I wanted to add that ive put about 500rds thru my pioneer ak. I knew about the firing pin issue before buying. Being a technician by trade i wanted to see if there something that could be a possible problem. My finding was that the hammer spring is INSANELY strong! Seems the hammer is beating the firing pin to death. I pulled the spring and took out about 50% of the tension which was still more than enough power to set off any type of primers. Time will tell but have faith in the pioneer!
Hey man, the M26 Lemon Grenade guy managed to get his to work with a drop-in Beryl bolt. Given yours doesn't, that means, like the mag well variance, these guns are notably inconsistent. A crap-shoot so to speak. Thank you for your videos, I appreciate your factual almost dry style ...... no fluffy waffle. Cheers, Gus. Edit - error pointed out ...... it was just the firing pin put in, not the whole bolt. Still, as Hobo says, different metallurgy of pin kills the pin channel, so not a glowing recommendation.
As an AK builder i picked one up for 450. The bolt cam face can be cut to the same spec as the beryl face. I build Romanian kits that come with bolts that dont even have a cut on the cam shoulder. I use a file and jig to get a consistent angle and then just test fit them into the trunnions after i rivet the bullet guide. The BG had thag caming shoulder. You have to cut it in a way that matches that angle but alos has a rounded edge. After that function of the firearm mechanically finishes up the rest and sets it in relationship between the BG and bolt. Its not that big a deal honestly
Before you go and spend money honing the chamber, just replace the extractor with an FB Beryl type. They're out of stock now, but this solved the extraction issue I had with my pioneer 556.
If you look at the back of a 7.62X39 mag, the rear of the feed lips are straight. The rear of the feed lips on a 5.45X39 mag are cut at an angle. You can't insert a 7.62X39 mag into a 5.45X39 mag well because it's blocked against those straight feed lips. I've had a lot of issues with US made 5.45X39 mags because the rear of the feed lips are not cut off at an angle. They're normally straight like the 7.62X39 mag. Out comes the file to fix that. Unfortunately, I don't have any 5.56 AKs or any US 5.45 rifles.
I got the 20in sporter AK 7.62 pioneer arms, I only put 200-300 rounds through it tho, works great, even had it under water, not much of a test but still, the m70 has a thicker firing pin, cause I have one and compared them, so that’s the only problem, just get a better pin, of course a thinner one will break eventually, but your comparing a $1,100 gun to a $550 gun lol, my cousin loves his 556 pioneer ak
@@outdoorvideoswithbrad actually the zastava is now closer to 1600 with the XR rail and side optic mount..mine was under 1400, about a year and a half ago. I was thinking about picking up a 5.56 ak to play around with so pioneer obviously can up
I ended up buying a blem 5.56 AK from Pioneer for a decent sized discount from their sale + a smaller discount when I talked to the rep. I know the gas isn't as serious on blanks, but I used it for a milsim event where I ran through 600 rounds in a 40 hour period, plus an extra 200 rounds I ran through with it with real 5.56 so far. I've already bought a spare pin because it's a failure point, but I pulled out my stock one and shaved down the head so it doesn't slap the back of the primer and make the rounds unusable if I want to reload. Also went ahead and took off the stock oil, regreased with white-lithium and worked everything in so now it's running smoothly. Best mags that you can buy for these AKs are the bulgarian 5.56 ones. They go in a bit tough during the initial rock and lock but the plastic shaves off the top due from the magwell and now they all seat and feed perfectly. No wiggle or wobble either, so I think it might just be luck of the draw. I haven't seen many signs of excess wear on my carrier or bolt so far that wouldn't be above normal from what I've seen. For 500-ish dollars, I'm not upset. I wouldn't trust my life with it, but it is fun to mag dump into trash.
I have over a thousand in mine and it hasn’t skipped a beat despite being buried in rubble in a house fire. I most shoot .223 out of it though, so that might affect the wear on it. Most .223 is just powerful enough to cycle, but the ejection pattern is not ideal. I have even bumpfired 700 rounds straight one day with my buddies trying to get this gun to crap out. It didn’t and it still holds headspace.
Friends don't let friends buy Pioneer Arms. Now that being said, apparently many of their recent 7.62x39 rifles seem to have taken a step forward in terms of quality and reliability.
Crazy idea: What if you just buy more of the magazine that’s specifically made for that rifle? I don’t know if there have ever been guns in the past where you could only use one specific type of magazine for, but just a crazy idea I had
Pioneer mags are garbage made from Nerf-grade plastic. Imagine making a Glock clone that only runs on ProMag. In any case, probably not a crazy idea, but certainly a bad one.
