i ended up picking up a wasr. i was taking it apart yesterday and i realized it had some carbon build up. The head of the piston had some caked on and there was some on the bolt and carrier. i guess it was nothing crazy, im just wondering if thats normal? is it test fired? i was told it was new.
Was it still covered in metal shop dust, filings, grime and grit inside? If so it was factory new.
They did test fire them back when I got one in 2004. Not sure if that’s still the case…
Its likely that some/all of your rifle is coated in a substance called cosmoline that is used to preserve weapons that are kept in storage for a long time. Google will turn up results regarding how to remove the gunk. Definitely give it a good cleaning before you try and use the gun. Cosmoline build up has been known to cause malfunctions in otherwise reliable weapons.
It had some crud in it but I got most of it out. It also wasn’t that much. The stuff that was on the piston and the end of the piston was black.
Sounds like one that has been cleaned then fired. So I would go with probably “not new.” Not that it hurts anything to have a few rounds down it.
The only issue is IF it was one that someone else had a problem with and was exchanged for a new rifle. Fired a couple times and called “good” and then resent out into the supply chain.
is yours a newer wasr thats still being imported, you know the cugir built wasrs? it should indicate this on the right side receiver. or is yours a cai bult wasr? got my wasr 1063m couple weeks ago and seems to never been shot
mine says both cugir and cai haha. im assuming mine wasnt as new as i thought. The piston had some black on the shaft of the piston, which i easily wiped off. The head of the piston has some caked on, which comes off but is very similar texture to what an ar15 bolt has on it after firing. The bolt carrier and bolt have wear marks in the metal from rub points. i know this is normal stuff but i figured i wouldnt have any of it yet, considering i havent fired it yet.
Might want to “assume” it was fired with corrosive ammo and clean accordingly.
If it was built with a parts kit, often those parts kits are still dirty from when that gun was assembled and had been used. It’s not uncommon. That or it was test fired. Regardless, the low volume of shooting required to cake on the head of an AK piston with carbon is negligible compared to the vast lifetime its components should serve for. Get ammo and shoot said ammo.
WASRs are not parts kit guns. They are brought in as sporters (in this case made by cugir) and then modified via 922r (US compliance parts) to accept a full capacity magazine.
Parts kit guns are “typically” a rifle cut for parts and then assembled on a US receiver with enough US parts to be 922r compliant.