I ran several gun businesses such as LWRCI. I have run a custom gun business prior to that. Grenadier Precision. Prior to that I was a Weapon’s Tech (land), in the Canadian Forces graduated from the Canadian Forces School Of Electrical Mechanical Engineering to the ATT level. I currently own Kinetic Development Group. I tell yo all this to give credibility to this review. This is the finest AK I have ever seen. The parts are custom fitted and massaged. The rivets are perfect. The bolt has been polished to fit within thousands of an inch. Mikael Kalishnokov would blush if he saw this rifle and attention to detail. Put your money down while you still can. It is unbelievable. The worn finish is beautiful, like a classic guitar or a perfectly worn pair of jeans or boots. My colleagues all as if they could have first right of refusal if I ever wanted to sell it. The only way anyone is getting this gun from me is in my will. I can’t say enough about the quality of this gun.

Fit and finish is flawless. By far the best AK style weapon I've ever handled so far and lighter than expected. ALG trigger was worth every penny. This is pretty much the last AK style rifle I will buy since I will then be focusing on ammo purchase and training with it.

Absolutely beautiful, the weapon IS perfection in every way

Fit and finish on this firearm are top notch. You can really tell the folks at Meridian Defense really care about what they do. I consider this an heirloom quality firearm that is as much art as it is an amazing firearm.

The Apocalypse Series MDC-47 "War" is a beautiful build of the Soviet-style RPK rifle. It has several modern updates (e.g., pistol grip, flash hider, trigger retaining plate, and butt pad) that enhance the rifle while not detracting from its classic looks. It is 100% reliable with Meridian’s top-loading Romanian drum and a half dozen different AK mags I tried with it — but my Romanian front-loading drums will not lock into the rifle. While I really like this rifle I have one serious concern with it — it ships with a full-auto safety. For those unfamiliar with the issue a semi-auto AK with a full-auto safety can fire without pressing the trigger if the safety is rotated up past the normal stop point on the receiver. Search for “AK full-auto safety issues” on the web for a more complete explanation. In addition, on the War rifle, the forward edge of the safety is flat so that when the safety is engaged, and you cycle the action, the bolt handle hits the safety and has the tendency to send the safety up above the dust cover exacerbating the full-auto safety issue. I modified the safety on my War rifle converting the full-auto safety to semi-auto and added a crescent cut to the forward edge of the safety to eliminate any chance of an unintended discharge. In my opinion Meridian should be making these two small modifications standard on their War rifles. All-in-all this is a great rifle but there’s a potential safety issue with it that is easily corrected by Meridian or an advanced AK user.

A beautiful work of art. I purchased “war” in 4/2019 & am completely blown away by the rifle. the detail of the refinishing of the wood,the battlefield ware of the rifle. The drum mag is beautifully refinished in battlefield worn & 100% reliable. & also came with a flash hider that almost completely hides the mussle flash. I completely recommend this company & in reliability & workmanship. You will not be disappointed,thank you again meridian defense,you knocked the apocalypse series outta the park!

Got my "war" rifle and right out of the box ran 100rds thru it with the drum I purchased with the gun as well as a standard surplus mag this thing shoots smooth! No hiccups and pretty dead accurate right out of the box! My first rifle from Meridian Defense but wolnt be my last.