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Why do you hate them? Why do some people have so much hate for them? Maybe its because the WASR offers an extremely cheap, albeit ugly, functional AK. I would never own an AK for looks, but that is just me. To me, an AK is purely about function. WASRs (for the most part) work great. If you are into AK for the collectability or cosmetic appeal, then I can see why a WASR wouldn't be up your alley. But could 'those people' (and I hate to generalize), stop looking down their noses at WASR owners? Leave that for the AR forum (and that is coming from a mainly AR guy). My dads WASR is great. Not too accurate, but it goes bang and puts a bullet down range just like it is supposed to. |
I have on coming on monday I hope operates like yours. |
I had one and it was reliable and was about a paper plate group at 100rds. My Veprs and Bulgarian AK are more than a little better in fit and finish and accuracy in fact they are way better. Some guys can only afford a WASR though and I am glad they can get an AK and soe guys just do not realy care to upgrade to the nicer rifle because they like the WASR. To each his own and to me my Veprs  .
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I got mine because it was $280 and I had never owned any other AK. Now I know much more about the diffrent AK's and like the fit and finish of the "upper crust" Ak's but I have to say since mine has never failed to fire and is accurate enough I can't find a reason to upgrade. Except for the wow factor with the nicer looking rifles. 
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sorry, im just venting.
I can tell you exactly why I got mine. It was a starting point. I know it may sound unbelievable but suppose I didn't LIKE the AK platform? I wanted an entry level AK-47 rifle. Because of it I learned A LOT. The first one I got had every problem common to WASRs and a few not common. Learned a hell of a lot about CIA and how to DEMAND customer satisfaction. The replacement was MUCH better but it still isn't a high end rifle but has no slap, no cant, none of those things. Slight mag wobble. Better than the first one that chewed the hell out of a couple of new mags upon insertion. Plus there IS the money issue. Start factoring in the cost of ammo, mags, carrying pouches, a sling that works for you, of a decent scope, of any simple mods, and those numbers start rolling up. To say nothing if you want to trick it out. It does what it was designed to to do. I can pretty much call shots at close range (Which BTW is much farther than I could kill or wound an intruder and have it be considered a rightous shoot) and it gives me center mass at long range. Now we don't have the happy switch that was one of the rifles designs but in semi auto that is what the AK was designed for. I can't stress this enough about ANY AK. It's NOT a sniper rifle despite the Soviets wildly optimistic 1000 meter setting. Someone recently calculated that shooting at a 45 degrees angle a 7.62x39 can travel 1.5 miles. I'm surprised the Soviets didn't add an infinity sign aftet the 1000 meter mark that would have you shooting at this angle. It is a rifle for troops to take into battle and engage between 0 and 300 meters. It also has the same reliability of any of the other AK platform rifles. It throws a powerful 7.62x39 cartridge that will go through autos, plywood, cinderblock or brick at zero and 45 degree angles at a range of about 19 meters (if I recall that distance correctly). It started my addiction. It lead to my getting a Saiga 12 and the Polish underfolder that should arrive Monday. (YIPEEYIPPECANTWAITCANTWAIT!!) Its also now my test monkey. If I buy an accessory I may try on another rifle, or a new process for cleaning, accuracy, increase weapon service life, etc., the WASR is the one that tries it out first. I'm not afraid to tear it apart and its taught me through looking at it, some of the things I want to do and don't want to do with home builds. Also some things I like and dislike in the AK design and variants. You said you were venting. What happened to you? Were you burnt very badly in purchasing one? I mean you almost sound as if you don't think WASRs have a right to exist. Share your story if you have one. Not everybody needs or wants top of the line. Its a personal choice. I could have waited one month and gotten a name brand for more. But I'd be less likely to play with it. Its like cars. I have never owned a new car in my life. I buy the best beaters I can find. They cost less to insure and if it gets dinged I don't go into a panic. When it needs a repair I factor the repair against what people are paying in monthly car payments and insurance. If its too much, I junk it and find another beater. I'm not going to attract chicks or win races but if it gets me from point A to point B reliably, I'm a happy guy. I mean you didn't start out with a Hummer or a Lexus or antique Austin Healy did you? Unless your folks we rich you got a beater, or a hand me down. So it is with the WASR. A working man's, everyday, toss it in the trunk or truck, service rifle. But also I am willing to bet they were the starting point for a lot of people's AK addiction here. Whether they were firing the one they owned or a buddy's. WASR has its place in the AK-47 food chain. When they are ridiculously bad they should have been sent back. When they are ok to exceptional they are still an AK (despite not having mag dimples) and not nearly as bad as they are made out to be. If I were given the chance to examine a WASR in advance (rather than rolling the dice on what you can order over the net) and the price was good, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one. Cheers, RWB64 |
 I understand and respect your "Tacti-cool" dislikes but I have always believed in function over fashion. Isn't that a part of the AK spirit? I know it looks a little strange but it works for me very well. |
Hey combatcamera4671, How did you get that lower railed handguard to fit? I have one of those but did not install it because its very loose on the gun. ------ Aside from that.. Why did I get a WASR? I wanted an AK.. did not know that WASRs were not the best at the time, got one, it shot great, eats everything I feed it and is much more accurate then I expected. It was cheap, it runs great, and I cant really complain. Do I care about finish? No.. cus again.. its just an AK. Now that said, I have a very well made nice Yugo under-folder that is pretty to look at.. but my WASR is just a shooter that does its job very well. |
I think your thinking of a lower hand guard only piece. This was is the upper and lower hand guard. They are not floating but bolt together. Mine stays on very tight even without loc-tight. |
Yup.. I see it now in your pic. I went in and checked the guard as well and sure enough it has holes for screws from the upper handguard. Guess I will have to buy the upper handguard as I got the lower one for free a while back. |
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And in breaking news, AIM is running a special on WASR2 rifles for $289.00. It comes with two magazines, a sling, and a butt stock cleaning kit. Currently 5.45 ammo and magazines are the cheapest thing on the market, and you get the advantages of the 5,45 round in an inexpensive rifle. WASR rifles may not be as cosmetically nice or quite as accurate as the better rifles, but for the price, you simply can't beat them. They do make a nice base for an upgraded and prettied up rifle, and a stock refinish and paint job can do wonders. And like all AK's, when you pull the trigger it goes BANG, and can hit a man in the chest at 300 meters. That's exactly what the AK was designed to do. Do I own one? No, but if I had the money, I'd damned well be ordering one of the AIM 5.45 rifles and a few thousand rounds of 7N6 "poison bullet" ammo. In a few years these WASRs will be as famous as the legendary "70-70" SKS rifles, when you could buy an SKS for $70.00 and 1000 rounds of Chinese ammo for $70.00. |
I think it looks great. 
