005 as my highest round count rifle. I shoot this rifle far more than anything else I own actually

Another factor that I am sure helps with the recoil is the whopping 12.8 pounds fully loaded this rifle comes in at. It's a chonky chonk for sure, but somehow it's still weirdly pointable, even offhand on the move. I've found this to be a great hog gun in Texas and have blasted a metric ton of pigs over the past 3+ years in particular. It's been a highly effective get-er-done pig gun

For a long time my parts list of the ZenitCo AK105 was:

ZenitCo B10U lower HG
ZenitCo B19 upper HG
ZenitCo B33 topcover
ZenitCo Perst 2 Green + (IR light and laser, white light and visible green laser)
Sandman K + E-Brake
Dead Air KeyMo QD brake
ALG trigger
Some kind of enhanced safety (Maybe Krebs? I don't remember)

This particular rifle was threaded 1/2x28 about an inch past the FSB for suppressor use, but on most of my other rifles I use the Griffin 24x1.5 adapter and haven't needed to direct thread the other barrels
I had this one threaded to hedge my bet against the infamous lack of concentricity that AKs are assumed to have, but after all these years I have found the Griffin to be about 95% effective on 24x1.5 FSBs and have only threaded one other rifle with an inch of barrel past the FSB like my 105. It just hasn't been an issue on the numerous 24x1.5 FSBs I've used the Griffin on, but I can't speak for traditional 14x1L AKM barrels which are by far more common than 24x1.5 AK74/AK103 style front sight blocks

After extensive use and because I've refined my switchology over the years, I've dropped the B19 rail and use a US made Ultimak gas tube due to the overall longer rail space it has compared to the B19. For space reasons I switched to the Perst 3 instead of the Perst 2 and modified a Modbutton Lite switch to work with the ZenitCo Perst 3 connector. I like the B19 and it works well, but because I went to the longer Ultimak I was able to fit two modbutton lite switches and the Perst 3 on top, which I prefer over other methods. I also switched to the Vox S suppressor for weight reasons, and swapped the Surefire head with a Modlite 87 billion lumen weapon light, and use the TigIR clip-on for thermal hunting
I may swap back to the Sandman S because of the flash hider endcap option which the Vox does not currently have. Under NODs flash hiders make a huge difference in how visible you are to other NV users, and from how far. With a FH the suppressor will throw sparks that fade pretty quickly and are not visible past a short range, but not having a flash hider illuminates you like prison floodlights during a jailbreak riot

Shown here with Kashtan-1P moved way back to allow space for the TigIR clip on thermal, AK74M3 upgrade kit buttstock + PG and AK12 magazine. The sling is an SRVV 3 point that I modified to be a paracord loop/quiet sling for hunting. I still use the Kashtan rubber eyepiece most of the time unless I'm doing passive shooting with NODs. The eyepiece still works with NODs but not as well as without, so when speed counts I remove it

(Yes, I do get called out for having cheap electrical tape and 550 cord on a $3000+ collectible Russian Saiga, and for how beat up it is, but this is my main go-to pig hunting rig and I have a ton of rounds down range with it. It spends most of its time in the elements getting banged up in the mule or stalking on foot. It's a shooter, and a damn good one. I will also neither confirm nor deny if this rifle gets cleaned after shooting corrosive 7N6 in the rain)

Here you can see the two Modlite buttons on top, and the RPK45 rounder cut down by BadElement to a 25 rounder, which makes for a pretty good vehicle mag. I added the skateboard grip tape to the pistol grip because I shoot a lot in adverse weather and it's done really well for me

Side note: I prefer and use Surefire or Modlite weapon lights instead of Russian lights like Klesch-2. I don't dislike the Klesch series at all but it's tough to beat the throw of Modlite and their very low weight. This rifle was never intended to be a clone gun for LARPing, it's a practical shooter and I use what I consider to be the most effective components for what I do with it. Since I spend a lot of time outdoors under NV in big open spaces I prefer lights with a long range throw like Modlite. I may pick up a Klesch or something similar eventually (and a long time ago I had the Russian Znich tactical light, which was pretty cool), but for now ModLite is doing what I need it to do extremely well

I used to use Hornady Black 5.45 pretty extensively but over the years I switched back to 7N6 and it's been just about as effective, overall

Trash Pandas are actually a nuisance out at my buddies high fence trophy ranch in West Texas, and they get the 105 business too

