Description
The Arsenal SAM7R is the rifle most people mean when they talk about a modern milled AK. Built in Bulgaria on a hot-die hammer forged receiver, it pairs a 16.33-inch chrome-lined hammer forged barrel with the FIME Enhanced Fire Control Group and a removable AK-351 muzzle brake. This configuration ships with a 10-round magazine.
Receiver, Barrel and Ballistics
Milled receiver, hot-die hammer forged rather than stamped from sheet steel.
16.33-inch chrome-lined hammer forged barrel with four-groove rifling and a 1:9.44 twist.
Muzzle velocity 2,329 feet per second, with a practical effective range around 437 yards.
The Arsenal SAM7R carries 14x1mm left-hand muzzle threads under a removable AK-351 muzzle brake.
Trigger, Furniture and What Ships
FM-922EUS FIME Group enhanced fire control group, a genuine upgrade over a standard AK trigger.
Black polymer furniture with an intermediate-length buttstock.
Scope rail on the left side of the receiver, plus a bayonet lug and cleaning rod.
One 10-round magazine supplied with this configuration, along with a sling, oil bottle and cleaning kit.
Total length 36.5 inches, weight 8 pounds without a magazine.
Arsenal SAM7R Specifications
- Caliber: 7.62x39mm
- Receiver: milled, hot-die hammer forged
- Barrel: 16.33 inches, chrome lined, hammer forged
- Rifling: four grooves, 1:9.44 twist
- Muzzle: 14x1mm left-hand threads with removable AK-351 brake
- Trigger: FM-922EUS FIME enhanced fire control group
- Total length: 36.5 inches
- Weight: 8 pounds without magazine
- Muzzle velocity: 2,329 feet per second
- Furniture: black polymer, intermediate-length buttstock
- Magazine: one 10-round supplied
- Included: sling, oil bottle, cleaning kit
- UPC: 810054132332
Note the magazine capacity on this particular configuration: ten rounds rather than thirty. Arsenal builds the SAM7R in both, and the 10-round version exists for states that restrict magazine capacity. If you are not in one of those states, 30-round magazines fit and function normally; the rifle itself is unchanged. Check your local rules before ordering either way.
Why it is worth considering
- Milled Bulgarian receiver rather than a stamped commercial build.
- Chrome-lined cold hammer forged barrel from Arsenal’s own factory.
- FIME enhanced fire control group fitted from the factory.
- Removable muzzle brake over left-hand threads.
- Scope rail, sling, cleaning kit and magazine all included.
Who it suits
AK shooters who want the milled receiver in the original 7.62×39 chambering are the audience, and the FIME trigger removes the first upgrade most owners make. At eight pounds this is a substantial rifle, which is the point: the weight is what makes a milled AK shoot as steadily as it does. If 5.56 suits your ammunition budget better, the SAM5 is the same rifle in that chambering.
Ammunition and the Rest of the Range
7.62×39 is inexpensive and widely available, and a milled AK handles it with very little felt recoil thanks to the extra receiver weight. Browse the rest of the Arsenal range, including the SAM5 in 5.56 and the SAM7K pistol, or the wider firearms catalog. Arsenal publishes model details at Arsenal, Inc.
The left-side scope rail is the standard AK pattern and accepts the usual side-mount optic bases. Because it is attached to the receiver rather than the dust cover, zero survives disassembly and cleaning.
All firearm orders ship to a licensed FFL dealer for transfer, and MAG5 Firearms will coordinate the paperwork with the dealer of your choice. Note that 922(r) compliance depends on the parts fitted, so check the count before replacing furniture or magazines with imported components.
Who the Arsenal SAM7R Suits
The Arsenal SAM7R answers a specific question: what does a Kalashnikov feel like when it is built the way the original Izhmash pattern intended, without the compromises that stamped commercial imports carry? Shooters who have owned two or three stamped AKs and grown tired of loose handguards, shifting zero and sloppy magazine fit tend to arrive here. The milled receiver adds roughly a pound over a stamped equivalent, and that weight sits low and central, which settles the rifle between shots and makes the recovery from a fast pair noticeably shorter. It is a heavier rifle to carry all day and a steadier one to shoot, and most buyers decide that trade is worth making.
Handling, Optics and Long-Term Care
Out of the box the SAM7R wears black polymer furniture on a milled receiver, and the balance point sits just forward of the magazine well. The FIME enhanced fire control group is the single biggest departure from a surplus-pattern trigger: creep is short, the break is clean, and there is none of the double-hook slap that gives AKs their reputation. Combined with the 14x1mm left-hand threaded muzzle and its AK-351 brake, follow-up shots stay flat enough that a shooter can call hits without lifting the head off the stock.
Optics mounting is straightforward thanks to the side rail machined into the receiver. A quick-detach side mount holds zero across removal cycles because the rail is part of the receiver forging rather than a riveted accessory, which is one of the practical advantages a milled gun holds over a stamped one. Iron sights remain usable underneath most low-profile mounts.
Maintenance is the usual Kalashnikov routine and no more: pull the dust cover, lift out the carrier and bolt, wipe the rails, oil lightly and reassemble. The chrome-lined bore tolerates steel-case ammunition and infrequent cleaning far better than most sporting rifles, though the barrel will thank you for a brush after corrosive surplus. Store it with a light film of oil on the exterior metal and the rifle will outlast its owner.
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