Hudson AK Info

The Hudson twins are almost ready for their grand photo shoot. I am having a slight problem in attaching the upper hand guard take down lever's. Does anyone know how they stay put? Follow up question is, I've got two real deal AK mags that fit perfect. Does anyone know how they will feed the blank PFC rounds? Thanks....

Hi retro'

The AK I bought recently has a cross-head screw threaded through the lever. Once the lever's turned to lock the hand guard in position the screw's tightned up so it locates into an indent in the reciever.
I don't honestly know if Hudson supply them like this or whether a previous owner has added it.
It works allright though. Without it, the lever orks it's way loose during firing.

If AK mags are like lost real steel examples, the spring might be too strong for pfc rds. Shortening the spring might cure it. The feed lips might need some adjustment too and if they're like M16 mags, as they'll be loaded with "empty" cases, some form of spacer might need adding to make up for the missing bullet.

Hmm,real mags dont fit in my Hudson

It was a surprise to me as well. The Hudson mag I received from Katsuro didn't really fit. I was successful in jamming it up in the mag well. But it wouldn't lock, and was a major pain to remove. A buddy on another forum told me his Hudson readily accepted real deal mags. So I gave it a try and they are a perfect fit!! Must be the old model? Cerwyn, the take down levers on this model do not have anything to hold them in place that I can see. Looks like I will have to rig something up. Maybe a screw and washer type of setup? On my real AK's they are all riveted on? Looks like I have a new Hudson mag to sell or trade

I'll try getting some photos of the lock-screw arrangement on mine for you. They'll explain better than I can in words

As for the Hudson mag' not fitting, I don't know enough about the history of this model and possible modifications that may have been at the factory to comment.

Mine was bought privately and came with 2 mags. One fits cleanly, the other is a struggle to get into the well.

Modelguns-worldwide.com's webpages list these models and say they'll accept genuine AK magazines. They may well fit well, but as we all know by now real-steel mags will need work to make them work properly in model guns.

I aquired an MGC Sterling recently and after reading that genuine Sterling mags's fit I bought 2... they don't fit

Well I found that the real sights are pressed on. So it is either find a hydraulic press or rig something like you have? I will wait to see your pictures before I decide

Why did the last step have to be the hardest

Here are a couple of photos of my Hudson AK showing the upper handguard take down lever.

It isn't a particularly tight fit through, in fact it would vibrate loose and fall out given half a chance.
This is the only example of a Hudson AK I've seen so have nothing to compare it to.

I suspect that long before I bought it, the owner may have either drilled and tapped the lever to take a short cross head lock screw that stops the lever turning or the orginal screw has been replaced?
There's a shallow indent in the reciever to accept the end of the screw.

Thanks for the pic. Gives me a better understanding of your set up. I was thinking more in the lines of securing the opposite side so the functionality of the lever still exists. A small washer and sheet metal screw from the other side is an easy possibility. Having the lever tapped is another. But would bring the cost close to what a press job would be? Decisions decisions

I see what you're getting at now

Functionality isn't lost with the set up on mine, all I need do is loosen that screw to allow the lever to turn and unlock the handguard.

Thinking about it, if the other side was a press fit, it would be difficult to turn afterwards wouldn't it
The shaft of the lever running through from one side to the other is semi-circular in profile and locks down against the upper handguard as it turns. Assuming that's a tight fit, the lever should stay in place.
Has yours worn enough to be too slack to hold fast

I will try and get some pics together. But the levers are brand new. So the wear would have to be to the opening it's self. Which is a possibility. From what I have gathered from some of my AK builder friends the lever is pressed from the rear, so an edge develops. Similar to a rivet of sorts. Pictures are worth a thousand words, I will work on that and post them in the Hudson AK section