Grab a beer (or other beverage of your choosing) and reading glasses if you need them. This is a bit wordy but I hope worth the read.


This past Saturday I acted on the urge to purchase an AKM-pattern rifle. After doing a bunch of research and reading/watching reviews, I finally settled on the new WASR-10 from Century Arms. I picked it up yesterday!

-----Background-----

This is my first Kalashnikov-pattern rifle of any sort, and to be honest the desire for one has come about rather recently. When I first got into firearms, I wasn’t too interested in an AKM variant as I didn’t much care for the design when compared to other rifles. As both an enthusiast and an engineer, I have tremendous respect for the rifle and its design for what it was and what it was designed for, but just never felt like getting one.
So fast forward a few years, a few handguns, a few bolt actions, and a few semi-autos. Earlier this year after getting a M1911A1 reproduction, I really got the desire form some simpler, military-design firearms. I picked up a SP1 upper and started on a Retro build and helped a friend build his first AK, and then we got on the topic of AK-style rifles and what his options were in California. Well that was a poor choice for me because I started helping him look and the idea sort of got planted in my head too.
At the start of August, with my retro AR build delayed waiting for its lower, I really started looking and it became apparent that I was going to be getting an AK-pattern rifle, it was just a matter of when.


-----Selection Process-----

I started with a list of things I wanted and went from there. I was going to post asking you guys, but figured you got enough of these kinds of posts and didn’t want to annoy anyone.

-Intended Purpose: General-use. Range fun and plinking.
-Price Limit: ~$750
-Caliber: 7.62x39 or 5.45x39
-Design: As close to a standard AKM as possible.
-Furniture: Wood. AKM pattern preferred.
-Stock: Solid stocks only. (I learned about underfolders the “hard” way with my UZI Model B )
-Side Rail preferred, but not a deal-breaker if the rifle had a lot going for it otherwise
-Must take standard, surplus AK mags.
-Sold by Atlantic Firearms is a plus


I basically browsed Atlantic’s AK page with the exception of Classic Firearms for two or three options. I wanted something pretty basic and after looking at things from Atlantic (some of their home built offerings and exclusives), DDI, Petronov, I.O. Inc, Pioneer, Century (247C, C93v2, N/O-PAP’s, WASR), and even some things that were a bit off but could be “fixed” with the addition of solid stocks (Tantal, AMD-63 if the price was really good, even a VZ58/2008), I basically found myself looking at the I.O. Inc “Classic”, the WASR-10, and one of the USA-Made Century’s.  The PAP’s fell off because of furniture restrictions, but they were an option, the Tantal because I’d have to go used and fear of the bad barrels (and for my first Kalashnikov, 7.62 just sounded better).
And then I read some stuff and saw some things and dropped the I.O. Inc off the list. Possible frustrations, hassles, and issues they had but supposedly fixed was not worth saving $40 over the next option.

Looking at the last three Century options, I decided to go with the WASR for a combination of smaller things that I wanted: side rail, bayonet lug, cleaning rod, ability to take AKM furniture without modification, no “modernized” parts like the BHO safety and jumbo mag release, the nice CHF chrome-lined barrels, and the larger amount of positive reviews and suggestions.

Some of the other, more expensive AK’s seemed to be primarily different in what country’s parts they used, the fit-and-finish, and the furniture. With an AR it seems you can see a bit more when it comes to what your money gets you. But for an AK-type rifle, while I know the higher end stuff is great, I just wanted something basic and didn't feel I'd get more along those lines While I have no doubt that they are good rifles, I couldn’t justify the extra amount when this would just be a fun plinking rifle. I’d rather spend the difference on ammo.

For $600 shipped, the WASR-10 seems to be exactly what I wanted at a very attractive price. As longs as it works well and with reasonable accuracy for an AK-style rifle, I’m sure I’ll be plenty happy with my purchase.

I plan to keep this rifle very basic. The only thing I plan to add for sure is some nice Romanian furniture (I really want to try that handguard with the integral vertical grip and I do not like this black pistol grip). Down the line I may consider some form of optic for occasional use, but it will be a Soviet/Russian style one that latches on to the side. Also that pin retaining plate instead of the hook/”paper clip”, but I don’t know if that is just a convenience thing or not.


-----Basic Questions-----

I do have a few questions regarding Kalashnikov rifle ownership:
Anything in particular I should watch out for with my rifle?
Any specific tools you’d suggest I look into? I already have a front sight tool on the way.
What is a good way to zero the rifle so the rear sight’s range adjustment is functional? I’ve seen the method of using the “P” setting, methods that just say to zero it at 100 and you’ll be good, and then methods that just seem to zero at whatever range they want and not touch the rear sight at all. I have access to ranges from 10yd-600yd, and I’d like to be able to use the neat ladder sight when I switch between them.


I’ll be using the next post to go through my initial thoughts on the rifle and the post after that for an initial range report.

If you made it to this post, congratulations. This one will have pictures to reward you, although I'll try to take some nicer ones for the top post.

Please forgive me if I use improper terms to describe parts of the rifle! I'm new to this design.
The rifle has been cleared before I took any of these pictures, just incase anyone was worried.