Speaking of weight, almost any rifle equipped with NV gear and a suppressor is going to be heavy and it really doesn't matter if its an AK or an AR. My AK105 weights about 13 pounds loaded, my AR weighs about 11. The main difference between them is that the AR has a super light T2 and the super light Skeet-IR, vs the AK105 with the heavier magnified 2.8x Kashtan and the larger TigIR thermal clip-on. If I were to swap to a T2 and the Skeet on the 105 I could probably save a pound or more, which would put them pretty close

Shown below with my older configuration: Kashtan 1P optic, ZenitCo Perst 2 IR laser and Trijicon Skeet-IR thermal clip-on. I dropped the Skeet as a clip on because despite my best efforts I could only get it reliably collimated to a single rifle at a time, and because it would never easily move from gun to gun I acquired the TigIR as my main thermal clip-on. I have not been disappointed with the TigIR at all

The suppressor is a Sandman K with E-Brake and the QD mount is also a brake. It's definitely not hearing safe but it make the 105 super low recoil.

This rifle is capable of holding .75" groups at 50 yards with Hornady Black 60gr VMax 5.45x39 using 1P87 and a 3x magnifier, or 1P78-1P Kashtan 2.8x
I've been able to repeat this on a number of range sessions and really dig how consistent it is, but even going with a conservative observation it will hold 1" groups at 50 yards all day long and I'm confident to proclaim this a legit 2 MOA rifle. For me the secret sauce appears to the additional weight of the suppressor affecting barrel harmonics in a good way, and the 11 degree target crown that I added

I've even had some half inch groups at 50 yards...wow

I do a lot of pig hunting with this rifle and have had excellent results. Like most calibers against hogs only the first round is typically well placed and after that you need multiple hits to bring them down due to how crazy a sounder moves after breaking, and the high speed mayhem that ensues. As you would expect of a lighter caliber I've found 5.45 to be really effective in these scenarios due to the fast followup shots

Perst 2 and later the Perst 3 have both been an excellent lasers as well

I have scored thermal kills with the Skeet-IR clip-on, but for me it has had a pretty large MOA shift between rifles that I could never collimate-out, and I ended up using it only on one specific AR where it works great

So what's the only thing better than owning 1 AK105? Owning 2, so you can be traditional and tactical at the same time

Dead Air PBS-1 Wolverine and AAC Mini 4

Everyone loves the ZenitCo PT-1 stock and it does have a yuuuuuge amount of modularity, but for me it was just too heavy overall. It does help balance rifles with lights, lasers and suppressors, and because those are never lightweight anyway PT-1 is still useful. I prefer the classic stock or the first version of the newer AK74M3 upgrade stock

Back in the day I borrowed Joshard's Surefire SOCOM 762 suppressor, here with Obzor and Surefire X300 on RS Regulate BM-1 mount

Top: AK105 with PK01-VS
Bottom: AK74M with 1P78 Kashtan

This is also a very useful configuration. ZenitCo makes some excellent gear so while pricey (and relatively rare) B33 is definitely the best top cover solution on the market.
With ZenitCo rails, Manticore Nightbrake and Trijicon RMR08

I will say that after a fair amount of use I don't care at all for the RMR08. It washes out too easily in most lighting conditions and even has a difficult time at indoor ranges. Neat, but pretty useless in my opinion, and one of the rare things Trijicon didn't get right

The classic AK105:
I've definitely fallen in love with my ZenitCo equipped 105 and to be honest haven't shot my regular 105 in many, many years, so I've decided to reorganize this page to consolidate the traditional/classic 105 in it's own section

Mounted here is the modern series polymer folder that has a slot for the grenade launch pad strap
The sling is an Afghan era tan double buckle, and while not correct for a clone build this is by far my favorite Russian sling and I use it for almost all my rifles

Joshard with irons

Close up of FSB/GB dimples
Early versions of the AK74M and AK105 had dimples pressed to keep the gas block and front site block in place while later versions seemed to revert to pinned blocks without dimples, presumably due to ease of manufacture. Export rifles are typically pinned and Russian military guns seem to be pressed again, but you will see plenty of exceptions with export guns. For example, there are many photos of export AK103s in service of foreign countries that are pressed instead of pinned. I saw pressed AK103s in Egypt back in 2017 and again in 2018

See Avtomats In Action for more detail on the differences between Russian and Bulgarian designs. Arsenal SLR series rifles will use the Bulgarian FSB/GB, Russian SGL series will use the Russian pattern components

Boosters

The AK104/105 booster is actually a bit smaller than the AKSU, and there are differences between Russian and Bulgarian manufacture
Top: AKSU booster (For 8" AKSU barrel)
Bottom AK104/105 (For 12" AK104/105 barrel)