Argh... WASR-10

[ts76]

Well, first off I have a Rom. WASR-10 from Century Arms, which apparently has common issues, usually with canted sights... I wish I had checked up on this stuff before hand but, oh well.
I only just noticed today (It's a good thing I haven't shot it yet) that the front barrel is bent slightly. I wish I digital camera but I swear the front barrel is slightly bent to the right. The gun itself, metal wise, is in very fine condition, I doubt it'd been used much, if ever.. as the wood is pretty good.

Looking at it straight from the ramp sight notch, I see the left side of the crescent sight, instead of the middle. Looking at it straight down, the gas tube seems to be slightly tilted to the left (is this normal?). Making the barrel at least appear to be bent.

I called the guy that I got it from he said he'll take a look at it with me tomorrow. My question now is. If it has to be returned, and I have the option, to spend more and get a "better" one, what should I ask for?
It seems that my longstanding want of an AK (or at least derivative) will have to wait either way.
I'm willing to go another $100 or so..

I spent 425 on it. Visually it' looks very clean and sturdy, the double-stack clip jiggles a bit, but the wood is pretty nice and the metal has some scratches. The blowback piston is clean and shiny. Everything looked primo otherwise I just can't believe I didn't notice this before.
Or, am I seeing something that isn't there?

Truth is (more admission of my noobishness) I only ever saw Rom WASR-10 (and the very occaisional Yugo) ak-47s around so I always thought "that was all I can get."

 

[JonJ]

What does it look like looking from the muzzle end?
I don't have mine in front of me but I've never noticed the gas tube to be off center. My sights line up very well too. I didn't have any cant problem. I'll dig it out later and take a better look.
I got my WASR at Four Seasons and paid $339 for it. The mags fit well. I had to clean the mag well a little to get the 75 rnd drum to fit.
I shot it the other day along with a Colt Govt Carbine and It shot just as consistent as the Colt but made bigger holes.
I'm happy with mine.

 

[SKS Ray]

Unfortunately you won't be able to get a better one without spending some serious cash. Next step is pre ban Chinese models, Arsenal Inc, etc. that are all pretty pricey. Although you are in NH and can still order diferent AKs that we here in Mass can't get so scratch that pre ban coment.
I'd see about getting an Arsenal Inc one in either 223 or 7.62x39 if you don't mind searching/waiting for ammo. If you still want to stick with the Romanian, the shop you got it from should be able to get you a new one no problem.
My advice... pick up a copy of Shotgun News and see what places have for sale for AKs. You can always have one sent to a local FFL near you. I'm pretty sure you can get something nice for around $500. Just do some internet reading if you see a model that catches your eye. I for one know the Arsenal Inc ones have a reputation for being accurate and great shooters right out of the box. I'd get one if I could.

 

[ts76]

Thanks milsurp i'll see what I can do.
Yeah, 7.62x39 would be ideal, since it's still relatively inexpensive although getting worse from what I understand.
The Chinese and US (apparently to arm the Iraqis?) are buying a lot of the ammo is what I heard.. driving up the price.
That could just be "talk" though, I honestly don't know.
What I "do" know is I've heard a lot of chatter about the 7.62x29 prices going up.

 

[ts76]

Looking at it from the barrel down it's fairly obvious.
The pistol grip (which is facing down for purposes of this visualization) is definitely tilting to the left... I'd say about... 6:15ish the top sight is tilted to 11:45ish. Maybe not such drastic degrees but highly noticeable.
Being only the 4th gun I've ever purchased, It's about time I got to this live and learn part
The guy who I bought it from was a real nice guy and said he'll look at it tomorrow.
It stinks mostly because I bought it as a celebration (new job) gift to myself.
Have had 2 weeks to shoot it but each attempt fell through, got into a club (well, presumably if Thursday goes well) to finally get a chance to shoot it and now I'll have to wait while this gets resolved one way or another .

On a completely different note... was at Wallyworld and saw a nifty Mossberg Plinkster for $93... I might get me a new toy yet.