-----Atlantic Firearms-----
I started with Atlantic in mind as the primary place I'd want to purchase my rifle from. I'd considered Bud's as I've had great experiences with them in the past, but Atlantic's pricing, reputation for service, and the QC offering for Century products is what sold me on them. Everything was very straight forward and the one question I did have was answered quickly. I ordered my rifle mid-day Saturday, FFL sent the info that same day, it shipped out on Tuesday, and it arrived Thursday.

The only confusing part of the order was the way the rifle was listed on my confirmation/invoice. The rifle was listed with a SKU of "CAI-RI1805-N W/O BAYONET". I was a bit worried and confused initially as I was under the impression that the rive was going to have a bayonet lug as not only the pictures of these rifles on Atlantic's page showed it, but the Century Arms 2015 catalog lists the RI1805-N as the version that has the muzzle brake and bayonet lug. When I was picking the rifle up, I noticed  a big green sticker on the end of the box that said the same thing. Opening the box, I was relieved to see that there was a bayonet lug as I had originally though (at least I am 99% sure, It isn't as obvious to me as with an AR).
My guess is that Atlantic had a special with them at one point that included a bayonet (or removes the bayonet to lower the price as they sell them separately) and the sticker just indicates that.
I'd suggest putting that on the product page with the rest of the description as it is not mentioned. For example: "...with removable flash hider / brake, bayonet lug,..."


***Edit***
Atlantic stated that they use this internal SKU because the older generations of WASR used to come with bayonets and that using this prevents some people from thinking that Atlantic takes the bayonet out.


-----Unboxing the WASR-----

I went into this purchase with a bit lower expectations. I know Century has improved, but compared to other rifles I have, this is the least expensive center fire I've been purchasing (other than a Mosin Nagant). There were a few things that raised an eyebrow, but overall I didn't see anything major. That said, I have no AK experience and was going off of guides and pictures online for what to look for and what a good vs screwed up part looks like.

All these pictures were taken after picking the rifle up from the FFL, so it isn't really the first time I saw/inspected it. Sorry if that ruins the fun for anyone.


The Box



Yes, I took a picture of the box. It is nothing special and I'd guess this is a generic box they ship everything in (maybe they have something special for the C39 series). The main gripe is the large "CENTURY ARMS" and the crosshair plastered on the front. Nothing else I have purchased has been so overt in its contents, typically with just a small logo in the corner and a barcoded label on the side. I know to many people this is a small thing, but I'd rather not advertise what I am bringing in from my car. Easy enough to get around as I just took the brown shipping box from my FFL, but still something worth noting.


Inside the Box



More fun than the outside is the inside! I was a bit disappointed to see that the rifle was just sandwiched between some "egg carton" foam. Other firearms (and even replicas) I have purchased had nice fitted foam inserts or at least shaped cardboard to prevent the rifle from sliding around. There was a thin pad of extra foam on the narrow sides of the box, but nothing else. It was pretty evident that this rifle had done some sliding around as there were partial punctures in the cardboard from where the front and rear sights had bashed into them. Moving on from the box, the foam did have some smears of color that I'd guess are from some of the woods finish or cosmoline. Other than that, everything was as it should have been.

Yes it is an inexpensive rifle and yes it is an AK-pattern so it can take some abuse, but when I've seen $250 airsoft rifles that have general-shape foam padding, I'd like to think that Century could at least do a little better.

Moving past the packaging, I got a bit of a surprise when I opened the box at the FFL's. The WASR is listed as coming with TAPCO or surplus magazines (some people have gotten one of each). I was really hoping for some surplus steel mags because I think they just look more traditional, but when I saw the black plastic, I was confused because the mag in the rifle definitely didn't look like a TAPCO mag.


-----Accessories-----

While I have mostly "standard" mags for my AR, I do have 1 Magpul mag, so I recognized the pattern rather quickly. I lifted up the padding and sure enough, there was a second, new-in-wrapper Magpul P-Mag AK 7.62 magazine. I'd still rather have a steel mag, but if given the choice between a Magpul and a TAPCO, I'd pick Magpul.



Other than the mags, the rifle came the expected "Cleaning Kit Suppository", and a sling. I couldn't get the cleaning kit open because my hands were covered in grease and oil, but I still got some use out of it (I'll explain later). As for the sling, I'll have to take another look at it this evening but I get the feeling it may be missing something. I only glanced at it as I put it to the side, but I just saw a hook on one end and a keeper on the other.


-----Fit and Finish-----



I was expecting something with some loose fits and I was pleasantly surprised. Everything on the rifle seemed to fit very well together and some parts were very tight. The bolt carrier group traveled freely until it hit reached the hammer, at which point it took a bit of force to cock the rifle. It felt a bit gritty as it lowered the hammer, which I am under the impression is normal until the mating parts wear in to each other. The bolt carrier exhibited no play against its rails either.
The safety is very tight and takes considerable force to move right now, especially from fire to safe. The same is true with the gas tube release; thankfully I used the slot on the cleaning kit's case that is apparently designed to wrench that open. Removing the lower handguard was a pain as aside from the lever being tight, I needed to use a small mallet to tap it out. The stock met the receiver with a small gap on one side and the size of the gap was consistent along its entire length (someone mentioned to look for that, as if it is not, it could mean the stock tang or trunion is not straight).