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I have a GP WASR 10/63 and I am happy with it. That said, it did have some issues that I fixed. The front sight was canted alittle, however it was just a matter of adjusting the front sight poet a bit more than usual to get it shooting straight. Not much cant and not that noticeable, but still. The other issue (non issue realy) was that all my mags wobbled in the mag well. Yeah, not earthshattering but it sometimes causes problems. Not on my WASR. The thing shoots all day long and chugs along with all types of ammo. The wood on mine sucked but I changed it all out for Bulgarian black synthetic set. Looks sexy now. I also ditched the slant brake and replaced it with a 74 type brake. Looks pretty close to an AK-101 so I'm happy. No gadgets or stupid add-ons. Just a nice looking AK. If you like to tinker and mess with your weapons and are not affraid of a bit of tool work, a WASR is a great first project gun. I bought mine at a good price so the issues it had did not bother me. Besides, it's an AK, not a safe queen. IT WANTS TO BE ABUSED AND LIKES IT ROUGH!
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I got a WASR because I didn't know any better. I wanted a combat rifle but couldn't afford to shell out the bucks for an AR. So when I saw an AK at a gun show for $330 I finally was in. At least I got lucky; the sights aren't canted and it can keep 3/5 shots on a soda can at 50 yds. laying prone with open sights. Now that I know alot more about them I still am not looking for another AK. I have a friend who has a milled Arsenal he's owned for 13 or so years that I would buy, but other than that I would rather pool the money for a better AK and direct it towards a DSA SA-58
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My understanding is that the very long range settings were not intended for engaging individual targets with, but rather for suppressive area fire. Kind of a long range spray and pray. You might not hit anything, but if you got everybody to stop working and take cover and scared the piss out of some civilians or remfs that was good enough. I've read that in Africa many people believe that elevating the rear sight makes the rifle more powerful, (it's gotta be more powerful to go to 1000 meters right?), and it's common to see AK's with the sights set all the way up. I'd guess it doesn't make much difference since the sights probably aren't being used anyway. |
| All of my WASRs are hand picked by me so I get to inspect every square inch. Mine have zero cant and near zero mag wobble. A little stain and finish on the wood and it is as tight and clean as any higher priced AK. As for accuracy, I can consistently hit clay pigeon lined up on a hillside at 100 yards almost every time with the iron sights. You just need to be able to inspect a WASR before purchase. |
Nice piece!! I love my WASR-10 and added many of the upgrades that you have with exception of the EO-Tech. I even Duracoted it OD and added black furniture and rails. It draw a lot of attention as a display at gun shows. I would like to add a EOTech, but the iron with the tritium front sight and the yugo tritium rear sight are real tack driver for an AK. The only one I have that is more accurate is a yugo that I built on a thick reciever. Even with the very used non-chome barrel, the yugo shoot as good as or better that the arsenals that I have seen. I do like to keep the AKs in their standard configuration with the exception of the WASR-10. It was cheap enough that I could add all of the "tacticool" stuff that my son's business carries (www.swordslingertactical.com). I do want to build or buy one that is very similar to Vietnam era AKs to go with the A1 that I am building like the one his Grandfather used in Nam, and like the one I trained with. We have put together the Nam era web gear, along with a bayonet and flack vest. For the AK we have some chest pouches, but that is about it. I may have to settle with building a Romy kit up to the best Nam era specs that I can, with as many accesories that I can find. All of this will go into a huge shadow box, along with a Monkey Turd transmitter that I plan to get from a friend of mine. Back to subject... My WASR-10 cost more than the ones many have quoted here, but I am not at all disappointed with the price, performance, or accuracy. The only problem I have is with bayonet lug being out of sprc by just a little. I have an A1 type flash hider on there now, so I plan to cut it so an M9 bayonet will fit anyway. All in all... Tickeled to death with it!!! |
hey, i dont care what you put on YOUR gun... after all its yours and you should do what you like with it.  it just kinda looks wrong on a wasr, thats all.
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I know that when I bought my SAR 1 years ago, a few people told me they were the worst AK's ever and I was wasting my money. The local gun dealer could not give them away so I got mine for about $20 over what he paid. Now many people like the SAR 1 and they sell for more used then they cost new. This also goes for the MAK that I bought in 1991 for $150. or the 3 Russian SKS's I paid $90 each for. In years to come when you cant get anything imported into the USA people will be wishing for the good old days when you could buy an AK for $300 |
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http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l195/kchamp84/WASR-10_s.jpg No problems with this one... -Champ |
How does that big green trigger work? Do you get any trigger slap?  Just kidding. Nice furniture. Did you refinish yourself? |
naw now i get trigger punch...hatTHIS SITE said only I used Minwax Gun Stock stain and about 20 coats of the poly spray. |
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