I purchased a folding stock Pioneer arms 556, close to 500ish rounds and honestly can say it ran great no issues and pretty accurate with a 103 muzzle adapter. Now I’m waiting for the firing pin to poop lol
I bought one for shitts and giggs when they went on sale. I was very suprised with the rifles accuracy as well. I was hard on this gun, and it ran just like an AK should until it became JAM-O-MATIC after 600 rounds (Tula .223). I just sold it recently for the same price I paid for it 😂🤣
@@bradenpetty3828 it’s good to hear something like thief minus the jamming part, you probably should have put a 12 gage brush through it with a drill lightly that should have fixed it. I’ve never ran steel through mine yet, heck brass is just as cheap so I’ve been using brass, only issue is my fun beats the heck out of the case when ejected so I figured welp… I don’t reload so it is what it is lol
I use the same mag in this same gun. Its my favorite one. No problems yet🤞. It didnt fit either same problem with the pin hitting the back of the mag. My fix was in the front of the mag above the lip. The sides were too fat to fit in the slot in the gun. Shave the sides to the metal insert lip until you have a straight lines. That should do the trick
The AK game seems illogical sometimes. You overspend on a rifle designed to be cheaply manufactured, available, and effective. Or you "underspend" and end up with a giant paperweight. I want one but I'd feel like I'd be paying solely for a half working plinker and the ability to say I have an AK lol. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
It's cheap precisely due to mass manufacture. When you scale down manufacture for civilian market, the fixed costs remain the same so you end up with a more expensive product.
@@hobofactory if that car is the cheapest car on the market let's say $8,000 new and if you change 1000 miles to 4,000 miles then yes. 4,000 miles is gonna cost you about $440. Same price as 1000 rounds. But this is a bad comparison anyways. People drive their car every day. No one is going to the range everyday unless you're rich. I barely go once a month. Just like most people.
If you want a 5.56, just get an ar, likewise, if you want a 7.62x39 gun( or to a lesser degree 5.45), just get an AK, trying to make them work in the opposite platforms its just asking for issues.
Depends, dont buy a 556 AK from a country that hasnt issued it as its service rifle. And make sure even if you do that you buy from a reputable company / manufacturer
Man the fanboys are sounding off in force here in the comments… all two of them. I like your style, being a guntuber and calling it like you see it rather than trying to get sponsored is too few and far between. Would you have any interest working with some other small channels who are like minded to do some collaboration videos?
@@Ready4Rain Thanks! I’ve come to find that no matter how bad a product is, someone will invariably jump in to defend it. I’d certainly have no objections to collaborating with other channels of the same sort, but I admit do question how valuable anything that I would contribute would be.
@sleigh4019 Honestly if you want a good 5.56 AK go with the ZUSA M90 or 85, The WPBs seem good, and of course good old Saiga/Vepr if you can find one reasonable enough.
I bought one for shitts and giggs when they went on sale. I was very suprised with the rifles accuracy as well. I was hard on this gun, and it ran just like an AK should until it became JAM-O-MATIC after 600 rounds (Tula .223). I just sold it recently for the same price I paid for it 😂🤣 Fun while I had it, didnt explode
I was one of those ding-dongs that picked up a complete Beryl bolt thinking it would be a good spare should the original bolt develop problems or at least: for spare parts. AND YUP: the lug geometry on the Beryl bolt is just a tad different from that of the Pioneer's to where it won't allow the bolt to rotate into lockup because it doesn't match the geometry on the trunnion. Meh. It's not my first or only AK so I'll just shoot the crap out of it for now. Maybe a solution will present itself in time.
Pioneer could probably give you a heads up on what works with their parts. I know that they sell spare 5.56 pins and the beryl pins work. WBP 5.56 bolts/carriers don't work, it's its own thing.
Pioneer stated early on there was an issue with the first 556 firing pins being over harden. Offering free replacements from the warranty department. Why not just call the and get a new pin? Other than making a blanket statement they are all bad? And then going to the steps of changing the bolt to fit another companies fire pin seems a long way to go. How bout get a new firing pin from warranty for free after all they have a life time warranty (life time). Then you can have a actual review with parts manufacturer correctly. I know should have been done right the first time but stuff happens sometimes.
@@Jayjohnson-dz9ei pioneers warranty dept is a joke, when I initially had problems with extraction on my 556 underfolder, I sent an email. I was replied back to with their armorer's number. Between text and leaving a voicemail, I never got a further response.
Pioneer arms went out of business, but there their rifles still available for sale online, I hope potential buyers see your video before buying a lemon.
Young sir, these are the problems of most 5.56 chambered AK's. The main obstacle is that there is no standard unless you go Galil or some other state sponsored program. From SAR2's to ZPAP's mags always are an issue, no real standard. Chambers, either 223 or 5.56, coming from non NATO countries is iffy. Most AKs have work done to import them. That's the second place. Third is adapting AK74 parts to 556. I think thats whats happening here.
