The life of my WASR.

[RKM]

Taking my WASR from the $350 hunk of metal and wood to a fine budget rifle worthy of silly imaginary TEOTWAWKI scenario's :P But seriously, taking a WASR and turning it into a great running rifle without an overly tacticool lameness feel, but modernized effectiveness.

Started with this, in December 2010. $350 single stack WASR 10/63. Straight gas block, straight front sight. I told myself, someday, I'll do a double conversion and leave it alone. I want a simple AK.... ;)


I originally wanted a Yugo M70, but couldn't swing the $580 it was at the time. Wanting a folder, I went the Romanian route. The Houge grip was probably, still to this date, the best thing I did. Also thought taping two single stack mags together would mag up for it's 10 round capacity :o


Finally! I grew balls and broke out the dremel! This took me awhile to work up the nerve. though it was only a $350 rifle, I still didn't want to screw up. Also, added a Russian sling. Now, finally, I'm done!......... :D


Added a Krebs rear peep sight and green paracord...


Vertical grips are soooo ergonomic. I didn't want to lame up my AK, so I went with a traditional options. Looks are in the eye of the beholder. Added a dark red Romanian lower hand guard. Felts fanatic, I loved it. Also tried matching the original wood stock to the Romanian... I quickly took it off and put the Romy folder back on



Next, I discovered the Ultimak rail system. Thinking... I want to keep my AK traditional, but a red dot would REALLY be nice. I caved. Put on a Primary arms Micro dot. Fantastic little red dot for the price. I highly recommend it, unless you're going to throwing it out of helicopters like Larry Vickers.


Continued....... Post 2

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[RKM]

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Now, I'm thinking... what if the world ends, or aliens invade and I need to search abandoned buildings? Well, I'll add a light. Streamlight Polytac 120 lumen with a VTAC mount.


Man, magazine changes sure are getting annoying and difficult with that Romanian front grip..... I love it, it's so ergonomic. It looks a little strange and out of place... but... what the hell. Ordered a plastic handguard from K-VAR. Not sure if it's Arsenal plastic or what. Also, that Romanian stock is less then fun on the shoulder after extended shooting. Also, cheek weld is more like a "chin" weld. Ordered surplus wood from the rear.



Quickly decided that to finish it off, I need to ditch the barrel nut. Dremel came out again. Finally topped off the AK with this '74 "style" brake. Haven't shot it yet. It's made by FA Enterprises. Got far better reviews that the Tapco. Couldn't find a REAL '74 style brake for 7.62x39. The holes aren't in the correct spot, but ehh, it'll be better than no brake at all! I'll admit, mods to the brake were necessary. I had to shave a bit off of it so it would snap into place firmly. otherwise it would wobble. We'll see how it shoots this week. Have to check to see if it changes POI and make sure the rounds don't touch Apologies for the HORRIBLE pictures.




Now what? I'm going to build a Draco into an SBR using my Romy "donkey dong" and Romy side folder. I love those parts so much, but just didn't work well on my "serious" AK. I still have them and want to use them on my next AK.

That's how the last 14 months have gone for my AK. My AR hasn't had quite the transformation so it's not really worth posting.

With that said, I STILL prefer my AR over the AK when this December rolls around (<--- HA!... ). I shoot the AR better and can do everything quicker and more efficiently with it. But I still have a soft spot for a proper AK. Proper AK and WASR don't really go together do they? Mine can be an exception :) If I could do it ALL over again, I'd buy an SGL-21, or some AK-105 variant.... but I'm very happy with my WASR. It's been a great rifle, with only ONE problem. The firing pin broke on me this past summer. It's the only part I've replaced due to failure. No misfeed or jams of any kind. It flings cases probably about 20 feet from where I'm standing. Sure does annoy other shooters

Thanks for looking :)

[RevolvingMag]

That's nice. I like it a lot. Personally, though, I like it more without that long brake on the end.

But, still, I like it. A lot. I want an AK. But, my wife won't let me get one because they're 'too expensive', and we 'have other things we need to spend money one right now'...

But, I think she's interested in getting her permit, and possibly 'her own' gun....

[RKM]

I thought the same about the brake. It adds 2" to the length. But after watching reviews on '74 style brakes and SEEing the difference, I decided I need to try it. Because though the AK doesn't have painfull recoil, it has a LOT of muzzle flip when compared to an AR. Ak's will climb if you're not careful, and then results in jerking the gun around anticipating flip. We'll see. I haven't shot with the brake yet, but everybody loves them. I'm going to take the brake off, shoot a mag through it, pop the brake back on and see the difference. No tools required which is nice!

[Mattmann]

Great looking gun man. I am jealous

[pirate]

You have a solid fighting rifle now.....good job.

[RevolvingMag]

I thought the same about the brake. It adds 2" to the length. But after watching reviews on '74 style brakes and SEEing the difference, I decided I need to try it. Because though the AK doesn't have painfull recoil, it has a LOT of muzzle flip when compared to an AR. Ak's will climb if you're not careful, and then results in jerking the gun around anticipating flip. We'll see. I haven't shot with the brake yet, but everybody loves them. I'm going to take the brake off, shoot a mag through it, pop the brake back on and see the difference. No tools required which is nice!

Friend of mine has one without a brake on it, and I never noticed much flip- it just tends to hurt my shoulder a bit because the stock is a little too short for me... Other than that, it stays pretty well dead on unless I get a little too 'happy' and 'scratch' my itchy trigger finger.

[RKM]

Friend of mine has one without a brake on it, and I never noticed much flip- it just tends to hurt my shoulder a bit because the stock is a little too short for me... Other than that, it stays pretty well dead on unless I get a little too 'happy' and 'scratch' my itchy trigger finger.

Rapid fire is where you'll really notice the muzzle flip. Just watch anybody try to shoot a full-auto AK vs a full auto AR. Ak's are bascially out of control. AR's can be kept on target for the most part. The '74 brake should be a pretty good fix for that. While mine isn't full auto, I do like to do quick pairs or quick three round "bursts". We'll see :)

[zero]

Nice evolution of your WASR. It's adjusted to your needs and desires. Have a few myself that have morphed over the years.

Good luck on your Draco project.

[HotGuns]

Looks good!

[Harryball]

Very nice RKM...

[Kahnkem]

Looks great! It has come to meet your needs!

[MNBurl]

Now you need some Tech Sights for true Peep sights and longer sight picture. Works great on my SAR-1 and batteries fail.

Tech-SIGHTS Precision Shooting Accessories

[ak74]

Nice work! I think the standard ak sights are great for up close and fast hits on target. Red dot is even better though. I'm curious how the 47 will shoot with the 74 brake on, let us know.