jb2012 wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:28 pm Are y’all referring to the Century WASR 10? This may be a dumb question but I’m dumb when it comes to AKs.
I can’t speak to other manufacturers/importers, but Century Arms offers more than one model of AK47/74 platform rifles. Rob Ski, the owner of AK Operators Union has done long term tests on all or most of them. What he found was that those that fell into either the C39V2 or RAS47 model lines showed some serious problems with bolt wear and headspacing developing over the course of testing. We’re talking stuff like cracked bolt lugs and receivers, and rifles failing a no-go or field gauge headspacing test after so many rounds. Apparently, these rifles are made from lower quality American parts - as I understand it.Rob72 wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:33 pm OP is asking about one of the nicer underfolder AKs. TAM and I are talking Century WASR 10s.
The WASR-10 line of products are Romanian built from actual issued military trunnions, barrels, bolts, etc., built by Cugir and imported by Century. The lower receiver accepts a single stack magazine on the Romanian export version, and was originally designed for use on the Model 63 AK-based pistol - hence the WASR-10/63 designation. Century modifies these rifles by opening up the magazine well to accept a double stack magazine. The mag well opening ends up looking just a bit like a bubba job, rather than a smoothly milled/machined, or even machine-stamped item. Since the receivers lack the dimples on the sides which were used to help keep the double stack magazines from wobbling when inserted in the original AK receivers, Century also welds a metal tab inside the receiver on either side of the mag well, to perform the same function as the inward protruding dimples in the original design. Those tabs work, but they can hinder the insertion of polymer magazines sometimes.... I think it’s just because the rough corners on the tabs gouge into the polymer just a little bit. Mine has no trouble accepting polymer mags. Good info on the difference between dimples and welded tabs here: http://wasr-10.com/Dimples.
More info here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WASR-series_rifles, but Rob72 sounds like he knows a heck of a lot more than i do about AKs, so I’m sure he’ll correct or expand on what I’ve written here.
Bottom line, in basic trim, the WASR-10/63 isn’t the prettiest AK made, but it is a good serviceable rifle that will not likely fall apart because the important parts are all off of good quality de-milled military issue rifles. Rob Ski has subjected his favorite beater WASR-10 to several torture tests, and it has survived all of them and kept on ticking.
But that still doesn’t stop me from wanting a really nice custom built AK from Rifle Dynamics.
(EDITED TO CORRECT A TYPO)