I think these issues go beyond a lack of a standardized 5.56 AK pattern. Firing pins that break at +/-1000 rounds shouldn’t happen regardless of caliber, and sure there isn’t a truly standard 5.56 AK mag, but the Pioneers aren’t even consistent from one rifle to the next as far as which mags they’ll accept.
These are not "5.56 AK problems" these are pioneer problems. The only problem I had with my sam5 is that it was way overgassed. This is arsenals fault but the gun still works. Nothing broke from regular use. It takes Yugo, Bulgarian, polish, and American mags just fine. The firing pin still looks good. The chamber is clean.
You are close but it depends on the country of origin. Some 5.56 AKs are true 74 Patter Rifles chambered for 5.56 (Think of Arsenals or Russian AKs) while others were AKM pattern rifles scaled down to fire 5.56 (Kinda like Norinco, Polish, Serbian, ect) That's why they tend to like certain types of magazines over others.
I had one and it was shit, it ran 2k rounds then had its first failures, they sent me a new one after I had shitty experience with there old customer service, then after getting new one barrel flew out on me at the range scared the shit out of me someone didn't put a big enough in diameter barrel pin in, and egged out the barrel pin hole to oblivion made it unsafe firearm
Well, this is disappointing because I bought my new Pioneer 5.56 Ak about three weeks before I found your videos, and I haven't even had a chance to shoot it because the weather has been so cold where I live.
My m85 has been flawless other than two failure to extracts on break in. It was laquered up .223 steel. It can run it now. It couldn't on the first mag. Too tight maybe or not enough gas. I certainly did not run a booster. Jmac rrd4c. There is no recoil. ZERO. I wouldn't touch an m92 or m70 but their 556 models have a decent track record through both the mpap and zpap gens.
I don’t think there is anything at around the same price that I’d recommend, especially not in 5.56. The rule seems to be, if it’s cheap it’s not good, and if it’s good it’s not cheap.
@@dr.omar.insights2000maybe a PSA AK idk. Most of them I have seen they work. But with everything there is lemons you might buy. Tbh I think for a good AK $1100 is a good starter price.
I'll leave it up maybe you and your video will be the catalyst for them to change it for the better and help everyone else who bought one, yeah? You never know, is my not so humble opinion.
That's the worst of both worlds, the lower performing platform with the low performing round. I remember seeing 5.56 AK variants at gunshows a long time back, after 2006. I was still highly AR adverse back then after being in the Army. I felt that a larger caliber or more powerful round was ideal. I also wasnt sold on reliability going on Fudd logic and having M4 that liked to malfunction. I have since become warmer to AR variants. I do prefer 6.5Grendel, 6arc, .300blk, 9mm, .350/.400 Legend and so on because the 5.56 still doesnt impress me, if I had to use on I would insist on at least a 20" barrel and newer heavier bullets like 77gr TMK. I wish the .25-45 Sharps or .277 Wolverine would have caught on more. .277 Fury/6.8x51 is the stupidest blunder in history going back to 1950s logistics for ammo, severe overkill for a regular guy, bulky weapon, overly short barrel, ridiclously expensive, complicated ammo, significant recoil and muzzle blast. AK variants are neat but, I really wish the AR18 would have caught on with better rounds.
You know the ak 74 which uses 5.45 x 39 ammo (that is comparable to 5.56 x 45) has been used in the Russian army for a very long time? I don't know what barrel length they were using but it's the barrels themselves which make aks inaccurate, not the platform.
They literaly make like 20,000 cilvilian guns a year and everybody makes up there mind on the 3 reviews on utube.... im not sticking up fir them they are low budget but mine runs fine... sorry u got a lemon..... goid vid tho
If you have a bad firing pin, you have a bad rifle. The heat treatment is garbage. Keep the magazines and junk it. Don't sell it to some chump either, they might give you a return investment. Don't mess around with serious gun guys.
looks like you can easily file or dremel that beryl bolt lug down. Which isnt even necessary if you buy the 5.56 pioneer pins. You can get these rifles for $550 dollars on their site and the pins for $10 each. so youve got a 6000 round rifle for 600 bucks. There is no better deal right now for 556 aks than that.
Sounds like a very expensive rifle if you’re expecting 6k rounds…but then again most people buying these garbage tier rifles won’t put much more than 500 rounds through them before they sell it, get arrested or lose interest in it.
I shot 50 rounds through mine and it works perfectly. Firing pins are only $10. Just take a Dremel to the beryl bolt. Fix your own mag well it’s easy. The gun is perfect tbh, stop slandering an American company over a budget rifle. Also, any AK will break after a few thousand rounds they’re designed to be cheap and disposable. Even 2k arsenals break.
A whole 50 round box of ammo, wow, very impressive testing. Everything you said was wrong. It isn't slander to call out bad companies. It is far worse to promote them. Afghanis are still using the soviet AKs that were left behind 40 years ago with 10s of thousands of rounds on them.