The parkerized finish itself seemed even over the entire rifle, however I don't know just how durable it will be. I was expecting scratches from the selector and gas tube release (which actually look pretty nice on the rifle), but the finish seemed to scratch easily. Some parts of the receiver where I didn't expect to see any wear from such mild handling are showing it and the magazine release has already lost some from seating a few polymer mags. The release for the receiver cover is also showing some moderate wear already as well.

This is only my second parkerized firearm, so I don't know if this is normal or if this is just a lower quality coating.

Lastly, I was really surprised by the trigger. It seems to break really cleanly and the pull is not heavier than what I would expect on a military-type rifle. I don't have the most experience at gauging triggers and only have a small-ish pool of firearms to compare it too, so I'll compare it to some of what I do have tonight and simply try to "rank" it. Definitely heavier than my M1911A1 and lighter than my Tavor though.

***Edit***
I added a quick shot of the receiver markings. You can also see two of the rivets and some of the machining. I'll add more pictures later!


-----The Furniture-----



I knew going in that I wasn't going to be completely satisfied with the wood and already plan to change it out just because of aesthetics, however I am pretty impressed. The wood was pretty solid and well finished. The buttstock's finish was noticeably smoother than the lower handguard, and it does seem like it is on the softer side, but the grain looks nice and everything seems well formed. There is no hole for the cleaning kit, but this is not a surprise.

I'm just not a huge fan of the blond color on the AKM, especially not this clean and bright. Durability wise, do I think this will be an issue compared to laminated wood? No, especially not for me. I'm sure there are plenty of people who will re-stain this (or just spray paint it....yuck) and I may darken it with stain at a later point. For now, I'm lo looking at some Romanian parts. If I didn't really want to try the Romanian vertical grip, I'd be fine "dealing" with the wood as it is.

The pistol grip is another thing I am not keen on. It feels really "plastic" and I don't like how it looks with the rifle either. I'd prefer wood or Bakelite, but again, it is livable if I didn't already have plans. From what little I know of AK parts, this looks like a TAPCO "AK Original Style Pistol Grip".


TL;DR Version: The furniture appears perfectly serviceable. I'm just not a fan of the appearance and that is personal preference. It reminds me of the generic "Hardwood" stocks you see on the basic Ruder 10/22 and other .22LR rifles.


As an aside, are AK grips normally this thin?


-----Sight Alignment-----







Again, I am no AK guru, but they look pretty straight to me. The front post is pushed in to the side but it seems that it could be the result of simply assembling it and pushing it flat (a picture will show it below). Looking down the sights and comparing it to the gas tube looks straight and looking at it from a distance with the rifle propped upright it seems straight too. If anyone has a good method of checking this other than eyeballing it, please let me know. If nothing else, it would put me at ease.

If nothing else I'll get some better pictures.

***Edit***
I added two pictures here. It looks like there may be a slight cant to the front, but it isn't very noticeable. As long as it zeros, it's fine by me!


-----Magwell and Receiver-----







Here is another case of me preparing for the worst and being pretty surprised. The magwell seems nice and straight and there are no burrs or tool marks inside or outside. I ran my finger carefully along the inside and it feels like it was supposed to be this width.

The magwell is also very snug on the Magpul magazines and on the cheap slab-sided Bulgarian one I grabbed from the gun store when I was last there a week and a half ago. The one Magpul mag show some scratches and some digging in from the magwell's edges, but  the mag comes out when pulled. The Bulgarian mag does something strange though; if I am gripping it as I pull the release, it will bind up on the locking lug and cannot be moved. If I awkwardly push the release forward and then bump the back of the mag with another finger or knuckle, the magazine release just fine. I'm guessing it is the shape of the lug being a bit too thick / slightly out of spec. I'm not too worried as I had planned to use that mag for other purposes anyways.
Regardless, neither mag had anything more than a very slight wiggle. When I can get my hands on some metal mags, I'll update things on those.

***Edit**
Per a request, I added a straight-on picture of the magwell without the cover or BCG.


-----Muzzle Brake and Threads-----

First of all, as someone who has had to deal with the frustration of trying to index a muzzle device on an AR, let me say that the little spring-loaded pin is fantastic.



My slant brake had no evidence of being welded on or poked at. It had some crud around it, but once I cleaned that off, I was able to remove and reattach it by hand. The threads were clean and sharp and the crown of the barrel looked as I'd expect it to.

In the above picture, you can see what I was talking about with the front sight's windage position. It looks as though someone simply pressed it in until it was flush with the sight frame.


-----The Ugly Mess-----

It was at this point I stripped the rifle down to clean it. I placed the bolt carrier group aside and went to look down the bore. I saw some things that make me want to make terrible jokes about Lay's making rifles or some generic internet macro's / memes


Chips. Chips everywhere.


***Edit***
The chips are not from the production of the rifle in Romania. Instead, they are form Century when the open the mag well. This explains how they get into all the strange places of the rifle and the various amounts that are there. I would assume that the rifles are field stripped and then held for milling magwell up at Century when they open the magwell.



Inside the barrel:


On the piston:


Inside the gas tube:


The good news is that I figured out why I felt a bit of grittiness as the piston moved into the gas tube.
The better news is that once everything was cleaned up, no surfaces seemed to have any sort of damage at all. I can figured out how some may have gotten in the barrel from cutting the muzzle threads, but I'm still puzzled how that much got into the gas tube.

