I found a Romanian WASR AK47 very good condition, with 3 mags and 250 rounds for $500. I looked on gunbroker and find that with the mags and ammo this seems to be a good deal. What is your opinion?
My opinion is you never buy a WASR without putting your hands on it first.
For yourself, answer these questions:
Does the front sight tower line up correctly? Or is there a cant to one side?
Does the magazine fit in the magazine well correctly or does it wobble or have a great deal of movement?
Have the correct number of US parts been included to ensure you can have a pistol grip and 30-round magazine?
Is the hammer heat-treated correctly or is there visible marking already?
The rifle, given it is a good example, is of fairly good quality. It isn’t going to win any rifle matches but it should be serviceable and reliable. It is, IIRC, made on the same machinery as the Romanians made their Warsaw pact rifles. Just make sure you don’t get the Friday after-lunch product with extra plum brandy workmanship.
M_P
You can find Century Romanian WASR’s for $399.
http://shop.peachstateguns.com/product.sc?productId=312&categoryId=132
250 rounds of ammo is worth about $60.
I’m no AK expert, but a bit of magazine wobble is supposedly normal for most AK’s. I have an Arsenal SGL21 that has about 4mm of side to side wobble at the end of a steel 30 round magazine. 4mm doesn’t seem like much but it feels like a pendulum when holding the rifle. The gas block is also slightly off top dead center, but the piston/bolt carrier cycles smooth. I only have a few rounds through this rifle, but the loose tolerances do not seem to affect function.
The WASR isn’t an AK - it is a single stack receiver and when it is imported the opening is re-cut to accept 30-round magazines. Since the receiver doesn’t have dimples, which would limit the movement normally, it is particularly critical that the magazine well opening be re-cut correctly. It is possible to weld in magazine guides, but it isn’t practical to re-cut the opening.
M_P
I would spend a few extra donuts and get a Kvar SGL20 instead.
Do you want an opinion as to whether you got a good deal? I wouldn’t call it “good”, but you could’ve done worse. AK mags are at the most worth $15 apiece, unless they are Circle 10 Bulgarian mags. The ammo is worth $60 and WASR’s can be had for under $400. I’d say you paid what everything was worth, so it’s certainly not a deal.
That said, you do have everything you need to get started, but as some others have mentioned, WASR’s can be a crapshoot.
+1 !! A quality kit build or one of the KVar Arsenal rifles built in Russia are head and shoulders above the WASR’s. Yes occasionally someone gets a decent WASR but why gamble?
Or…look at AK74’s there are several very nice kit builds out there that are sub $500 that give you a quality NoDak Spud receiver , chrome lined bore, etc. 5.45x39 ammo (surplus) is also much cheaper.
FN in MT
I would like to thank you all, the advice is always appreciated and also from my research and all your advice I do not thnk it is a deal to drop the dough on. Thank you again
This^^^ I must have forgot to hit submit because I don’t see my post that suggested this. The ammo and mags would have been nice but for the price of the SGL’s its hard to look elsewhere…
I have a WASR that I would not hesitate to take into a “bad situation.” It has functioned flawlessly with minimal maintenance (not that I would recommend not cleaning it, I am just seeing what abuse it will take). Mag wobble is normal, though there is more than on my SGL 21. If you can only afford a WASR, buy it, at least 5 more mags, and then shoot the hell out of it. But yes, if donuts are no object, get the SGL 20 for 650.
I have been kicking the idea of getting an AK74. Other than some familiarization training on AK’s back in the Corps I know next to nothing about them. I need to find a list of which are the better brands and which to avoid. Off to TYV for a look.
What he says! These rifles are very hit-or-miss.
There’s a ton of stuff in the sticky: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=30850
M_P