mslick1 2 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I'm looking for an AK47. The Romanian WASR is a candidate on my list. Any one has any good or bad feedback on this AK? Saigas are on backorder for who knows how long. So I need other options. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
haugpatr 972 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 You need to check around, Saiga's are available for purchase. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pinetopfirefighter 34 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I bought a WASR 10 two weeks ago. It is a new Century build, and I got 6 shots off before the rifle failed due to a bad firing pin (caused by???). Not impressed by any means. If I could go back, I would spend a bit more on a Saiga that has already been converted as so many stores are waiting for more standard models to arrive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
armory 142 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) If you can hand select your WASR, yes, there are some really good ones out there. Do your research and look for the ones with the military arsenal marks, and matching numbers. Quality is night and day versus the unmarked WASR's I picked this one up 3 weeks ago. Very Nice. Edited February 23, 2012 by armory Quote Link to post Share on other sites
datrowl 111 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I own .....9 Aks now. Arsonals, Saigas, WASRs, Norincos,stamped, milled, you name it, I've got one.... of them all... I shoot the WASR the most, BUT... its a hand selected wasr 10/63. they can be as good as any other AK in the game, they can be bad... really bad, but the Wasr bad rep was mostly gained thru the use of out of spec parts which to my understanding is standard practice no longer. Unless your buying a used Wasr from a few years back, sight unseen.... I wouldnt worry about it. All the ones I've seen lately have been good solid rifles with very few of the old problems wasrs were known for... and of those, most are cosmetic. For the money, I still prefer dollar for dollar the wasr over the converted Saiga, Its just more gun for the money.... /shrug, just my opinion, others may vary 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mslick1 2 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 If you can hand select your WASR, yes, there are some really good ones out there. Do your research and look for the ones with the military arsenal marks, and matching numbers. Quality is night and day versus the unmarked WASR's I picked this one up 3 weeks ago. Very Nice. I'm definitely hand picking my AK. A local gun shop has a few in stock and will give me a good deal on it compared to other shops in my area. Thanks for the advice. I own .....9 Aks now. Arsonals, Saigas, WASRs, Norincos,stamped, milled, you name it, I've got one.... of them all... I shoot the WASR the most, BUT... its a hand selected wasr 10/63. they can be as good as any other AK in the game, they can be bad... really bad, but the Wasr bad rep was mostly gained thru the use of out of spec parts which to my understanding is standard practice no longer. Unless your buying a used Wasr from a few years back, sight unseen.... I wouldnt worry about it. All the ones I've seen lately have been good solid rifles with very few of the old problems wasrs were known for... and of those, most are cosmetic. For the money, I still prefer dollar for dollar the wasr over the converted Saiga, Its just more gun for the money.... /shrug, just my opinion, others may vary Appreciate your opinion and experience. It sure helps to hear it from someone who already owns one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
armory 142 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I really like my WASR, but I would NEVER buy one sight unseen. If you are getting to handpick, make sure you get the best of the lot, I even got to swap out the cleaning rod and a mag for some better looking ones. But make sure you look for the triangle/arrow trunion marks. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowak 12 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I bought a new one today that was made in 2011 and the quality is a lot betters than the ones I bought 4 or 5 years ago. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
armory 142 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Even the wood finished up nice. There was no cosmoline removal needed at all. Same gun. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MT Predator 2,294 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 My WASR goes bang every time the trigger is squeezed. Never had any issues with it and it sees more range time than a lot of my other weapons because it was cheap and I don't feel bad if it gets beat up. Century doesn't build WASRS BTW pinetopfirefighter. They import them as is and only open up the magwell to accept regular AK mags. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrThunder88 912 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I like my WASR too. It's one of my best shooting AKs. Hand-selecting is the only way to go though. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SlamFire 1 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I bought my WASR-10 GP 10/63 from Dunham's in 2007; I am on good terms with this local store, got to go through a half dozen until I found one I liked. Paid total of $307 for it. It was filthy when I purchased it, filled with metal shavings from having the mag well opened up. A good cleaning, and never a problem with it, after the first two magazines. A break in the weather yesterday (50 degrees and sunny, today have 5" of snow and still coming down) and took it to the range for 100 quick rounds. Again, perfect functioning, and not too bad accuracy. I do understand this firearm is not a 'real' AK47, but I am happy with it. I'd recommend. