I recently decided to purchase a Draco. I had been thinking about it for some time and holding one at the 1500 made my decision. Looking around I settled on Peach State Guns as my source. $350.00 + 25.00 shipping and local transfer fees.
Opening the box I was impressed by the amount of grit all over the gun. It was almost like the last stage of assembly at the Cugir plant was to run the parts through a sand sprayer and reassemble just before packaging. This was no big deal as I am used to a complete strip down and clean on all my guns. Overall the build quality is quite good compared to other Romanian AKs. The front sight/gas block was arrow straight and the magwell dimples hold the mags firmly. There were things that needed addressing as follows:
1.) Cleaned with solvent and compressed air all parts before re-lubrication and reassembly.
2.) Light file work on mag release which was TIGHT on all mags. I think the top of the release catch just needed to be smoothed a bit.
3.) Removed front sight post as it was dreadfully crooked. Turns out one side of the threaded body was snapped off. Grabbed one out of parts, installed, and it lined up perfectly.
4.) The wood was terrible and I replaced it with a UTG quad rail. I might install optics or a light, but I mostly wanted more air cooling around the barrel/gastube and the UTG does that admirably. You could refinish the wood, but it is very lightweight wood and I don't think it's worth it.
5.) Polish up the G2 trigger contact surfaces as they were factory fresh including mold lines. I also polished the pins in my drill press with OOOO steel wool. Very smooth trigger now.
6.) Cut through weld on muzzle nut to allow installation of muzzle brake. Easily accomplished with Dremel and cutting wheel. I didn't even have to mark the barrel up as the weld was very shallow. I put on a slant brake to protect the threads, but I think a simple TAPCO birdcage flash hider will be the final choice.
7.) Installation of Houge grip. Since you have only the handguard and grip to grab on to, I wanted the bestest rubberiest grippage I could get. It's easy to grab onto now.
8.) The spring guide rod rear section was spread out a little wider than it should have been causing drag on the spring. I used my vice to snug the two sides parallel again so their was no friction between the rod and the spring. Smooth as butter now.
Anyway, here it is with my drum mag on it. It balances nicely and has some mass to it. I don't anticipate recoil being that much of an issue due to the mass with a drum. Even with a 30 round mag, it's got plenty of steel.
I still plan on putting a swivel sling into the back trunion. This one from Ace is my planned choice.
ACE LTD. USA
I plan to test it out on the range sometime over the next few weeks. I'll post part 2 of the review when that happens.
Opening the box I was impressed by the amount of grit all over the gun. It was almost like the last stage of assembly at the Cugir plant was to run the parts through a sand sprayer and reassemble just before packaging. This was no big deal as I am used to a complete strip down and clean on all my guns. Overall the build quality is quite good compared to other Romanian AKs. The front sight/gas block was arrow straight and the magwell dimples hold the mags firmly. There were things that needed addressing as follows:
1.) Cleaned with solvent and compressed air all parts before re-lubrication and reassembly.
2.) Light file work on mag release which was TIGHT on all mags. I think the top of the release catch just needed to be smoothed a bit.
3.) Removed front sight post as it was dreadfully crooked. Turns out one side of the threaded body was snapped off. Grabbed one out of parts, installed, and it lined up perfectly.
4.) The wood was terrible and I replaced it with a UTG quad rail. I might install optics or a light, but I mostly wanted more air cooling around the barrel/gastube and the UTG does that admirably. You could refinish the wood, but it is very lightweight wood and I don't think it's worth it.
5.) Polish up the G2 trigger contact surfaces as they were factory fresh including mold lines. I also polished the pins in my drill press with OOOO steel wool. Very smooth trigger now.
6.) Cut through weld on muzzle nut to allow installation of muzzle brake. Easily accomplished with Dremel and cutting wheel. I didn't even have to mark the barrel up as the weld was very shallow. I put on a slant brake to protect the threads, but I think a simple TAPCO birdcage flash hider will be the final choice.
7.) Installation of Houge grip. Since you have only the handguard and grip to grab on to, I wanted the bestest rubberiest grippage I could get. It's easy to grab onto now.
8.) The spring guide rod rear section was spread out a little wider than it should have been causing drag on the spring. I used my vice to snug the two sides parallel again so their was no friction between the rod and the spring. Smooth as butter now.
Anyway, here it is with my drum mag on it. It balances nicely and has some mass to it. I don't anticipate recoil being that much of an issue due to the mass with a drum. Even with a 30 round mag, it's got plenty of steel.
I still plan on putting a swivel sling into the back trunion. This one from Ace is my planned choice.
ACE LTD. USA
I plan to test it out on the range sometime over the next few weeks. I'll post part 2 of the review when that happens.
enjoy!
So if you have an extra factory trigger group, slap it in there and put the G2 to some good use if you need it.
