WASR's - imported as single stack models?

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  • boss66tcode

    a bit of an Eddie Haskle
    Sep 8, 2008
    2,024
    in 'da hills
    I was checking out a new gun store in the area, and overheard a clerk tell a customer the following:

    " All the WASR's that come to the US start out as single stack mag models, and the distributors convert them to accept the double stack mags".

    Now, I am not an AK platform guru, but this is incorrect - right?

    I can see someone giving info about the saiga AK variants being single stack models and therefore a popular conversion, but the clerks statement had me shaking my head.

    Anyone care to confirm/deny?

    Thanks!
     

    Jaybeez

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    Patriot Picket
    May 30, 2006
    6,392
    Darlington MD
    yes. single stack as import. century adds enough us made parts to comply with 922r and then mills out the magwell for doublestacks. that's why wasrs don't have dimples, they have a piece if sheetmetal in the receiver that stabilized the magazine. when the century monkeys mill that too much you get a wasr with wobble.
     

    rob-cubed

    In need of moderation
    Sep 24, 2009
    5,387
    Holding the line in Baltimore
    Confirmed. Due to fallout from the original AWB, imported rifles have to meet "sporting" requirements and do it in different ways. The Romanians decided to narrow the magwell and use single-stack magazines so they won't be compatible with milsurp 30-rounders. The Russians decided to remove the bullet guide instead.

    Both require some amount of modification to accept standard mags. Century hogs the magwell on WASRs out, replaces the trigger and furniture with US parts (Tapco G2 trigger is great but the Century furniture is sh#t). Century then resells. As does Arsenal, although they do some different mods due to Bulgarian and Russian preferences.
     

    boss66tcode

    a bit of an Eddie Haskle
    Sep 8, 2008
    2,024
    in 'da hills
    only to further beg the question:

    If the AWB is expired, how did they manage to restrict imports to "sporting" rifle variants of the AK design?
     

    Scott7891

    Love those Combloc guns
    Sep 4, 2007
    1,894
    Back in MD sadly
    sorry to change the subject but what is the purpose of making a single stack AKM??? is it just for import or are they for military use as well

    Has to comply with Bill Clinton's 1998 executive order that all imported semi-auto rifles have to have a 10-round max capacity plus we have to comply with the international Wassanar Arrangement (which is what the WASR rifle is named for) which has similar guidelines.

    only to further beg the question:

    If the AWB is expired, how did they manage to restrict imports to "sporting" rifle variants of the AK design?

    The AWB applied only to new domestic sales. Before the 1994 AWB Bush 1 already made an executive order banning AWB's from being imported but continued domestic sales as one wished. Hence why you see Chinese AK's with all the evil features go for thousands of dollars cause new ones are illegal thus cutting off the supply. It was also this same executive order by Bush that started the whole 922r trend of having a certain number of U.S. parts as a way to stop people from getting them domestically but ended up giving rise to companies like Tapco that specialize (though not quite well) in making legal U.S. substitutes. Thus when the AWB sunset in 2004 domestic sales of new ones were allowed to resume but the imports were still banned because the AWB did not apply to imports because of the '89 executive order.

    AWB is different. GCA of '68 has a sporting arms clause.

    Which was heavily modified by Bush and Clinton executive orders. Before those one could get AK's, FAL's, G3's, etc. in their correct form imported as is with no monkeying only with a marking of who imported it.
     
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