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Posted: 7/13/2009 8:41:23 PM EDT
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Excuse me for asking, as I haven't really seen too many topics on it....but i'm new to AK's and would like to get one. I see some Bulgarian AK's and obviously WASR's...the difference being approx $200. My guns are AR's and handguns primarily. Trying to learn more as I go along about AK's.
Will a WASR work alright or should I spend the extra $200 for a Bulgy? |
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Depends largely on your intent for the rifle.....Wasr's are known for a poor finish, possibly canted sights, and loose magwells. If none of this bothers you or you can inspect the rifle yourself before purchase then they are acceptable.
The Bulgy's are also know for a somewhat poor finish which tends to come off with anything other than CLP. Although you can expect the magwell to be in spec. and the front sight tower will probably not be canted. ETA: the romy G or the SAR-1 are good middle of the road choices unless you want to spend the $$ for the pre-bans from the 80's |
| almost all different ak's come with canted sights here and there. the wasr's just a little more. ok, alot more. even if it's canted you can fix it fairly easy. the thing the wasr has over alot of the new production ak's is that it is built by a real ak factory using a hammer forged chrome lined barrel. alot of the u.s. made guns have u.s. made non-chromed barrels. i have two wasrs with many of thousands of rounds with no issues. |
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The Yugo AK 47 M70B1 coming out of CAI now are very nice. I had 12 of them in stock and they all looked very nice. Not a thing wrong with them. Nice Parkerized finish, smooth action and safety, 2 Tapco mags and a G2 Tapco trigger.
Here is a picture of one. 
Here is the Auction on Gun Broker http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=134004301 GC |
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Quoted: Excuse me for asking, as I haven't really seen too many topics on it....but i'm new to AK's and would like to get one. I see some Bulgarian AK's and obviously WASR's...the difference being approx $200. My guns are AR's and handguns primarily. Trying to learn more as I go along about AK's. Will a WASR work alright or should I spend the extra $200 for a Bulgy? The best buy for NIB right now is probably Henderson Defense- WASR , with 2 euro mags and bayo for $479. http://shop.hendersondefense.biz/product.sc?categoryId=4&productId=78 And they actually stand behind their product.  A lot of sellers call their kit-built rifles "Bulgarian or Hungarian" - doesn't mean they're worth a lot more A rifle built with a US receiver , US FCG , and US furniture may be a great rifle - but it AIN'T Bulgarian.  |
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i have the same question about my GP1975. i can't find ANY information on it. Your GP1975 was made from a Romanian kit (probably a kit from a "G" rifle) that didn't make it through customs before the barrel ban went into effect. It has a US made barrel and receiver. What else do you want to know? |
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How much is the WASR and what Bulgarian rifle are you looking at? If the price difference is only $200, the WASR may be overpriced, or the Bulgarian rifle may be a deal. No one can properly advise you without the answers to these questions. $500 and $700, respectively. |
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i got a WASR as my first AK and was kinda down at first based on all the reviews that i've read about them, but then i learned to stop caring and now i love the rifle. i was lucky in that my WASR didnt have any (or much anyway) cant in the FSB or gas block, so really the only problems that i had to fix were the trigger (mine didnt have the tapco g2 on it when i bought it, but now it does) mag wobble (not really a big deal) and its pure ugliness (the wood on these things is pretty bad).
that said, it shoots straight and takes abuse just as well as any other AK. honestly, they're a bargain. buy one, turn it into a project gun, and you'll never regret it. here's mine: http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv277/kommienzuspadt/IMG_1672.jpg |
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How much is the WASR and what Bulgarian rifle are you looking at? If the price difference is only $200, the WASR may be overpriced, or the Bulgarian rifle may be a deal. No one can properly advise you without the answers to these questions. $500 and $700, respectively. If the Bulgarian rifle you're looking at is an Arsenal (made in Bulgaria), and you can get it for $700, buy it. Others will pay a premium for that rifle if you ever want to resell it. If the Bulgarian rifle is made from a kit on a US receiver, or is made on a Bulgarian receiver but is not an Arsenal, it's a much closer call as to whether the price difference is worth it. If that's the situation, inspect both rifles and buy the one that appeals to you the most. |
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I've got a Romy "G" build. Didn't think I'd ever buy a Romanian but the thing shoots great. Granted, it's got the Tapco G2 trigger but I haven't had problem one except for a shell that stovepiped when I was bump firing it like an asshole.