Just for fun, I gathered them all up (at least the ones that weren't embedded into my hand or the cardboard I was working on) and put them into a neat little pile.


Since that doesn't give a reference for how many there were, I put them in a bottle cap. Again, just for fun.



Aside from having to get some out of the heel and palm of my hand, this struck me more as bad machining practice. I don't know if I'd say quality control because the machining itself looks fine, but I get the feeling that even taking a few seconds to hit these parts with some compressed air  to blow out the chips before assembly would be something that any machinist would do.





-----Summary-----

Other than the finish seeming to wear easily and the chips, I didn't see anything about the rifle that struck me as off. Everything fit well, parts seemed to be machined well, and the typical things people have mentioned to look out for with the WASR-10 (sight cant, magwell slop, rough action, assembled by monkeys), do not seem to be present. So far I'm quite happy with my purchase, but as I have primarily just racked the charging handle, changed mags, and grinned like an idiot I'll find out more once I take it out to the range.

That should be Sunday.

If you have any tips, questions, or info, let me know!

-----Initial Range Report-----

The title is actually a bit of a lie as this is from two range trips!

Prior to the range trips / as part of unboxing the gun, I had cleaned the bore and action, placed a modest amount of Outers Gun Oil on the springs and the non-mating surfaces, and put Lucas Oil NLGI #2 White Lithium Grease on the rails and a tiny amount on the hammer. I've been told that such a light oil is not very useful on an AKM-pattern rifle, but I figured on the non-mating parts it should be fine as a light lubricant. If nothing else it would give me piece of mind against corrosion. As for the grease, I've found that I rather like it on my AR and even on some of my pistols. If anyone has an alternative grease you'd suggest please let me know. I've used white lithium in the past with no issues, but I am not particularly hard-use on my firearms.


-----Range Trip 1-----

The first trip to the range was a bit of a let down from the start. None of the places I went for ammo had any so I was forced to go to this small place I wasn't familiar with. Their prices on Tula Ammo were astronomical! If this was not my first chance to shoot the rifle, I would have walked out and just enjoyed my other rifles that day. I'd rather not say what I paid because you will all laugh at me for paying it. Even then, I could only stomach/justify buying 100 rounds.

Arriving at the range I started at the 25yd and the rifle was shooting noticeably to the left. As I was not familiar with the AK's front sight adjustment amount (how much movement equals X) and didn't have the mindset to do the trigonometry at the time, I used the 25m paper simply to give me an estimate of what I'd be looking at for 100yd.

For the curious, the answer was about 10"-12" to the left. A kind fellow club-member saw that I had a sight tool out and was trying to measure targets and offered me the use of his massive 4-target block (about 42" x 42") and his spotting scope. He said it wouldn't matter to him since the holes from my 7.62 and 5.56 would be very easy to differentiate from the massive holes punched by his .45-70.

I eventually got some consistency and went to adjust the front sight with the TAPCO sight tool, but they just refused to budge at all. I called it a day (for the WASR at least) after 50 rounds. I didn't want to waste any more if I couldn't get it sighted in.

HOWEVER, I can say that the rifle functioned just fine with both the Magpul AK PMag and the slab-sided Bulgarian commercial mag. The Bulgarian mag did not like to come free if there was any pressure on it moving it towards the rear of the rifle; it would lock up on the bolt release if I was holding it. A user here posted that it would probably just need to be filed down. Some filing and sanding of the rear lug did solve the issue.

Upon returning home, I applied some oil to the front sight and then used a light mallet to tap the handle on the TAPCO sight tool. That got the sight moving and I positioned it more towards the center. I tossed the oil and mallet in my range bag for the next trip.



-----Range Trip 2-----

I went back out to the range this past Sunday armed with the sight tool, oil, mallet, and 200 rounds of TulaAmmo (purchased at a good price this time).

The plan was to go 25-50-100 yards, but the 50 yard range was closed for Project Appleseed. I just used the 25 yard to get a general idea again and then moved to the 100 yard. The rifle was still about 4" to the left, but that was a marked improvement from the 10"-12". After verifying the average, I got out the sight tool and mallet and got to work. Per the information I had that the AKM's front post moving 1mm would change POI about 10" at 100m, I tried to go from there. Didn't exactly work as the sight still needed some persuasion, but doing it in increments and checking worked just fine. I did draw an interesting look from one of the guys who had out this nice looking target rifle. I doubt he would ever try and adjust anything on his rifle by hitting it with a rubber mallet, no matter how small.


Eventually I got things sighted in from the rifle's perspective. I'm very new to the AKM-style sights and there is a lot of room for personal improvement in the way of consistency of sight alignment. The best group I achieved that afternoon was about 3.5".



I also tried shooting from prone, sitting, kneeling, and offhand. I feel that I was able to keep the rifle on a reasonable target for the stances. Still plenty of room for improvement and I am sure the rifle is capable.

I also had to satisfy the urge for some rapid fire. Most of them were just "hit this general area" or switching targets, but I did do a 20-round course of fire starting in keening them moving to standing where I was focusing on the same target. All 20 rounds hit an NRA 100 Yard Military Type Target, so I was happy.





