Foreign Weapons and Obscure Builds V3

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Aside from their standard line of military assault rifles, Arsenal of Bulgaria has also produced rifles for their civilian market for quite some time. It’s unclear when the production of civilian rifles began, but best estimates are that production began in the early 1990’s. An early offering was the SA-93, which was a 7.62 caliber semi-automatic rifle with a standard 415mm (16.3”) barrel and a wooden thumbhole stock set that was painted brown. The part number designates “SA” as Semi-Automatic, and “93” as the initial year of release, in similar fashion to the designation of the original Soviet AK-47; Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947.

Between (1993-1994), a number of these rifles were imported into the United States. There were various importers, but the main importer appears to have been Dominion Investment Group (D.I.G.), a major firearm importer based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. This was a group headed by a gentleman who was actually an attorney. Years later, he passed away from a heart attack, so associates assisted his wife in continuing the business by partnering with Intrac. Together they formed Intrac/Dominion Importing. Additional importers of the SA-93 were Dunav International Trading, Inc. (Lynnwood, WA), and Sentinel Arms (Detroit, MI), but there is no clear data as to how many or during what years.

The SA-93 rifle originally sold new for about $379, but today (2011) they sell new for about $900 - $1000. Used rifles can be had for $700 - $800. To this day, the SA-93 is considered one of the most desireable of the AK imports. This is partially because they were a 100% Bulgarian-made Kalashnikovs with a milled receiver, and partially because they had the traditional 45 degree gas block and vented gas tube just as the original Type 3 AK-47 (AKK). Aside from being a semi-automatic rifle, the only real difference from the military AK-47 was the stock set, lack of a lower tang, lack of a threaded barrel, and lack of a sling loop on the left/rear of the receiver.

Upon expiration of the Federal Assault Weapon Ban (9/19/2004), SA-93 owners could legally convert them back to military configuration and have a semi-automatic Bulgarian Type 3 AKK rifle. This process, typically referred to as Debanning, entails threading the barrel, replacing the Front Site Base (FSB) and Gas Block (GB), installing a lower tang on the rear of the receiver, installing a sling loop on the left/rear of the receiver, and replacing the thumbhole stock set with a Bulgarian milled stock set.

Upon debanning the rifle, one merely needs to ensure the rifle is 922r compliant, which requires replacing (5) Bulgarian parts for (5) US-made parts. Three parts can be satisfied by installing a US-made Fire Control Group (FCG), which consists of a trigger, hammer, and disconnector. The two remaining parts can come from a US-made muzzle nut and gas piston. Once 922r compliant, all the collector would need to complete the project would be to get their hands on an early pattern Bulgarian bayonet and Bulgarian brown leather sling, which is Arsenal-marked with a Factory 10 stamp. In today's market (2011) a deban conversion of the SA-93 in new or excellent condition is worth $1200-$1500.

The SA-93 was soon phased out and Arsenal created an extensive Hunting line with three sub-categories; Semi-Automatic Hunting Rifles (SAR), Bolt-Action Repeating Rifles (BARR), and Self-Loading Hunting Rifles (SLR). There was a demand in the US market for the SAR rifles, but due to the Assault Weapons Ban (9/19/1994 – 9/19-2004), only rifles from the SLR line could be imported. This was due to their configuration, as they could be categorized as Sporting Rifles. They had thumbhole stocks (opposed to a pistol grip with rifle stock), non-threaded barrels, and no bayonet lugs, which were all deemed as "military" features.

The SLR rifles were available with wood and synthetic thumbhole stock sets and were available in two barrel lengths; standard 415mm (16.3") and long 508mm (20"). They were also available with muzzle brakes and side scope rails for mounting optics. In the SLR line, Arsenal designates these three options with a post-fix added to the model number; Long Barrel (L), Muzzle Brake (MB), and Side Scope Rail (H).

Two models from the SLR line were imported by D.I.G. between (1994-1998); the SLR-95 and the SLR-96. Unlike the earlier SA-93, they had a 90 degree GB and a non-vented gas tube. The SLR-95 was dressed in a black polymer thumbhole stock set, while the SLR-96 was dressed in a painted wood thumbhole stock set. Similar to the SA-93, the prefix of the part numbers “SLR” stand for Self-Loading Rifle, while the second part of the part number again probably designated the initial year of production.

Of the two imported rifles, the SLR-95 was the more prevalent model. Two versions of it were actually imported; one with a muzzle brake pinned to the barrel, and one without. Both rifles originally sold new for about $300 - $350, but today (2011) sell new for about $800 - $900. Lightly used rifles in good condition can be had for $600 - $800.
 
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