Happy with new AK47! NEED HELP!

[biggs88]

Yes. It's a WASR-10. I KNOW I KNOW!!! What junk!!!
Well. I did not buy it wanting high quality. I just wanted an AK style rifle that was very cheap and that I could play with. Right now, this will fill the bill.



I plan on taking it to the range to make sure it will run. Then I want to refinish the wood to a dark cherry russian red. And either poly or clear coat it.

Well. This is my FIRST rifle. S0o0o0o anyone willing to share tips, tricks, suggestions, help, ect. . . PLEASE throw me a PM.

For those intrested, I got it at Surplus City for $400 out the door (price, tax, backround fee).

I know it's not the best price. But it was good enough for me. I am happy with it so far. I can put the mag in it and take the dust cover off!! Hopefully after an hour or two on Youtube, I can get this sucker apart so I can get all the thick old storage grease off.

That reminds me, how do you all like to clean and lube your AK's? What products do you all use/stand by?

[photoshooter]

This is my FIRST rifle. S0o0o0o anyone willing to share tips, tricks, suggestions, help, ect. . .

Ummm, point the muzzle end away from you

Congrats man! Looks great to me. I think the price was fine and the folks are Surplus City are great to work with.
Did you grab some ammo? I'll see if I can scrape up some links of interest for ya. I'll leave the advice-giving to the experts.

You're gonna love it.

edited to add some good youtube channels:

noBuzzkillin
TheAK47nut

[Azzy]

As for lube.. Weaponsheild. And to clean.. Hoppes or Weaponsheild.

Have fun, be safe

[thanker92]

After many years of teaching people how to shoot I have the following advice:
ALWAYS be safe
Make it FUN
Shoot as often as you can


And don't knock the WSAR.....you pull the trigger and they shoot....you roll them in mud and pull the trigger and they shoot...you run them over with a truck and pull the trigger and.....well you get my point.

[biggs88]

Thanks for the responses guys!
I still have to get Ammo. I think I am going to get it online. The Philly area is like 15-30% higher in price on ammo.


Photoshooter: Thanks for the links! Good stuff indeed.
Hows the Sig and Glock 26 running?

[Noah_Zark]

Biggs:

There's a lot of folks that knock the WASR AKs, but in my experience the "good" ones are 100% functional and reliable.

Sometimes not all mags fit a given WASR example, but that's a function of how the single-stack magwell was opened up to double-stack mag dimensions. Some individual WASR examples need a bit of judicious filing here and there around the mag well opening to relieve interferences with particular mags -- some WASRs that accomodate steel mags don't accept some polymer mags, etc.

Some owners complain about "mag wobble." In my experience this is an aesthetic issue and not a functionality issue. I've owned and fired WASR AKs that the mags wobbled as much as 1/4" at the bottom of the mag, and yet they were 100% reliable. These are mass-produced AKM clones, not Remchester hunting rifles, and Americans need to make a shift in perceived standards of workmanship to account for the AKM's intended purpose.

As far as your refinishing plans, for the record the Soviets used a red-colored shellac to finish the wood bits on Mosin-Nagants, SKS, AK, and AKM weapons. This can be duplicated with red mahogany stain and conventional Zinnser shellac over it, or you can purchase "authentic" red shellac custom-formulated by a few internet vendors that advertise on forums that cater to Soviet weapons. My point is, Soviets did not use polyrethane or "clear coat," and neither should you. Why? A nice glossy finish might look snazzy, but it's difficult to hold onto when wet. Ask me how I know that.

For lubrication I prefer to use grease on the contact points of the fire control group parts (FCG), and I use Tetra Grease. Oil simply runs off too fast.

For disassembly, make sure you have a pair of needle-nose pliers or forceps to use when lifting the hammer/trigger reset spring tails off of the trigger arms. A common trick is to hook the spring tails in front of the "wings" on the hammer, and wrap a twist-tie around them to hold them on the hammer for removal of the hammer pin. It is no fun having an AK hammer spring tail punctured through your thumb, as I did in 1974 while a 2111 (Small Arms Repairman) in the USMC.

You might also wish to snap a digital photo of what the guts looks like before you tear things apart. The first time I reassembled an AK (also 1973) I'm not ashamed to say that I installed the hammer backwards.

For removal of preservative compound, I've used WD40 which is very effective at dissolving the sticky gunk. Paper towels, old toothbrushes, q-tips, small slotted screwdrivers (use as scrapers for nooks and crannies) and 2" cleaning patches held by forceps or pliers are also very handy to have around for cleaning.

As for the price, you did fine for Summer 2010. In these parts the same WASR is priced $425-$460.

Hope this helped, and best of luck.

Noah

[A_Wrench]

A nice glossy finish might look snazzy, but it's difficult to hold onto when wet. Ask me how I know that.

Herd ya!

My brother LOVES to refinish his garands & mausers and top 'em off with, no lie, a 16'th of an inch of urothane. Then he complains about sun glare when looking through the Irons!

[Azzy]

Some food for that thing - http://www.classicarms.us/ammunition.htm
http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=A76239Y

Shoots well, have some at home, and it puts lead on target. Supposedly slightly corrosive, so I just clean well afterwards, and use a bit of windwx.

[Mity2]

As for lube.. Weaponsheild. And to clean.. Hoppes or Weaponsheild.

Have fun, be safe

For a AK? You don't need no friggin Weaponshield or Hoppes for AK!

All you need is some cheap motoroil from walmart. And shoelace tied to a knot, soak it in an aforementioned motoroil, ran it through barrel.
That should be plenty lube and cleaning for it...


As for OP, congrats. Don't worry about what others have said/saying about WASR10.
They are good, solid, and dependable gun that'll likely give you a years and years of dependable service!

[TXDMERC73]

spray some CLP inside the bolt , it should help get the grim and grease out form the factory. My buddy has a WASR he never took it apart just sprays it and cleans it with CLP it gets most of the dirt and grease off! enjoy your WASR, i might get one after xmas.