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In the market for an AK47
- Thread starter bevilsiz
- Start date
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Canted front sights are the biggest issue.
Shavings in the receiver are a bother and need to be cleaned before shooting.
Trunnions dated in the 60's and early 70's seem to be of better quality than later ones.
WASR 10/63's are allegedly assembled from Militia Arsenal guns that were decommissioned in the 90's.
Other than that WASR's are decent utilitarian shooters.
Shavings in the receiver are a bother and need to be cleaned before shooting.
Trunnions dated in the 60's and early 70's seem to be of better quality than later ones.
WASR 10/63's are allegedly assembled from Militia Arsenal guns that were decommissioned in the 90's.
Other than that WASR's are decent utilitarian shooters.
I like the looks of mine that I just picked up last week; and I've heard nothing but good things about their reliability.
Unfortunately..... https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/long_guns/157113-wasr_feeding_problems_urgent.html
Unfortunately..... https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/long_guns/157113-wasr_feeding_problems_urgent.html
Cool. I'd definitely contact some shops on here and buy from them instead of Dunhams or GM.
kickbacked
Master
- Jan 12, 2010
- 2,390
- 113
in your price range i think your only choice for an ak is the wasr. It is a gun of great reliability as long as you have a little knowledge of working with firearms. The gun needs to be thoroughly cleaned before you take it out and expect to torture it with rounds. These things may feel fine but they usually are filled with some cosmoline.
He could also pick up a Saiga and work on piecing together the conversion some time later. Would be a better quality piece in the end and built the way he wants.
It's the option I choose.
I have a WASR10/63 that I'm probably going to sell just because I now have too many other AKs. PM me if you are interested.
In general, when buying a WASR10 you want to look for a few issues but almost all of these can be fixed on your own with less work than it would take to convert a Saiga. I keep on putting a Saiga to convert on my list because you do get some top notch quality when you are done but for me I just never have the time and somewhat the tools to do it (you can do a kitchen table conversion pretty easily but if I'm going for the quality level of the rest of the rifle it just doesn't make sense for me).
1. As mentioned, Canted front sights. This isn't a deal breaker espeically in most cases I've seen you can still windage the front sight enough to counter this. If it is too bad or the front sight not being centered enough you can fix the cant. The detailed prefered way is to drive out the pins, redrill the channels more true for slightly bigger pins. The other way if it isn't too bad is just to take a mallet to it. Seems crude but Tromix and even some AR guys use this as a cant fix.
2. Mag well sizing. WASRs are imported on single stack receivers. Century then makes them 922r complaint and cuts out the mag well to be double stack. You can DIY this as well if you find a cheaper single stack WASR. However, Century has issues with getting the mag wells cut to take all AK mags. To get my Bulgarian Circle 10 mag to fit I had to do some dremeling.
3. Mag latch issues- of all these this could be the most difficult fix if it requires a new mag latch since you would have to get a new latch, a new rivet and rivet it while under spring pressure. To check for this in the shop see how much the mag wobbles forward and back (not side to side). This should be no more than an 1/8" inch an preferably less. The problem with a bad mag latch is that it will cause misfeds and sometimes some mags not to latch if it is closer to the receiver. Unfortunately, you may not be able to tell this in the shop.
4. Gas Block cant- similar issue and fix to the front sight cant. Field strip with removing the gas tube. Look through the rear sight block and see how well the gas block centers up through that. If it isn't centered it is most likely the gas block (rarer cases it's canted rear sight block which is a bigger deal but if the rest of the receiver/front trunnion is true this is unlikely). You would fix this by the non hammer method of redrilling the pins. It a lot of cases it doesn't need fix, only address the issue if you are having cycling issues.
5. Mag wobble (side to side)- this is only a minor annoyance in most cases but there can be a decent amount of wobble side to side with a WASR and it make noticeable rattle. It usually is an easy fix but doesn't normally hurt the function of the rifle left as is. This is caused by the mag well area not having dimples like a normal double stack stamped AK receiver. You can fix this by placing shims inside the well. I recommend not getting rid of all the wobble though, I just do enough to get rid of most of the rattle. Dimpled AK receivers have some wobble even and I think this is one of those loose tolerances that helps the AK be reliable. I could also see a overally shimmed on one side WASR actually inhibiting feeding.
6. Dirty overall condition- most of these are former military surplus rifles reworked for import. You will see a lot of comsoline and other junk. Do a detailed takedown and cleaning with the Fire Control Group (FCG) removed if possible and clean the sucker out. Yes, AKs can run great dirty but old comsoline is some nasty stuff. IMO the bolt take down is only required if your firing pin isn't freely shaking in the bolt or your extractor seems to be stuck. If you want to take apart the bolt just to be sure go for it!
WASRs are great entry level shooters and can be made a little nicer with some elbow grease and can be made into some really great things by guys like Jim Fuller (Rifle Dynamics).
Here is a great site that is focused on Romanian AKs (and is handy for AKs in general):
http://www.novarata.net/Linx310/overview.shtml
In general, when buying a WASR10 you want to look for a few issues but almost all of these can be fixed on your own with less work than it would take to convert a Saiga. I keep on putting a Saiga to convert on my list because you do get some top notch quality when you are done but for me I just never have the time and somewhat the tools to do it (you can do a kitchen table conversion pretty easily but if I'm going for the quality level of the rest of the rifle it just doesn't make sense for me).
1. As mentioned, Canted front sights. This isn't a deal breaker espeically in most cases I've seen you can still windage the front sight enough to counter this. If it is too bad or the front sight not being centered enough you can fix the cant. The detailed prefered way is to drive out the pins, redrill the channels more true for slightly bigger pins. The other way if it isn't too bad is just to take a mallet to it. Seems crude but Tromix and even some AR guys use this as a cant fix.
