So I picked up a Wasr-10. Got it sub $400 this week. Came with a tapco 30rd, unnamed 40rd and two unnamed 20s. The unnamed 20s feed three then misfeed, and compared to the tapco, the cut out where the bolt passes is very shallow, bingo. The tapco had two misfeeds but ran fairly well despite. The 40 ran flawlessly.
I have never handled an ak until I bought this one. Build quality sucks! Looks like a tin can with plywood and a barrel. Does that sum up most ak variants? My ar is bottom barrel and I guess it’s like an apples to oranges?
Seems like a lot of info is scattered about on these guns. Tips or tricks suggested? Picked up two romanian steel 30 rounders yesterday and haven’t run it yet.
Gun did come with a utg rail with covers and a utg 6 position stock kit which I care very little for
As with ARs not all AKs are created equal. There are some horrible POSs out there, and some which are ****ing sweeting rifles. I am being dead honest, an Arsenal AK is like a BCM to a DPMS. The WASRs are kind of what I equate to a DPMS in regards to AKs. Not that they can’t shoot, or won’t shoot, but if you are buying sight unseen, or don’t know what to look for I feel they are not worth the hassle. That is my opinion of them, I will admit to not caring for CAI rifles at all, have had several leave a bad taste in my mouth so I may be a bit bias.
As far as the UTG stuff, I tend to consider it to be junk, and to me, would consider just ditching it, selling or trading it, and slapping on just stock factory wood furniture. For a range rifle I don’t need a rail or anything, and if I do get to where I want to mount stuff there are better options anyway.
I’m gonna list the utg stuff and the mags with accurate descriptions once my post count is up. It’s using the wood now but has a fab defense grip that I hate so I picked up a '74 brake, surplus style sling, bakelite grip and a new grip screw and t bolt. I figure that’ll level the playing ground to get me comfortable and familiar.
Yeah my cousin has an arsenal. I had a dpms ap4 that ran great. My current ar is an Anderson lower and a palmetto state lower and has seen plenty of range and woods use without a hiccup.
I don’t trust the Wasr just yet. I’d take my ar to the end of the world though.
Future mod is a gg&g 30mm mount and a primary arms classic 30mm until I can afford better.
To put it in perspective, imagine the cheapest, most bottom barrel AR you could scrape together, as if you were trying to win a “who can build the cheapest AR” contest. You have the equivalent in an AK. That said, the Romanian parts themselves are not terrible and a majority of the poor quality comes from the assembly. But don’t lose hope. WASRs can and do typically run well once fed with decent mags (which it sounds like you already got) and have some rounds through them. And once they work right they work right for a long long time. It may never be smooth or accurate, but it’ll work.
That’s what I figured. First 4 numbers on front trunnion are 1985 which I assume is the date of the original manufacture before being demilled and reassembled as a wasr 10. Please correct me if I’m wrong. The gun looked crude of most crude build quality. I feel that my ar is a bottom tier being Anderson and palmetto state, but not like a sportical or something of that nature. I don’t have top tier money.
That being said, I did enjoy the rifle and I believe it will serve well for a close quarters hog hunter, once I trust it.
Speaking of smooth, bolt has a little rough spot all the way back and 1/2" moving forward if held at an angle.
Oh by the way, me and a buddy are starting a cheapest got it on eBay ar contest, no more than 18" and under 650 including optics, best 3 shot group out of 10@100yards. Just two guys who love guns seeing what the cheapest we can build that’s actually accurate.
I would not necessarily equate a WASR to a DPMS. WASRs have properly heat treated receivers, generally solid parts, and CHF CL barrels, making them closely aligned with a MILSPEC weapon. Today their QC is better and they have better mag wells. All come with TAPCO G2 triggers. The laminate furniture is also more aligned with MILSPEC than the newer versions. Many AK shooters like them better than US made guns which have “better fit and finish”.
