I'm looking for an AK to use the pile of cheap mags and ammo I've accumulated.  While I'd like to get an Arsenal, that's not a financial choice.  There aren't any unconverted Saigas for cheap anymore either. I've heard the WASR series isn't the CAI shit show it used to be.  I'm looking for an example of the type that is going to feed shitty ammo and offer AK-acceptable accuracy.  I can fix a canted FSB at work, so that's not an issue.  Neither is a tight mag well.  

It's looking like they are in the mid $500 range all day online. Lowest I've seen at the LGS is mid $600 which is too high IMHO.  Anyone have a better source?

I highly recommend one after today's purchase.

WASR-10 Review

Wow! Thanks for that review.  CAI has come a long way since I looked at their products last.  I wish I could remember where I read it online, but a gun shop and range (I BELIEVE in Las Vegas) had full-auto rental AK-47s that were shot till failure.  IIRC, the Romanian WASRs had a noticeably longer service life.  There were literally pallets of empty casings that had been shot through the rental guns.

I bought a 2012 Wasr-10 back in December for $500 and it was a great shooting rifle. The only problem I had was that it hadn't been fired and every 5 rounds or so the bolt would hang up on the hammer. So I took a dremel to the hammers surface and just smoothed it down a hair and polished it and I never had the problem again. I put 400+ rounds through it before I sold it with no problems

I handled a NIB milled OPAP before I bought my WASR and I was impressed with the fit n finish, a pretty rifle. By comparison the WASR was rough as a cobb and the action would stop on the hammer if you rode the bolt forward. But it was straight as an arrow and functions fine with about every type of ammo & mag. The light weight & chromed barrel were a big plus for me.

I got mine through Henderson's Defense, years ago. They go through the rifle and make sure everything is lined up and functions properly. It was the best $425.00 I have spent on an ak. Of course that was years ago and I am not sure what their prices are now.

I have heard some good things about the recent wasr 10's coming from CAI lately. Maybe get one next year with the tax return as long as there isn't a price hike.

I finally found the posting I referred to about the long-term reliability of full-auto AK47 variants HERE.

It surprised me that the Romanian barrels lasted the longest.  It did not surprised me that the sheet metal receivers failed and the milled ones did not.  For an "example of the type AK variant" I think that the WASR-10 will do just fine.  I want a very traditional, fixed wooden stock and furniture Kalashnikov without the huge price tag of an Arsenal.  I expect an AK to be rough and show tool marks from manufacture. I don't care if the action isn't smooth, or there isn't dimple on the receiver, or the trigger isn't great.  As long as it feeds, fires, and ejects, I'm happy.  

The difference in price between a new production WASR and everything else I look at leaves me with room for a few cases of ammo and more magazines.  I only have 10 ....very sad.  
I'm budgeting $600 for an out the door price, and I hope I can find one at a LGS here in the 'burbs.  


And, I work with an older Romanian gentleman that fled Romanian in 1968 with his pregnant wife to Italy, then eventually Chicago, who said he would be happy to "fix front sight with hammer" if there is any cant . He's got some great stories from being a conscript in the Romanian army and how he learned metalworking through the state's apprenticeship.  Needless to say, he is not a fan of communism or unions. For a guy that is in his 70's, he runs a Kalashnikov like a boss.  Doesn't own one on principal though....

Plus, I need a rifle to keep my Visinata safe !!! (There's got to be a Romanian AK enthusiast that knows what I'm talking about!)

I feel like the trunnions are the fail point (after 100,000 of some ridiculous number), and they can be replace and keep shooting