Someone really messed your's up, mine looks nothing like that.

Thanks for the heads up. I’ll make sure to avoid this brand for sure

I picked up two of these bastards on GB and have to say I'm pleased, nothing like what you got there. Someone really butchered yours, I don't blame you for trying to get RI to make it right. If I can ask, where did you get it?

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 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.

Great video! Even for a cheap gun these kinds of failures are unacceptable

You know what they say about some things being made on a friday andOH MY GOODNESS IT LOOKS LIKE THEY SLAMMED IT INTO THE MILL, THOSE RAILS OMG

I just watched another video on one of these and his frame looked nothing like yours. I’ve been looking at these but apparently insisting on field strip before purchase will be necessary, and most shops aren’t going to permit that

I would rather receive a frame that is competently cast than a forged + milled one with factory grinder marks... wow! Hopefully RIA makes it right.

Must be one of those "hit or miss" guns. There's KZbin videos praising the high quality of these.

Taurus has a hell of a lot better quality than that. Those look like they came out of the freaking Khyber Pass. Girsan Regard MC is a decent Turk made Beretta.

I.ahine being an American company in 2024 and being unable to match technology from pre-1947 Soviet Russia.

Seems like things just go from bad to worse. Pioneer saga was exhausting enough. I was tempted by this seeing those aforementioned videos, but parts interchangeability was something I was concerned about, as well as it being Turkish giving their history. Certainly didn't see one looking like that. Nothing quite like broken new items or stuff you can't find parts for to fast track ulcers.

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 ?

save yourself a lot of trouble and just get a Zastava

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.

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.

Can I get the name of the music for the intro?

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.

i have a cugir wasr from 1972.....unknown round count but runs like a championship racehorse

Need the song name bad. Sounds like Kino.

When decent ARs are $400 I don’t see the purpose in AKs.

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 just bought a pioneer sporter 20". It was an inexpensive range toy. If the firingnpinnbreaks, ill just install a better one. In all seriousness, if i wanted the best of the best id have soent more money. The gun does a good job. In a SHTF scenario, somethings i know isnt likly as im not a mall ninja prepper wierdo, i would be carrying my legit M4a2 anyway as its lighter, shorter, higher precision and much more maneuverable

AKs in general are a waste of money. Ghetto rifle.

Great video! Amazing attention to detail

If you actually plan on shooting it, buy repro. M-1 carbines are problematic, parts breakage and malfunction is common.

❤️‍🔥🇺🇸😎

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.

Oh gee who would have though a 556 as a full size AK is not good 😂😂😂

Pioneer arms Corp aka KAC make the Best AKs that Africans have ever seen. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

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.

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

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.

Firing pin issue sucks but know you’re getting into an unstandardized system with a 556 ak

ar15?

Makes you think...the Chinese figured out reliable 5.56 AKs in the 1980's.

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

😂 wow, you maybe shouldn’t review aks lol

What kind of crazy person even thinks about buying an AK in 5.56?

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.

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

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.

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

The commercial 5.56 polish guns seem to smash the fuck out of their firing pins , both wbp and pioneer do this shit

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 found the first mistake... You bought a 5.56 AK..... Whats the point..... Actually

I wonder if shaving the back of the pin would help. Is the firing pin flush with the back of the bolt when its all the way forward?

I wouldn't expect anything else from a cheap Pioneer rifle. May as well get an M90, 5.56 WBP, or a Beryl.

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