DDI Stepping Up with Forged AK Parts, Others
If you’re a Kalashnikov enthusiast, you are probably aware that supplies of foreign AK parts and rifles have recently begun to dwindle. Long gone are the days of $99 Romanian “G” and sub-$300 Bulgarian AK-74 parts kits. Even Romanian WASRs are uncommon these days, and when available, the rifles command a premium well above the price tags they carried just five years ago. With the Saiga import ban in place since 2014, the only European factory rifles presently available come from Arsenal in Bulgaria and Zastava in Serbia, and Arsenal’s availability is, well, unreliable at best.
To fill the supply gap and satiate American shooters, several US companies have endeavored to develop their own AK rifles and parts. The resulting products have mostly ranged from disappointing to merely acceptable. Since American labor means higher production costs, many US-based manufacturers have taken short cuts, swapping forged parts for cast ones and using hasty build techniques that facilitate affordable price points, but undermine quality. Thankfully, companies like Destructive Devices Industries (DDI) are working to change the US-made AK’s questionable reputation.
The folks at DDI originally endeared themselves to AK enthusiasts around two years ago when they purchased the assets of Waffen Werks. Formerly a respected name in the AK community, Waffen Werks fell into financial hardship during 2013, and the company’s quality suffered immensely. Out-of-spec receivers, canted sights, and tight magazine wells plagued the company’s popular Bulgarian AK-74 builds. With problem guns stacking up, it didn’t take long for Waffen Werks to close doors.
The mess that DDI inherited by purchasing Waffen Werks really cannot be overstated. They had piles of faulty rifles and hundreds of unhappy customers before stamping the DDI logo on a single firearm. Despite these challenges, DDI committed themselves to provide warranty work, free of charge, to all previous Waffen Werks customers.
With the Waffen Werks debacle well behind them, DDI’s Kalashnikovs have become some of the most popular US-built guns on the market. Still, the company has traditionally relied on foreign parts kits to supply their builds. Naturally, the diminishing availability of such parts threatens the core of DDI’s business model.
DDI has already released rifles built on their new hammer forged, milled AK-47 receivers. However, only recently have they begun to show some of the other forged parts in development. Among these are US-made barrel trunnions, bolts, and bolt carriers. DDI also plans to release affordable side-folding stocks and trunnions (which will be cast as the originals).
It will probably be quite a while before we see a totally US-made AK that truly challenges those from European factories, but that day is most certainly on the horizon. Any company that brings the market closer to that point is worth watching. DDI has announced that they will have their new rifles and parts at the NRA Annual Meetings later this week. You can be sure I’ll check them out while I am there.
An information security professional by day and gun blogger by night, Nathan started his firearms journey at 16 years old as a collector of C&R rifles. These days, you’re likely to find him shooting something a bit more modern – and usually equipped with a suppressor – but his passion for firearms with military heritage has never waned. Over the last five years, Nathan has written about a variety of firearms topics, including Second Amendment politics and gun and gear reviews. When he isn’t shooting or writing, Nathan nerds out over computers, 3D printing, and Star Wars.