I ordered my pestilence mid May of 2023 and it was delivered at the beginning of November 2023. The rifle is absolutely beautiful, even better in person than in the pictures! Fit and finish are amazing, everything feels solid. The bolt, carrier, and trunnions look amazing, especially for a 1979-dated kit. The furniture is beautiful and feels great. The action is very smooth, disassembly and reassembly is the easiest of any AK I've owned. It really feels as good as it looks. During my first range session, the firing pin retaining pin failed, this allowed the firing pin to move backward out of the bolt, and it then got bent when the hammer hit it. This caused the rifle to go down. I was pretty disappointed considering the cost of the rifle and wait time, but sometimes things like this happen. This isn't an error of craftsmanship, sometimes parts fail. I contacted Meridian and they promptly got back to me with an RMA to send the rifle back to check it out. They got the rifle back to me about 3 weeks after I shipped it out to them. I'm across the country in NH so shipping took a while, plus Thanksgiving was in the middle of all this. Meridian was awesome and replaced the firing pin retaining pin and replaced the firing pin with an upgraded version. They also included 2 of their custom, 30-round, Xtech "Special Project Division" magazines when they sent the rifle back. Obviously, I wish this failure hadn't happened, but they made the process easy, were super respectful, and most importantly got the rifle back to me quickly, and working. It's nice to know they stand behind their product. The hardest part is simply the waiting. Since getting the rifle back I have put 390 rounds through it without a single issue. About a third of these rounds were fired with the rifle suppressed with my Dead Air Wolverine. The rifle feels great and has worked with a whole bunch of different mags. Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase and would buy it again. I fully recommend this to others if it's something you are interested in. I added the enhanced safety which I feel is a must. My only other recommendation would be to add the KNS Adjustable Piston. I didn't include that in my build, and after shooting suppressed, I think it would be a welcome upgrade. Thanks again to Meridian for taking care of me and making me a badass rifle! WOLVERINES!!!

The rifle itself is amazing! The customer service of this company, however, is the worst I have seen. The communication, or lack thereof, was nerve-wracking and awful. The length of time and back and forth between so many different customer representatives, was absolutely awful. The company has disconnected their phone number, so emails are the only form of contact. They state they reply in 24 hrs... there were times I was left hanging and waiting DAYS before hearing back from someone. The status updates on my order came nearly a MONTH after it had already arrived at the shoppe, stating it was "shipped" when I had the rifle already sitting in our house. This was ordered back at the beginning of the year, and took forever to come in. The last actual update that was given to me back in July, "Your Pestilence order is currently at the processor's facility, awaiting the matte-blued finish's application. Your order will be shipped back to us in the next two weeks. Once it arrives at our facility, we can provide you with a completion ETA. However, before the muzzle devices are clocked, pinned, and welded, we need to take care of the remaining invoice". I absolved the remaining debt right away upon receiving this email. This would be the last time the company would actually talk with me consistently and I was left waiting on this rifle well into November, when it would finally arrive at the gun shoppe. If I was waiting on a cerakote and pin and weld for months- I certainly wouldn't waste my money at a gun smith- and the fact it took this long for something my gunsmith can crank out on top of other orders in less than a week? Why would I waste my time and money on this level of service at my local gun store? I wouldn't. Plain and simple. When asking, repeatedly, why the rifle was taking so long (although my money was taken right away on that second payment) I was given an excuse on how the company takes 24-32 weeks to get out completed products. Seems again, a bit long to a nearly completed rifle which payment went through on for the second half back in July. The lack of communication after this process was simply horrendous. While the rifle was a literal gift and the recipient enjoys it, we have both decided to no longer conduct business with Meridian. There is no point in a company with such a lazy customer service, and poor product management/ distribution. I am appalled I had to spend 2.2 K on a rifle that, while nice, is mid. This review is the last time I want to even remotely deal with this company.

On a scale of 1-10.. it's a 10 for sure .. runs great.. fit and finish is great.. top of the line workmanship.. functions flawlessly.. ( brass or steel case ) due to the adjustable gas piston... I do have questions on taking apart the gas tube for cleaning.. and I need a front sight tool that fits over the sight post.. EXCELLENT RIFLE !

This gun is an absolute work of craftsmanship! SMOOTH, QUIET(WITH SUPPRESSOR) AN BEAUTIFUL!!

Not only do i love how well the MDC Pestilence shoots and looks but i love how polarizing it is and the conversations it starts. You will encounter those who lust for it and ask to shoot it and others that will scoff at the fact you “wasted” $2k on a romy parts kit. That is, until they feel the Pestilence in their hands, see the superb finishing up close, and squeeze the trigger and fire off a round. It may not change everyones mind as there will still be those envious few but i love converting nonbelievers.

Happy

That’s my second one it’s always unbelievable

By far my best ak in my collection now very durable

Worth the wait ???

The AK-47 is so smooth and beautiful