Again, no issues with the rifle. I did heat it up enough to get some of the oil to smoke off and bubble the shellac on the front of the lower handguard.








-----Summary-----

With 250 rounds through it and the rifle pretty well zeroed, I'm pretty happy with it. While it is a low round count and only one type of ammunition, there have been no issues of any kind with the rifle. The rifle fed TulaAmmo 123gr FMJ from Magpul AK PMags, Bulgarian Slab-side commercial mags, and surplus Romanian steel mags. The action did feel a bit smoother (when being cycled manually) at the end of the second range trip than it did when it was first removed from the box and I expect that to continue as the parts wear into each other. Accuracy from the rifle is probably better than what I achieved, but it is at least capable of 3.5 MOA.


I'll be adding some pictures of the "new" furniture and the process of restoring it to the end of the thread in a bit

---Note on Magazines---
After installing the Romanian lower handguard with the vertical grip, the Magpul AK PMag was not happy. The magazine is not easy to remove and needs to be essentially unlatched and then wiggled to the side while pulling forward and down. The steel mags worked just fine. The Romanian steel mags (the only steel I have) seemed to work best with the rifle period; they were the smoothest to insert, lock, release, and remove.

Front Sight tool is definitely great.  Otherwise, there's nothing special you need.

If there is no cant in the front sight or randomly the rear sight bends to a side.

Otherwise, stick with Easter European mags, Chinese (not Korean - except the new jet black 20s).  Bakelite, Circle10 and Toffs Technologies are all great but are more money.

Good luck and enjoy!

AK sight tool is the only AK specific tool I've needed so far.

For zeroing - remember they use metric over there so 109 yards is 100 meters.

Two easy ways to do it, either zero @ 100 meters with the sight set to one or a touch low at 100 yards... or... AKOU has a great video on how - note that you want to zero a bit lower if you only have a 100 yard range and are using the 300meter method.

Thanks! I've watched that video and others from them as well.

Based on some calculations I found, it says that a 100M zero setting with a 7.62x39mm should be about 0.19" above the point of aim at 100yd. That seems to make sense and I was planning on drawing something up quickly in CAD so I have a nice "AIM HERE. BULLETS SHOULD BE HERE" for that range.

Granted, that assumes I can actually get some good shots off. I like to be optimistic, but realistic.

At the range I joined, I have access to up to the 200 yard range without taking a qualification check. then I can go out to 600 yards

Most of those shavings are likely from Century opening-up the magwell, which is how they got into both the barrel and gas tube. Yes, the parkerizing is weak on the Romanian rifles, but it does the job and it accepts paint readily should you decide to go that route. Congrats on the new purchase!

That makes a lot of sense and I feel really dumb for not putting those two factors together myself.
Also thanks for the info on the park job.

do 2015 WASRs have romanian cugir receivers and romanian chrome lined barrels?

yes and yes

Most Romanian AK's I've had the front sight post position was factory set to zero the rifle not merely pressed in to some arbitrary spot and then the post installed. Some AK's will have the sight post set at the extreme edge of their adjustment range to get them zeroed. If this bothers you, you can cant the FSB in the direction the front sight post is maxed out and take a small needle file to the FSB pin holes to adjust them when reinstalling the FSB pins. This will give a bit of cant to the FSB but will have the benefit of making the sight post more centered.

If you want to mod it in this way make sure before any filing and reinstalling the FSB pins that you check your actual zero at the range and adjust the position of the FSb accordingly to zero the rifle and center up the front post. Alternatively you could just buy an RPK windage adjustable rear sight (can be a bit pricey) and install it without any mods, center up the front post and adjust the rear sight to achieve your zero. Congrats on your new rifle...

Can you take a pic of the magwell from directly underneath the rifle?

Congrats on your new rifle and welcome to the darkside!

And thanks for a great in-depth post/review and all the pics, it's a lot of work making a post like that and I really appreciate folks who go to that kind of trouble for the community.

And I thought mine had a lot of metal in it

Nice looking rifle, they've come a long way since the 10/63

Thanks a lot for all the input guys! I'm heading to the range shortly and will get feedback on the most important part later tonight.
I added a few pictures to the original post based on some requests. Sorry if they aren't the greatest, but some were rather awkward to try and get.

I can also report that I am already finding creative ways to use my new rifle. Take a good look at the rear plate on the stock. Does that look like the face of a meat tenderizer to you? I don't know if that is a simple coincidence, but I may or may not have tested it on some beef round steak on Friday.




Yes. I added a picture of the receiver markings. As for the Chrome barrel, I can't get a good picture but simply from looking down it and seeing the sheen, I can say it certainly appears chrome lined as it looks like some of my other crome lined bores (and not some of my non-chrome lined bores). Plus, I doubt Century would lie about something so major!




Thanks for the info! I'll be heading out to the range shortly to sight it in. I really don't want to unpin things. Not going to lie, but that seems like a lot more work than it is worth for a fairly aesthetic change (assuming the rifle zeroes).


Sure thing! Added to the original review post for you! I also took one with the BCG and cover on, but figured you wanted one with just the receiver so you could see through.




It is work, but if it helps someone who was in my situation then it is absolutely worth it! I did the same thing after I build my first AR.