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mslick1 2 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 I really like my WASR, but I would NEVER buy one sight unseen. If you are getting to handpick, make sure you get the best of the lot, I even got to swap out the cleaning rod and a mag for some better looking ones. But make sure you look for the triangle/arrow trunion marks. ill be looking for those trunion marks. thanks for the heads up! My WASR goes bang every time the trigger is squeezed. Never had any issues with it and it sees more range time than a lot of my other weapons because it was cheap and I don't feel bad if it gets beat up. Century doesn't build WASRS BTW pinetopfirefighter. They import them as is and only open up the magwell to accept regular AK mags. ive heard good and bad things about century. but im liking what im hearing from you and the rest of the guys on this topic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ryan6864 11 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 My WASRs all shoot great no problems at all dont let the gun snobs talk you out of one. An AK is very basic no need to spend $1000 and up. With the WASR you get side rail, chrome lined barrel, G2 trigger. To me the WASR is the definition of an AK cheap, simple, works enough said. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mslick1 2 Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 My WASRs all shoot great no problems at all dont let the gun snobs talk you out of one. An AK is very basic no need to spend $1000 and up. With the WASR you get side rail, chrome lined barrel, G2 trigger. To me the WASR is the definition of an AK cheap, simple, works enough said. I'm with you 100%. I'm actually going tomorrow to possibly buy a WASR. Thanks for you advice! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Saiga_rom 91 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 WASR10 was my first AK variant, and ive been very happy with it. it is without a doubt one of my favorite firearms Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shotgun12 205 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I would say the WASR 10 is the best choice for a first AK. My WASR 10 is my baby and i shoot this thing like there is no tomorrow. The only thing that was wrong with my WASR was the stock was warped a little bit but that doesn't bother me at all, you don't even notice it. Maybe later on you can throw down some serious money and get a quality AK, but as for a WASR you can do anything with it and it will still run like a sewing machine without you worrying about scratching it up. If i do ever scratch it up i strip it down and give it a new finish and she looks good as new ready to go back out into the field. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) My WASR was my first AK and it will never be sold. I don't think it's ever failed to fire, is not picky about mags whatsoever, and is an endless source of busywork for playing with refinished stocks and such. Oh yeah, and it's damn accurate too; a far cry from the accuracy misconceptions of the AK platform. Hitting the target reliably out to 200yds with iron sights and dirt cheap Wolf ammo is easy as pie. Easily the best $400 I ever spent on a firearm. The "election craze" WASRs of 2008 had some really bad apples as Century pushed Cugir to keep supplies shipping as buyers were preparing for the world to implode. But even then, "bad" implies maybe a canted sight or gas block - easily fixed if you know how to use your tools. In the last couple of years, quality has taken a huge leap. I haven't seen a bad WASR (canted sights, bad park job, etc.) in a really long time. Most sold are also now all-new parts, including barrel. WASR is manufactured in a state armory that has been building AKMs since 1965. In a lot of ways, they are one of the closest things to a milspec AK you can buy. Hell, they still have the third axis pin support indentations. Dimples? Who cares; most of the Saigas here don't have them. Edited February 29, 2012 by mancat 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowak 12 Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) Here is the one I bought last week that was made in 2011. Its been duracoated and the stock was refine, for the money they can make a nice rifle but it helps if you can handpick them and not buy it blindly. Edited March 1, 2012 by crowak 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Groovy Mike 36 Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 The only one I ever handled put 3 kinds of ammo in a 3 inch group with no failures of any kind. That is a group half the size what my Maadi did. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fallenangelhim 2 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 I have a GP WASR 10/63. It is a great rifle and my first AK. As others have mentioned, it goes bang every time. The magazine locks up tight with little to no wiggle. It eats any ammo that I feed it. It extracts, ejects, and fires perfectly. I've since added some ATI Strikeforce Stock set on it. I haven't had any magazines not fit. Mine has all the original Romanian stamping marks. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Snakum 1 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 I have to add to the WASR love fest ... In addition to ARs, I have owned a heavy/match barrelled MAK90, plain WASRs and SARs, Saigas of various calibers, and a Madhi. I bought a pair of WASRs in '07, both 10/63s from Cugir with proper trunion marks and matching part numbers. Trying various ammo, grinding some length off my top covers and using loose gas tubes, and removing the cleaning rods, both shot well within 2" for three when scoped. One of them shoots Brown Bear HP under 2" for as long as I care to pull the trigger as long as I don't let it get too hot. And neither one has ever hiccuped in any way across thousands of rounds, except once during a course of fire in a three-gun event where I had to run the rifle sideways under a vehicle, and which was merely due to weak mag springs. I now have three of them, and wouldn't sell them for anything. So I have to laugh at all the "WASRs are trash" talk on WT and other forums lately. If you can hand select a Cugir marked 10/63 and go thru the rifle to polish it up and loosen anything that binds against a trunion, and then find the ammo it likes, your $449 'trash rifle' will shoot on par with any stamped Arsenal and many high dollar custom Saiga-based AKs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shades_of_grey 1,092 Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 I sold my WASR 10/63 (all-matching 1964 parts with the arsenal mark, of course), for $850 in the spring of 2009, so I have fond memories of her. That fall, I bought a few SGL21s for ~$505 apiece. It's all in the timing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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