Maadi AK's
Are the Egyptian Maadi's a good quality gun? Heard that they are the closest you can get to the original Russian design.
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The Maadi AK is a direct copy of the russian AKM(semi only of course), they are very good quality and well worth the money. I have 2 and find them to be up there with any other AK of foreign mfg. 0 -
Buddy of mine bought one a few years ago. Because of the some what odd name that is easy to remember.
We took it to the range and the first shot made the receiver cover blow off the gun. Luckily didn't hurt anyone. Turns out the window for the receiver cover release button was cut a little off and would not allow the button to stay all the way out far enough to hold the reciver cover on. Once he got the window filed out the gun worked fine.
I just could not understand how that gun was ever test fired and allowed to leave the factory. Or what other things can be wrong with their guns and be allowed to leave the factory.
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There are several versions of "egyptian Maadis" some were actually made in egypt and imported before the 89 ban. some were imported between then and the 94 ban. some are still being made in the USA today. Depends when yours was imported and by whom it was imported. The original maadis from egypt are the finest quality.
Here is a link that has about everything AK you could want to know.
http://www.ak-47.net/ak47/index.html
It is better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.0 -
Thanks for the link Muss! Good info there. I have my eyes on a preban Maadi for around $600 in new condition but still thinking about a sar1 thats also new in the box for around $375....Ahhh decisions, decisions. Thanks again yall[:)] 0 -
Beware of "Pre-Ban" Maadi's! As many of them AREN'T Pre-ban. They have only been made to look like pre-ban ones. The original true pre-89 ban Maadi's were extremely rare. That was because they were 3 times the price of a Chinese or a Hungarian at the time, and twice the price of the Yugoslav AK's. Hence very few people bought them at that price. Seriously, dealer cost for a Norinco or FEG Hungarian AK was between $275-299 with three mags, bayonet, sling, cleaning rod, cleaning kit, etc. At that same time the Maadi came with one mag, bayonet (sometimes), and a sling, and looked like it was painted by a 7 year old in a garage and had a dealer price of $825-900. Consequently, not too many many people bought the Maadi's when they could get a Hungarian for 1/3 the price and get a much nicer looking gun with more accessories. That was before the 1989 ban.
After the 1989 ban, things changed. The importers figured out how to get around the restrictions with the thumbhole stock, no bayonet lug, no flashider, etc. The Maadi's in that time period were priced about the same as the Norinco's, sometimes even less. As where the Norinco's had a new model designation of MAK90 (Modified AK of 1990)or NHM90 or 91, the Maadi's did not have any new distinctive name on the side. The markings looked like their pre-ban version. As where the Chinese guns had the bayonet lugs removed completely and the threads totally removed (in most cases), the Maadi's just had a muzzle not tac welded over the threads (which was easily removed), and the "ears" of the bayonet lug were ground down while the lug itself was still there.
Anyway, many people were easily able to make their "Post-Ban" Maadi look like it was a "pre-ban" by simply breaking the weld and putting on a flash hider or slant comp, removing the thumbhole stock and adding a pistol grip and regular stock. At the time the US internal parts weren't readily available (like they are today) and so these changes were in fact illegal. People did it because many didn't know they weren't supposed to and they also did it because thats what they wanted their gun to look like, but for many they did it because the importer had done only a half way job of "modifying it" in the first place. For most of the Chinese guns, it was much tougher to make it back into a full pre-ban configuration, with the Maadi's it was a few minutes of time and a few parts, plus there was nothing (no new model Name) on the side of the gun to give it away that it wasn't the real "Pre-ban" deal worth much, much more.
In later years the Maadi's conformed more to the reg's by completely removing the muzzle threads and some had the year of importation on the side below the rear sight. The last of the Maadi's had the US parts added and were sold with the pistol grip and regular stock, but still no flash hider or bayonet lug.
All said and done, be very careful of something being sold as a "PRE-BAN" Maadi, there were very few of the TRUE "Pre-BAN" ones ever in the country. Of the total of all the Maadi's ever brought into the country, I suspect that approximately 93-98% of them are post-ban (1989 ban). Their original price kept many from giving them a try.
