So, should my new '04 WASR be able to hold the bolt open? If you pull the bolt 3/4 way back it holds it open. Then you pull it the rest of the way and let go it'll close. Should this be happening or is there something wrong with it?

The firing pin assembly is hanging (by coincidence) on the hammer. I wont get into why however,  Do NOT use this flaw as a "Bolt hold open" device [ and don't try to modify it either]. It is in no way safe. If you want to hold your bolt open (much appriciated at the range) simply notch out the safety arm to hold the charging handle or go to Red Star Arms and take a look at the premade safety there. Its cheap and its a great improvement over stock and its safe to boot.


Those who sacrifice essential liberty for temporary safety are not deserving of either liberty or safety. - Ben Franklin

Oh no. I won't rely on it. I'm more interested in if it's going to cause problems with function. Are the parts out of alignment or something that would cause this? Just wondering if it's going to cause problems down the road with wear etc.

If you remove the cover, and cycle the charging handle / bolt, you will see exactly where the bolt wants to hang and why. If you want a detailed explanation of this maybe one of the uber-members will bestow upon you their pearls of wisdom, ...and maybe even a few facts.  As for alignment and problems, no worries. As a matter of fact, it will begin to smooth out once its good and "broke in" (300 - 500 rounds).

Be sure to pour over LINX310's Site. Its full of some very useful information.


Those who sacrifice essential liberty for temporary safety are not deserving of either liberty or safety. - Ben Franklin

Fired it today. 50 rounds. Shoots a little to the left but I can fix that. Looking from behind the rifle towards the end of the muzzle, do I tap it right or left to bring point of impact right?

A problem was it stove piped once and the bolt didn't close twice. Could it be the mag or the problem stated above? It only did this with the 30 rounder I had but not with the 20.

iv got a 03 wasr in i too can hold open my bolt in the same way and still can but now ive got several thousand rounds through the beast and it doess fine. in the beginging i did have a few FTF problems or some thing but its worked its self out. by the way .........now when do pull the bolt back it will hold but if i so much as tap it hard enough it will slam which is BAD........

I thought that might be the case. I'm thinking it's binding somewhere and with a few rounds it'll work it's way loose. There's an ARFCOM shoot here on the 23rd, maybe I'll ask some members to help me run some rounds through it.

shotgun - It's probably just normal stiffness that'll get better when a few more break-in rounds are passed through it... As for a bolt hold open - on my SAR-1, I can hold the bolt open by pulling the charging handle all the way to the rear, squeezing the trigger and holding it, then lowering the bolt slowly 'til it stops - pull the charging handle back again, and it'll close the bolt as normal.. I'll bet your WASR will do the same thing.. A bolt hold open is great for cleaning, and necessary for proper range etiquette...


  - georgestrings

Fired it today. 50 rounds. Shoots a little to the left but I can fix that. Looking from behind the rifle towards the end of the muzzle, do I tap it right or left to bring point of impact right? A problem was it stove piped once and the bolt didn't close twice. Could it be the mag or the problem stated above? It only did this with the 30 rounder I had but not with the 20. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The ability to let that which does not matter, truly slide."- Fight Club

To correct the sighting issue. Simply "tap" (drift) the FRONT sight to where you are hitting until it lines up with where you want to hit. Remember, a little goes a long way. Just adjust a little at a time untill its good to go.

As for the FTF (Bolt didn’t close), I found the same with mine. The 30rd mag was .... "biting" into the case causing a hard drag from the mag. I have since shaved a tiny bit of material off the offending mag and it now lets the round slide out smoothly with applied finger pressure.

This has worked for me, but remember also, I am not a gunsmith.

Those who sacrifice essential liberty for temporary safety are not deserving of either liberty or safety. - Ben Franklin