Still wrong.... Just buy ar15 if your going to run 556 lol ..its a cheap ak that's all .. Expectations are to high for 500$ gun today it want the old sagia that were what 299-399
>garbage gun happens to use 556 >garbage gun also happens to be an ak >therefore never buy 556 aks >even THOUGH beryls and other aks chambered in 556 run perfectly fine people like you are whats killing the world
The main appeal is that 5.56 is the closest approximation to 5.45, so it allows for a 74-style AK but with cheaper ammo that’s available literally everywhere.
@@rapl1183 well Russia today is woke that's why. I'm talking about Russia back then, but you're right my terms are wrong. I'm talking about the SOVIETS not today's Russians
@@ERRATAS0707 Russia has been making 5.56 AKs with the AK101 as far back as the 1990s, and there have been no complaints over those when they imported them here with the Saigas.
I wanted to add that ive put about 500rds thru my pioneer ak. I knew about the firing pin issue before buying. Being a technician by trade i wanted to see if there something that could be a possible problem. My finding was that the hammer spring is INSANELY strong! Seems the hammer is beating the firing pin to death. I pulled the spring and took out about 50% of the tension which was still more than enough power to set off any type of primers. Time will tell but have faith in the pioneer!
Somebody better tell Pioneer Arms
Hey man, the M26 Lemon Grenade guy managed to get his to work with a drop-in Beryl bolt. Given yours doesn't, that means, like the mag well variance, these guns are notably inconsistent.
A crap-shoot so to speak.
Thank you for your videos, I appreciate your factual almost dry style ...... no fluffy waffle.
Cheers, Gus.
Edit - error pointed out ...... it was just the firing pin put in, not the whole bolt. Still, as Hobo says, different metallurgy of pin kills the pin channel, so not a glowing recommendation.
M26LG said he used Beryl firing pins but they were in short supply, it wasn't the whole bolt.
@kalliste23 ah right, thanks for clarifying. My bad.
M26 Lemon G is full of 💩
I do not own one , yet it is good to hear from someone who does and their experience in shooting with the issues they are having
I had a 5.56 Pioneer Hellpup. I ran 500 rounds thru it with No problem but Sold it because RUclips comments had me Scared to death of it. 😂😂😂😂
just get a fuckking wbp
I own a pioneer 7.62 rifle and it works great
Thanks for explaining the difference between a Beryl 5.56 bolt and the PAC 5.56 bolt because I was wondering if they were compatible.
Both use actual “74” style bolts etc. but when you change bolts ya have to re-headspace. Just use beryl firing pin.
As an AK builder i picked one up for 450. The bolt cam face can be cut to the same spec as the beryl face. I build Romanian kits that come with bolts that dont even have a cut on the cam shoulder. I use a file and jig to get a consistent angle and then just test fit them into the trunnions after i rivet the bullet guide. The BG had thag caming shoulder. You have to cut it in a way that matches that angle but alos has a rounded edge. After that function of the firearm mechanically finishes up the rest and sets it in relationship between the BG and bolt. Its not that big a deal honestly
Before you go and spend money honing the chamber, just replace the extractor with an FB Beryl type. They're out of stock now, but this solved the extraction issue I had with my pioneer 556.
If you look at the back of a 7.62X39 mag, the rear of the feed lips are straight. The rear of the feed lips on a 5.45X39 mag are cut at an angle. You can't insert a 7.62X39 mag into a 5.45X39 mag well because it's blocked against those straight feed lips.
I've had a lot of issues with US made 5.45X39 mags because the rear of the feed lips are not cut off at an angle. They're normally straight like the 7.62X39 mag. Out comes the file to fix that.
Unfortunately, I don't have any 5.56 AKs or any US 5.45 rifles.
Just buy a wasr guys tbh , hate shilling century but it's proven and not much more cash , I've owned 5 over the years and haven't gotten a bad one
Happy with a Zastava, but ive always wondered about these. Great video thanks!
Thanks! I do have an M90 as well and have been happy with it. Might have to do a video about why it’s the better rifle.
@hobofactory yeah I have a M70XR with the full rail. It's the "Zastava quad"
I got the 20in sporter AK 7.62 pioneer arms, I only put 200-300 rounds through it tho, works great, even had it under water, not much of a test but still, the m70 has a thicker firing pin, cause I have one and compared them, so that’s the only problem, just get a better pin, of course a thinner one will break eventually, but your comparing a $1,100 gun to a $550 gun lol, my cousin loves his 556 pioneer ak
@@outdoorvideoswithbrad actually the zastava is now closer to 1600 with the XR rail and side optic mount..mine was under 1400, about a year and a half ago. I was thinking about picking up a 5.56 ak to play around with so pioneer obviously can up
@@mobilegamersunite I figured it was more by now, i got mine for $1000 years ago, but it’s just a regular wood furniture ak
Nodal Spud shaved the center support on their M 90 5.56 receivers to get around the magazine issue.
