Recommended inexpensive AK?

[mavisky]

Spend the money if you want, but if you want a SHTF no nonsense cheap ass AK get a WASR-10/63. Mine's has chewed through round after round of the crappiest ammo I can throw at it and never so much as flinched. Every round goes down range and keeps a respectable group in a man sized silhouette at 100 yards. I don't know what more you'd really need than that.

 

[tradertator]

Spend the money if you want, but if you want a SHTF no nonsense cheap ass AK get a WASR-10/63. Mine's has chewed through round after round of the crappiest ammo I can throw at it and never so much as flinched. Every round goes down range and keeps a respectable group in a man sized silhouette at 100 yards. I don't know what more you'd really need than that.

Non canted sights, less mag wobble, and overall better fit and finish. Don't get me wrong, I've had decent luck with WASR's. But there is no comparison when it comes to a Russian, Bulgarian, or Chinese AK.

 

[Salty Possum]

Certainly a lot of decisions to mull over whilst I save up. Here's my current line of thought. Saiga appears to have fine quality but to make it more "tactical" (I use that term loosely) I need to do some drillin and tapping, and whatever I add onto it I have to look up and adhere to 922(r) and make it compliant to that. With a WASR it's ready for accessories and can already take regular AK mags. Plus the furniture can be mostly what I want on it. I've shot a WASR before (thanks to a nice fellow I met at the range once) and it shot nice, not the canted sights and all that (Yes, I know the WASR is controversial). And I'm on the fence about pros and cons of em. But here is a link and please tell me your thoughts some more. Seems my question is turning into a nice discussion and I appreciate all you guys helping a newbie out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkPJHBTalWs

 

[Tydeeh22]

the saiga would treat you well if you took the time to make it what it is meant to be. all buyers choice though. the drilling and tapping is quite simple.. did it with a dremel..

 

[chezuki]

I did my entire conversion with a dremel while half paying attention to a boring conference call. Well, with the exception of drilling for the bullet guide, for this I used a drill press.

 

[vitamink]

Salty, i'll help you with the conversion if you drive to indy.

You mention earlier that you want "accessories" here is a saiga with accessories.

After a conversion, a saiga and a wars cost about the same. If you're going to ditch the furniture for rails and what not, you're better off with an iz132. You can easily make what you see above. My point is why spend the same amount of money on a century built bulgarian parts kit made from a hodgepodge of well used parts, when you can buy a brand new russian Ak for the same price? Take it from a guy who has taken the pepsi challenge between Wasrs Yugos Maadis Tantals Noricos etc etc. Your best bet (bang for your buck) in a battle rifle is an Iz132. I'm actually shocked the price is as low as it is, but people are catching on. Just like when the saiga 12 came out. You could buy them for $300 all day. Find one now unconverted for less than 600.

 

[mavisky]

I dunno about that. I bought my Wasr for $300 and i'm pretty sure you can't buy a saiga and convert it for that price.

 

[msr]

That guy in the pic may want to disengage the safety if he wants pulling the trigger to produce the desired effect.... Prop pic fail. its just my OCD kicking in there...

 

[iwearcowboyboots]

I dunno about that. I bought my Wasr for $300 and i'm pretty sure you can't buy a saiga and convert it for that price.

Same here. As much as I love the idea of buying a Saiga and converting it, I definitely do not regret spending $300 on my WASR. The trick now is finding a WASR at $300...

 

[chezuki]

Same here. As much as I love the idea of buying a Saiga and converting it, I definitely do not regret spending $300 on my WASR. The trick now is finding a WASR at $300...

The trick is not buying garbage even if you find it on sale, it's still garbage, and quality isn't that far out of reach.

 

[vitamink]

Don't get me wrong, the nice thing about an AK is that it's an AK and will usually fire all the time. A gun that always goes bang is a giant plus. The difference though is like buying a car. For $400 you can get a used ford taurus with body panels off of 6 different used cars...Or for the same price you can buy a brand new Mustang Cobra, you just have to buy the wheels. Both look like cars, both are drivable but for the price one is the better choice.

Someone above mentioned a Wasr at $300. That is a great price. If you can get one for that then that makes buying a saiga a harder pill to swallow (though i'd still do it). If you can buy one for that NOW then i can see this being a more difficult decision. Like i said earlier, before they caught on, you could buy saiga 12'a for less than $300. If you were in the market for a shotgun it's a hard argument not to buy an AK pattern Box mag fed semi auto vs a pump for more money.

 

[jd4320t]

I dunno about that. I bought my Wasr for $300 and i'm pretty sure you can't buy a saiga and convert it for that price.

Same here. As much as I love the idea of buying a Saiga and converting it, I definitely do not regret spending $300 on my WASR. The trick now is finding a WASR at $300...

But when? You show me $300 AK's and I will buy at least two of them right now.

 

[mavisky]

Black Friday sale at Dunham's two years ago. Not sure what the current pricing is.

 

[jd4320t]

Black Friday sale at Dunham's two years ago. Not sure what the current pricing is.

Weren't those single stack?

The point is those prices are long gone. A year ago I sold a Draco pistol for $350 and regretted it shortly after. No way I can find one now for $350

 

[Salty Possum]

Salty, i'll help you with the conversion if you drive to indy.

You mention earlier that you want "accessories" here is a saiga with accessories.

After a conversion, a saiga and a wars cost about the same. If you're going to ditch the furniture for rails and what not, you're better off with an iz132. You can easily make what you see above. My point is why spend the same amount of money on a century built bulgarian parts kit made from a hodgepodge of well used parts, when you can buy a brand new russian Ak for the same price? Take it from a guy who has taken the pepsi challenge between Wasrs Yugos Maadis Tantals Noricos etc etc. Your best bet (bang for your buck) in a battle rifle is an Iz132. I'm actually shocked the price is as low as it is, but people are catching on. Just like when the saiga 12 came out. You could buy them for $300 all day. Find one now unconverted for less than 600.

You make a good argument sir. After spending some time online watching reviews reading articles etc and thinking about what you said. I've very much in the way of buying and converting a Saiga. And I live in Greenfield so Indy wouldn't be too far a drive. I wonder about the .223 Saiga rifles. I mean if the SHTF then .223 ammo won't be hard to "scavenge". But I have yet to shoot a .223 and I don't know what mags the .223 Saiga rifle takes. But I guess it's an option.

 

[mavisky]

Weren't those single stack?

The point is those prices are long gone. A year ago I sold a Draco pistol for $350 and regretted it shortly after. No way I can find one now for $350

Nope all double stack. Picked mine up with wood furniture, no bayonet, and no slant brake, but that's fine because I was planning on running the 74 style brake on it anyway and all the furniture has been changed out by now.

 

[indyk]

little help

Found this thread that might help the op out
Tons of good posts on what AK might be for you.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/long_guns/179189-new_ak_buyer_need_advise.html#post2340147

 

[tv1217]

You guys know WASR 10/63s are a little better than regular 10s, right?

 

[Gunaria]

AKMS Underfold AK-47 + 200rds. of Ammo Package Deal

 

[Salty Possum]

For a guy like me who loves the AK platform. It's certainly a tough decision. But I like the discussions this is generating