When I need customer service I try to have everything ready the first time I ask for help. I want to have a good interaction and respect the time the CSR (in this case, the owner of the company) is spending with me. Brian, however, doesn’t think like that. Just an idea of what some customers (well, non-customers - this guy never bought anything) are like to support. I was there when the penultimate email came in; both Lyle and I spent some time trying to tease meaning out of it. None of these arrived in context, or with the previous emails attached in any way. I’ve mostly deleted the dark blue on light blue font information to save your eyes.
From: Some Loser
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 6:47 AM
To: UltiMAK
Subject: (no subject)Hello,
I have a Hungarian SA-85 AK and was wondering if the black or green stock you have for sale will fit it? It has a stamped receiver and will I needed and parts like a tang block or anything? I would like to get the model that is 1.25 bigger than the regular. Thanks Brian
These are perfectly reasonable questions. Answers:
We have the AKBSL(H) available for the Hungarian stamped receivers. The Hungarian AKs use a slightly different forend, so you have to specify when ordering. We have the Hungarian stocks only in black. If you wanted a green stock, and you were handy with a Dremel tool, you could fairly easily convert a standard forend to fit the Hungarian AK with a little cutting at each end, using your original forend as a pattern. This is in fact what is done in manufacturing the forends for the Hungarian - the regular forends are cut. The price of the four piece kit is $89.99. Since the SA-85s came mostly with thumbhole stocks, be advised that you must have a U.S. mage trigger set (trigger, hammer, and disconnector) and probably a U.S. made gas piston or magazine followers and floorplates. You can have only 10 imported parts if you’re going to convert to pistol grip configuration, and I’m counting 14 on your AK with all U.S. furniture and imported magazines. You need to replace at least four parts in addition to the new stock set. See Red Star
Arms for a list of relevant parts and for the necessary compliance parts; http://www.redstararms.com/Best Regards,
Lyle Keeney
UltiMAK
A little while later:
From: Some Loser
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 12:05 PM
To: UltiMAK
Subject: [Spam] Hello, again……Hello,
I was reading through your products and seen you have an adaptor will it fit the Hungarian SA-85 I have ? Thanks a lot I hope you have some of those m-16 grips or know where to get them Thanks Brian
Reply:
Take a close look at figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, on this page; http://www.ultimak.com/AKStockR&R.htm
If your receiver is like the stamped one shown, our AKSA stock adapter will work. If it is any different, it wont work. The ARG-B pistol grip is no longer available. The SA-85 rifles that I’ve seen have all had “thumbhole” type stocks. Therefore there is a high probability that converting this rifle to a pistol grip configuration would require the replacement of several other parts to bring it into compliance with import restrictions. See this page for more information; http://www.redstararms.com/ext17.htm
Best Regards,
Lyle Keeney
UltiMAK
A little while later:
From: Some Loser
Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 6:47 AM
To: UltiMAK
Subject: [Spam] Hello, I had a question about your site….Hello,
You know the 2 piece AK set the are selling with the rails on sides and bottom? Will the bottom half fit a Hungarian SA-85? I guess the top won’t? Do you have any black tops besides the 95.00 dollar one that will fit? Would a black Synthetic upper fit like in Model# AKBSW and if so how much could you sell one for I’m just looking for the upper? Thanks Brian
For context, UltiMAK sells an optic rail for the SA-85 for $95. This guy (apparently) wants the TDI optics rails, which are cheap and widely available. UltiMAK doesn’t sell these.
Do you want the optic mount, or just a black upper handguard? If your SA-85 has the shorter gas tube we have the M7-B optic mount for that; http://www.ultimak.com/m7.htm
If you want the three-rail forend system, our ACR2-SS and our new ACR2-SC (even shorter, but not yet listed) will fit the Hungarian AKs. You can see a photo of the ACR2-SC here; http://www.ultimak.com/pic5a.htm
Our ACR2 has three Picatinny style rails (right, left, and bottom) and it is one piece. The optic mount mentioned above has one Picatinny rail on top. The optic mount and the ACR2 can be used separately or they can be used together. If all you want is a black synthetic upper handguard, we have those for as little as 10 dollars. Just call me and you can order one over the phone - 208-883-4734.
Lyle Keeney
UltiMAK
More data!