I ended up buying a blem 5.56 AK from Pioneer for a decent sized discount from their sale + a smaller discount when I talked to the rep.
I know the gas isn't as serious on blanks, but I used it for a milsim event where I ran through 600 rounds in a 40 hour period, plus an extra 200 rounds I ran through with it with real 5.56 so far.
I've already bought a spare pin because it's a failure point, but I pulled out my stock one and shaved down the head so it doesn't slap the back of the primer and make the rounds unusable if I want to reload.
Also went ahead and took off the stock oil, regreased with white-lithium and worked everything in so now it's running smoothly.
Best mags that you can buy for these AKs are the bulgarian 5.56 ones. They go in a bit tough during the initial rock and lock but the plastic shaves off the top due from the magwell and now they all seat and feed perfectly. No wiggle or wobble either, so I think it might just be luck of the draw. I haven't seen many signs of excess wear on my carrier or bolt so far that wouldn't be above normal from what I've seen.
For 500-ish dollars, I'm not upset. I wouldn't trust my life with it, but it is fun to mag dump into trash.
Great video! Even for a cheap gun these kinds of failures are unacceptable
Exactly. A cheap gun that you can get very little use out of is actually expensive.
I have over a thousand in mine and it hasn’t skipped a beat despite being buried in rubble in a house fire. I most shoot .223 out of it though, so that might affect the wear on it. Most .223 is just powerful enough to cycle, but the ejection pattern is not ideal. I have even bumpfired 700 rounds straight one day with my buddies trying to get this gun to crap out. It didn’t and it still holds headspace.
I've been eyeballing these for a while,and this is the first negative review I've seen.
@@markhuskey-ko5uo how many of the other ones have a round count in excess of 3000?
Friends don't let friends buy Pioneer Arms. Now that being said, apparently many of their recent 7.62x39 rifles seem to have taken a step forward in terms of quality and reliability.
Ive seen the pioneer arms aks comebwith an extra fireing pin kit and extra trigger group.
Crazy idea: What if you just buy more of the magazine that’s specifically made for that rifle? I don’t know if there have ever been guns in the past where you could only use one specific type of magazine for, but just a crazy idea I had
Pioneer mags are garbage made from Nerf-grade plastic. Imagine making a Glock clone that only runs on ProMag. In any case, probably not a crazy idea, but certainly a bad one.
@@hobofactory OK, you got me there. I would be pissed if I bought a gun and I mean any gun and it only ran with pro mags
Firing pin issue sucks but know you’re getting into an unstandardized system with a 556 ak
Doesn't help that it's built by a company well know for producing trash
I purchased a folding stock Pioneer arms 556, close to 500ish rounds and honestly can say it ran great no issues and pretty accurate with a 103 muzzle adapter. Now I’m waiting for the firing pin to poop lol
I bought one for shitts and giggs when they went on sale. I was very suprised with the rifles accuracy as well. I was hard on this gun, and it ran just like an AK should until it became JAM-O-MATIC after 600 rounds (Tula .223). I just sold it recently for the same price I paid for it 😂🤣
@@bradenpetty3828 it’s good to hear something like thief minus the jamming part, you probably should have put a 12 gage brush through it with a drill lightly that should have fixed it. I’ve never ran steel through mine yet, heck brass is just as cheap so I’ve been using brass, only issue is my fun beats the heck out of the case when ejected so I figured welp… I don’t reload so it is what it is lol
Great video! Amazing attention to detail
If your driving across the country for shooting matches with a pioneer you have a lot more problems then a crappy ak
I use the same mag in this same gun. Its my favorite one. No problems yet🤞. It didnt fit either same problem with the pin hitting the back of the mag. My fix was in the front of the mag above the lip. The sides were too fat to fit in the slot in the gun. Shave the sides to the metal insert lip until you have a straight lines. That should do the trick
The AK game seems illogical sometimes. You overspend on a rifle designed to be cheaply manufactured, available, and effective. Or you "underspend" and end up with a giant paperweight. I want one but I'd feel like I'd be paying solely for a half working plinker and the ability to say I have an AK lol. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
It's cheap precisely due to mass manufacture. When you scale down manufacture for civilian market, the fixed costs remain the same so you end up with a more expensive product.
Pioneer arms literally sells firing pins on their site for 10 dollars each. Theres five in stock right now. They restock them frequently.
He shouldn't have to constantly replace firing pins.
@@rabbitholereviews 10 dollars
@@Gregory-qu1ctwe don't subscribe to the consumer culture of just fix it when it shouldn't need no fixn
I have to ask, would you also be ok with a car that has its starter go out every thousand miles because they’re only 50 bucks to replace?
