Century Arms WASR-10?

[Tenn870]

At a store near me they were selling century arms wasr-10's and some century arms galil's. The wasr was going for 450 and the galil for 699. Did some research and could not find much but if I'm droppin 700$ on a galil it better be legit. Does anyone have experience with these firearms? So far all reports on them are NEGATIVE!

 

[Dumptruck]

I have only heard horrid things about the Century Golanis. It really bummed me out because I have a pup tent for a Galil.

 

[Tommygunn]

WASR-10 s are known to be cheap but effective AK rifles.
The thing to watch out for with them is canted front sights and gas tubes. This is a problem some have had. I understand that more recent WASRs have improved.
These are cheap AKs and look it. The wood is actually a laminate and looks like it was originally part of a warehouse skid from 1965. However, these things do shoot. They're not super duper accurate but they will get the job done for any reasonable type of shooting.

I don't know very much about the Galil so I'll let someone else tackle that.

 

[smartshooter.45]

my roommate has a wasr 10. it shipped with 2 steel mags and 2 polymer mags. the poly mags are total crap and actually FALL OUT of the rifle during firing... kind of funny. the steel mags are perfect and function great.

the rifle functions well when lubed and is plenty accurate. just last week we were at the 75 yard line and were nailing a 5" bullseye with the open sights. like i said, its plenty accurate. totally fun.

google classic arms. they always have great AK deals.

 

[trigga]

i have the wasr10 and it's my favorite. not the best finish but she goes bang and that's what i bought her for. the only advice i have is inspect the gun in person and try not to get one with a bad canted sight although i heard they fixed the problem. fairly accurate up to about 100 yards. a blast to shoot.

 

[uspJ]

just bought my 2nd wasr10 about a month ago. it goes bang every time, will hit a 5 gallon bucket as far as i can see it and is relatively inexpensive.

if youdecide to buy one make sure you can break it down and check it over before you purchase it. i've heard that quality and general workmanship is hit or miss rifle to rifle.

i've got no experience with the galil so i can't help you there.

 

[Hokkmike]

I have shot several WASR10's. They are minimum or below spec guns. I have decided that I dont' want on going boom inches from my face. Painful as it is, my notion is to save the money and get something better. Sorry WASR owners, but that's the way it is.

 

[Davek1977]

have decided that I dont' want on going boom inches from my face

You are entitled to your opinion, but there are plenty of WASR owners, myself included, that would disagree with you about them being junk. Many WASR's have been "ongoing boom" for thousands of rounds without a single issue. They aren't the cadillacs of the AK world by any means, but if you're looking for a "Cadillac" AK, I have to wonder why its an AK your after at all. WASRS have had some issues, but are a good value if you can inspect one before buying it. I dojn't regret the $400 I spent on mine one bit. Its "AK" accurate, has been 100% reliable with all ammo, and has yet to give me a single issue of any kind. You can spend more, but at the end of the day, you're still going to have an AK, for better or worse. My WASR isn't an Arsenal, but I also didn't spend Arsenal money on it.

 

[ByAnyMeans]

I have a converted Saiga and a WASR10. They both are equally reliable and about as accurate, The Saiga stays a little tighter from 2-3 hundred yards but the majority of shooting them is at a hundred where their is no difference.

The Saiga is finished nicer and their was a sharp edge or two on the WASR that i took a file to on the outside but it was not needed for operation just because I like to tinker. I also stripped the wood and refinished it. Minwax makes a nice red stain that looks very similar to the Russian Red. Personally I went a little lighter and finished it off with a satin finish. Looks good and came in under four hundred with four steel mags, mag carrier, bayonet/sling and bulldog carrying case from Classic Arms.


I'm in no way worried about the WASR being below military spec. They have been the cheapest and most widely purchased AK for a long time. Their were QC issues out of Century and the Cugir factory early on which gave rise to the notion that they suck. Out of all the threads I have read on many forums I have heard of canted sight/gas block, needed a shepards hook and to fix trigger slap. I have heard of crappy finish and dinged crappy wood but I have never heard of these rifles blowing up in any way and a shooter being injured. With the large number of these rifles not only purchased but the one purchased to be used abused and shot to hell I feel comfortable in the one in my safe.

 

[John Parker]

I've got a WASR that has a canted front sight, canted gas tube, and sloppy, rattly internals.

