New AK-74 Clone, Waffen Werks

[Cosmoline]

With the ammo shortages hitting everything except the big spam cans of 5.45x39, I decided it might be a good time to grab a 74 clone. Most of the ones around here have been Tantals and Saigas, and they haven't been too impressive. The Saiga I looked at had badly canted sights, and I've heard that some of the Century Tantals had bores in the wrong diameter.

So When I saw the chance, I grabbed up this beauty. It's a Waffen Werks from a few years back. I stuck an Arsenal folder on there. I'm not sure how well it will shoot but I'll be happy with 3" groups. How are folks finding the WW AK's? We don't see many here.

I call it "Strelok"

 

[Babarsac]

I've never heard of a "bad" Saiga but if it was converted by Century then I have my reservations. Same goes for the Tantals since a lot on the market were built by Century. I haven't heard anything bad about the rifles put out by Waffen Werks and they look really nice.

Let us know how it shoots. I might pick one up if I don't end up doing my own build.

 

[Rob G]

Waffen Werks AKs are some of the best builds out there IMO. They're typically made from Bulgarian parts kits on US receivers (NoDak Spud) and the barrels can be either Bulgarian or US depending on what was available at the time it was built. WW does a good job with assembly and I've heard very few complaints about their work. Overall I'd say you scored yourself a good rifle there.

On the accuracy front, I'd say you shouldn't have trouble getting 3" groups. I get 1.5" with my '74 when I'm doing my part and many other people have had similiar experiences with quality built 74s.

 

[1KPerDay]

I've liked my WW so far. Front sight had to be cranked up so high I worry the threads will not hold, but otherwise fine. I haven't shot at 100 yds for groups... and the ammo smells baaaaaad. Fun to shoot, though. My kids love it.

 

[JustinJ]

The Saiga I looked at had badly canted sights,

Even with the highest level of QC an occasional lemon will always still get through. The positive experiences with Saigas are countless and one rare issue does not negate this.
Nothing against Waffen works but I prefer an AK in which all the most critical parts were actually built and assembled by a factory that has been doing so for decades for the Russian and Bulgarian militaries.

 

[Cosmoline]

Yeah I've heard a lot of good things about Saiga. The one I was eyeballing before the big sales purge was almost "gangsta" sighted. It should never have left any factory. Plus I'm not a big fan of Saiga's stock arrangement and was looking at having to retcon it back into something more like an AK.

That said, the .308 Saiga's I've seen have looked fine. So it must have just been a lapse. I wish they made one in 54R.

Anyone fiddle with 70's and 80's vintage eastbloc optics on their 74's? The 1P29 looks cool, but I know little about the quality of the various examples around. I assume most are knockoffs.

 

[TurtlePhish]

That said, the .308 Saiga's I've seen have looked fine. So it must have just been a lapse. I wish they made one in 54R.

They do make one in 54r, actually.

Anyone fiddle with 70's and 80's vintage eastbloc optics on their 74's? The 1P29 looks cool, but I know little about the quality of the various examples around. I assume most are knockoffs.

All I've seen around are real. All of the ex-Soviet combat optics are tough and pretty high quality, but sit very high over the bore. They're also a bit heavy.

 

[SabbathWolf]

I noticed that too. Most Soviet optics give you a chin weld instead of a cheek weld.

 

[Cosmoline]

They do make one in 54r, actually.

They do?! I thought that was the new VEPR. We don't have either up here, anyway. And after seeing the canted sights I'm leery of getting one prior to inspection.

 

[WardenWolf]

I've never even heard of a Saiga coming in with canted sights. You must have gotten insanely unlucky. My recommendation is to order a VEPR, Cosmoline. However, I recommend the VEPR .308 instead because the x54R VEPRs only take single stack mags. There's also cheap .308 available through Brown Bear nowadays.

That's a good looking AK you got there. I've never heard anything bad about Waffen Werks' stuff. It was only the old, OLD Century Tantals that had the problem. They fixed the problem several years back, but the reputation persists.

 

[TAKtical]

Ive wanted one for a long time. Waffen Werks 74s are probably the best value out there. The only thing that has stopped me from buying one (actually anything chambered in 5.45x39) is that no ranges near me will let you shoot steel core ammo. Indoor or outdoor its a no go around here for some reason. And since the steel core is whats always available and cheap, I just cant justify it.