@@hobofactory if that car is the cheapest car on the market let's say $8,000 new and if you change 1000 miles to 4,000 miles then yes. 4,000 miles is gonna cost you about $440. Same price as 1000 rounds. But this is a bad comparison anyways. People drive their car every day. No one is going to the range everyday unless you're rich. I barely go once a month. Just like most people.
Need the song name bad. Sounds like Kino.
I need the intro song name please 🙏 speaking of which I need more beryl firing pins for the beryl.
yeah i want it too. kinda makes me think of molchat doma but also not
Past Day - November (Slowed and Reverb). In this video it has been slowed even more.
Past Day's other work is pretty good too
@@TheRealBanan thank you!
Great review!
Much appreciated!
If you want a 5.56, just get an ar, likewise, if you want a 7.62x39 gun( or to a lesser degree 5.45), just get an AK, trying to make them work in the opposite platforms its just asking for issues.
@@mtnbound2764 no, actually the problem is there is no standard.
@@Gregory-qu1ct exactly.
Depends, dont buy a 556 AK from a country that hasnt issued it as its service rifle. And make sure even if you do that you buy from a reputable company / manufacturer
Or just buy quality shit idk like zastava 😂
Gentlemen, my Galil AR- which I built- has never failed. If there was going to be standard for an AK platform in 5.56, it's the Galil.
Man the fanboys are sounding off in force here in the comments… all two of them. I like your style, being a guntuber and calling it like you see it rather than trying to get sponsored is too few and far between. Would you have any interest working with some other small channels who are like minded to do some collaboration videos?
@@Ready4Rain Thanks! I’ve come to find that no matter how bad a product is, someone will invariably jump in to defend it. I’d certainly have no objections to collaborating with other channels of the same sort, but I admit do question how valuable anything that I would contribute would be.
Yeah fanboys ... Not just ppl with normal expectations on a 500$ ak... Its unreal go buy a 1500$ and I'm sure you won't have any issues lol
@@sleigh4019The arsenal sam5 also has major issues so try again bud.
@sleigh4019 Honestly if you want a good 5.56 AK go with the ZUSA M90 or 85, The WPBs seem good, and of course good old Saiga/Vepr if you can find one reasonable enough.
@@hobofactoryif you have a good email I can get you the details. Cross promotion and new opinions are the hopes in the endeavor.
I bought one for shitts and giggs when they went on sale. I was very suprised with the rifles accuracy as well. I was hard on this gun, and it ran just like an AK should until it became JAM-O-MATIC after 600 rounds (Tula .223). I just sold it recently for the same price I paid for it 😂🤣
Fun while I had it, didnt explode
I'm sure you told the unsuspecting victim you had zero malfunctions and only shot 100 rounds too. It's your kind that keeps me from buying used guns.
@@Watchdog_McCoy_5.7x28 haha you said it!! Fuck buying a used gun, I dont even do it at gun shows. Budsgunshop is the way to go for sure
Can I get the name of the music for the intro?
Still looking for it
Thank you for the honest review.
0:07 can anyone please give me the name of this song ? 🙏
I was one of those ding-dongs that picked up a complete Beryl bolt thinking it would be a good spare should the original bolt develop problems or at least: for spare parts.
AND YUP: the lug geometry on the Beryl bolt is just a tad different from that of the Pioneer's to where it won't allow the bolt to rotate into lockup because it doesn't match the geometry on the trunnion.
Meh. It's not my first or only AK so I'll just shoot the crap out of it for now. Maybe a solution will present itself in time.
Pioneer could probably give you a heads up on what works with their parts. I know that they sell spare 5.56 pins and the beryl pins work.
WBP 5.56 bolts/carriers don't work, it's its own thing.
Pioneer stated early on there was an issue with the first 556 firing pins being over harden. Offering free replacements from the warranty department. Why not just call the and get a new pin? Other than making a blanket statement they are all bad? And then going to the steps of changing the bolt to fit another companies fire pin seems a long way to go. How bout get a new firing pin from warranty for free after all they have a life time warranty (life time).
Then you can have a actual review with parts manufacturer correctly. I know should have been done right the first time but stuff happens sometimes.
@@Jayjohnson-dz9ei pioneers warranty dept is a joke, when I initially had problems with extraction on my 556 underfolder, I sent an email. I was replied back to with their armorer's number. Between text and leaving a voicemail, I never got a further response.
I haven’t seen any indication that they’ve resolved the firing pin issue. Also the Pioneer warranty is only 1 year, not a lifetime.
Pioneer arms went out of business, but there their rifles still available for sale online, I hope potential buyers see your video before buying a lemon.
