Century Arms AK

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I saw a WASR(?) AK from Century Arms at Dunhams for 299 today. Is that a good deal? And is that a decent AK? What does WASR mean as well? I don't own an AK, but might soon if that's a good deal.

 

[chris in va]

Might want to do a search for 'Century Arms AK'. Personally I don't know much, but they seem to be pretty rough but functional.

 

[AK103K]

There are some WASR's floating around that have not been restored to the standard mag and have a proprietary 10 round mag. Most of the WASR's you see today have had the mag wells restored to accept the standard 30 round AK mags. Other than that, and price, there is really no difference.

The WASR's replaced the SAR's after the ban.

I have both an SAR and an early WASR. Both are decent, useable rifles, and the WASR is actually a little nicer.

 

[strat81]

I have a WASR. It took about 300 rounds for it to break in, and now it runs fine. It's an ugly pig, but it gets the job done, and looks evil.

 

[Z71]

Mines actually been pretty good.

I can't say it's any uglier than any other AK!

I paid $329 for mine late last summer.

Supposidly the Romanians are dropping production of the things for Century to turn into hi-cap guns in obeyance of US firearms law.

I guess Cugir is going to make cars or parts for awhile instead of AK's

Already getting scarce in my parts, although does seem to be plenty of other AK's around and used WASR rifles too. My dealer is out of these, and is selling some other AK thats a bit more expensive. He said Century told him they would have more WASR's but it would be awhile. So who knows? Maybe these will gain some value.

 

[Picard]

Since you saw it at a store, check the sights and gas tube to see if they are canted. Then put a magazine in it to check for wobble. I've heard of people getting WASR's that were actually pretty decent but there are some bad apples out there.

If everything checks out after you look it over, I'd say get it. I believe that if everyone owned an AK, the world would be a better place

 

[azrael]

not a bad weapon for the $$$

 

[dglockster]

AK rifles from Century have a spotty reputation in that many come with canted front sight blocks, canted gas blocks, mag wobble, 10-round mag wells instead of the standard AK mag well, etc. However, none of the problems are unfixable.

An excellent source to learn about some of the numerous Romanian AK models as well as how to fix some of the more common faults is http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/index.shtml. The tutorials have clear pictures and are easy to understand and follow.

In addition, http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/showthread.php?t=290399&highlight=WASR+dimples is a fix for mag wobble if that is present in the WASR.

There are also discussions on various gun boards about how to modify the 10-round mag well into a standard AK mag well.

You asked what does "WASR" mean. It doesn't have a meaning. The rifles were made just for the commercial market and had to have a name for the market place, so someone just made up the acronym "WASR" so that it would imply "military."

P.S. $299 for the WASR is an excellent price. Just take a look at http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/SearchResults.asp.

 

[Hokkmike]

I would rate them as junk.

 

[Shear_stress]

I would rate them as junk.

Really? It won't win any beauty contests, but mine has been perfectly reliable and reasonably accurate. What more do you want? Just make sure you inspect it before you buy it.

You asked what does "WASR" mean. It doesn't have a meaning.

Not true. The "WA" are for "Wassenaar Arrangement", an arms export treaty of which Romania is a signatory nation.

 

[benEzra]

That's a very, very good price, assuming it takes standard AK magazines and everything is on straight.

I have a Century-imported SAR-1 and it is an excellent rifle (for which I paid $379 in 2003, FWIW).

 

[AK103K]

check the sights and gas tube to see if they are canted.

Has this really ever been an issue with the WASR's. I have yet to see one that had either.

The early SAR's were more of an issue, and I've seen some pretty bad examples of them. I do have a SAR that has "slightly" canted sights. While it can be annoying, its really not detrimental to shooting. My SAR shot this at 200 yards using the issue iron sights. The lower group was fired from a rest to confirm zero, the upper group from a cross legged sitting position. I have basically the same results with all my AK's, including my WASR.

I would rate them as junk.

Just curious, but based on what?

 

[thebaldguy]

Check it out closely before you buy it. There are a few rifles that have the above mentioned problems.

The plastic magazines do tend to fit tighter in WASR rifles and can be carefully dremeled for an exact fit.

 

[nalioth]

You asked what does "WASR" mean. It doesn't have a meaning.

It doesn't?

 

[lee n. field]

I saw a WASR(?) AK from Century Arms at Dunhams for 299 today. Is that a good deal?

It's OK. Commie furniture or American?

And is that a decent AK?

It'll do the job.

 

[SJDigriz]

For that price, get 2!