Arsenal SLR107FR has landed…

16/04/29 at 9.29pm   /   by Rob Ski   /   38 Comments

Let’s be honest here, for $1000 rifle, this is simply unacceptable in my eyes. Yes, personally, i don’t care about flaking paint, because i use rattle can anyway, but this is simply embarrassing to Arsenal. Rust underneath of the paint is just icing on the cake…
Whoever was responsible for letting this rifle out of the factory, should punch himself in the face…multiple times.
You can’t make this up.
1k Riflesmall

38 thoughts on “Arsenal SLR107FR has landed…”

  2. Rob is this after firing the rifle? The rifle in your video from two weeks ago when it arrived looked like the finish was ok.

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  4. This seems unacceptable by Arsenal standards. My only Arsenal experience is from the SAM7SF I own but based on the quality of that I have a hard time believing they would let this out of the factory. Are these rifles finished in Las Vegas or Sofia?

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  5. I have an Arsenal SLR107 that I’ve had for a few months now. It has right at 1700 rounds through it to date. Luckily I haven’t experienced the issue Rob has seen. But I also rattle canned mine when I received it. That does not set good precedent. Finish is one thing, If it’s rust that was passed out the door that’s another.

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  6. Wow, just wow. I just lost a ton of respect of Arsenal. I used to think they are the closest to milspec and deserve $$$ but now no way. Thanks, Rob Ski.

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  7. I just picked up my Arsenal SAM7 two days ago, so I sure didn’t need to hear this. Hopefully this is just an isolated incident. I chose Arsenal because of it’s reputation for quality even though I knew it’s finish was less than perfect, but I expected better than this.
    It’s going to be interesting to see the rest of this test, and to hear Arsenal’s response to this. NO firearm, regardless of price, should look like this after being shot just a few times!

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  8. Well stuff my ears with jam and tie me to an ant hill. Is this an anomaly ? Or is my SAM 7 , 2500 rounds, NOT ONE failure of any kind or any cosmetic blemishes whatsoever an anomaly ? Arsenal has some ‘splaining to do. I know your time is valuable Rob, and I look forward to following this drama. Don’t know what the plan is now, I vote Arsenal let you keep this one AND refund monies to anonymously buy another ( double shoot out ? ). You hang in there and I’ll keep dreaming.

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  9. Pretty pumped to see how the next 4000rds pan out. I quite a few arsenals and have shot the hell out of them for years now. I really enjoyed watching the last few videos, it is amazing to see the guns and how they hold up. I think it is pretty lame that the finish is so shitty but this is nothing new on the Arsenal series of aks been that way for a while… But lucky for all us klash guys a little rust and some bubbled paint doesn’t get me to excited.. One of my 107frs paint peeled and it had some rust develope just under the pistol grip plate. I just hit it with some sand blasting and rattle canned it… Over 10,000 rds in that gun and still alive and kicking… I can’t wait to see how the internals hold up threw the 5000rds…

    Keep up the great work Rob….. Going to pick up another set of zenit rails in the next few days…gotta keep the AKOU keeping on keeping on… Thanks brother ..

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  11. It seems Rob Ski is a walkin’ Monkey Wrench for most AK manufacturers. 😉

    This is far from the norm for most folks who own Arsenal rifles. Their paint is often derided as cheap but usually there is a decent parkerizing underneath. Looks like the park job was sloppy and rust set in? Still, Rob is right, this is a disservice to Arsenal and those who buy them.

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  13. Disappointing .. Unacceptable .. Unsatisfactory all come to mind. But as Rob said.. Rattle can works. But from a $1000+ rifle? Bullshit! Hopefully, Arsenal redeems itself during the rest of the testing. Thank you Rob & all the rest of the AK47/74 Operators Union for giving the knowledge & experience that you share.

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  14. If Arsenal holds true to their character they won’t do anything about it. Gimmie $1200…gotcha ! I congratulate everyone who has a superfab Arsenal hope they work fine for you I however have owned 3 Arsenal turds over the last 15 years kinda think it’s not just bad luck anymore .

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  15. anyone ever hear of cold blackening? like the caswell black oxide kit? Then just do a moly resin over top if it’s surface is as porous as a traditional park job.