My Bulgarian SLR-105 has several thousand rounds through it. I broke the hammer but it was before my knowledge of the inferior American made FCG parts made for Arsenal. Yank those puppies out and, same thing, no more problems. In my opinion, I would say buy the Bulgy if you're only ever going to buy one. But if you think you might buy another one at any point down the road, either another style or another caliber, go ahead and buy the WASR. Just make sure you can check it first to make sure it's all on the up and up. Personally, I think the Bulgy is priced OK at $700 (or it's a steal if it's an Arsenal, which I doubt) and the WASR is a tad too hight at $500. They were under $300 a year ago and probably will be close to there one day soon. But if you're not collecting an AK iin every style ever made like some of us do you need to come off the chump change and buy it. Hardly anyone has ever bought an AK and regretted it. The ones that have just got one of the bum builds thrown together by monkeys and had problems with their gun. Or just do like somebody's gonna suggest to you sooner or later....buy 'em both! |
Thanks for the responses guys....I think I will hold off temporarily. It seems like I'd be buying on the high at the moment. I don't NEED an AK right now, I just really want one. This thread has some good info, I'm glad AK owners aren't as biased as AR owners.  Mention of a DPMS/Vulcan/etc would lead to a banning, haha. I'll wait a little, then look to see what options are available.
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WASR 10 (NO) WASR 10/63 (YES). Can you explain the difference? http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/model.htm don't confuse the wasr-10 with the GP WASR-10. very different things. So the GP WASR 10/63 that AIM has for $500 is worth the money? Sorry, I'm still trying to straighten everything out. |
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WASR 10 (NO) WASR 10/63 (YES). Can you explain the difference? http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/model.htm don't confuse the wasr-10 with the GP WASR-10. very different things. So the GP WASR 10/63 that AIM has for $500 is worth the money? Sorry, I'm still trying to straighten everything out. Yes it is .
Start here !! Just in case you cant read it. (" It should also be mentioned here that within the last few years, various versions of the WASR rifle (Romanias most popular civilian sporter AK) have started to show up with military-grade parts and trunion stampings. Here is a brief breakdown of the WASR series so you can see how some of them ended up with military stampings and why some dont have them: ORIGINAL WASR-10 The WASR is a post-ban (produced during the ban) version of the AKM assault rifle in 7.62x39mm caliber. These are produced seperate from the military rifles in Romania and sent to the US. Factory-original rifles only support single-stack, low-capacity magazines (ten rounds hence the "10"), but are frequently modified to accept double-stack, regular-capacity magazines (thirty rounds or more). Pistol grip and thumbhole stocks are both commonly found. GP WASR-10 After the sunset of the assault weapons ban in 2004, importers were able to legally equip WASR-10s with threaded barrels, compensators, bayonet lugs, and folding stocks, thus making the GP WASR-10 (with GP standing for general purpose). Versions in the old style without all of the "fun" features were still produced for states that had their own restrictions on such things. GP WASR-10/63 The 10/63 designation was added by Century Arms International for marketing purposes only. Just as with all other WASR-10 rifles, these are newly manufactured with military rejected parts for the civilian market (with exceptions, see below). A WASR-10/63 with an under-folding stock was introduced into the product line in 2007 and was still made using military rejected parts. As of 2008 there are GP WASR-10/63 rifles in both solid and underfolding stocks that are being made from real de-milled military used rifles, including de-milled "G-code" Civil Guard guns (the "G" is ground off), but still using the dimple-less Century receivers. The military grade rifles are immediately identified by the triangle (empty or with an arrow) stamping in front of the serial number on the front trunion. (The underfolders should TECHNICALLY be GP WASR-10/65 because the 63 was the standard stock version and the 65 was the underfolder with the military rifles). GP-1975 Romania stopped producing the WASR rifles and parts in 2008. Rumor has it that in order to get into NATO, Romania was told to stop producing AK-47 variants for the US market. The other rumor is that a major auto manufacturer set up a factory in Romania and decided to outsource some of their steel parts and Cugir was the factory that accepted. When Century ran out of parts, the new AK's that they made in the US were from surplus Romanian kits. These kits were the last of the 7.62x39 rifles made for regular army use in Romania and most never got used. Century built them on DCI (NoDakSpud) dimpled receivers with "Green Mountain" barrels and black plastic synthetic American made furniture, which is what the GP-1975 (GP-75) rifles are that you are now seeing. These bare no relation to WASRs except the shoddy Century "drunk monkey" manufacturing work that goes into building it remains the same from the WASR line. (It saddens me when people call a professionally assembled G-code rifle that isnt Century made, a "GP-75" ) These include Tapco fire control group parts as well. ") |
