Everyone i've heard from say they are terrible guns, but what exactly is wrong?

Is it reliability, accuracy (i though all ak's sucked on this ones), durability, interchangeability of parts?

what is it?

Who ya been talkin' to?

They are not the best of the AKs but they are fine.

Check out ak.ar15.com

It was breifly touched on in this link...
www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?id=117000

Plus the usual "i know a guy who's brother's friend's cousin sayz..." at the range, but the sheer volume of the latter had me on the assumption that there was something wrong with romanians.

Most, if not all, will out shoot the shooter.  I know mine out shoots me.  Finish is fugly but that's the charm of it.  And best of all it's cheap, cheap, cheap but it is not a cheap gun if you know what I mean.  Cheap to buy, cheap for mags and cheap for ammo.  Buy it and don't look back.

Trigger slap & canted front sight assemblies seem to be the most comon reported problems.

Got my Romanian SAR-1 7.62 on Wednesday from Aim Surplus.  They will "hand select" for no additional charge.  Mine has straight sights, a nice finish and very good looking wood.  Oh, and as a bonus, they shoot great too!  

Mine is a 2001 model and I've read many times where they have worked out most of the bugs in them on these newer models.

Don't be afraid of them at all.  Just make sure you buy yours in person at a dealer or gun show or that you do like I did and have a trustworthy company hand select one for you.  People have had problems with gas tubes and front sight posts being canted slightly from true vertical and the receivers can be scratched up from handling in the factory.  Sometimes they can have bad wood also.

Mine is excellent for an inexpensive AK.  Certainly not the quality of my AR, but hey I can bang this one around as my "daily driver" and keep my "garage queen" AR covered up in the safe!

Get an AK, bump fire a 40 round mag and enjoy!!!

BBURN

Most common problems:
1. Crooked sights.
2. Trigger slap so bad that you'll be bleeding after 100 rounds.
3. Very poor overall fit an finish.

Mine also had had sorry wood with a pitiful paint job, and sombody had bent the gas tube lever so badly that it broke when I tried to straighten it.

If you don't buy sight-unseen, then the most you should have to worry about is trigger slap, and that may be fixed on newer models.
I bought mine from Centerfire Systems, about 6 months ago.

After I got all of the above fixed, it was surprisingly accrurate, rugged, and reliable.
I have owned a Norinco AK and an SKS before, and they were fun to shoot, with no noticeable recoil.

I was surprised by the recoil of my SAR-1.
Added a recoil pad and it was OK.

I'd be hesitant to buy one sight unseen due to the canted front sight and gas port.  Fit and finish is a little poor, but they function just like any other AK.  As long as the front sight and gas block are straight they are good guns.

Quoted: Most common problems: 1. Crooked sights. 2. Trigger slap so bad that you'll be bleeding after 100 rounds.

I had a .22LR that had a problem with occasional trigger slap, Hurt like hell. I cant imagine what it would feel like from a centerfire rifle? You would think it would fracture your finger!

i have a romanian WUM1 and i'm happy with the finish and the wood.  no problems except the stock came loose after a few hundred rounds.  nothing a little loc-tite couldn't fix.  

btw, what is trigger slap?

Trigger slap is when you pull the trigger and while your pulling it back, it pushes forward against your finger while the rifle's bolt is recoilling. Its fun with a spring properly mounted on your trigger but otherwise very very bad for your finger.

Solution?



Adjustable AK trigger

"Say goodbye to long, gritty, unpredictable trigger pulls, and forget about trigger slap forever."

www.redstararms.com/

I was shooting a friend's M16 and it had trigger slap... hurt like hell.

Did you say PAINT job?  What gives?  How much to re-finish?

I have owned my SAR-1 for about a year.  The fit and finish are utilitarian at best.  If you are looking for US factory standards of metal finishing this is not it.  It is however fine for what it is.  I have had no mechanical problems with the rifle, and it had no slap.  I did replace the fire control group and rear site with products from redstar arms.  This trigger is the equal or better than my Bushy.  

I have had no malfunctions of any kind with roughly 2k rounds through the rifle.  I cleaned it once after 1000 rounds.  I shoot only high quality Wolf ammo in it.  Accuracy off hand has been about 3" at 100 yards.  Thats about as well as I can hold.  Remember this is a battle rifle, not a varminter

With accessories I have about $400 in the total package.  I give the SAR a strong buy rating.

One of my shooting friends has an SAR-1.  I've shot it a lot.  It's never malfunctioned, and is surprisingly accurate for an AK.  The wood is really quite beautiful.  The finish looks good.  I thought he got a real bargain for under $275 (he bought it pre 9/11 when they were still much cheaper).