As for the dark side, I don't know what you mean. As of right now, this purchase is saving me money!
I was planing on building an KISS 16" AR down the line (solid stock, A2 upper) to have a nice intermediate between my other AR's. Now I have a rifle that already fits that bill and it is a type of rifle I didn't have before but wanted.




Stealing bayonets? Really? That is kind of special to get accused of that. Your price on Romanian bayonets is quite reasonable anyways. Either way thanks for the clarification. I updated the comments about my experience with you guys to clarify this.

I will say that your activity on the forum combined with your reputation for customer service were major factors in my choice to purchase from you. The prices, selection, and QC brought me to Atlantic, but the reviews and reputation sealed the deal.
Plus, your willingness to modify rifles for California is great. My friend is there (and with the sweet living conditions he has, he'd be a bit crazy to leave no matter how stupid the laws are) and Atlantic is the main place he looks at things.

Nice review. Thanks for taking time to do it. Looking forward to the range report. I've been thinking about getting one of these myself. You are right about Atlantic being great to deal with. They have some of the best CS out there.

Well today was a bit of a bust at the range. All the things I had planned to do fell through / didn't quite come together: I couldn't find anything to fill the new rests I got, three stores didn't have ammo, the fourth store had horrific, gouging prices, the WASR is shooting way to the side, and the sight doesn't seem to want to move.

To add insult to injury, I realized when I got back that I think I was trying to drift the sight the wrong way anyways.

The rifle is shooting about 10"-12" to the left. I joked with a friend that this must be one of the California versions as it refuses to go anywhere but to the left.

Now that I am home, I managed to use some oil and a light rubble mallet to get the front sight to drift with the tool. Downside is that I have to go check the zero again which, even though it means shooting more, means that I won't know about the results for at least a week.

Function wise, the rifle works just fine. The action is smooth and the trigger is quite nice.

That's the nicest finished Wasr I've seen!  Wood looks decent too!
My Sar1 bought back in 2001 looked like it was kicked across a gravel parking lot.

Edited to add I use c-clamp style ak front sight tool. I also bring along a short piece of pipe to use as a breaker bar (get more leverage) on the C-Clamp sight tool. Those front sight drums are in there good and tight.

That's a good idea. I'll try and find some small ID pipe to use. Hopefully I can get out to the range again next weekend (hopefully more prepared as well!). That should allow for a bit more fine adjustment than gentle mallet taps, no matter how light the mallet is. Now that the sight is more centered, the C-clamp tool can attach more easily as well.

I'd rather have the front sight be tight and difficult to adjust than loose and not hold a zero!.

The FSB may be canted for a reason. Shoot it and see if it's good and on target. If it is, and canting the FSB to the plumb position will not interfere with zeroing, you can certainly fix it or have it fixed. But there's a chance that it had to be canted in order to get the rifle to zero.

The way I correct sight cant is to remove the retaining pins in the FSB using a hydraulic press with a drill chuck on the ram, loaded with lengths of 3mm drill rod. After that, I can either beat the FSB over with a brass hammer or press it off and press it back on using the hydraulic press and a fixture made for this purpose. Then, a drill press or a small round file can be used to remove barrel material inside the retaining pin holes before driving the retaining pins back in.

I realize this process requires a lot of tools.

And sometimes you can just smack the shit out of the FSB with a rubber mallet and it will move

I would center the sight post in the base and adjust from there.  If you are shooting way left you will need to move the sight post to the left toward center anyway.

Yup! That is the plan.
I actually ordered some Romanian steel mags and the Romanian furniture today as well. I want to see how the magwell is with metal mags.

some polymer ak mags hit the mag well at the rear area near the mag catch. newer polish and bulgarian especially. these mags have two small ears on either side of the rear catch which are supposed to prevent debris from entering the receiver through a small gap here.

unfortunately the milling that century does here is not totally complete. the mag well should be drilled or millled out in two small circular spots on either side of the mag catch base plate to be truly correct. it doesnt cause a problem with most mags because only a few types have these small ears.

easiest thing to do is just clip or file the small ears off the back of the offending polymer mags.

Last night I got the steel mags and nicer wood furniture in.

The steel mags make a huge difference in my opinion. not only does the rifle look better with them, but they lock into and come out of the magwell smoother and easier. There is a bit of play with them, but nothing past a slight wiggle.



Looking better, but still not where I want. I am just not a fan of the wood's color, and to be honest it doesn't see to be very strong either. A chunk of the stock came off as I was removing it, which I do plan to see if that is covered by Century. Worst thing they can do is say no, at which point I'll put some wood glue on it and be done with it.

What I got to replace it is a nice set of Romanian furniture. The place I ordered from was selling them with a FCG (no discount without so I have it) and included all the hardware (none of it is show attached in the pics). I called in and asked how well things matched and he offered to do a hand pick for both general color and match the pieces to each other. All of that, including shipping, was still less than the cost of a basic AR-15 stock assembly.


I am sure there is some Freudian thing going on here since I have a preference for women with darker hair and put darker wood on my rifle.



It seems to be in pretty good shape. A few light dings on the stock but no chips, gouges or scratches. The lower handguard needs its finish reapplied, and that brings me to some of the questions I have for you guys.


Wood: Potentially a shot in the dark because it could be many things, but would anyone have any idea on what kind of wood this would be?