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WASR 10 (NO) WASR 10/63 (YES). Can you explain the difference? http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/model.htm don't confuse the wasr-10 with the GP WASR-10. very different things. So the GP WASR 10/63 that AIM has for $500 is worth the money? Sorry, I'm still trying to straighten everything out. i think so. I paid 540 for my GP WASR-10 which included a drum mag, i certainly don't regret it. |
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Thanks for the responses guys....I think I will hold off temporarily. It seems like I'd be buying on the high at the moment. I don't NEED an AK right now, I just really want one. This thread has some good info, I'm glad AK owners aren't as biased as AR owners. Mention of a DPMS/Vulcan/etc would lead to a banning, haha. I'll wait a little, then look to see what options are available.
LOL! I know what you mean about AR15 owners. I once made the mistake of posting on the AR-15 discussion board that "my Olympic Arms AR-15 isn't so bad." From the responses I got, you would have thought I just compared Abraham Lincoln to Adolf Hitler! I mean, people just became completely unglued and horribly offended at the idea that I might actually like my Oly rifle! And here I was, thinking the General Discussion board had all the loonies. No way. The AR-15 board definitely has its fair share of people who really should be on some sort of personality medication. But back on topic, yeah, good idea to wait a bit. Now that an assault weapons ban is off the table (at least for a year or two, anyway), prices of WASR's should go back to <$400. I've already seen some dealers have sales because they have too many AK's in stock. But, if you see something below $400, grab it. I doubt we'll EVER see $300 WASR's again. I think those days be over. |
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GP-1975 Romania stopped producing the WASR rifles and parts in 2008. Rumor has it that in order to get into NATO, Romania was told to stop producing AK-47 variants for the US market. The other rumor is that a major auto manufacturer set up a factory in Romania and decided to outsource some of their steel parts and Cugir was the factory that accepted. When Century ran out of parts, the new AK's that they made in the US were from surplus Romanian kits. These kits were the last of the 7.62x39 rifles made for regular army use in Romania and most never got used. Century built them on DCI (NoDakSpud) dimpled receivers with "Green Mountain" barrels and black plastic synthetic American made furniture, which is what the GP-1975 (GP-75) rifles are that you are now seeing. These bare no relation to WASRs except the shoddy Century "drunk monkey" manufacturing work that goes into building it remains the same from the WASR line. (It saddens me when people call a professionally assembled G-code rifle that isnt Century made, a "GP-75" ) These include Tapco fire control group parts as well. ") A shipment of rifles from Romania (about 7K) was caught up in Italy for a long time. Those rifles didn't make it into the US before the barrel ban took effect. As a result the barrels had to be cut. In order to salvage something out of the mess, Century commissioned production of enough barrels to build the kits. The result was the GP1975. That's why the rifles had US made barrels and why the supply was limited. As for the rumors, they're both BS which was posted by an online seller to hype sales. Romania joined NATO some time ago ('04 IIRC). In fact, the NATO conference in '08 was held in Romania. When that easily determined fact (check the NATO website, that's what I did) was pointed out to the seller, it changed it's BS story to the auto parts nonsense. Last (and most agravating for me  ) Century does NOT make WASRs and could not "run out of parts".
WASRs are made in Romania, as is marked on every WASR receiver. Century IMPORTS WASRs. Again as required by federal law, this is marked on every WASR receiver. Since the barrel ban took effect, the ROMANIANS have been demilling rifles (that they can't sell for importation as kits) and has been rebuilding them on single stack receivers. The resulting rifle is marked WASR10/63. Once those rifles arrive here Century opens the magazine well to accept standard AK magazines and installs US made parts tp comply with US law. |
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