Somehow, it still hits milkjugs at 200m, has never failed to fire, feed, or eject a cartridge, and for some reason, has a super-smooth trigger. I agree, WASRs are crap from a fit and finish standpoint, but mine runs better than any other semi-auto rifle that I own.

 

[cuervo]

I can't speak for what MD laws do to gun prices, but $450 for a WASR these days is a little pricey.

http://www.classicarms.us/
Scroll down to the ROMANIAN AK MILITARY VARIATION

 

[essayons21]

Most of the problems listed here no longer exist. WASR-10/63s have a tapco trigger group which is quite nice and eliminates trigger slap. Magwells on new guns are no longer poorly milled from single-stack guns, so mag wobble is largely eliminated, even though that isn't a functional issue anyway. I haven't seen a new WASR-10/63 with a noticeably canted front sight in the last 5 years, which leads me to believe Century has improved their quality control.

My WASR has run absolutely flawlessly, with no failures of any kind, for over 2k rounds. I went about 1k rounds without cleaning it, and not only were there no failures, but it was suprisingly clean after shooting cheap steel cased russian ammo.

The wood sucks, and the finish is mediocre, both of which can be fixed for under 50 bucks and a little elbow grease.

$450 is a little steep, I think you should be able to get one for $400 or less.

It is a rock-solid reliable gun if you overlook the cosmetic flaws.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

had one I got before osama got elected, bought it for $350, cheap looking press board looking stock, not a bad shooter, sold it for $750 a few months ago,

 

[Zack]

$750 used? no way!??? I saw them new for $600-700 at gunshows. (now they are $380-$450, you got a great deal out of that investment )

 

[trigga]

well said Davek1977. $450 for a wasr sounds about right. i got mines for under $400 about two years ago. it didn't come with the oil can, bayonet, mag pouch which i'm a little disappointed cause it was pictured as a kit. some do and some don't.

 

[Quentin]

No experience with the Century Golani/Galil but have had good service from my four year old WASR. No complaints, it always works and is reliable even with cheap surplus ammo. Only things I've done to it are replace the muzzle nut with a screw on device and sand/oil the furniture. It's a keeper and was one of the best gun purchases I've ever made.

 

[sarduy]

You are entitled to your opinion, but there are plenty of WASR owners, myself included, that would disagree with you about them being junk. Many WASR's have been "ongoing boom" for thousands of rounds without a single issue. They aren't the cadillacs of the AK world by any means, but if you're looking for a "Cadillac" AK, I have to wonder why its an AK your after at all. WASRS have had some issues, but are a good value if you can inspect one before buying it. I dojn't regret the $400 I spent on mine one bit. Its "AK" accurate, has been 100% reliable with all ammo, and has yet to give me a single issue of any kind. You can spend more, but at the end of the day, you're still going to have an AK, for better or worse. My WASR isn't an Arsenal, but I also didn't spend Arsenal money on it.

+1000

my wasr was the best $299.99 i ever spend.

 

[Tenn870]

I have looked for the best valued AK and I found one on classicarms.com, awesome site by the way, can anyone help me with what the deal is on ordering. I have never ordered online, I live in MD and I'm 19, any possible difficulties (30 rnd mags are illegal in MD so I'm told)

 

[Davek1977]

No clue as to the state laws where you are at, but to order from Classic, you have to arrange for it to be shipped to a local FFL for transfer. You can't just order it and have it shipped to you as an individual. Keep in mind the prices on the site are "pre-shipping" and DO NOT include any taxes or fees leveled by the FFL. It was previosuly mentioned in this thread that "$450 is kind of pricey for a WASR" with a reference to classiarms. However, shipping and FFL fees can easily add a decent chunk to a firearm's "out the door" price. I used Classic Arms as a reference point as to the basic "wholesale" cost of the rifle, and purchased my gun locally when I found one at the right price and with the right gear (I have mine set up with a Tapco folder and Tapco Galil style handguard). I paid slightly more than the gun listed for on ClassicArms or J&G, but got to handpick my rifle and actually pauid less than I may have from one of the online sources once transfer fees and shipping were added to the equation

 

[rogertc1]

I have 3 LO-Cap WASR that I converted to HI-cap ,compliance, and different stock configurations. I got them in 2006 when they sold for $240. They really clean up well. Also have a WASR in HI Cap I paid $300 for and a Yugo M70 and a Chine NM-91 way back in 1996. The low cap WASR's were a whoot to work on.
AS for the Centry Golines Galil I also have one of them. The first issues had problems however more current ones (since last year) work just fine. Love the folding stock and the machined reciever. Used to be hard to get mags for them but they are out there now. Sure it would be neater to have a genuine Galil but can't touch one for under $1700.