I should also point out that yes the Maadi's were considered the closest you could get to a Russian AK since the Russians had built the factory. I should also point out that I've handled and sold AK's since 1986. Of all the different brands, variations, and countries of origin, the only time I ever had to send an AK back to the supplier because they were "non-functional" right out of the box, was once when I received a case of 5 Maadi's and 2 of the 5 weren't functional or at least not safe to shoot because they made them wrong. One had the barrel pressed into the receiver at about a 7 degree angle so that it pointed to the left. This caused the gas piston to bind up in th gas tube, not to mention that it would have shot several feet to the left. The other one in the same case that I sent back had the entire front sight assembly off at about a 30 degree angle at about an 11 o'clock position instead of being at 12 o'clock like it should have been. It would have fired several feet to the right if shot. I had other customers that had gotten Maadi's else where with similar problems.
I did have many, many Maadi's that were just fine and shot great, don't get me wrong, they weren't all bad, but they were the only AK that I every had to return because they were made wrong from the factory. In the early days, they were also the "the most crude" AK on the market. In more recent years there have been many others that fit that description, but initially the Chinese, the Hungarian, the Yugoslavs, all had better fit and finish than the Maadi that cost several times the price.
And that is why there aren't too many TRUE "Pre-Ban" Maadi's out there. So beware of Maadi's being sold as "pre-ban", many of them have been made to look like a pre-ban, but are in fact a post-ban gun in disguise (and possibly not even legal, because they didn't use US parts when they made the modifications). So there is the double whammy of being not an actual pre-ban, hence not worth the money. Secondarily if they aren't a pre-ban, but simply a post-ban with pre-ban modifications, they could easily (likely) be technically illegal all together. Just be careful, the person who has it may have been sold it and told that it was a "pre-ban" when he bought it, so they may not even now themselves or they could have made the changes. Either way, you've got to be careful when buying what is represented as being a "PRE-BAN" Maadi.
LRARMSX0 -
The Maddi I was bidding on had a buy now of $650, I was up to $500 debating wether or not it was worth the $650, woke up this morning and someone nabbed it. Day late and about a buck fifty short I guess[:(!]
Seller had stated it was a pre-ban Maddi that has been in his safe for awhile with only 2 mags run through it. It had threaded slant break,with the letters XYZ and a design of a pharoes hat with EGYPT stamped in the reciever,done in german eastblock plum furniture,imported by Interac I believe.
Oh well.. Im sure it made someone happy.So I bought me a NIB Sar1 for $380, maybe it will ease the pain a little[B)] Thanks for the excellent info Lrarmsx. Wish you were here yesterday.0 -
I can tell by the importer, it was a post-ban gun that had been modified. Also most people that have the original Maadis will have left on the original stock, not put on an East German stock or anything else. As I mentioned they left the barrel threads intact ands simply tac welded the muzzle nut or a (cut-off flat) slant comp in place. It was common for people to break the weld and put on a new slant comp to give it the look they were after. Usually the key was being able to re-do the bayonet lug, that was the trick. Most people didn't have the ability to change that, at least not easily or cheaply
SG, you didn't miss out on a pre-ban, just a modified post-ban. Given who the importer was I would say that this one would have been imported with a thumbhole stock, which was then later replaced with EG stock set and grip. Intrac imported. I would bet that the trigger group parts (or anything else) were never swapped with US parts. If that was the case, the gun was illegal, you are better off without it.
LRARMSX0 -
Yeah, I believe your right. Come to find out that it only has a partial bayonet lug and the finish on it was parkarized. Also true is why would someone put plastic furniture on such a collectable gun. Lrarmsx, you put my mind to ease,much appreciated. Another funny thing is that it is back up on the market today. Kinda fishy..Here's the link.http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=37888898 0 -
Maadi over SAR1 anytime. The SAR1 (which I had owned) is like riding on two ply tires.
Sako Fan0 -
SG,
It does not say it is preban, just "preban type config"
here is the listing, very misleading in my opinion.
"This is a hard to find MAADI ARM in preban type configuration inculding...,."
It is better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.0
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