Easy to rail this?

[AZAviator]

I agree the WASR 10 is a good looking gun for the price. Im finding it about $500 everywhere right now. I lol'd when I went to cabellas yesterday, they had an AK-47 on display and when I asked about it the guy about it he said it was brand new. Although the tag said "pre-owned", then he says well yeah they have all been through wars. So new ***? Those guys are such a PITA. Anyway the story ends with the price, $500 for a used beat up looking AK.

Ive found some cool links to AR - AK stocks and rail systems for the WASR. Here the weapon Im looking at http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Romanian_GP-WASR_10_63_7.62x39_Rifle.html

It says it has the WASR side mount for optics. What kind of optic mounts do you need for this or is it prety straight forward.

Thanks

 

[Avenger29]

The side mount is on the left side of the receiver. A mount clamps onto it, and then you attach your optic of choice to it, or you can clamp one of the Eastern European scopes that have a built in mount for that side. It's pretty standard for AKs. The WASR you posted would be a good starter AK. The Cabelas guy is obviously full of it.

The mount that attaches to that side rail is common and readily available. More importantly, it provides a decent mount (unlike a dust cover mount). Main drawback is that because it has to clear the dustcover, it can be a bit high.

Here's a link to a site that sells several optics that mount to the side rail. Mounts that use a standard weaver or picattany pattern for mounting American style mounts are also readily available.

http://www.kalinkaoptics.com/

 

[benEzra]

Eastern European optics will slide right on the siderail without using a separate mount. The optic on my AK (Russian Kobra) is one such optic, as is the one on MTMilitiaman's AK:



All about Kobras:

http://tantal.kalashnikov.guns.ru/bstkobra.html


A simpler and lighter option, but by all accounts a very good one, is the AK IronDot from LaRue Tactical. It replaces the rear sight with a combination sight blade and lightweight optic:

http://www.laruetactical.com/pics/laruetacticalak-irondot/laruetacticalak-irondot.html

The IronDot is probably the most straightforward choice for someone new to AK's, as it is a quality unit, and sighting in is probably simpler than it is for a Kobra. I'm not sure what the going price is for one, though.


The POSP series of scopes is also very high quality, but a magnified optic makes the rifle less usable inside 50 yards or so. A Kobra or other unmagnified optic is plenty usable out to 200 yards if you have decent eyesight.

POSP 4x24 (the max magnification I'd personally want on a 7.62x39mm AK):

http://www.kalinkaoptics.com/detail.aspx?ID=566

Here's that scope on my SAR-1 (back when it wore the factory wooden furniture):

For serious use (as in going to Iraq and depending on a rifle for your life), an Aimpoint Micro on an Ultimak forward rail is the most favored setup---lightweight, sits low to the bore axis, holds zero, extremely rugged, and the battery life is measured in years---but that setup costs more than the rifle.


http://www.ultimak.com/pic38.htm


Finally,you can buy siderail optics mounts that just have a rail on top, allowing you to throw a cheap U.S.-made red dot on there:

The only drawback is that the optic sits very high (higher than even a Kobra, generally). This is the cheapest option if you go with an inexpensive Wal-Mart red dot, though. One caveat---by most reports, the Chinese made mounts (which use setscrews to secure them on the rail) are lower quality and don't hold zero as well as the Russian made mounts like the one in the photo above (which use a lever and cam to lock to the rail). The Chinese mounts are probably good enough for a Wal-Mart optic, though, especially if you just want to try out a dot setup before shelling out a lot of money.

 

[AZAviator]

Well that post helped with making the choice. I deffinately think the wasr is starting to look like something I'd like. I haven't had a chance to look at your links yet, but how easy/hard is it to remove the wood foregrip and replace it ?

 

[benEzra]

Not too hard. The foregrip is in two pieces; the top comes off with the gas tube when you field strip the rifle, and then it's a simple matter to spin it out of its retainer. The bottom piece is held on by a friction-locking lever; you pry that up with a screwdriver and pop the grip off.

Detailed instructions with photos:

http://www.ultimak.com/AKStockR&R.htm

 

[Maverick223]

The UltiMAK is not a bad system, my only advice is loose the red LASER...I am still undecided on the merits of a green LASER (much brighter in daylight), but the red LASERs are worthless IMO...just stick a good tactical flashlight (Surefire, Cree, et al) on it to provide more versatility in different conditions.

 

[AZAviator]

I would never get red anyway unless the price difference is huge.

 

[Maverick223]

I would never get red anyway unless the price difference is huge.

Is quadruple (or more) the price without being solid state (it has lens, prisms, and filters that may come out of alignment during recoil) too much?

 

[Sam1911]

I would never get red anyway unless the price difference is huge.

Is quadruple (or more) the price without being solid state (it has lens, prisms, and filters that may come out of alignment during recoil) too much?

Well the laser idea is more for looks, not precision.

The red is almost certainly up to the task. The greens are more expensive and don't look any more bad-a$$.

-Sam

 

[AZAviator]

Wonder why the green is so much more? Color doesnt really matter to me, although Ive been told from others that the reds are bad during the day time.

 

[Maverick223]

Wonder why the green is so much more?

It is new, brighter, and much more sophisticated technology (10x harder/more expensive to build).

 

[rfurtkamp]

Spend some time shooting your friend's AK before making a decision IMO.

And be aware that by the time you're done buying toys and mounts and other silliness to make a low-end AK into something it isn't, you could have bought something that fit your needs out of the gate.

It sounds like you're buying on price and appearance only, not on function or need - and that is ultimately more expensive than any other approach.