My friend does Camp Perry Service Rifle shooting with his AR-15 (placed 2nd a few years ago), so it is a compliment coming from him when he says that he thinks his SAR-1 is quite a nice shooter.  He would much rather have his AR-15 (since it is nearly 3x the price, this isn't surprising), but he refuses to bang it around as much as he does his SAR-1.

The prices are a little inflated now, but romanian AK's were going for less than 300 bucks a year or so ago.  I bought my SAR-2 for 250 and it was the best 250 I ever spent (except maybe for my trusty buckmark).  It's like buying an inexpensive used car; you should plan on the possibility of having to fix it up a bit.  Mine shoots absolutely great, has never jammed and didn't have trigger slap.  It looks pretty good except for the ugly wood which I'll be refinishing this summer.  It's kind of a project.  Look at the AK forum, you can fix up a mechanically sound one for not much money and if you get one with problems like canted sights or tubes send it back.  Trigger slap is easily fixed.

My favorite long gun is my Valmet 76, but my favorite gun to shoot is my SAR-2.  

I've got 3 of them (SAR1 SAR2 SAR3) and I like them all... The SAR1 had trigger slap but I fixed it. Later I bought a REDSTAR adjustable trigger like in Sacrecrow's post for it (nice trigger) The SAR3 had feeding problems with the supplied mags (converted SAR2) that was also easily fixed. The finish on the wood on all of them suck. (I actually refinished the wood on the SAR1 for something to do this winter) But they're battle rifles not Weatherby's. I've got about as much stuck in them as I got in my 1 AR-15. I wouldn't be without one... [my $.02 YMMV]

I love my SAR2. Trigger was crappy at first, no slap just lots of creep. Now its like aftermarket. Smooth light break. Pretty accurate too.(3000+ rounds) never a failure!
If SHTF I probably grab it first.
I love my AR, dont get me wrong.
BP

Just bought a SAR-2 last week and while the finish leaves a little to be desired where else you gonna get an AK pattern gun in 5.45X39 and 800 rounds of ammo for $450.00 out the door? tons of fun,light recoil so the wife and kids will probably claim it. I am probably gonna buy one in 7.62 as well in coming weeks and maybe even a .223 but those I know have had the greatest number of problems. The ones that do have trigger slap are easilly cured by filing down or grinding off altogether part of the disconnector, But the .223's you may want to replace the trigger and hammer parts to correct the hammer geometry but if it is right out of the box leave it alone. The one I just got had no problems came with 10 and 30 round mags and had a test target included that actually seemed like they did set the sights roughly before it left the factory --it was pretty close to zero at 100yrds. either way I figure in 10 years itll be buried or getting more valuable in the safe.
to fix trigger slap go here:
blackrifle.gunsnet.net/triggerslap.htm
BTW the 30 round mags for 5.45's are at AIMsurplus for $5.00 each (with no tax or shipping outside OH) and I belive they can be modified for use with the SAR 3 .223 by filing the lips a little and possibly changing the follower.

I have SAR-1 which is a 2001 model. The wood finish is done really well, but there were alot to choise from so i picked the best looking one out of batch. I like my SAR, I can't ever see getting rid of it. It's a good buy in my book.

I have a Cur-II which is a romanian 5.45 with a Dragunov style stock.  It also the barrel nut that was de-threaded and re-welded in place.

I have over 3K of rounds through it, and have never had a problem with it.  I always shoot it low and left, but tight groups.  ARlady just shoots tight groups dead center with it, and loves it to death.

So in all, no complaints about this Romanian.  It does have noticable trigger slap, but it is very mild in my firearm, and it only becomes a problem after several hundred rounds

OK COME ON, WE ARE TALKING AK'S RIGHT?  THE MAJORITY OF THEM WERE MADE BY THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES AS A MEANS TO STABILIZE THEIR SUFFERING ECONOMY AND FOR THEIR MILITARY, WHO IS MORE THAN LIKELY IN WORSE SHAPE THAN THE ECONOMY.  MOST OF WHICH (SOLDIERS) THEY NEVER EXPECT TO SEE AGAIN ANYWAY.  SO LETS TAKE THESE THINGS INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FIT AND FINISH.  LOCKHEED AND MARTIN AREN'T BEATING THE DOORS DOWN TO STEAL ANY DESIGNS.  ASK SOME OF THE FOLKS STAMPING THESE THINGS OUT WHAT A "STARRETT" IS AND THEY'LL PROBABLY TELL YOU ITS WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE A HOT GIRL ON THE STREET.  I OWN A FEW AK'S AND I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT ANY OF THEM, BECAUSE I APPRECIATE IT FOR WHAT IT IS.  IT IS A UTILITY RIFLE MADE TO BE ABUSED, CLEANED, AND ABUSED SOME MORE.  

the problem is thir a normal styled hi cap AK for undar 350.....

??