 

[JonJ]

Bummer....Sorry to hear that's it's off like that. I checked mine out real good when they brought the box out from the back room.
As long as the seller will make it right, you're still in good shape.
I like mine so much, I was considering getting another but in 5.45X39.

 

[ts76]

Yeah, I just have to debate now on going with the other WASR-10 he had...
Assuming it's ok... but, it has a wooden foregrip (eew.)
Visually, I like the basic wood.
Now to convince myself to do the right thing and wait

 

[JonJ]

Yeah, I just have to debate now on going with the other WASR-10 he had...
Assuming it's ok... but, it has a wooden foregrip (eew.)
Visually, I like the basic wood.
Now to convince myself to do the right thing and wait

Wood is good and parts to changes things around are cheap. Good luck.
Here's mine.

 

[ts76]

that's a real nice piece!
I don't know what it is though, I'm just not a big fan of the wooden foregrip.
Although, if he has it there, and it's good... I might just be tempted to be impatient and grab it.

 

[SKS Ray]

Heres what i'd be after if I could order one.

http://www.arsenalinc.com/about.htm

 

[JonJ]

that's a real nice piece!
I don't know what it is though, I'm just not a big fan of the wooden foregrip.
Although, if he has it there, and it's good... I might just be tempted to be impatient and grab it.

It's a WASR-10. I added the fore grip. You can change the furniture to anything you want.

 

[ts76]

Why can't you order one milsurp?

 

[ts76]

Ok here's an update.
It looks like the general sloppiness of the gun (which is to be expected, for what it is I hear the term "battle rifle" a lot and it makes sense to me... I didn't expect dead on accuracy for $400) was throwing off what I was seeing.
The front sight is canted a bit, the gas syphon is a bit offcenter, and it was giving me the illusion of a barrel that's going slightly to the right.
The guy who sold it to me is a nice enough guy, both looked at it for a while, compared it to his other AK's and they all looked the same.
Granted, they were all CArms (but at this point, admittedly, I think I'm letting paranoia get to me) but still.
Simply put, as long as this thing looks like an AK, Sounds like an AK, fires Like an AK, fires reliably and safely, I'm more than happy.
Dead-on accuracy would be nice, but, that'll be one day when I throw more into it.
This was an impulse buy, on the cheap (I don't have a lot of cash and even $400 is "out of my range" but I was celerbating and don't care.)
Just please don't jam and don't break!

I see some places I could've gotten a bit less. But, around here, I'd have to go through another dealer, pay the shipping and his markup (which is only fair, I'm using his ffl) and ended up paying pretty much the same, and having to wait longer!

Yes, I'm impatient, I'm willing to pay for it... I'm the reason why convenience stores succeed in selling 20oz soda at $1.50 a pop.

 

[crak]

Ouch. Sounds like the you got a case of the Century blues.

Sounds like you're still happy with it, but it is possible with a little elbow grease to get those kinks out if you didn't know what to look for when you were buying.

Follow the instructions on this site:
http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/

If I wanted to get spendy on an AK, I would go to Robinson Armament. If I wanted to get real crazy, I would go to Krebs. But I wanted to go cheap so I got a used Romanian that didn't have any of the normal problems. It's perfect.

My favorite addon is the krebs aperture rear sight. Makes the whole shooting experience 100% better. There's also the red star arms trigger group, but I haven't gotten mine adjusted right for 2 stage yet.

 

[ts76]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm thanks Crakowski.
If the rifle can keep a decent group I'll look into that.
I don't have the tools, or much mechanical skills... unfortunately I'm all PCs... especially gaming ones...
But, the GF's step dad might be able to help me on this.
SEEMS simple enough.

 

[SKS Ray]

Why can't you order one milsurp?

Last I heard you can't order AKs and have them sent into Mass because we still have teh whole Assault Weapons ban thing going here. Some Romanian models may be ok, but I heard Arsenal Inc models were a no no.