WASR-22 -- any updates on quality, performance of this .22LR AK-47?

[MatthewVanitas]

Just a few old threads on this model, anyone have updated info?

It's a Romanian .22LR version of the AK-47. Sounds like a pretty neat idea, but I'm concerned by a few things:

1) Successful .22 conversions of full-size semis are rare
2) I haven't heard too much about how amazing they are here on THR

Can't do too much about it, being up in Canada right now, but might pick one up for kicks in a few months when I'm back in VA. Unlike certain states, VA won't stop Texans from buying long-guns. Unity!

I'd like to pick one up to take some East Coast friends shooting in VA and PA, so this would be a fun "just one gun" to take to the range. I can't quite afford to replace my entire collection during this period of wandering, when all my nice gear is back in TX.

Thanks for any WASR-22 info!

 

[MD_Willington]

Some people find the FCG to be a real piece of junk.

A few people have found out that sometimes a spent case will not be ejected properly and it will dump inside the rifle itself under the dust cover, causing doubling or tripling slamfires, possible to have an OOB discharge like that.

There is a good description of this at gunco.net

 

[nalioth]

This isn't a conversion. This was made from the ground up as a 'training rifle'.

Mags are expensive.

If you want a .22 AK, perhaps a Ciener kit would be a better choice.

 

[Mossyrock]

Two things need to be addressed here. First off, the rifle itself: Well built, interesting design. Intended from the ground up to be a .22 trainer. I have shot ragged, one hole groups at 25 yards with open sights. My rifle's trigger is long and spongy-feeling, but very light.

Item two: The magazines supplied with the rifle are absolute crap. They are a plastic mag body with plasitc feed lips inside a standard AK mag as a sleeve. My rifle would not feed AT ALL with the stock mag. However, there is hope. There are .22 training mags available from an East German version of this rifle that can be modified to work in the Romanian rifle. It involves removing a rivet, pushing the mag body further into the sleeve, and re-rivetting it. If you do a search on www.AK-47.net, you can come up with a source for these mags. Sure, they are a pain to convert, but if you want a working rifle, they are about the only game in town.

BTW, Century has NO spare mags for this rifle.