Furniture Finish Repair: I do not want to strip this furniture and refinish it. I really like the color and would like to keep the current finish. That said, the lower handguard in particular needs a recaot. I am under the impression that this furniture would have a shellac finish on it. Is this correct and if so is there any suggested methods you guys have to restore/reapply it that would be AK specific?
I've checked online for general shellac repair and it seems to be that you smooth it out with alcohol and a brush (basically redistribute it) and let it dry. For reapplying it on the handguard, is there a certain color I should use? I was going to look at some of the flakes coming off to see their color, but I am not sure if that would be the color it originally was or not.


Furniture Fit: How should the furniture fit the rifle? I obviously had to do some sanding to get things to go in, but after a point, it was very snug. I'd say the last 1/8-1/4" of getting the stock into the receiver was basically "Tap with rubber mallet" snug. Is this to be expected or is it too tight? There is also a much more sizeable gap between the receiver and stock with this buttstock in place (the holes are lined up but the screws are not in). I'm assuming that is just the nature of the beast when putting old surplus stuff on a rifle it wasn't originally fit to.

The lower handguard dropped right in. As for the upper handguard...

Furniture Repair: So the reason the upper handguard isn't show in the pictures is because it broke. I had taken off the old on and did the whole twist thing. It required a bit of force and I had to use a padded vice grip to hold the wood while I turned the tube with the wrench, but then it turned free. The "new" Romanian handguard, when I went to install the gas tube in it, started turning then emitted a loud crack. It split straight down the grain. I think it is jealous of AR furniture that is just two parts that come together.

The bad news is it is broken and I am very sad. Not to the point of manly tears being shed, but to the point of sadly putting the rifle down, calling it a night, and drinking a beer.


The good news is that the break is very clean. When I put the halves back together there is no noticeable seam or anything. You can see it in the picture a little, but that is because I was holding the halves with one hand and the camera with another.


Is this a problem that can be remedied with some properly applied wood glue and maybe some fine sanding or am I a bit SOL here?


All things aside, it is amazing how the rifle went from really bight blond to a nice, dark look that is kind of menacing. Really liking it and the "dong" is pretty comfortable.

I'll be taking it back to the range again this weekend to actually sight it in now that the front sight is unstuck and I know what I need to do!


Thanks in advance guys.

Wood glue can work wonders, but I'd file this under SOL. The upper handguards are pretty snugly pressed into place with the spring and such. Can't hurt to try anyway, these aren't hard to locate though should the glue not work out.

The wood glue seemed to work just fine. After a 24 hour cure and judicious sanding, the upper handguard / gas tube cover is installed. The extra layer of shellac also covered the tiny seam very well.
Speaking of shellac, after removing the old finish from the lower handguard and redoing it, it looks fantastic! The entire set of "new" furniture has had its shellac touched-up or redone, then was buffed with 0000 steel wool. It looks gorgeous and I'll post pictures after the range trip today!

This time I'll be sure to bring oil for the front sight and a rod /small mallet for leverage.

You could remove the finish/shellac from the upper handguard, then laminate a piece of birch veneer over the whole thing. I used a vaccum bag to keep the veneer in place while the glue cured. You can do the entire operation with the handguard attached.
I did that on a MAADI handguard that was heavily chipped. Stained it up with rit dye tinted amber shellac.

----- WASR-10 Makeover-----


If anyone has a more fitting/manly word than "makeover", let me know. Renovation or restoration don't seem to work.


When I bought the WASR-10 I knew I wasn't going to be happy with the stock furniture's color. It is too light and contrast-y in my opinion. When I got the rifle, as stated before, I didn't really feel it was of the best quality either.

As mentioned in a previous post, I got some Romanian Pm. Md. 63 / AIM-63 furniture. You can see the shape it arrived in and the oops that happened to the upper handguard / gas tube cover. I like the dark wood look and had no desire or intention to completely strip it down to nothing, so I took the necessary steps to restore it.

In this case, that ment doing some work with shellac on all the wood. Shellac is really easy to work with, very forgiving, and pretty inexpensive. It isn't the most durable compared to modern finishes, but the ease of repair and maintenance compensate for that. Plus it is proper for this furniture and looks really nice. All I needed to do this was the following: bristle paint brushes, 0000 steel wool, denatured alcohol, and some fine sand paper. The shellac itself can be purchased in flakes or premixed/ready to use. The flakes allow for you to dye it whatever color you want, adjust the consistency, make only what you need, and has an indefinite shelf life. A 1/2lb bag is not cheap though. The canned stuff is ready to use and has a shelf life of three years. It is only available in a few colors and is about $10 a pint. I got the "clear" and barely even touched the amount there with this project. Anyone have some furniture they need done? Maybe an old radio?


The stock's finish was in pretty good shape; just a few nicks here and there and it had lost some of the luster. I tried smoothing it over but wasn't 100% happy with the result and figured I'd just add another coat. Since I had already pushed it in to the receiver, I actually just added the coat with the stock on the rifle.

The upper handguard was also in pretty good shape (aside from having been broken), but I wanted to try and blend the small seam from gluing it. I buffed this and then gave it two coats.