 

[Cosmoline]

Up here I'm spoiled for ranges but have almost no ammo or supplies. .308 is unlikely to appear again before next Fall, if even then. And you cannot have it shipped in unless you buy a barge berth.

 

[nathan]

My Lancaster ARms Russian Red model with Bulgarian barrel is 3 inch grp at 100 yrds with the Russian Surplus.

 

[Cosmoline]

I think I'm cursed or something. I've got everything prepared for tomorrow and there's horrific wet SNOW coming down out there. Snow in the middle of May! I must have neglected to make my offerings to the AK gods.

 

[dcarch]

I love my Saiga. Works perfectly, every time. Sorry about your bad luck.

 

[WardenWolf]

I forgot to mention, I noticed the name Strelok. A fan of the STALKER series games, I take it?

 

[Cosmoline]

LOL yeah you've caught me. Great games. I remember after first going through X-18 my hands were shaking, and I realized that action films could no longer hold a candle to video games. I only hope this one doesn't wear out as fast as the rifles do in STALKER!

 

[Cosmoline]

Took it for a spin today. About 150 rounds fired, mostly "NC rc" surplus with some silver bear. The silver bear was about twice as tight, giving 2 1/2" groups at 100 yards. The surplus stuff was pie plate at 100 yards.

On the plus side, there were zero failures to fire, zero failures to load, zero failures to eject, zero failures of any kind. Every bullet did hit the target. I used surplus and Tapco plastic mags, and made a point of resting weight on them, bending them, grabbing at them etc while shooting. The AK laughed at my efforts to stop it from working.

The Arsenal stock I got from Midway is very nice for a folder. The steel is thick enough to make a solid cheek or chin weld, and did not hurt at all. There's no real recoil with this rifle, just a kind of rattle.

I had a tough time with stances, since the ergonomics are very different and it's been many years since I've shot an AK platform firearm. I'll need to work on it. I did notice that when I had the sling tight in my arm American style, the group shifted very distinctly to the left. From what I've seen, they do not use slings like we do. They keep them loose and let them dangle, then literally toss the AK backwards to switch to a handgun. But that could be erroneous.

It's a messy gun. The surplus ball is filthy and I'm assuming corrosive. I have no rod thin enough to get into that extremely tight bore, so I must rely on a 5.56 pull-through. Seems to work well enough.

It's also pretty danged noisy, and I'm glad I wore plugs and muffs together. Ejected brass flies off into the next time zone, with enough initial force to actually bruise someone inside of a few feet.

It would be a very, very interesting round and rifle to handload for. But at the moment that's not easy to do. If Lee comes out with dies and I can snag some bullets I'm eager to see how finely tuned I can get the group. I'm willing to bet with handloads I can get inside of 2"--on par with a standard AR.

 

[WardenWolf]

Not bad. That's on par with what I'd expect of a midrange AK. I've heard of some VEPRs operating in the 1 MOA range, but they're a different beast entirely, being the highest quality but also rather heavy.

Strelok is a good name for the gun, since it roughly translates to "Shooter" in Russian.

 

[1KPerDay]

It would be a very, very interesting round and rifle to handload for. But at the moment that's not easy to do. If Lee comes out with dies and I can snag some bullets I'm eager to see how finely tuned I can get the group.

What cases would you use?

 

[SabbathWolf]

I'm not aware of any reloadable brass cases in 5.45
Everything I've ever seen is steel.
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure.

 

[Cosmoline]

I think the Silver Bear may be boxer and reloadable, but they flew about fifty feet. So I'd need to get some kind of brass catcher or more likely shoot with a wall to my right.

But yeah components for the 5.45 are very difficult to find. The rifles are all over now though so I suspect once the current shortages settle down we'll start seeing some production.

 

[TurtlePhish]

5.45 brass can be made by FL sizing and then trimming .222 Rem brass, bullets are available from MidwayUSA and surprisingly cheap.

Lee and RCBS make custom 5.45 dies, but they're pricey.

 

[Beaux Nehr]

I've seen two Saigas with canted sights.
Haven't heard of anything wrong with waffen works

 

[WardenWolf]

You'd need to install a buffer on the dust cover of your AK, too. Don't forget that AKs mutilate the brass. I don't have a 5.45 AK, but I do have one in .223. The .223 brass is practically folded. I can't imagine the 5.45 faring any better. I've seen it in 7.62x54R, 7.62x39, and .223. It seems the smaller the caliber, the worse the brass is damaged.