Thinking about buying an AK

[LKB3rd]

So I went to Dunham's and saw a hi-cap capable WASR for $400 even. The sights seemed straight enough to my eyes, the bolt was easy to work, none of the controls stuck, etc. The whole thing had a cheap feel to it, but I have a feeling that's just an AK thing. Seem like a good deal?
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The cheap feel is part of their charm to me lol. To me they even sound rough and cheap when you cycle the action.

 

[christhetoolman]

I've always been into getting accuracy out of my guns, pistols, rifles whatever. If I could'nt shoot it I would trade it for something I could. I got on the Ak excitement years ago when before they were starting to get popular and bought a Saiga. I assumed that they were supposed to accurate, after all they do put sights and scope mounts on them. And once again, after getting something I did;nt think was accurate ( shooting about the size of a pie plate at 100 yards ) I thought they were junk and saved up for an AR. I have just recently realized thay they are not supposed to be and were not designed to be accurate weapons ( wikipedia has a good read about the history and design and Russian military philoshophy ) Russia wa looking for a weapon that would survive mud, snow, water etc. and they didn;t need accuracy cause they were gonna have a bunch of people spraying bullets down range and they just needed to be close and it was more important for it to shoot than for the soldier to take time and be accurate. So, since understanding how this thing is supposed to work I have a new found love for the AK.
I guess it is like how you should treat your wife or girlfriend - don't have to many damands on her and don't expect a lot and everything will be okay. I just expect her to be fairly accurate ( knowing how she is 5 or 6 inch spread would be okay ) and always go bang ( excluding ammo problems ).

The AT-47 I got American Tactical I think now is kinda pretty. Has dark wood stocks, big ole nasty looking magazines hanging out of a milled reciever and a shaved off muzzle brake. It's kind of like looking at the ugliest dog you've seen and the thing is so ugly it's kinda cute. That's how I see Ak's now.

Oh yeah, I was thinking of filing the shaved off muzzle brake to a finer point so It could possibly be used to break glass or even as a stand-off weapon, what do ya'll think about that?

 

[MIL-DOT]

Not that you're ever likely to need to, but it'll break glass just fine as it is, don't go screwing up your muzzle brake.

 

[nalioth]

Oh yeah, I was thinking of filing the shaved off muzzle brake to a finer point so It could possibly be used to break glass or even as a stand-off weapon, what do ya'll think about that?

A 10 pound rifle in motion will break glass quite nicely, no matter what part of it hits first.

As far as the "stand-off weapon" aspect, the Austians did not issue bayonets with their STG-58, but trained their soldiers to use the flash hider instead.

I think you're overthinking the obvious with this line of thought.

 

[rocinante]

With your budget this is what you need, a century vz2008, vz58. cheap as any WASR, milled receiver, new barrel, 7.62x39 caliber, nice build. lighter than AK, easier safety, short piston, good handling. I just got 2.

http://www.jgsales.com/product_info.../3281?osCsid=5a3733673380abf05d5201bf9976748a

 

[savage22]

I have been looking at the WASR-10 double stack deals at Dunhams as well. What are canted sights? How do you check at the store if a WASR has canted sights? And what do you mean you have to look for shoddy work in the reciever? Also what are other WASR defects you should look for while innspecting the gun you are potentially going to buy?

 

[nalioth]

I have been looking at the WASR-10 double stack deals at Dunhams as well. What are canted sights? How do you check at the store if a WASR has canted sights?

Canted sights are just what it says - where the sight tower is canted one way or another out of alignment with the other sights and/or barrel. 99% of the time, it's not an issue, as the gun can be zeroed.

And what do you mean you have to look for shoddy work in the reciever?

Lots of folks are stuck on aesthetics rather than function. The Romanian AKs are not produced with an eye to aesthetics, but functionality. Some folks want "pretty", and they talk smack about the WASR due to the fact that it's not.

Also what are other WASR defects you should look for while innspecting the gun you are potentially going to buy?

If you visit this site and look down the left side of the page, you'll find a lot of "fixes". These were needed quite a bit a decade ago, but not so much any more.

