intimidated by getting into ak's.
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AcceptableUserName
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im looking at a mak 90 locally i think. gonna offer 425 for it. guys asking 5 but that wont happen. just like im reluctant to pay 450 for a WASR. theyre just not supposed to cost that much.
gun sales are very slow at least where i am so if worse comes to worst i am just going to wait. ill do my part to let the price gougers eat what they have until they really want to sell the stuff. the gun stores have been deader than dead lately. their sales arent good at all. 575 for polymer century arms ak last night and 479 BEFORE tax with NO bayonet for a WASR, i literally laughed out loud when he said the price. i dont want to go through the hassle of converting a saiga on my first ak. im open to it the next go around, but for my first i want something that works adequately right now. match grade accuracy and showroom quality dont matter to me. my impression is that all an AK is in ANY of its forms is a reliable bullet hose anyway. im ok with imperfection like on a WASR as long as A - it is going to blow up or stop shooting on me and b - i dont have to overpay for it.
my budget is around 650 tops and for that Id want a polish AK or warsaw pact good stuff type thing.
if i had the money obviously id buy an Arsenal. but even then id feel bad. An Ak by its nature just isnt supposed to be a thousand bucks. i dont see how the value is there all things considered. its just like sks's. cool gun and all, but no way would i pay 400 for one (ive seen them for that). try again on that one. i probably should have bought an AK 5 or 6 yrs ago but it is what it is. ill find one. i dont think im being that unreasonable. classic and atlantic are still considerations. the saiga is probably a great gun, but i wouldnt recommend anyone especially myself start out with a firearm type on a gun they need to heavily modify to reach their desired specifications. i need to familiarize myself with a good working model first to learn the ropes, so to speak.
gun sales are very slow at least where i am so if worse comes to worst i am just going to wait. ill do my part to let the price gougers eat what they have until they really want to sell the stuff. the gun stores have been deader than dead lately. their sales arent good at all. 575 for polymer century arms ak last night and 479 BEFORE tax with NO bayonet for a WASR, i literally laughed out loud when he said the price. i dont want to go through the hassle of converting a saiga on my first ak. im open to it the next go around, but for my first i want something that works adequately right now. match grade accuracy and showroom quality dont matter to me. my impression is that all an AK is in ANY of its forms is a reliable bullet hose anyway. im ok with imperfection like on a WASR as long as A - it is going to blow up or stop shooting on me and b - i dont have to overpay for it.
my budget is around 650 tops and for that Id want a polish AK or warsaw pact good stuff type thing.
if i had the money obviously id buy an Arsenal. but even then id feel bad. An Ak by its nature just isnt supposed to be a thousand bucks. i dont see how the value is there all things considered. its just like sks's. cool gun and all, but no way would i pay 400 for one (ive seen them for that). try again on that one. i probably should have bought an AK 5 or 6 yrs ago but it is what it is. ill find one. i dont think im being that unreasonable. classic and atlantic are still considerations. the saiga is probably a great gun, but i wouldnt recommend anyone especially myself start out with a firearm type on a gun they need to heavily modify to reach their desired specifications. i need to familiarize myself with a good working model first to learn the ropes, so to speak.
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The funnier side to your humor is Atlantic Firearms selling a non-converted Saiga at cadillac prices. Just who in their right mind is going to pay $739 for a non-converted saiga when they can pick up a SGL 20 or 21 fully converted for less than that. Now thats hysterical.
http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/storeproduct763.aspx
atlanticfire
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Who said anything about me being affiliated with Atlantic? I do not have any part in there business practice nor am I employed there. I was not referencing pricing. I was merely smirking at the fact that your associated Saiga with Cadillac.
AcceptableUserName
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found a polish warsaw pact AK for 600...yay or nay
Maverick223
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Nay, I personally wouldn't spend that much for an AK. I would go with either a Saiga, or out of the box, a WASR.
AcceptableUserName
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LOL! nevermind. i called to make sure, and sure enough, the fellow was mistaken. it was a polish TANTAL in 5.45 for 600+bg check and tax, ha ha ha. not a polish 1960 milled. glad i made the call to make sure before i drove 50 miles! ill let that one gather dust like the rest so far. id like to have a tantal as much as the next guy but not before a 7.62 and not for that price. they were also offering a 1975 for the measley sum of 700. i laughed uproariously.
and the hunt goes on!
and the hunt goes on!
gkdir
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Own 3 of them. A MAK90 Norinco, a AK47 PolyTech, and a Mak90 PolyTech, all milled, all wood. None of them have any "Rambo" crap hanging off them, and all 3 of them will put a 30rd. clip in a man sized target all day at a 100yds. That being said I also have a few original Saigas (except for clip mods.) .223, 7.62 x39, and 12ga. They also have been very reliable. Personally I wouldn't own a WASR or Yugo, or Romanian. Just my $0.02.
AcceptableUserName
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im sitting on my money for awhile. im definitely wanting a mak 90 used right now.
Crash_Test_Dhimmi
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try a Micro Galil!
5.56 SBR
milled receiver, not some stamped folded flat.
5.56 SBR
milled receiver, not some stamped folded flat.
