The E&L AK series (AKS74)

[1st commando]

The E&L AKS74 Review.
Being an owner of plenty of AK variants and having sold plenty more , I was not actually in the market for another . However the Izmash AK was advertised earlier in the year and their adverts and videos interested me . This however was not to be as the factory suffered financial issues and the project was put on hold /stop.
So when I heard of E&L and their intention to make airsoft AKs on the tooling of their firearms line and with real materials , I was intrigued .....

I was asked to downgrade the first five when they landed in the UK and my interest quickly turned to “need” once I saw how solid they were .
Seeing all these stunning replicas with real wood furniture put me in a bit of a position in choosing which one to buy . Especially when I found I actually really liked the polymer stocked AK74MN too .
In the end I chose the AKS74 as it was a model I owned in the past and sold (Kalash/Dboys)

On to the replica I choose
All E&L Aks come in a cardboard box with only a label on the front and on the ends , stating the model number and some information about E&L themselves .
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Inside the box you find the rifle packed in a grease bag (both box and bag are the same ones they pack the realsteel in). The package is cable tied to the inner box as is the Lonex type hicap magazine . Also in the box you find a plastic envelope containing an instruction manual and authenticity certificate which has the individual serial number for the rifle( which is also stamped into the receiver) along with QC stamps from each stage of product and a series of velocity readings from final QC which are also stamped and signed . This certificate is the same as the ones the parent company supply with their firearms .
Upon removing/undoing the cable ties and taking the rifle out of the grease bag you will notice one thing above all else ..........Grease , this rifle is coated in it . They supply real AKs the same way to protect them in transit and storage .
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I used soft ,lint free cloth to remove the excess grease from the externals of the rifle and this revealed the most realistic finish on any airsoft Ak I have ever seen . For good reason , the materials and finishing are exactly the same as the real counterpart from the factory . Steel is the order of the day and this extends to everything that is metal including the cleaning rod , trunion, barrel , gas block ,gas tube , muzzle break , receiver ,top cover and stock (as well as all pins and ancillary furniture) !
The wood is laminated ply and is taken from factory stock for the real rifle. As such the varnish is only applied to the outside of the grips leaving the inside as bare wood .
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The overall rifle is as solid as a very solid thing . holding the rifle out by either muzzle or butt (even with folding stock) will find no flex or weakness and this was evident when balancing the rifle over two stools (muzzle one end, butt plate on the other) and a man weighing over 11 stone sitting full weight in the middle with no damage incurred !
The folding stock locks solidly in place in both extended and folded positions .
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The selector ,while still a little mushy compared to ARs (just an AK trait) is way more solid than any AEG i’ve handled or owned before (including LCT, VFC, Cyma, Dboys,TM, WE etc).

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A note on the solid stock models , they use the real stock with the trapdoor and spring for oil bottle and are attached the same as the real thing .
The magazine supplied was a Lonex type “flash mag” and typically with hicaps I found was noisy ,annoying to use and occasionally did not keep up with feeding. It was of the 5.45mmR type in orange and has since been retired to my box of chrono mags in favour of a selection of G&P, Star and MAG midcaps (the best feeding mags by far in any gun).
As stated earlier , I downgraded these for the retailer as they were all doing 435 fps on arrival . However even at that power we found the gearbox turned over effortlessly so I was looking forward to seeing what was in there......
Internally the Gearbox casing is very strong , V3 type but with reinforcing lumps on the casing at the corners of the cylinder (this would take some serious upgrades if you so wished).The motor cage attached very firmly , with no movement . The casing has E&L/LandForce markings as does the high torque motor which seems very well finished and capable (that explains that )
The bevel and flat gears spin within 7mm(i think as i forgot to note down) bearings while the sector gear has solid steel bushings . The tappet plate is of decent quality and draws a metal nozzle . Gears are steel and typically of XYZ brand and should last a good while .
The piston is of polycarbonate with 3 steel teeth and has a piston type piston head (no bearing) which provides excellent compression .
The spring is a very short (m120) steel linear spring and was removed
The spring guide is a bearing type and seems perfectly fine for the job .
Wiring seems of good quality and sturdy but flexible and is wired with mini tamiya to the top cover (all E&L AKs have battery in top cover like this one )
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Hop unit is a metal type and is secured in position very well . This includes the front/top screw of the gearbox actually securing the hop to the front of the gearbox. I have not opened the hop unit or barrel as all 5 we tested gave amazing range and accuracy on both 0.25 and 0.28g once downgraded to around 350 fps (measured with 0.2g)
As I mentioned above the internals give great compression , probably due to a combination of the gearbox itself and the fact the hop unit is firmly held to the front of the gearbox .So much so that in order to get 350 fps I had to cut an inch from an M100 and reform the end to ensure reliability. I do not like cutting springs but short of a batch good M85/M90 springs I had no choice . regardless the rifles gave excellent shot to shot consistency over the chrono after bedding with 100 rounds or so after downgrading . Once downgraded the rifles ran super smooth and completely un stressed on a 7.4v 1200 mah lipo.
One of my team already managed to run his for a game and was absolutely taken by the performance despite being another collector of many RIFs including a large collection of AKs, up to and including Real Sword.
I will continue to add to this and if you have any questions , feel free to ask and I will try to oblige

[Henry Finlay]

Re: The E&L AK series (AKS74)

Hey mate great review, its nice to get a review from someone who knows what they're on about. I havr an LCT AKMS and just wanted to see what you think comparison wise? I am aware of pretty much all the differences between the two manufacturers but was just curious of what the performance is like in comparison. I would have seriously considered an E&L but I was desperate of an underfolding AK and nothing else. Also, have you got any idea where I can get an E&L front handgrip? I would love to get hold of one!

[1st commando]

Re: The E&L AK series (AKS74)

Hi mate , internally they are reasonably similar however the E&L motor and hop unit are a fair bit better . I don't believe parts for the E&L are sold separately, at least not yet

[thebolshevik88]

Re: The E&L AK series (AKS74)

So beautiful! Great review mate.

[1st commando]

Re: The E&L AK series (AKS74)

Cheers mate

[suaytemplar]

Re: The E&L AK series (AKS74)

Great review!

Just curious though, apart from the downgrade to 328fps, if kept stock, would this be a good beginner AEG?

How was the trigger response on that 7.4?

[Black Templar]

Re: The E&L AK series (AKS74)

These are better than Real Sword ones & cheaper. Bonus is not well known so bargain price.

[Coski]

Re: The E&L AK series (AKS74)

These are better than Real Sword ones & cheaper. Bonus is not well known so bargain price.

I wouldn't go as far as to say they're better than real sword. They aren't even as good as LCT. Okay so they're decent replicas, but the finish on them isn't the best and some parts aren't accurate.

[suaytemplar]

Re: The E&L AK series (AKS74)

So... For the money one would pay, say 300+/- or so GBP, is it worth it?

[Coski]

Re: The E&L AK series (AKS74)

So... For the money one would pay, say 300+/- or so GBP, is it worth it?

They're good AEGs don't get me wrong...but I'd choose an LCT every time.

[1st commando]

Re: The E&L AK series (AKS74)

If you want realism then the finish is more accurate to the real one than LCT, if you want a perfectly finished replica then either LCT or a western rifle would be better . These are finished identically to the real one made in the same factory and as a result they are hot blued without a huge amount of care taken in making a mirror finish .
Personally i prefer my replicas to look realistic even if that means my ARs have seamlines on the plastics and my AKs have blueing salts still around the joins .

LCT make stunning replicas but they are not as strong or as realistic as the E&L. I know as i have had a lot of AKs and had the chane to have all of them side by side including some real ones