[Mooseman]

I believe I've seen this at my local gun shop but I'm not sure what it means. Does it change the reliability of the rifle? Is it correctable? While we're at it how about a canted front sight or mag wobble?

[MartinS]

If the piston moves freely and the rifle can be zeroed all can be good. Side to side magazine wobble can be OK.

[Slvr Surfr]

This site should give you all the 411 you need ......

http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/cant.htm

[Don't Tread On Me]

Depends. That's a tough call in my opinion. I'd have to see how much of a cant there is. A tiny bit wouldn't bother the rifle. It'll work so long as the piston can move freely. However, I'm one of those people who such a thing will eat me up inside until it gets fixed. I don't like the idea of any part taking a beating on one side because of improper assembly. Sure, it might work for 60,000rds, but it's not ideal. Not the way it's meant to be. It's a personal thing.

A canted front sight doesn't effect reliability or function in any way. However, it is pretty annoying if the cant is severe. It will cause you to have to really have to slide over the sight post to get the rifle zeroed. This is ok by some, but I can't stand it (fired an AK like this before). The front sight post gets too close to the sight post shield/guard (is that what it's called?) and that, in my opinion, interferes with my sight picture.


I'd rather have a canted sight tower than a canted gas block. But I'd just rather have a rifle be assembled correctly. A gunsmith who deserves the title of gunsmith (not some gunstore bubba) should be able to easily correct both of these problems. Even if the gunsmith works for cheap, the costs in correcting these problems might bump you up to a better rifle from the start. I'd take that into consideration.


Mag wobble shouldn't be a problem either. A lot of AK's have this. In fact, most do. AK's with no mag wobble, but with easily inserting magazines is more rare - and is a treat in my view. That is ideal. You'll find that on the higher-dollar AK's. I've seen a few where getting the mag in and out was nearly impossible (mag well too tight). These are the dremel'ed WASR AK's from Romania that Century Arms butchers.

I wouldn't buy an AK if it had really excessive wobble. What is excessive? I have no definition other than my own personal inspection and observation. Best thing to do is compare it to other AK's in the store or other types of AK's of varying quality so you can build up an idea of what is a lot and what is a little. I wouldn't want the magazine rattling, that's for sure.