Romanian Kalashnikov Rifles

 

[savage22]

Thank you nalioth, the information you gave and the link you posted helped a lot.

 

[Sebastian the Ibis]

Isn't there one AK variant where the magazine is not detachable or can't take aftermarket mags?

I've never seen a non-detachable mag AK. It would be dang near impossible to use since you cannot load an AK from the top. However there is probably a California bullet button version floating around. I wouldn't worry to much about stumbling across one.

As to the aftermarket mag issue. Saigas and real VZ's are the primary ones to worry about. Both are imported straight from factory and cannot take hi-caps when they come in. However both are often converted back to accepting normal mags once they get here. Also in the case of Saigas you can get Saiga specific hi-caps for $20-30 each from Surefire or Promag, so its not too big of a deal. Especially if you just want a plinker and only need 2-3 mags.

I have not had a VZ so I don't know much about them. However, if it costs $350 and has a AK slant break on it then it is not a real one from the CZ factory, but a kit build from century. It will then probably take AK mags but is not of the same quality.

Lo-cap WASR’s exist, again for the California market, as someone said earlier the magwell is narrower.

If you want to be sure that the AK takes standard Mags, just rock one in at the store to double check.

Or am I just confused? I would like to get one that is as close to the real deal AK-47 as I can. 7.62, not 5.45, detachable mags, etc.

A Saiga 5.45 is like a colt 6920. It was built on the same military assembly line as the rifles going to Afghanistan, however it was pulled aside and neutered for the civilian market.

You can pretty easily change a Saiga back to a semi-auto AK configuration, however in your situation this is probably not worth the effort.

If you intend to re-load your own ammo (and I don’t know why you would for an AK plinker), then I would absolutely recommend against a Siaga, they were designed to pop out the necks of cartridges so that the Russkies police could tell if casings at a crime scene came from civilian weapons.

Military surplus spam can 5.45 is a nasty nasty round. It’s like real FN 5.7 Ammo bumped up to rifle caliber. It is also the cheapest center fire cartridge available. However it is corrosive. Non-corrosive 5.45 is available, but it is not a cheap and you loose the nastiness. 7.62 is a fantastic round too, it is better at penetrating unarmored stuff like deer and boar, however it has more recoil. Mags are similarly priced, although you may have trouble finding hi-cap 5.45 Saiga mags.

WASR’s kits, Yugo Kits, Polish Kits, and Arsenal kits also come off Eastern Bloc military assembly lines. However they are reassembled here - most likely by century.

Anything I need to know about what to get or not get?

Sure. If I was purchasing a WASR, Yugo M70 or similar I would try to find one with an unused imported chrome lined barrel. This should not be too hard, and is probably the most likely variety you would encounter. Anything made prior to 2005 will have a foreign barrel. However, the barrels stopped getting imported about 5 years ago and there were some hiccups going to American made barrels as they geared up. Get a new foreign barrel and you don’t have to worry about it. If you get an American one, get a recent production, chrome lined one and you should be fine too.

I’d be leery of anything on a used gun rack. Lots of other people’s problems wind up there. If you are looking at one, see if there is any pitting, and make sure the firing pin moves smoothly in the bolt. Look down the sights and see if the front sight tower is obviously not centered – congratulations you have just checked to see if it has canted sights. If I was going WASR/Yugo I’d try and get one with a removable break, but that is personal preference more than anything.

I’d also stay away from milled receiver AK’s, they were not designed to use them and all they add is weight and expense. Milling allows the creation of more exotic parts, however an AK receiver can be made with simple stamping so there is absolutely no reason to mill one. It is like cutting firewood with a band saw so that the cuts are pretty – absolutely useless except for aesthetics.

If you order a new gun from aimsurplus.com, centerfiresystems.com, classicarms.us, atlanticfirearms.com or your favorite online retailer you should have no problems getting a great gun for $400ish. I don’t know about Dunhams but I assume they are about the same.

 

[CornCod]

As far as low-cap AK's go, you have three main choices at the moment:

WASR low-cap
Saiga
Zastava P.A.P.