From: Some Loser
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 1:10 PM
To: UltiMAK
Subject: Re: Hello, I had a question about your site….Hello again,
So you are saying the regular black forend w/ the 3 rails that you can almost order anywhere cheaper than dirt, shotgun news that won’t fit A Hungarain SA-85? Are you sure? It’s the lower that I’m talking about also I do need just a regular cheap upper that will fit my SA-85! You said they where only 10 bucks? Let me know what you have as in cheap uppers and please answer my first question if you could Thanks Brian
Brian wants tech support for a product he isn’t buying from UltiMAK, that UltiMAK has never sold. He also apparently suspects that because he gets two emails a week, Lyle also gets only two emails a week.
First, I didn’t say one word about any regular black forend (lower handguard), so I’ll start over from the beginning; Assuming your 85 has the 7 inch gas tube (only you would know for sure) any of our
ACR2 forends will fit it if they are ordered for the correct receiver type. All three models (Compact, Standard, and Long) go for 220 dollars. They have full-length rails, they’re CNC machined from aluminum. They are designed to hold zero extremely well for those mounting laser sighting modules, and they are extremely rugged. The cheaper ones you refer to are plastic and have very short rails on the front. If your 85 has the shorter (AMD-65 type) gas tube, the only ACR2 that we have that will fit it isthe ACR2-SC.
Now, to discuss synthetic forends (lower handguards); The Hungarian AKs we’ve seen have a unique forend cap that requires a slight modification to the front of the forend (lower handguard). We have pre-modified ones, just like our KVFS-B, that will fit right on, but if you were handy with making the modifications yourself, you could use virtually any synthetic or wood forend designed for your receiver type, including the cheap rail forends sold, as you say, by so many other vendors.
Any upper handguard for virtually any AK should fit your gas tube. We have a 10 dollar upper and a 14 dollar upper. They have a slight difference in finish. The ten dollar upper comes from the CHOS-B set and the 14 dollar one comes from the AKBSW.
Lyle Keeney
UltiMAK
Brian apparently thinks Lyle has a huge archive of email that he searches constantly for reference. “the email before I sent the last”. I was in the shop when Lyle got the next email - we spent some time trying to figure it out.
From: Some Loser
Sent: Monda05-y,-01, 2006 5:39 AM
To: UltiMAK
Subject: Re: Hello, I had a question about your site….Hello again,
OK in the E-mail before I sent the last I was asking about the lower forearms. What I need is a cheap black plastic upper forearm for my hung rain……. No wood finish or anything Think you can heap me with that? Mine is the shorter one I believe.
We gave up.
I don’t what “hung rain” means. If you want to order a black synthetic upper handguard for an AK, give me a call - 208-883-4734 with your credit card ready.
Thanks,
Lyle Keeney
UltiMAK
He’s a little faster on the draw this time!
From: Some Loser
Sent: Tuesda05-y,-02, 2006 8:48 PM
To: UltiMAK
Subject: Re: Hello, I had a question about your site….Look
man I meant Hungarian if you have a problem than fuck off
this is the end… my only friend, the end…
Some people I can understand in one single question, after which they receive the correct information in one single answer. That works when we both speak and write the same language. Come to think of it, I’ve had an easier time communicating with some Europeans. It seems they study English more seriously than some Americans. I can’t read minds - I can only respond to questions that make sense to me. For that I do not apologize. And don’t worry - fucking off is what I do for a living. By the way, some Hungarian AKs have a standard upper handguard, and some have a longer one. We sell only the standard ones. If your Hungarian is the M70 series with the 7.5 inch gas tube (overall length), I know of no one who is producing a synthetic handguard (upper or lower) that will fit that rifle.
Lyle Keeney
UltiMAK
A few hours later, a correction:
From: Lyle Keeney
Sent: Wednesda05-y,-03, 2006 10:25 AM
To: Some Loser
Subject: RE: Hello, I had a question about your site….Correction; All the Hungarian AKs we’ve seen use the standard upper handguard, and they use a slightly modified lower handguard, both of which are widely available.
Lyle Keeney
UltiMAK
Note from Lyle:
Skimming back through, one problem was he never included any previous communications in his replies. Since I don’t have time to chase all that crap down, I’m going blind on each reply. Start at the bottom and work up. It turns out I answered his question back in July, and again, exhaustively, in April, but he never understood anything I told him, apparently. Maybe he just wanted to get a ping from me every few weeks and didn’t care a whit about content