AcceptableUserName
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sticking to the AK platform or very very close variant. ive went the 5.56 route and it wasnt for me.
atlanticfire
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Like others have said I think the WASRs are good. Kinda like an old pickup truck. Sure they have imperfections and might not be as pretty as others, but you know they always work.
THE DARK KNIGHT
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I would say the Saiga Cadillac / WASR Pinto comparison is a little off. The WASR is $389.99 and the Saiga is $299 plus about $120 to convert. So that's only $30 and 2 hours for brand new Russian made parts vs. old military reject parts....
Maverick223
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The auto analogies are getting tiresome...all AKs are somewhere between a Yugo and a Peugeot. 
Maverick223
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Should do just as good as a WASR...well almost, it is a bit heavier.
It'll do just fine, just a little high for an AK IMO.OrangePwrx9
Member
Ohhhh, Okaayyy. I made that mistake too. Guess there's no reason to take your opinions any more seriously than any others here.
I do agree that Saigas aren't Cadillacs.
Saiga = '80s F150
not that there's anything wrong with that.
Saiga is a modern AK103 base at its inner core. Nice new premium chrome lined 90 degree gas block. Nice new hammer forged chrome lined barrel with superior machining done on modern high tech machinery at Izmash. The steel quality is second to none. Generally well aligned and rivots are spaced correctly. Internal parts are machined very well and made to spec.
Wasr is an old AKM base at its inner core. Old worn outdated non-chrome lined 45 degree gas block. Old out of spec arsenal reject possibly worn out to the point about to start key holing bullets barrel made with gypsy quality control standards. Steel quality good luck. Alignment is certified by the primate special olympics. Internal parts are worn arsenal rejects.
I get a chuckle at how people worry about whether a Remington 870 express
is far less superior to an 870 police and whether they could trust their life to
a lesser 870 quality. As though the police version is the cadillac and the express version is relatively more like a pinto. Well, the comparison of manufacturing quality disparity between a Russian Izmash (Saiga) and a Romanian Wasr is 10 times greater than that of the express versus a police 870. I think people are looking at the exterior and have no idea what in spec literally means or the 30 plus years of design upgrades incorporated into a structurally reinforced AK103 type base gun. Final point: The Russians make a much higher quality product than a romanian WASR. The WASR seems to be the worst possible AK sporter on the planet with the highest rate of manufacturing defects besides the fact that its made of romanian arsenal rejected parts that they will not even trust on their real military select fire rifles. In RELATIVE COMPARISON, Izmash parts are of cadillac quality if you consider the Wasr parts as even entre level in the US market. Its not even as close as 870 express versus police models, but more like 870 police/wingmaster versus a pakistani 870 clone hammered out of 30 year old construction rebar. They might look fairly close in appearance from a distance but once you closely examine them you start to see the differences.
Wasr is an old AKM base at its inner core. Old worn outdated non-chrome lined 45 degree gas block. Old out of spec arsenal reject possibly worn out to the point about to start key holing bullets barrel made with gypsy quality control standards. Steel quality good luck. Alignment is certified by the primate special olympics. Internal parts are worn arsenal rejects.
I get a chuckle at how people worry about whether a Remington 870 express
is far less superior to an 870 police and whether they could trust their life to
a lesser 870 quality. As though the police version is the cadillac and the express version is relatively more like a pinto. Well, the comparison of manufacturing quality disparity between a Russian Izmash (Saiga) and a Romanian Wasr is 10 times greater than that of the express versus a police 870. I think people are looking at the exterior and have no idea what in spec literally means or the 30 plus years of design upgrades incorporated into a structurally reinforced AK103 type base gun. Final point: The Russians make a much higher quality product than a romanian WASR. The WASR seems to be the worst possible AK sporter on the planet with the highest rate of manufacturing defects besides the fact that its made of romanian arsenal rejected parts that they will not even trust on their real military select fire rifles. In RELATIVE COMPARISON, Izmash parts are of cadillac quality if you consider the Wasr parts as even entre level in the US market. Its not even as close as 870 express versus police models, but more like 870 police/wingmaster versus a pakistani 870 clone hammered out of 30 year old construction rebar. They might look fairly close in appearance from a distance but once you closely examine them you start to see the differences.
therickster
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I like my WASR. Well worth the $380 I spent on it. With that said, my dad has one also that is not really on the same level. The parts seem a little scratched and the fit is a little off. Definitely still workable though.
We also just refinished both stocks. A little Tung oil and those things are as good as new.
We also just refinished both stocks. A little Tung oil and those things are as good as new.
My nephew put 5 shots into about a 1 1/2" circle at 25 yards with my wasr,he rarley shoots guns,its pretty accurate for what it is,& never jammed since ive had it. its really not bad for around 450 or so, & theres lots of surplus parts & wood that can be refinished nicely & added as well.romanian mags are plentiful,too.theres not much out there for the price,its still a pretty good bargain..
AcceptableUserName
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the wasrs seem fine for occasional use. i would pick one up for the right price. unfortunately, the right price isnt what seems to the going rate. id want to pay 3-350. i want a mak 90 or tantal next, and after that ill look to convert my own Saiga. and if i did get a WASR id be through classic or atlantic.
Maverick223
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Huh?...what do you consider inaccurate...10MOA? I don't care what it is 6MOA is pretty darn bad.
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