Young sir, these are the problems of most 5.56 chambered AK's. The main obstacle is that there is no standard unless you go Galil or some other state sponsored program. From SAR2's to ZPAP's mags always are an issue, no real standard. Chambers, either 223 or 5.56, coming from non NATO countries is iffy. Most AKs have work done to import them. That's the second place.
Third is adapting AK74 parts to 556. I think thats whats happening here.
I think these issues go beyond a lack of a standardized 5.56 AK pattern. Firing pins that break at +/-1000 rounds shouldn’t happen regardless of caliber, and sure there isn’t a truly standard 5.56 AK mag, but the Pioneers aren’t even consistent from one rifle to the next as far as which mags they’ll accept.
These are not "5.56 AK problems" these are pioneer problems. The only problem I had with my sam5 is that it was way overgassed. This is arsenals fault but the gun still works. Nothing broke from regular use. It takes Yugo, Bulgarian, polish, and American mags just fine. The firing pin still looks good. The chamber is clean.
You are close but it depends on the country of origin. Some 5.56 AKs are true 74 Patter Rifles chambered for 5.56 (Think of Arsenals or Russian AKs) while others were AKM pattern rifles scaled down to fire 5.56 (Kinda like Norinco, Polish, Serbian, ect)
That's why they tend to like certain types of magazines over others.
I had one and it was shit, it ran 2k rounds then had its first failures, they sent me a new one after I had shitty experience with there old customer service, then after getting new one barrel flew out on me at the range scared the shit out of me someone didn't put a big enough in diameter barrel pin in, and egged out the barrel pin hole to oblivion made it unsafe firearm
Well, this is disappointing because I bought my new Pioneer 5.56 Ak about three weeks before I found your videos, and I haven't even had a chance to shoot it because the weather has been so cold where I live.
save yourself a lot of trouble and just get a Zastava
My m85 has been flawless other than two failure to extracts on break in. It was laquered up .223 steel. It can run it now. It couldn't on the first mag. Too tight maybe or not enough gas. I certainly did not run a booster. Jmac rrd4c. There is no recoil. ZERO. I wouldn't touch an m92 or m70 but their 556 models have a decent track record through both the mpap and zpap gens.
Save yourself even more trouble and get better import
Or a WBP
Turns out, buying a chinese 223 AK was the right call.
Pioneer arms Corp aka KAC make the Best AKs that Africans have ever seen. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Your video came on time. I was close to buy one as it is the cheapest in the market. Then what alternative AK would you recommend AROUND SAME PRICE ?
I don’t think there is anything at around the same price that I’d recommend, especially not in 5.56. The rule seems to be, if it’s cheap it’s not good, and if it’s good it’s not cheap.
@@hobofactory sound good and makes sense. So at around $900 mark with no restrictions related to caliber what would be your recommendation?
@@dr.omar.insights2000maybe a PSA AK idk. Most of them I have seen they work. But with everything there is lemons you might buy. Tbh I think for a good AK $1100 is a good starter price.
Makes you think...the Chinese figured out reliable 5.56 AKs in the 1980's.
I just bought one for 450 I’m scared
The commercial 5.56 polish guns seem to smash the fuck out of their firing pins , both wbp and pioneer do this shit
I'll leave it up maybe you and your video will be the catalyst for them to change it for the better and help everyone else who bought one, yeah? You never know, is my not so humble opinion.
Hasn't worked for century arms. Why? Because people keep buying thier garbage
Is it forged?
@@surewill5141 yes, the trunnion is forged, so the problems with the rifle aren’t really related to the trunnion.
@@hobofactory ok was thinking on the grom in 556
I wouldn't expect anything else from a cheap Pioneer rifle. May as well get an M90, 5.56 WBP, or a Beryl.
intro song?
Past Day - November (Slowed and Reverb). In this video it has been slowed even more.
@@TheRealBanan thanks!
That's the worst of both worlds, the lower performing platform with the low performing round. I remember seeing 5.56 AK variants at gunshows a long time back, after 2006. I was still highly AR adverse back then after being in the Army. I felt that a larger caliber or more powerful round was ideal. I also wasnt sold on reliability going on Fudd logic and having M4 that liked to malfunction. I have since become warmer to AR variants. I do prefer 6.5Grendel, 6arc, .300blk, 9mm, .350/.400 Legend and so on because the 5.56 still doesnt impress me, if I had to use on I would insist on at least a 20" barrel and newer heavier bullets like 77gr TMK. I wish the .25-45 Sharps or .277 Wolverine would have caught on more. .277 Fury/6.8x51 is the stupidest blunder in history going back to 1950s logistics for ammo, severe overkill for a regular guy, bulky weapon, overly short barrel, ridiclously expensive, complicated ammo, significant recoil and muzzle blast. AK variants are neat but, I really wish the AR18 would have caught on with better rounds.
