Why not a Wasr

2196 Views 26 Replies 16 Participants Last post by BBill, Jun 13, 2010

aclearbluesky

Discussion Starter · Jun 6, 2010

It seems the Wasr 's Ak's are at the bottom of the list when making a purchase. They are the most advertised and lowest price on the market from what I can tell. What is the general opinion on the quality of the assembly and parts? I know the receivers have the metal plate welds inside instead of the mag dimples, but other than that feature whats the difference. I know someone will say "well mine goes bang what else is there to know" and I agree, however what specifics make the difference? Obvioiusly there is some kind of difference or else all the guys buying SAR1's, Lancaster builds, or Arsonals would be running to grab up the Wasr's. Thanks

1 - 20 of 27 Posts

pirate56

· #2 · Jun 6, 2010

they are rude, crude and ugly, to some all that matters is cheap. if you spend a few more bucks and get a quality one it is money well spent. it will look and work better and have better resale value.
it is no good to spend to much, but it is worse to spend to little

Coils

· #3 · Jun 6, 2010

I know the receivers have the metal plate welds inside instead of the mag dimples,

I don't think they have plates welded in them unless that's something that was started recently. But yes, they don't have the dimples which isn't a big deal anyway.

The main things I've noticed about them;
Poor finish, not awful but not great.
A good percentage of them have canted front sights, gas blocks or both. But not all of them, if you can look several over pick the best of the bunch.

I haven't looked at the prices of them lately, but for a while they were way overpriced, 300-350 would be decent but should actually be about 300 for a high price.

Markp

· #4 · Jun 7, 2010

I agree with most of the above, there is the rare WASR that turns out pretty well. If you have the opportunity to look at it in person and you can find a good one, there is nothing really wrong with the WASR. The AK is a cheap weapon to begin with, still, if it were my money... I would buy a SAIGA and convert, that's probably the best way to go to get a high quality AK at a reasonable price.

Mark

Uncle Mike

· #5 · Jun 7, 2010

I have three WASR's and four of the "better" AK clones.
All of them do exactly what they were designed to do.
Go bang every fricken time that you pull the trigger, and get dirty.
Kalashnikov didn't intend for them to be pretty, or handsome.
He designed them to be Peasant proof, and shoot.
Buy whatever you can afford. You can always refinish the stock if you don't like the "natural" look. (I did)
After you've played with an inexpensive model you can decide if you want to spring for the extra money to get a "pretty" one.
Just my $.02
Mike

expendable47

· #6 · Jun 7, 2010

DIMPLES are a MUST HAVE!!! If anyone sells a NIB SAR1 ...I would gladly take if off your hand for $600 dated 03' with the original box and all the accessories too...

Yeah call me crazy but SAR1 train left me a looonnnnng time ago. OP I bet you not one member on here would let go their NIB SAR1...so that tells you how much valued the SAR1 over the WSAR.

Lets just say SAR1 were built for military use but imported and sold to USA for civilian and CAI monkied it around to comply with the 922R.

j427x

· #7 · Jun 7, 2010

one of the best shooting AKM clones i have is a cheapo wasr i bought mail order for $225!

i replaced the stock for one off a rommie g series that some one had refinished. i replaced the trigger with a red-star adjustable unit. the only flaw i see in it is that the century monkeys used some uber thin sheet-metal.

the WASR can be a very good deal on a reliable and good shooting firearm.

just try to get a look at one before you buy as century turns out some turkeys from time to time.

ACMcom

· #8 · Jun 7, 2010

Coils said:
I don't think they have plates welded in them unless that's something that was started recently.

All WASRs have an upside down "L" shaped plate welded inside the receiver under the magazine locator tabs.
The short "leg" serves to locate the single stack magazine. Most of that short leg is cut back when the rifle is converted to take standard magazines.

hcpookie

· #9 · Jun 8, 2010

Ditto what everyone else has already said.

I bought a WASR right about the time I started to BIY. It was factory fresh in that the metal shavings were still present from the magazine well conversion.

