Well, I'm 63 years old, a retired LEO and ex-military, and not expecting to battle Zombie paratroopers any time soon.  If I did, I have a couple ARs, a PTR91 with a 3x9, and an M1 carbine as a back up.  I had a Saiga (restored), but it was too pretty.  What I really wanted was a beat up "featureless" AK (I live in Kalifornication) that I could throw behind the seat in the 4x4 F150 in the mountains (without a case) and not feel the slightest bit bad about it.

With that in mind, I ordered one of the Atlantic Firearms "Iraqi Contractor" WASR 10/63s for $489.  I wish I had done it when they were $449, but oh well, what the heck, better late than never.  Do I think they are super special because a SOC contractor from Uganda guarded the perimeter or entry control point on a base outside Baghdad with it?  Not really.  While it does add a certain neato-keen factor, the price was actually the main selling point. If door kickers had used them, that would raise the value in my mind.  I used the extra money from selling the Saiga to fund another AR15 project.

And, no, I don't think they took new WASRs, aged them artificially, just to sell them for $80 or $90 LESS than they would get new.  That's just a retarded argument from couch commandos, mall ninjas, wannabes, and "Atlantic haters."  I have been buying from Atlantic for years, and have had nothing but EXCELLENT customer service.

It is not as worn as some I have seen pictures of.  Just nice honest wear, and as expected, every nook and cranny has yellow sand imbedded in it!.  The interior, on the other hand shows little wear.  It has the usual sweet trigger pull of the Tapco G2 single hook FCG.  It looks like it has the same wear as the rest of the weapon, so I am sure it was put into it when it was shipped to SOC.  The top cover has a different serial number, but I think the rest is all matching, not that it really matters on an AK!  

Overall, the finish is Very Good+, if not a little better.  Good, honest looking wear, about like my M1 Carbine.  It still has faint rack numbers on the top handguard, too.  It came with the cleaning rod and cleaning kit in the buttstock.   I will run it "Featureless" with a kydex wrap on the grip and take the mag lock of to use the standard mag release, and my pre-2000 possessed 30 round magazines.  It has all matching numbers (Trunnion, Bolt Carrier, gas tube, recoil spring guide) except top cover.  The trunnion does not have the triangle and arrow, but does have the 1983 date.  I seem to recall some Romanians don't have the triangle and arrow.

As you can see from the first picture of the matching numbers, Iraq, or a small part of it, came home in it! EVERY nook and cranny was permeated with fine dusty sand. There was a trace (slightly darker finish) of the SOC property tag on the left side of the receiver. As you can see from the picture of the FCG and rails, it has virtually no wear, so I am guessing from personal experience it has less than 500 to 1,000 rounds through it tops! The bore is awesome, chrome lined, and bright, with no damage.  The crown is crisp.  No rust in the gas tube, so I am guessing it shot little or no corrosive ammo.  If it did, it was thoroughly cleaned after.  The barrel has proofs, but not sure what they are, possibly a C in a circle Romanian.

Anyway, I took an M16  "tooth brush" and my pump spray can of Ballistol, and scrubbed it down.  It cleaned up VERY nice, and I would rate the finish 90-95%.  I put my Kydex featureless paddle on the grip, took of the Solar Tactical mag lock that it had to have to be shipped to Kalifornia.  I installed a used Romanian leather sling I had, and addeded my Romanian Type II bayonet.  Perfect fit.  I tried Com-Bloc steel and Tapco "bakelite' orange slabsides.  Both types fit perfect with no "WASR mag wobble". I am very happy!

I got one of these monday!  Love it. Mine is 1973 and show lost of finish wear.  I dont have any pics yet.  The mag that came with it had some dings in it that make it only take up to 12 rounds before it jams.  So it is not a high cap mag. Lol

Bought mine many years ago, think I paid around $280 out the door. The fit and finish is pretty rough, the magwell was obviously opened up by hand. That said, the ammo is cheap and it's a heck of a lot of fun to shoot..

BTW, what is that wrapped around the pistol grip?

In Kalifornication (California), if we have a centerfire, semi auto rifle with "EVIL " features (pistol grip, collapsable stock, flash hider) we have to use a "fixed magazine of 10 rounds or less" and a bullet button or mag lock that requires a tool to release the magazine. If the rifle is featureless (M1 carbine, Mini-14, etc) we can use high capacity magazines.  IF you possessed the magazines IN California, prior to 1-1-2000.  

The grip wrap nullifies the pistol grip, so a standard mag release can be used, with my 30 round pre-2000 mags.. I am 63, and have lots of pre-2000 mags I have had since the 70s and 80s.  I had an FFL for 25 years, and sold wholesale in Shotgun News in the late 80s, (long before the internet) so I had cases of assorted mags.  I also had an AR15 (Colt SP1) and AK (Chinese Poly-Tech type 56) that I had registered with Cal DOJ as assault weapons in 1990, under the first assault rifle bill.  Unfortunately, I sold them (but kept the mags) when I was forced out on disability retirement from the SO.

looks good, yours is on the light side of finish wear. sort of looks like my WASR that I've had since 2010.

what's the optic on top?

I have a vintage Tasco "Accu-dot" 20mm tube shotgun red dot sight on it, mounted on a knock-off of a Midwest Industries low ride mount.  It worked well with the Saiga I just sold, so it should do nicely on this one.  The Accudot are all metal and were designed for 3 1/2" mag slug guns.  guys I knew in the Mid-West use them on their slug guns for hunting deer in terrible weather. They are recoil and moisture proof.  I have a vintage 30mm tasco Pro-point on my AR.  I love them.  They use those quarter size flat batteries.

Looking cool.

Thanks.  The only change I am going to make to it is to put a Tactical Tri-Delta brake on it from Custom muzzle brakes. As much as I want it totally Stock like it came from "the Sandbox," they work so well, I have to put it on. I had one on my Saiga and on my 5.56 and 300 BLK M4geries, and they work AWESOME!  Between that and a Damage Industries black buffer, it really tames the AK for subsequent  follow-up shots.

.

Tactical Tri-Delta Brake

Check at 00:46 on the video

Video

Ah ha!  Atlantic is now out of stock, and do not expect to get anymore.  I am glad I snagged mine when I did.

Here it is with the TriDelta on it.

BTW:  I couldn't find a Century applied SN on the receiver on mine.  The gun dealer used the romanian trunnion serial number, including the date. "1983NM8902"

How many of the others with the Iraqi Contractor WASRs have only the trunnion numbers for serial number?

All WASRs are serialized by the trunnion

My used GP WASR 10/63 I got in about late 2007 or early 2008 had a funky serial number electro-penciled on it.  It was FUGLY!