[Lightsped]

There was a good chance I was going to buy a Romainan AK at a local gunshow. They had alot of them. Around $309.00 to $319.00. The only thing that kept me from buying one was that the fit and finish on these was extremely poor. The serial number and date of manufacturer looked as if someone took a chisel and etched it into the metal. Wood workmanship was also not too great.

Are all of the Romainan AKs like this or did I just stumble upon a bad batch?

[QuarterBoreGunner]

I think they're all like that; I have an early import side-folder RatmilCugir and the markings on it look like a beaver chewed on it. The handguard on mine is a laminate wood that looks good but smells like a campfire under after a quick string of 30rnds rapid fire...

[NevadaPistolero]

There all like that, thats what makes them such a great deal. You can refinish the wood and the gun and make them look like an $800 AK real cheap. As far as the markings go theres not alot you can do about that unless you send it to a place that redoes them. the prices you qouted are very good, should have got one or two :D

[Lightsped]

The gunshow will still be here this coming weekend. If I were to decide to buy one of these, what issues should I be certain to check out so I can get a "good one". They had 10 or more at this gunshow.

[gun-fucious]

look for an un canted front sight and gas system:
http://linx310.nothingbutguns.com/cant.htm

[MAKOwner]

Ignore the wood and such and concentrate on getting one that has a non-canted front sight and gasblock. Just look down the thing over the sights and you can spot any cant pretty easily. Get the straightest you can find, both of mine are literally 100% straight (although that's only cosmetic as well 99% of the time, have heard of some gas blocks canted enough that the rigidly mounted gaspiston rubbed a bit causing some failures)... The wood is especially easy to clean up/refinish yourself so it should be secondary. You can also refinish the metal fairly easily, or you can leave it alone, they're only cosmetic blemishes... You're likely to encounter some trigger slap on all of them, easy to clear up with a dremel or a file. The link above to the Romanian AK site has clear instructions on both refinishing the stock and clearing up trigger slap. They are great AKs...

[Lightsped]

Another question on Romainan AKs.

I have been toying with the idea of buying one for over two years. Everytime I would get ready to buy one, another gun would pop up.

Anyways, two years ago I was hearing the constant "They are not importing these anymore. Prices will go up very soon." Well, two years later, and obviously they are importing them, and prices have stayed the same.

Anyone know the REAL story (if there is one)?

[CZ-100]

Buy it, Shoot it and Have a Blast with it. Best $300 you will spend :D

[jrhead75]

Apparently, Century had a dispute with the Romanians over price, and quit importing them just recently. That's the way I heard it, anyway.

$309-319 is a great price. If everything is straight, they're a fine shooter. You can make 'em a lot prettier (a can of engine paint and a little furniture refinishing) and still have a good dependable shooter for less than the top of the line AKs.

[goalie]

They are not made to look at, they are made to shoot. And they shoot, every time you squeeze the trigger. :D

[NevadaPistolero]

Century has stopped importing them recently...dispute over cost. I heard the BATF also had something to do with it but who knows. I havent heard of any canted gas blocks and sights in the 2003 models. It was found on the earlier models but check and make sure they are straight anyway. Thats about it. they come in 3 different calibers, 7.62x39 which is the most common and tons of ammo here for them, .223 which is hard to find(the gun not the round) and the Russian 5.45x39. Stick with a caliber thats in great abundance, the 5.45 could get a little scarce someday where as the 2 others will always be around. The AK is probably the easiest gun there is made to work on, very simple to do just about anything to them.

[vanfunk]

Lightsped-
If the little scribbles on the side of the receiver are important to you, be sure to look over a bunch of examples. That's what I did, and finally found a '99 model that had almost perfect, straight stenciled markings. I know it's kinda paradoxical to be concerned with such matters on a carbine designed to be dragged behing a T 80, but hey, it's about pride of ownership!

Now on the other hand, my example does evince a certain tendency for the front sight tower and gas block to lean to the right...:fire:
It doesn't affect function in the slightest, however. Mine's been an AK all the way, through about 2000 rapid-fire rounds now with no failures. The wood on mine also refinished nicely.

Get one. If you're looking for a typical Eastern-European AKM variant, I think the SAR-1 comes mighty close.

HTH,
vanfunk

[Lightsped]

Well, if Century Arms really did stop importing them, how hard would it be for the gun's manufactuer (whoever that is) find another importer?

Of course, this is the same story I have heard for the past two years, but I am definately no AK expert so what do I know.

[MAKOwner]

They've warned of impending banning and such several times, and it never happened. However, they have officially quit importing the SARs this time due to price disputes supposedly. They are still bringing in and offering low cap WASR10s, as well as the converted to high-cap model. Both have a thumbhole "Dragunov style" stock now though. They should be cheaper than real SARs...

[Lightsped]

Will another distributor begin bringing over the Romanian AKs? It is all about money, and if these things are selling great than I don't see why they wouldn't. Unless the government is creating issues about the AKs....

[goon]

That is the beauty of the AK.
It doesn't have to be pretty to work.
Anyhow, that is pretty much how they all are. You can make a pretty nice one out of one of them if you put a little more money into it, or you could just go a little more and get a milled Bulgarian AK instead.
Or you could buy one of those ugly little things and abuse the hell out of it, then watch in amazement as the gun just keeps on working.;)

[SteelyDan]

I have to chime in. They're really not all that pretty. If you're used to Brownings or Winchesters, you'll probably laugh a bit when you first see the Romanians. BUT, just for sheer fun, reliability, halfway-decent-accuracy, and cheap shooting, you really can't go wrong with the SARs (or hi-cap WASRs). Just get one; you will not regret it.

[Lightsped]

What is the difference in a SAR1 and a hicap WASR? I thought the whole point of a WASR was to limit capacity by altering the gun so that it only accepts 10 rounders?

[RustyHammer]

Cheap ammo, cheap high-cap mags, etc.

Nothing like a gun that can take a beating and still pop off 40 rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger, then toss it in your truck without worrying about it!

Buy one .... you won't regret it.

Rusty

AK's = Accuracy by volume of fire!

[MAKOwner]

What is the difference in a SAR1 and a hicap WASR? I thought the whole point of a WASR was to limit capacity by altering the gun so that it only accepts 10 rounders?

I don't know why Century was offereing the SAR1s and the hiccap WASRs concurrently for so long, really makes no sense. I guess they were cheaprer to buy/convert, they always were a little cheaper list price.

The difference is not a whole lot, the standard lowcap WASRs had a narrower opening in the bottom of the receiver, and a narrower trunion so they only accepted single stack, low cap mags. The hiccap converted WASRs had the receiver opening/trunion hogged out with a mill so the fatter standard AK mags would fit. That's basically it... You can spot WASRs because the sides of the receiver don't have the "mag dimples".

There is some talk that the newest run of WASRs, sold with the thumbhole stock now come with the wide standard AK trunion already in them, just with a narrow opening in the receiver. If that can be verified you could use a dremil to cut the opening to size yourself pretty easily and use hicaps...