The Canadian type 81 is a neutered version of Chinas automatic combat rifle that was designed in 71′ and adopted in the mid 80’s and although is very slowly being phased out in the Chinese military it is still seen being used in small conflicts all around the world.
The type 81 we get here in Canada is a semi automatic, detachable magazine fed rifle chambered in 7.62×39 that utilizes a short stroke gas piston system to operate a rotating bolt.
Purchasing a semi automatic centre fire rifle in Canada doesn’t leave you with many options in the year 2023. Most reliable platforms are going to run well over two grand but the type 81 comes in at right around 1300 as of the writing of this post. There was a time, shortly after they were first introduced in Canada they could be found at almost every gun store with a price tag of 999$, my first type 81 folder was purchased at a local store in 2019 for 1500$ out the door with 1500 rounds of Barnaul steel cased ammo. Regretfully, when a short lived lust for something new came along I sold the type 81 for the funds.
Fast forward to 2022, since the OIC was announced two years prior and even more restrictions coming down the pipe seemingly every day, finding any semi automatic rifle in stock new was like finding toilet paper in early 2020 and everyone on the used market were asking close to double the retail price for guns like the type 81. Nevertheless, I found a “never fired” newer SE style with the fixed stock with optic mount for only 500$ more than what the gentleman paid for it so I bent over.
Aesthetically the type 81 is the closest thing to an AK the Canadian market has seen since the real deal was banned back in 95’ (yes, more AK’ish than the VZ 58). The front sight sits back a bit further on the barrel to make room for the ugly grenade launcher shroud, the fire selector is very much it’s own design as well as a few other small visual differences but from a passing glance you could easily confuse one with the other.
Often times people online compare the type 81 with the sks, typically arguing the fact there’s no reason to pay type 81 prices when it’s basically the same gun… it’s not. From a shooting dead trees on crown land perspective one might not care for the benefits the type 81 offers over an sks. But from any sort of tactical/combative perspective the type 81 stands far above.
Really, the only thing the sks and type 81 have in common is the short stroke gas system and the fact the government wants to take them from you.
Fit & Finsih
The type 81 SE comes with a phosphate finish over the blued original 81 and dark red wood instead of the blonde offered on the original. I never had any issues with my original rusting either but I can’t say that I mistreated it quite as bad as the new SE. On two occasions I’ve taken the type 81 out shooting in the rain and aside from running a bore snake down the barrel when I got home I didn’t make any attempts to dry it off properly and despite this there are no visible signs of rust inside or out whatsoever. Additionally, the safety selector is now on the right side of the receiver but is still horrible to use as it requires a complete 180 degree rotation. The 18.6” barrel is chrome lined for a longer lifespan and provides combat effective accuracy. (More on that later). Overall the quality is decent on my example but other reviews and comments online lead me to believe their quality control could be improved. One gripe I have is along with the pistol grip being very small for my hands it also rattled a bit loose on me seemed to require around the same force as it takes to properly torque truck lug nuts to get it back tight again. Also should be noted there is no QD points but instead two sling loops on the gun so should you chose to run a sling, you should, you’ll have to make sure to get one with a clasp design at either end. I ran a savysniper quick adjust sling for this rifle and it has served me well.
After Market
The gun as it sits from the factory is fairly limiting to what you can put on it. And by that I mean you can’t do anything out of the box. Unfortunately the aftermarket options for your type 81 are slim. Reddit forums and Facebook groups are full of people desperately looking for ways to upgrade their guns or asking how to make common AK stocks and hand guards work which usually requires power tools and never seems like the most robust or reliable way to attach something to a gun. Or in other words, greasy. Luckily there’s a small company famous among the community under the name Sigmaco. Sigmaco has brought many options to the market including stock adapters, handguards, extended bolt handles and much more. I will in the near future hopefully get my hands on some of these products as I plan to upgrade the type 81 to be more practical.
Accuracy
There was a time when if I heard a gun didn’t shoot at least 1.5 moa or better I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. Admittedly, that me was misguided. There is a difference between a precision rifle and one that is capable of putting a round on a human sized target at 100-300 yards as long as you do your part, the type 81 is the ladder. Shooting cheap Barnaul non corrosive @100 I was able to get around 3-4 MOA. Shooting groups of 5 the groups were always closer to 3” but seemed to consistently have one flyer that would go a couple inches astray, nothing crazy. Overall accuracy has been satisfactory. Any better and I’d be really impressed, any worse and I’d complain on Reddit.
Conclusion
The type 81 is a solid choice for people looking to get into the “tactical” semi auto market. You are getting a very reliable platform for significantly less than a lot of the other options but you will need to fork out some extra coin if you decide to upgrade the rifle to add optics and rail space for flashlight, vert grip etc. With spare parts kits currently available from tactical imports for 150$ you can pick up a couple and leave your mind at ease for years to come should you need to replace a firing pin or recoil spring knowing you have a viable, functioning battle ready rifle.