2. Mag well sizing. WASRs are imported on single stack receivers. Century then makes them 922r complaint and cuts out the mag well to be double stack. You can DIY this as well if you find a cheaper single stack WASR. However, Century has issues with getting the mag wells cut to take all AK mags. To get my Bulgarian Circle 10 mag to fit I had to do some dremeling.
3. Mag latch issues- of all these this could be the most difficult fix if it requires a new mag latch since you would have to get a new latch, a new rivet and rivet it while under spring pressure. To check for this in the shop see how much the mag wobbles forward and back (not side to side). This should be no more than an 1/8" inch an preferably less. The problem with a bad mag latch is that it will cause misfeds and sometimes some mags not to latch if it is closer to the receiver. Unfortunately, you may not be able to tell this in the shop.
4. Gas Block cant- similar issue and fix to the front sight cant. Field strip with removing the gas tube. Look through the rear sight block and see how well the gas block centers up through that. If it isn't centered it is most likely the gas block (rarer cases it's canted rear sight block which is a bigger deal but if the rest of the receiver/front trunnion is true this is unlikely). You would fix this by the non hammer method of redrilling the pins. It a lot of cases it doesn't need fix, only address the issue if you are having cycling issues.
5. Mag wobble (side to side)- this is only a minor annoyance in most cases but there can be a decent amount of wobble side to side with a WASR and it make noticeable rattle. It usually is an easy fix but doesn't normally hurt the function of the rifle left as is. This is caused by the mag well area not having dimples like a normal double stack stamped AK receiver. You can fix this by placing shims inside the well. I recommend not getting rid of all the wobble though, I just do enough to get rid of most of the rattle. Dimpled AK receivers have some wobble even and I think this is one of those loose tolerances that helps the AK be reliable. I could also see a overally shimmed on one side WASR actually inhibiting feeding.
6. Dirty overall condition- most of these are former military surplus rifles reworked for import. You will see a lot of comsoline and other junk. Do a detailed takedown and cleaning with the Fire Control Group (FCG) removed if possible and clean the sucker out. Yes, AKs can run great dirty but old comsoline is some nasty stuff. IMO the bolt take down is only required if your firing pin isn't freely shaking in the bolt or your extractor seems to be stuck. If you want to take apart the bolt just to be sure go for it!
WASRs are great entry level shooters and can be made a little nicer with some elbow grease and can be made into some really great things by guys like Jim Fuller (Rifle Dynamics).
Here is a great site that is focused on Romanian AKs (and is handy for AKs in general):
http://www.novarata.net/Linx310/overview.shtml
It looks like poster MattCFII covered it really well. Maybe someone covered this already but corrosion from mil. surplus stuff on used AK's shows up from time to time. The gas tube area is a good place to look first or around the breach. If possible look carefully in the bore with a bore light or a small flashlight.
A dirty bore is not a deal breaker. I bought my AK74 SAR 2 dirty from head to toe. Sometimes you can just tell when a weapon is the right one. There was no corrosion and the bore ended up being spotless. Maybe a few hundred rounds went thru it from the orig. owner.
It's my favorite go to rifle. My only upgrade so far is a MOJO Peep Sight with the click wheel adjuster and a KNS front post sight. It improved accuracy and acquisition time. There are other options but use what you have until you become familiar with it.
Mojo Micro Click Rear Ghost Ring Sight AK-47 Steel Blue - MidwayUSA
KNS Front Sight AK-47, SKS Standard Post .052" Diameter Steel Black - MidwayUSA
If new, you shouldn't find any corrosion. Finding cosmoline or oil coating is not a bad thing. Better than rust. Just strip it and clean it real good like the others have said.
Buying a previously owned AK or better yet, finding a shop with a range who will let you test fire it is better yet.
No AK is perfect and that is part of the beauty. Good luck !
A dirty bore is not a deal breaker. I bought my AK74 SAR 2 dirty from head to toe. Sometimes you can just tell when a weapon is the right one. There was no corrosion and the bore ended up being spotless. Maybe a few hundred rounds went thru it from the orig. owner.
It's my favorite go to rifle. My only upgrade so far is a MOJO Peep Sight with the click wheel adjuster and a KNS front post sight. It improved accuracy and acquisition time. There are other options but use what you have until you become familiar with it.
Mojo Micro Click Rear Ghost Ring Sight AK-47 Steel Blue - MidwayUSA
KNS Front Sight AK-47, SKS Standard Post .052" Diameter Steel Black - MidwayUSA
If new, you shouldn't find any corrosion. Finding cosmoline or oil coating is not a bad thing. Better than rust. Just strip it and clean it real good like the others have said.
Buying a previously owned AK or better yet, finding a shop with a range who will let you test fire it is better yet.
No AK is perfect and that is part of the beauty. Good luck !
Last edited:
Thanks!
Yep there is a difference between dirt and corrosion. Dirt just takes a little work to clean up into something nice.
I tried the Mojos at one point, didn't like them because of how far forward the peep is then on an AK. I now widen my rear notches Fuller style and paint my front sights orange. Works for my younger eyes.
A Saiga can be converted in less than 2 hours for the trigger move, buttstock, pistol grip and bullet guide. I did mine with just watching a couple of videos on the Carolina shooters supply.
The muzzle threading is not hard fromwhat I hear. I replaced the FSB with not too much effort, but it certainly needs some care to do that.
The muzzle threading is not hard fromwhat I hear. I replaced the FSB with not too much effort, but it certainly needs some care to do that.
Fordtough25
Grandmaster
Stop by Bradis guns, they had a whole rack of AK's last week when I was in there! I want an underfolder something bad now... 
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