At the risk of beating a dead horse, I am going to do a review of my WASR 10/63. This ubiquitous weapon is a semi-automatic AK47 / AKM clone for those who don't already know. They were originally made in Romania and imported by Century Arms Int.
First impressions:
- This is a utilitarian rifle. All the things that make the AK famous are present here (other than full-auto fire). The finish is good enough but no, it doesn't compete with a 2 grand over/under. But you just have to love the simplicity of it. Take off the top cover (which requires no tools) and you will see large hunks of metal flinging around inside. If it were any simpler, it would be a rock that you threw at your target.
- Which brings me to my next point - This thing field strips easier than the cheer captain after a fifth of Smirnoff. It requires no tools. It requires no training. Just take it apart, make sure it isn't full of gravel, and re-assemble. Maybe some oil wouldn't hurt.
- Ammo and Mags - people realllly like to over-think these two aspects. For ammo, I mostly use Brown Bear FMJ. Because it is cheap and it GBET (Goes Bang Every Time). I have also used HP, SP, etc. As long as there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the ammo, it should work in an AK.
For mags, I have a couple of Bulgarian 30s and unknown (probably Korean) 30s and 40s. All bought at a show in VA, seriously cheap. I would recommend spending the extra $3-5 or so on the Bulgarians. Although I have plenty of rounds through them all and they all work, the Bulgarians are of generally higher quality, match the rifle's finish better, and might last longer. No experience with drums.
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Let's dive into a couple infamous WASR issues and my experiences with them:
-The Infamous Mag wobble - Move a WASR side to side and the mag will shake like a Polaroid picture. Or so the story goes. Mine had the opposite "issue". Mags were hard to fit at first, which is easy to fix. Just insert and remove them a few times, and boom, the well is loosened up just enough to ensure a tight fit. Mags now rock ever so slightly from side to side, with no ill effects.
- Loose pistol grip. Solved with flatblade screwdriver. Time: practically nothing.
- Canted front sight - this is another famous one. My front sight was aligned slightly to the left, from the factory. Shoots to point of aim at least as well as I do.
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Final thoughts:
- Again, people seem to over-think these rifles. They have excellent firepower, pretty good accuracy, GBET, are cheap as snowballs in January, and man, they're just cool.
- There are a lot out there - find a good one. I bought mine from the MDS classifieds. It was exactly as advertised (disassembly revealed factory test-firing only), and had the bayonet lug, wood furniture, and all that jazz. (It looks like an AK)
Good day and good shooting,
AJM
First impressions:
- This is a utilitarian rifle. All the things that make the AK famous are present here (other than full-auto fire). The finish is good enough but no, it doesn't compete with a 2 grand over/under. But you just have to love the simplicity of it. Take off the top cover (which requires no tools) and you will see large hunks of metal flinging around inside. If it were any simpler, it would be a rock that you threw at your target.
- Which brings me to my next point - This thing field strips easier than the cheer captain after a fifth of Smirnoff. It requires no tools. It requires no training. Just take it apart, make sure it isn't full of gravel, and re-assemble. Maybe some oil wouldn't hurt.
- Ammo and Mags - people realllly like to over-think these two aspects. For ammo, I mostly use Brown Bear FMJ. Because it is cheap and it GBET (Goes Bang Every Time). I have also used HP, SP, etc. As long as there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the ammo, it should work in an AK.
For mags, I have a couple of Bulgarian 30s and unknown (probably Korean) 30s and 40s. All bought at a show in VA, seriously cheap. I would recommend spending the extra $3-5 or so on the Bulgarians. Although I have plenty of rounds through them all and they all work, the Bulgarians are of generally higher quality, match the rifle's finish better, and might last longer. No experience with drums.
_________________________________________
Let's dive into a couple infamous WASR issues and my experiences with them:
-The Infamous Mag wobble - Move a WASR side to side and the mag will shake like a Polaroid picture. Or so the story goes. Mine had the opposite "issue". Mags were hard to fit at first, which is easy to fix. Just insert and remove them a few times, and boom, the well is loosened up just enough to ensure a tight fit. Mags now rock ever so slightly from side to side, with no ill effects.
- Loose pistol grip. Solved with flatblade screwdriver. Time: practically nothing.
- Canted front sight - this is another famous one. My front sight was aligned slightly to the left, from the factory. Shoots to point of aim at least as well as I do.
_______
Final thoughts:
- Again, people seem to over-think these rifles. They have excellent firepower, pretty good accuracy, GBET, are cheap as snowballs in January, and man, they're just cool.
- There are a lot out there - find a good one. I bought mine from the MDS classifieds. It was exactly as advertised (disassembly revealed factory test-firing only), and had the bayonet lug, wood furniture, and all that jazz. (It looks like an AK)
Good day and good shooting,
AJM