I originally posted this in the AK forum and I will post it here also. I think there is a couple of you with some AK knowledge.

Hello all,

I was in a small gunshop today and noticed a AK off in the corner. I took a look at it and the receiver said SAR 1 on it. It had a side folding stock which was welded in the extended position. They claimed it was new/unused. They wanted $450 for it. They actually kept calling it a Kalishnikov.....I don't think the guy knew too much about "black rifles", he wanted $400 for a Yugo SKS.

I don't know much about AK's so I thought I would ask "The Dark Side"

Is it worth it?

Can I remove the welded folder or grind the weld off?

What else should I look at when I go back?

Thanks

Are you going to make fun of us if we answer?

Quoted: Are you going to make fun of us if we answer?

HA HA HA HA AAAAAAH!

Maybe!

You can get a WASR-10 from Fleet Farm for about the same price.  

I don't know about unwelding the stock, but I'd doubt it.

The AK-47 Build It Yourself forum helped me build my first AK.  Not difficult at all, but my lack of talent shows in the poor finishing job on it.  Very fun to build, and it's even more fun to shoot :)

Oak Grove Arms in Ham Lake has Yugo M70 kits for about 150, then about another 80 for a receiver, and minimal cost for hardware (screws, bolts, whatever you decide to use).

-cron

I got my SAR1 for $350 new in box.  Is it the wire folding stock?  If so, usually you can ground off the weld if they didn't ruin it too bad.  You can always replace it and sell the stock on the EE.  AK47= Atovat Kalashnikov 47.  Translation "Automatic Kalashnikov 1947"  Automatic is self explanatory, Kalashnikov is the last name of the inventor, 1947 is the year it was adopted.  SAR1 is as close to an authentic military AK as you'll get.

A high capacity WASR is not as good as a SAR.  The SAR has dimples on each side of the magwell to keep the magazine from wobbling.  A WASR is imported as low capacity (without dimples) and is modified for high capacity once they are in the States.  They have sheet metal tabs on the inside of the magwell to keep the mag from wobbling which isn't quite as effective.

I think Brick knows the most about AKs of any local guy I've talked to, but I can try to answer your questions.

SARs are typically very well functioning guns, but also often have problems with trigger slap or canted sights. These problems are easily fixable if present. The welds on most Romy wire stocks I've seen can be broken to return the stock to a folder. The gun shop guy is right - it is a KAlashnikov, as are a huge number of variations out there. I don't think I'd pay $450 for that gun unless it is exactly what you want. Better deals are out there!

$400 for a Yugo SKS? Ugh!

I'd recommend going to Gunstop and seeing what they have. There's always a good selection of AKs and their prices are typically more than fair, except for the Polytech Legend that they refused my offer of $300 on (Hey, it's used!)

Thank for the help guys!

I would highly recomend you go with a SAR-1 opposed to a WASR-10. I own a WASR-10 GP and if I was going to buy my first Ak all over again it wouldn't be a WASR-10. The SAR-1(like most other AK clones) has dimples in the side of the receiver to keep the magazine from rocking from side to side. The WASR-10 a flat sided with no dipples( they use welded in plates in place of the dimpes). If you stick with metal magazines only you won't have problems with a WASR-10, but if you want to use composit mags(like Bulgarian waffle mags) they can be a pain in the ass to get in and out of the receiver(because of the plates). Not to mention canted sights are not unsual and gas tubes welded in crooked.

Once the magazines issues are worked out of a WASR-10, they are a AK after all. You pull the trigger and it will go boom. But the SAR-1 is less problems for the same price.

Don

Trigger slap on a SAR is easy to fix.  There's a tab on the back of the disconnector you file down.  No big deal.