Have you shot it yet? My WASR looked like stir-fried dog sh!t, but ran like a champ. Good range trip will tell you if its worth keeping (even if it’s just for a beater/truck gun), or needs to be sold in potential '16 gun & ammo scare.
Yes, just had some magazine issues but now have a few romanian ones. The pistol grip was loose (fab defense mall ninja) so I have a sleu of parts coming to secure this as factory as it should be so I can form an opinion.
Speed, are you implying this dude dumped it on me? $350 isn’t quite a bad price but he did seem a little gun-prude.
I’ll be glad to post pics tomorrow after a good cleaning and I get my grip on. I’m embarrassed by the grip it has. Literally I feel like I need a Korn shirt and some black baggy denim with chains hanging off them
Not at all. WASRs haven’t been that cheap for almost 10 years, so I’d say you got a hell of a deal. Even better if you can sell of the UTG junk. I’d guess he bought it, had trouble with it using crappy mags, and sold it cheap thinking he dumped off a problematic rifle. I’m betting some quality surplus mags will fix the issue, and even if not it won’t take much tweaking to get it 100%.
I happened to luck up. Same happened on my lever gun. It was actually missing the ejector spring so it wouldn’t throw shells. I got one for 6.99 shipped on eBay.If I can get 100 for the utg stuff and mags that someone may be able to make work (I’m sure I could but I just don’t want to fool with them) than I’m g2g on my red dot mount easy. Hopefully these surplus mags will run good this week. I have until May 9 to prove it out as reliable for the next pig hunt.
^^^This. There may be build issues, but I doubt there is a parts problem. I have had a few in the shop that while they looked rough, were extremely accurate for the platform…I would give it a chance.
My view on the U.S. guns on a tighter fit and finish take away from the whole AK loose and sloppy reliability. If I want a tight fit and accurate gun, I have my AR. I wanted an ak for the simple fact of itll run no matter what. What I’m bitching about is probably the average quality of production they were actually produced at for military use. I should probably get over myself.
We shall see about the damned ole eagle that WT keeps mentioning.
WASRs seem to be better than they used to be. I got one after looking over about a dozen examples to make sure I got a good one with straight sights, good rivets, smooth action.
When you get a good one, it’ll most likely perform well but you’ll have to hunt for it.
The fighting carbine ak edition stickies thread has so much useful info and has my thinking totally revamped on my course of action on this rifle. I use a vcas on my ar carbine and has my gears turning on the red dot and irons
I agree. I looked for months and got a pretty smooth WASR. A little due diligence goes a long ways… When I was looking, Front sight cant removed two thirds from consideration.
Ditch the mags you have, get the 10-pack of European steel mags from SGAmmo.
Depends, most AK’s are stamped receivers… if that’s what gives you the tin can feel, then a milled is the only thing that’ll help. If the shit finish on the WASR is what you don’t like, then no, not all AK’s feel like that. Look at an Arsenal or Kreb’s… They’re quite a bit nicer to handle than a WASR or N-PAP.
Eh, not really. A bottom barrel AR will work for a while, and then it’s guaranteed that something will break. A top tier AR will work a lot longer, and it’s expected that something will eventually break. Same goes for AK’s, except there’s not as much to break on them. The AK design just doesn’t have much that’s likely to break, as long as it’s made properly. The Romanians got the design right, Century used to assemble the parts kits and machine the mag well poorly, but they’re much nicer now. If you get a good WASR, it’s a good AK. They have a CHF Chrome-lined barrel, pinned FSB and GB (although sometimes canted, it’s fixable), properly heat-treated receivers, good rivet jobs, and are reasonably faithful to the AKM design. Really, their biggest problem is they just feel and look like shit. If you want to see a bottom of the barrel AK, look at any number of home builds on poorly heat-treated receivers using bolts instead of rivets… If they last long enough for you to catch a glimpse. The WASR is more of a mid level AK, in all honesty.
Sell the furniture, get a K-Var US-made stock and handguard set, and shoot the hell out of it. If you need to mount a light and an optic, then an Ultimak or RS Regulate parts get my vote.