You know the ak 74 which uses 5.45 x 39 ammo (that is comparable to 5.56 x 45) has been used in the Russian army for a very long time? I don't know what barrel length they were using but it's the barrels themselves which make aks inaccurate, not the platform.
They literaly make like 20,000 cilvilian guns a year and everybody makes up there mind on the 3 reviews on utube.... im not sticking up fir them they are low budget but mine runs fine... sorry u got a lemon..... goid vid tho
If you want a ak platform u can run the shit out of, spend a few xtra $$
If you have a bad firing pin, you have a bad rifle. The heat treatment is garbage. Keep the magazines and junk it. Don't sell it to some chump either, they might give you a return investment. Don't mess around with serious gun guys.
When decent ARs are $400 I don’t see the purpose in AKs.
Oh gee who would have though a 556 as a full size AK is not good 😂😂😂
looks like you can easily file or dremel that beryl bolt lug down. Which isnt even necessary if you buy the 5.56 pioneer pins. You can get these rifles for $550 dollars on their site and the pins for $10 each. so youve got a 6000 round rifle for 600 bucks. There is no better deal right now for 556 aks than that.
Sounds like a very expensive rifle if you’re expecting 6k rounds…but then again most people buying these garbage tier rifles won’t put much more than 500 rounds through them before they sell it, get arrested or lose interest in it.
I don’t have enough experience working at Century to be confident in dremeling locking lugs into shape: :)
I shot 50 rounds through mine and it works perfectly. Firing pins are only $10. Just take a Dremel to the beryl bolt. Fix your own mag well it’s easy. The gun is perfect tbh, stop slandering an American company over a budget rifle. Also, any AK will break after a few thousand rounds they’re designed to be cheap and disposable. Even 2k arsenals break.
I dont agree with anything you said in your comment.
Is this a joke?
@@koumakyo gotta be lol
This is a joke right? Nobody is actually this dumb right?
A whole 50 round box of ammo, wow, very impressive testing. Everything you said was wrong. It isn't slander to call out bad companies. It is far worse to promote them. Afghanis are still using the soviet AKs that were left behind 40 years ago with 10s of thousands of rounds on them.
ar15?
I.ahine being an American company in 2024 and being unable to match technology from pre-1947 Soviet Russia.
I am evidently not wording my post just exactly like YT wants, lol. 5.56 F.B Radom Beryl quickly before all gone!
Where did you hear they were discontinued?
@@TheREALLibertyOrDeath It’s all over the AKs sites along with announcements from importers AoA and Atlantic.
@@TheREALLibertyOrDeathThey are concentrating on military contracts as well as cranking more lines up for the Polish Grot.
@@SVT40AK47 wow they will double in price by the end of the year
❤️🔥🇺🇸😎
But, but, muh unstahpuble ak
@@mpkuspsa1664 tbf most of mine have been unstoppable.
@hobofactory i dont beleive you
@ that’s fine. Just one of those situations where I can’t agree with you because then we’d both be wrong. :)
@@hobofactory deep
What kind of crazy person even thinks about buying an AK in 5.56?
😂 wow, you maybe shouldn’t review aks lol
Criticism taken. I have a lot to learn. I checked your channel in hopes of learning how it’s done… imagine my shock at what I found.
Moral of the story don’t buy a 5.56 AK
Moral of the story, don't buy from low tier importers.
Nope, moral is F.B Radom Beryl.
Still wrong.... Just buy ar15 if your going to run 556 lol ..its a cheap ak that's all .. Expectations are to high for 500$ gun today it want the old sagia that were what 299-399
@@sleigh4019 I have ARs, my preference in collecting is AKs and quality AKs at that.
>garbage gun happens to use 556
>garbage gun also happens to be an ak
>therefore never buy 556 aks
>even THOUGH beryls and other aks chambered in 556 run perfectly fine
people like you are whats killing the world
I found the first mistake...
You bought a 5.56 AK.....
Whats the point.....
Actually
The main appeal is that 5.56 is the closest approximation to 5.45, so it allows for a 74-style AK but with cheaper ammo that’s available literally everywhere.
@@hobofactory i get that
I'm sorry but if its not made in Russia and its not in 7.62/5.45 then I don't want it, that 5.56 thing ain't a real AK.
Wait until you find out that Russia makes and exports 5.56 AKs
@@rapl1183 well Russia today is woke that's why. I'm talking about Russia back then, but you're right my terms are wrong. I'm talking about the SOVIETS not today's Russians
@@ERRATAS0707 Russia has been making 5.56 AKs with the AK101 as far back as the 1990s, and there have been no complaints over those when they imported them here with the Saigas.
@@killerratchet1973 cap
I had a girlfriend with an over tight bore one time, it loosened up with hard use.
AKs in general are a waste of money. Ghetto rifle.