I just purchased and AK recently. It is a WASR - 10/63 made in Romania. I bought it to have it for a fun gun, but I would like to alter it eventually. I know very little about AK’s, however I was surprised at how accurate it was when I took it to the range. The ones I have shot in the past have spread out more then this gun does. I’m pretty happy.
I do have a few questions for the experts though, and they are probably easy to answer.
First:
What is the machined part right above the trigger? The large piece with the two grooves and the three rivets that secures it to the receiver? I’ve done some research but I can’t figure out what this is!
Second: Using the same picture you will notice that there is a bare metal pin in my wooden stock around where the stock slides onto the receiver. Does this pin secure the stock to the gun? I would like to eventually replace the furniture with something lighter. Will I have to remove this pin? I tried removing the two screws in the receiver and the stock wouldn’t budge.
Third:
Is the number here my serial number, and do the first 4 numbers indicate the year of manufacture (1966)? What about the icon? (in order to be a part of the blurry serial number crowd I removed the last several numbers from this series).
I realize these are superficial questions but I have been curious about all of them since the purchase, and I figured this would be the place to get some very accurate information.
That’s a reinforcement pin to help keep the stock from splitting. It doesn’t do anything to attach the stock to the receiver.
Your rifle was built from a demilled Romanian service rifle that was indeed originally made in 1966. The demilled parts were rebuilt onto a new semi auto receiver and sold over here.
So why would you mount an optic on the side of the rifle? I am assuming that there was an extension that brought the optic to the top of the receiver, or did the optic sit out to the side of the gun like with the Dragnov? Do you have a link, or any photos of what this set up looks like?
In regards to removing the stock, as I understand it I should just be able to pull it off if I remove the two screws. Am I missing something???
Take some time to look through the AK Knowledge Base Threads that are stuck up at the top of this forum.
As far as the buttstock goes, it’s not at all uncommon for them to be wedged very tightly into the rear trunnion.
Before you start swapping out parts, I would highly suggest reading those threads, and getting some serious trigger time on the rifle as it is now and then think about what really needs changing out.
Not everything aftermarket is an “upgrade”.
If I have to remove a recalcitrant buttstock off of a rifle, I’ll use a wooden dowel as a punch and place it at the front of the buttstock that sticks into the rear trunnion, and then “motivate” it out with a couple good wacks with a hammer.
when you mount a Scope or Red dot to the rail it Puts it right over the Top of the dust Cover ,it sits a little High and takes getting use to.Don’t Go to Tacti-cool ,AK-47 are great Bone stock IMHO. there are tons of after market parts For them Just don’t get to wrapped up in it It is a No nonsense weapon.Just Google AK Parts any you will get Millions of Hits
I agree with Warpig, I think he hit it dead on the nose as far as AKs being great bone stock. I’ve tried a few optics mounted to the side rail and hated all of them (Russian POSP, PSO, and one of those Red Dots). While very cool and Soviet looking, they sat too high and it was very uncomfortable and unnatural to use that way, couldn’t get a decent cheek weld. That being said, there are lots of options for mounting optics, but I mostly see Ultimaks on here, which I consider to be a big clue. It mounts pretty far forward so eye relief is an issue, but considering most plinkers don’t use theirs past 2-300 yards a red dot (aimpoint t1) is perfectly fine for this. The only other solution I’ve seen that has really got me reconsidering puting an optic on my polytech is this:
Like Templar said, look through all the AK knowledge threads here, there is a ton of good info that some very knowledgeable folks took the time to put together. Read read read, buy lots of ammo and shoot it, take a class or three, then determine your needs. Hope this helps!
I don’t really have the money to go overboard, and I ran my AR bare bones for over a year while I slowly saved up for parts I did a ton of research on. If I do anything to the AK it will be in the same way, very slowly, and with knowledge I gather from this site and others, while shooting the rifle every change I get to determine what I like and don’t like about it.
But that doesn’t change the fact that I like to take stuff apart and put it back together, and also know what all the little do dads on the rifle do… I am really feeling it right now as a bone stock weapon.
I appreciate you all taking the time to address a Noob and his questions. I’ll read those info threads now.
Most of your other questions appear to have been answered by folks more knowledgeable than myself.
As far as “customization” goes, I’ll say with an AK, usually simpler=better. I wouldnt mess with optics, nor would I bother with other superficial upgrades like handguards, rails, etc. The only options (as of now) that you might consider would be a longer stock, IF you find the current one too short. Im a tall guy, and the standard AK stock is pretty short. Also, the standard AK pistol grip is a little skinny for my tastes, so I like to swap them out with something with a little more thickness. There is also a cool muzzle brake out there that does a great job of reducing the recoil of the AK, but I dont remember the name. Im sure one of the guys will chime in. Other than that stuff, most “upgrades” to the AK platform are more of a luxury than a necessity. You could go all out with high end rails, optics, etc, but is it absolutely necessary? Probably not. Templar could show you some pictures of what could be considered the pinnacle of AK modification, but the stock AK will sure as hell get the job done.
I am really feeling it right now as a bone stock weapon.