 

[jonboynumba1]

I've owned "A LOT" of AK's over the years...the WASR-10 is -probably the crappiest (may be a tossup between some of the Maddi's I've seen and not owned and the WASR10) They often need a little filing on the mag catch to get them to work well with all mags (all commie and Euro ribbed mags) The accuracy from the best one I owned if you took your time sandbagged and slowly squeazed off the rounds a 30 round mag would be about an 8-10" "pattern" ressembling a shotgun blast at 15 yards with 60-70%of the holes in the center 5-6" and maybe one or two of 30 not even in the sheet of printer paper...of course the sights and triger don't help that much. At 50 yards offhand leaning against a truck it shoots about the same. They just aren't built for accuracy...but if you get lucky it'll be reliable at least...I've seen some go back to century with unresolvable issues...they repaired them and sent em back. Overall a MAK90 or SAR-1 is a WAY better rifle if you can find one...the bosses Polytech milled in ironwood stock is a whole nother level...it shoots as good as a decent SKS all day long! But they are NOT cheap when you find em either. Arsenal imports and builts some milled AK's that are quite wonderful...but they are also heavy and $$$ it's all what you want. The WASR10 is a fun cheap plinker grade AK...that's about it though...all BS aside they are pretty crappy and poorly made...but it's a plow...they aint supposed to be pretty!

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

Zack if you shopped around for ANY AK right after osama got elected, even the WASR10 were going for that much, anything that went boom was twice the price. all I got now are an AR10A2, a coulple of mini 14s, a mini 30 and saving up for an M1A1, I sold several Aks, A Saiga .308 for a whole lot more than I paid for. things seem to have settled down now. (for a while)

 

[dirtymike1]

Well this is good to read. I've been looking around for an AK starting this week (got permission for the GF to get one ) and I've been really debating the WASR-10 vs a Saiga. I really don't want to have to do the compliance swap myself, not for lack of skill but just because I don't feel like it. I really don't want to have to deal with making it a hi-cap rifle either... but that's me.

From everything I've read, current Century Arms WASR's are finally coming off the line in decent working order. I guess the finally fired all the DA's they had banging them together. I'm going to starting looking around locally to see if I can't find one, if not I'll be ordering the Rommainin shooters pack from classic arms. That's a damn good deal IMO.

 

[ScratchnDent]

I have a WASR-10 that I bought ~4 years ago, for a little over $300. The furniture looked like it had been rough shaped with a disc grinder then slathered in shellac. It had one rivet in the receiver that hadn't been fully set, and sharp metal edges everywhere. The mag well was a bit tight. All of those issue were easily overcome with a little elbow grease and TLC.

<shrug>

It goes bang every single time, never had any feed or function problem, shoots Minute Of Beercan at 50 yards...I'm perfectly happy with it for the money spent!

 

[essayons21]

The accuracy from the best one I owned if you took your time sandbagged and slowly squeazed off the rounds a 30 round mag would be about an 8-10" "pattern" ressembling a shotgun blast at 15 yards with 60-70%of the holes in the center 5-6" and maybe one or two of 30 not even in the sheet of printer paper...of course the sights and triger don't help that much.

Seriously? I've owned/fired half a dozen WASR's new and old, and never had one that was nearly that bad. The one I keep will keep Wolf in 3 inches at 100 yards. That is with mojo peep sights, I doubt I could do it with the open sight, but it proves the accuracy potential of the rifle. With open sights, even the worst I've ever shot would keep minute of pie plate at 100 yards. You must have had a run of bad luck.

The WASR10 is a fun cheap plinker grade AK...that's about it though...all BS aside they are pretty crappy and poorly made...but it's a plow...they aint supposed to be pretty!

I don't believe there is such a thing as a "plinker grade" AK. The design is so simple and is designed to be simple to make with basic materials and tools. The proof is the mujahadeen in Afghanistan, and guerillas everywhere, that use homebuilt AKs made from scrap metal on hand tools. These AKs are combat proven, so I am plenty willing to trust one that comes from Romanian military factories, even after it has been attacked by Century's drunken monkeys.