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  17. Btw my best rifle is a slr 95 and its arsenals best in my opinion but that quality will make me go new wasr with nice furniture and ammo with money to spare

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  18. As a RAS47 owner , I am laughing so hard I cannot stop. Great quality finish on a $1000 rifle , that is supposedly the ” Gold Standard ” for AK”s Next stop….., the testing …, with drop, drowning, and accuracy testing… Hilarious how the Arsenal boys now sound like how the NPAP , C39, RAS47 guys did when their
    guns were criticized.. It’s OK Arsenal owners, don’t cry.., Arsenal rifles have been known for lousy finishes, canted sights, lousy triggers, and failures to operate properly for YEARS. Now in 2016 , you get to see it all over again. Oh … boy what crying and cursing will be going on in the next few weeks . Enjoy the link below and read all the posts… guess some things never change ! Lets check those rivets and then the headspace afterwards too shall we?
    http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36161

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    • I guess every manufacturer has thier lemons. You read how some people swear by a product and some hate them. I responded to a call yesterday for a disabled vehicle and found a brand new $150,000 Jaguar blocking the highway with antifreeze running out of it. I have used guns in my employment for the past 23 years and have seen Glocks run flawlessly and have repaired some with less then 5000 rounds through them. In the end you hope the manufacturer does the right thing and makes good on it.

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    • Grow up. Arsenal needs to be watched just like any manufacturer of anything. Manufacturers get complacent and start to cut corners and when that happens they need to be called out on it. Kudos to Rob and other youtube channels for being our watchdogs. At $1,000 Arsenal needs to be help accountable for this as it is not acceptable. We know the finish on these rifles stinks which has always been mind boggling to me given the price point. Let’s see how the internals hold up. The finish can be fixed but we should not have to fix a brand new $1,000 rifle.

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      • Just got done reading for a few min on the akfiles haha it was intertaining holy cow some funny stuff. I will say Rob you are good at stirring the pot haha man got some internet feathers fluffed up…We need a post for arfcom also just to get some panties bunched up… So funny… I wounder how the older Russian arsenals or the veprs would do? I don’t remember the guys name on YouTube that ran the wasr and vepr to failure but is was pretty impressive. . Even the Ar did better then I was expecting… Anyways good job on the videos I am excited to see were this goes…

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      • Thanks E Train.

        I inserted the old link just to show how L-O-N-G Arsenals have had those issues and yet sell to fools for exorbitant prices. A WASR, RAS47, IO, or whatever at entry level prices may or can be excused for issues…, but not the “mighty” Arsenal. I disagree with Rob on his testing but son of a gun , give him credit for doing them. I credit him here with this piece of do-doo now again. Now we’ll hear a symphony of Arsenal owners apologizing for their beloved rifle. They’ll say ” its just a lemon” or “it’s a bad bunch” . They never were that generous with the RAS or other rifles tested. Thank you Rob . “I’m a RAS47 owner and I approve this test”. HAHAHHAAHAH

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        • Pretty much every firearm that is reviewed has differing opinions of its value, craftsmanship, function, etc. It used to be that you “get what you pay for” . That is not always the case. I own a wasr and an arsenal and love both. Is the action a little smoother on the arsenal? In my opinion it is. It is worth the extra money over the wasr ? To me it is to some its not. I credit Rob for bringing to light the issue with the finish. Maybe some new quality control standards will come out of it. I think that the Ras and other rifles also may benefit from the testing Rob does. It is good that there is affordable entry level rifles so that everyone can enjoy shooting. Hopefully all the manufacturers improve their products as the ak market grows.

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    • I have purchased this rifle for 5000 rds test. We are going to do all 5000rds through as long as safety isn’t jeopardized.

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  20. I just purchased an Arsenal 107 slr and just checked the barrel after reading your blog. My barrel looked great with no scaling or rust. Maybe someone was playing a joke on you and sent a reject from Arsenal?

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  21. Pingback: More troubles for Arsenal SLR 107 FR - AK Operators Union, Local 47-74

  22. This is nothing new. My rifle is about 3 years old and it did the same thing. I did a search and found nothing but complaints about Arsenal paint.

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  24. Any truck or car in the 90s bubble paint! Aaaahhhhh so funny…. I still love my arsenals just as the ras guys love their aks…. No worries I really wounder how the older Russian conversion would hold up? I have shot the 1000s of rounds threw mine and nothing like that ever happens…. The internet rampage on all the guns sights is most intertaining…

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  25. I heard about the paint issues, but I wasn’t aware of the rust and trunnion wear issues until I had already purchased my slr 107 (still in the mail). Should I just return it, or is the rifle good enough to look past those issues?

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