The lower handguard was missing almost all of its finish. For this I just stripped the rest off and completely recoated it with three coats of shellac. Here is where the ease of working with shellac really shone. To strip the handguard's remaining finish, all I needed to do is take some steel wool dampened with denatured alcohol and wipe. Ethanol is the natural solvent for shellac. For mixing your own finish or high-end furniture, the purer the better. However, Everclear is expensive and the fancy woodworking/furniture brands are too, so I just used the Klean Strip stuff. For stripping it works just fine. After a few passes with the steel wool, all that needs to be done is to take a paper towel and clean off the softened and broken up shellac. It comes right off. Continue until the finish is removed. In some cases, such as the tight areas in the curves, I had to use a light sandpaper or knife blade to carefully remove the old layer.

Fully stripped, the handguard looked like this:


Applying a new finish of shellac is very easy. Since a ready-to-use shellac finish is just the flakes dissolved in ethanol, it is very liquid and flows easily with a brush (think watercolors). I stood the handguard up on the flat end, started at the tip of the grip, and worked down. Once the part was well coated, I set a timer for an hour and did other things. I buffed the finish with the 0000 steel wool between coats, but other than that there was no difference to the process.

After the third coat had dried, the handguard was looking pretty darn good! Still didn't give it a final buff, but that came later.





I attached the handguard no problem. The upper handguard I went super slow and did a fair bit of sanding and filling on the wood. I finally got it to the point where it would rotate and I could pretty much do it by hand. I lost a bit of the finish, so I just touched it up while it was mounted no problem. It is still a bit noticeable because the sanding removed some of the original color.
The lower handguard had taken a rest on the zipper of a bag and had some teeth marks on it (shellac apparently needs a bit longer to fully harden). Again, repairs on shellac are super simple because the ready-to-use finish softens the existing layer and then blends them together by its very nature. This means that the bubbles I put in front of the grip from rapid fire will clean right up too!


When everything was done and buffed up, the WASR-10 went from looking kind a cheap with its bright blond hardwood to looking rather distinguished.


Original Configuration From Century



Proper Romanian


Technically not a proper Garda rifle because it doesn't have the "G", or the ability to have FA parts installed or the OMG MAGWELL DIMPLES
If nothing else it is an amazing improvement aesthetically and the grip is quite comfortable when held correctly.



Regardless, I am very happy with my purchase and have no doubts that I will be enjoying my new AKM-pattern rifle for a long time!

Thanks to all of you who's posts I read through, the AKOU for all their reviews and testing, to Atlantic for the great prices and service, and to Cugir/Century for getting their QC together and making a nice basic rifle!

If anyone has any questions about the rifle, my experience with it so far, or what I did to it, please feel free to ask!

It's nobody's business but yours, but please do be careful of 922(r).

And if you have a source for US made followers, please let me know.

The FCG, piston and slant brake should all be US made, that only leaves one more part.

Weapon Tech

You probably learned this, but it is 100x easier to put the rear flats of the gas tube in the vise and twist the upper handguard off. This way, you can really snug the vise up without cracking the wood.

Well dang, I would've traded you a complete set of Romy G furniture for that nice new beech wood, but you probably want to keep the originals. Nice job. I did a couple sets a while back, this one was my favorite.

I appreciate the thought! This is my first rifle where 18 U.S.C. § 922(r) / 27 CFR 478.39  really matters; my Tavor doesn't really have a way to be non-compliant unless you use foreign mags and my IMI UZI Model B Carbine is pre-1990.

I actually contacted Century Arms with regards to this and the list of US-Made compliance parts on a WASR-10 when you receive it is below:
-Trigger
-Disconnector
-Hammer
-Piston
-Muzzle Device
-Pistol Grip

Based on the parts on the AKM-pattern rifle that matter, this means that I am fine if I use US-made magazine but over if I use foreign magazines. As I prefer the steel ones, I've already started looking at my options.
One way would be changing the followers, but I would rather not have my compliance based solely on the magazine in use. More likely what I will do is get a US-made pistol grip. I have been looking at some options, such as taking a brown one (and possibly modifying it to look like bakelite, there is a guy on the Retro forums who can do this), getting one from Ronin's Grips that are close to the right color to begin with, seeing if I can get a TimberSmith laminate grip, or even getting a wood one from IronWood. Also tempted to put up a WTB on EE.




I didn't think anyone would want it. Then again, I know little of what people want on AK's and since posting that I've gotten other people asking about the furniture set. I'm waiting to hear back from Century about the chip in the stock before I consider doing anything with it. I don't know if there is any value to keeping the original parts, but I usually do.

Figure I'd update you guys on some Customer Service related stuff from Century Arms.

I contacted them this past Wednsday regarding the original stock that cracked as I was removing it to clean out the receiver and test fit the new furniture. The got back to me the same day (within 3 hours) and asked for some details and pictures. They asked for a form (a waiver for shipping stating that everything that everything they could ship for a repair was legal and that I was 18 or older) and a state ID. Mid-day Friday I got an email saying that a new stock would be shipped out "on or before 9/14".

The entire process would have taken even less time if the pictures I had weren't at home, causing me to reply to emails after working hours.

I have to say, I am quite impressed in how Century CS handled things. I was expecting them to say it wasn't covered and I approached the situation by asking if it was, but the ease and speed at which things were taken care of is impressive for any company.