I had to file it to fit anything but the one magazine that came with it. The real reason I sold mine was that the muzzle threads were removed and a muzzle cap was welded on, and I wanted a complete conversion. At the time I didn't have the tooling to build a sleeve to replace the threads and so I just sold it to someone at the local GS.

zmefly

· #10 · Jun 9, 2010

WASRs are good for people who don't feel like building and want a cheap AK

Broondog

· #11 · Jun 9, 2010

i still own two WASR's and shoot them regularly. granted, they are not as stout as my Yugo but they are still decent rifles and i'm not even slightly worried about getting them dirty or scuffed or what have you. i even put an Ironwood set on one and it's actually prettier than most higher end AK clones.

and to expendable47....SAR1 owners keep those and covet them highly because they don't make them anymore! at one time they were denegrated as bottom feeding AK's as well.

partsman

· #12 · Jun 9, 2010

Hold on guys! My kids got me a WASR10/63 for Christmas at Sir Jims in North Platte, Ne.
It was NIB with 2 30 rd mags, a bayonet, a useless oil bottle, and a sling. It was under $300.00. When I opened the box, OMG, The wood was a whore. It sucked big time. The metal finish is good. A little sandpaper and laquer thinner prepped the fore stock. I stained it walnut and redwood. The stock was too short, so I built my own. Now the wood and metal are real puuurdy. The plates
are welded inside of my receiver. I just looked. The mags wobble a little bit but not much.

The plus side is: My sights are NOT canted. Everything is straight. I don't know about other clones, but WASR's have a side rail for a scope mount. I have used it and it works well. I don't, however, like the side mount for looks even if it works well. I now have a beryl stye mount. Aetheticaly it is prettier. AND, it is plain fun to shoot.

Basically this rifle is a .30-30 for performance. It is accurate enough to kill deer at 200 yards. Anybody who thinks their WASR is a piece of junk, I will gladly give them junk price for them. If you want a high priced rifle, go to a bolt rifle.

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Chunky Lover

· #13 · Jun 10, 2010

2

I got one last week, knew about all the things to look for, I picked mine out at a local gun show but the area it was in was in the dark.

So even when I got home it looked good, I like the finish it has. Shot it and it was way over to the right. 4-7 inches. I drifted the sight over to the far right and it was dead on, but that far over it was to hard to see. I fixed the cant which I still never saw but since it was so hard to beat over I went a hair to far, so now its 1-2 inches to the left sights centered so I can drift over but I choose not to. Using a laser line level I now see the gas block is canted to the right, but a hair. Not enough to waste effort fixing.

Here are 10 shots 25 yards 100 yard zero, I was hitting clay targets at 100 yards, 1-3 shots only because I cant even see them in the sights. Even this target shown I couldnt see the center at all it was so small at 25 yards no rest.

I will buy another one, but im bringing a laser bore and laser level next time.

The wood comes stripped ready to be finished, one coat of stain and a few of tung oil and it looks great, I like the dry flat look.

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aclearbluesky

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jun 10, 2010

With or without dimples, ugly or not, straight or crooked, if I could find one for or under $300 I would buy it. I have not found a WASR or any Ak for under $350 anywhere lately. After my first post here I did compare an IO, WASR, and a Lansaster in a local shop the other day. The WASR ($550+tax) felt like a toy with the plastic furniture. On the other hand the Lancaster ($650+tax) was just a straight up nice firearm. The IO ($575+tax) looked ok, but had cheap plastic furniture as well. I think I will have to build my own to be content with quality and price.

Coils

· #15 · Jun 10, 2010

WOW $550 for a WASR!!!! That's crazy

Chunky Lover

· #16 · Jun 10, 2010

Coils said:
WOW $550 for a WASR!!!! That's crazy

Mine was 600 but it had the cali tax---> 1-10/30 tapco mag and mag lock

partsman

· #17 · Jun 10, 2010

Coils said:
WOW $550 for a WASR!!!! That's crazy

No kidding!

expendable47

· #18 · Jun 10, 2010

Broondog said:
they don't make them anymore!at one time they were denegrated as bottom feeding AK's as well.

Exactly. So SAR-1 is up there along with the high end ones....if you really break it down besides the MAADI and Chicom Poly techs they are the only 3 that are really made from that country and imported to USA...the rest are part kits...Originality is the key.

ANYONE got one for sale???? Hello?

Broondog

· #19 · Jun 10, 2010

expendable47 said:
Exactly. So SAR-1 is up there along with the high end ones....if you really break it down besides the MAADI and Chicom Poly techs they are the only 3 that are really made from that country and imported to USA...the rest are part kits...Originality is the key.

ANYONE got one for sale???? Hello?

there are a few on Gunbroker ranging from 5 to 8 bills.

Coils

· #20 · Jun 10, 2010

Mine was 600 but it had the cali tax--->

I'd think any firearm in Cali would be over priced, so that doesn't really surprise me

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