Meridian Defense - "Lust" AKM

“If you’ve ever yelled, “Wolverines!!” while shooting your AKM, go ahead and hit that like and subscribe button.” – Garand Thumb (probably if he had a Meridian Defense AK)

If it wasn’t for Rob Ski, I probably wouldn’t have ever found Meridian Defense. At the time I came across his reviews, he was on part 3 of his series on the “Pestilence” AKM from Meridian Defense. The Pestilence is the last rifle in their apocalypse series of rifles which is a close copy of the Lust. By the second video, I was sold and had ordered my “Lust” from the team in Goleta California.

The “Lust” is the first rifle in their 7 Sins line of rifles. I had always wanted an under folder, but after shooting one in Vegas, I realized it was the worst stock/caliber combo in existence. The Lust compared well to other AKs I was considering, and in the end, I hit that Purchase button. I ordered my Lust with the Dead Air Key Mount Muzzle Brake, KNS Adjustable Gas Piston, and their tuned ALG Trigger. It comes on their own in-house receiver with a Romanian milsurp parts kit. It’s not listed, but it does come standard with the Krebs enhanced safety lever and Ultimak optic rail.

https://meridiandefensecorp.com/the-1st-sin-lust-sold-out/

Then came the Rona and the lock down. Like many, all I could do was work from home and watch as the wait time stretched from 16 weeks, to 20, and on to 30 weeks. These aren’t off the shelf rack rifles, but hand fitted and turned out in small batches so I was perfectly fine waiting. The wait was worth every minute.

As soon as it arrived, I literally flew down to pick it up and had it out at the range that same weekend. The irons were already on which was nice,

The action was unbelievably smooth. The controls reward a firm competent touch with an unbelievably smooth ride. The long stroke piston isn’t as forceful on other AKs I’ve shot where your nasal sinuses feel the recoil due to the placement of the stock in relation to the recoil spring. This is probably due in no small part to the adjustable KNS piston.

The piston won’t reduce recoil to zero, but it will up to a certain point, after which your AK will turn into a fancy Mosin bolt action. I’m impressed how Meridian Defense didn’t approach the Lust with a one size fits all approach when it came to gassing. Most people’s complaint about the AK is that it is over gassed and doesn’t suppress very well.

This is where I’ll venture and say the Lust is the best bang for your buck AK. Along with the KNS piston option, you get a Krebs enhanced safety selector, traditional side mounting rail, 4.5mm triangle stock, Ultimak rail, tuned and polished ALG trigger, along with a front sight gas block combo, and a nitride barrel topped with your choice of muzzle device. For a little over $2K, it’s a feature packed custom tuned rifle.

With almost 2K round down the tube, I haven’t had a single problem. No rivets backing out, no excessive internal wear, and no issues with any mags or ammo I’ve thrown at it. I’ve used surplus steel and polymer mags along with bakes and Magpuls.

I’d consider this to be the Roy Jones of custom AKs – the best pound for pound, feature for feature AK on the market. I’ll be looking forward to more projects from the team in Santa Barbara.

Rob Ski’s 5 part series on the Pestilence

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Meridian Defense - "Lust" AKM

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