New (to me) AK47 and need to know what upgrades are worth doing

[Animal]

I'm getting a new AK variant in a few weeks. I'm buying it used from a buddy out of state. I don't know much about these rifles, but it's in good condition and ready for use. I believe it is a WASR10. He told me that he thinks it is Romanian. He is throwing in a couple of 30rnd mags so I can only assume that the receiver is either preban, or it's been modified to accept the 30rnd. I'm also pretty sure it has a stamped receiver. It also has a very nice dragunov stock made from very nice hardwood and a side-mount for a scope. I'm pretty sure I'll swap the stock for something more practical.

The guy selling it is a good friend of several years and told me he'd sell it to me for whatever price I felt was reasonable. I got it for 325 plus a 1000 large pistol primers and a nitrogen tank (i got for free) for his home brewing hobby. I didn't know what it was worth, but I knew 325 was a good price for a friend based off of what I've seen online. I didn't want to take advantage of his offer either.

This will be my first and only rifle (for now), and I want it to serve as an all purpose rifle for survival, defense and fun. I can't forsee any reason why I would need 1in groups at 100 yards, so I don't want to spend big bucks on making it a "sniper rifle" (which, clearly that is not what these rifles are known for). I don't think I even have a clear shot at anything on my land beyond 100 yards. I've seen all kinds of upgrades online, but I want to make sure that what I get will be effective for the money. What types of upgrades are worthwhile for my purposes and who provides these upgrades for a fair price?

Buttstock/grip set: are the folding stocks reliable? or does it just present something else that can cause problems and break?
Tapco seems to have some nice stock packages that adjust to fit the shooter, but I have no experience with their products.

Muzzle Breaks: Do they actually help follow-up shots and keep muzzle blast at a minimum?

Fore-end grip: I wasn't all that interested in the front pistol grip until I saw that some companies have grips that can function as a bipod if needed. I thought this was cool for those situations when more precision is needed.

Tapco Trigger Group: I've noticed that many ak variants are shipped with this upgrade. I've read enough about it to know that I'll probably do this upgrade if the rifle doesn't already have it... what is the difference between the 'double' and 'single' trigger group?

I'm not too concerned with optics right now. I'd rather go ahead and master the old iron sights before I try anything else. But I would like an upgrade for the iron sights that would allow better visibility at low light.

At the end of the day, this rifle has to retain its reputation as a durable 'working mans' rifle. I don't want to go overboard with tricking it out. I want this rifle to be easy on the shooter, hell on its target and able to take a beating.

Please, give me your thoughts. EXPERIENCED advice will be greatly appreciated.

[HATCH]

Wasr10 rifles come in as 10rd single stack rifles.
They mill them out to be double stack.

If your rifle has full wood set on it (not thumb hole) then just leave it alone.
If you want to make it look nice I can locate a nice polish laminated stock set for 135.00
Don't go putting crappy tapco folding stocks or tactical stocks on it.
I would thread the muzzle and just but a slant break on it. It would really well on rapid fire.

Tapco G2 trigger set isn't too bad but I would be surprised if it didn't already have one.
I would first go shoot it and see what u think .

Honestly I have forgotten more about ak rifles then most people ever knew.

[HATCH]

Forgot to answer some of your questions

Single hook or double...

A single hook can be used in place of a double but not the other way around.
If you look at the bottom of the receiver you will see a notch or two notches right behind the trigger. If u have one the its a single hook if two the a double,
If you have doubts just buy a single it will work in both


What part of ga u live in?

[gew98]

While the AK system is reliable...... I personally find them lacking common sense ergonomics and fair accuracy. I had a pack of 5 dogs last friday rummaging through my yard..... I dug out an AR ( retro A1 clone ) and managed to still have them in range ( 250 +- yds ) and with the excellent A1 sights nailed two - all 5 were on the run too. I've got a neighbor that insists on raising packs of semi wild dogs and cares not where/how they roam and what they do.And the neighbor cares not if I thin out the herd. So my point in this..I'd wager with the Iron sights the AK's have such shooting offhand is not easy to replicate.
I've never gotten my mind around the AK safety/selector setup. Why has'nt someone engineered a viable more user friendly selector..and one that is quiet too !. I had a Wasr in 5,56 early last year. Accuracy was mediocre and some of the Romanian factory plastic mags were junk..but the steel examples worked flawlessly.
PS - I see a couple guys now and then at a local range when I pick brass and clean the place up whom have taken their AK's to "tacticool" levels of accessorization. Uber ugly and no gain in accuracy.

[olereb]

I have Hogue grips on several of mine that makes it a lot more comfortable,also this is a good upgrade http://www.parabellumarmament.com/pasitev2/akars.htm A side folding stock is nice in my opinion but some don't like them,i use regular old surplus Romanian/Egyptian folding stocks and not anything from tapco.

[waksupi]

I helped build around 5500 of these. The receiver has been milled for the magazine. The triggers are Tapco. They were never meant to be a fancy gun, so I recommend not spending too much putting lipstick on a pig. Just shoot is and abuse it, it can take it.
If I remember right, the trigger groups and hammer and spring are changed out, disconnector and spring, gas piston changed, Jesus (receiver pin lock) spring and stocks changed. Magazine catch altered. I think there were 9 parts that needed changed, to be US compliant. All pretty much identical to the original parts, just US made. Pins that were changed were considered in the count.

[historicfirearms]

You got the rifle at a great price if its in good condition. One thing that nobody's mentioned yet, make sure it is cleaned well after shooting corrosive ammo.

I really like the AK selector lever, unlike some others. The lever is large and takes a long sweep to move it. That makes it really easy to tell if the rifle is ready to fire.

Lots of the WASRs had canted sights, take a good look at them. Some with canted sights are hard to sight in, and the cant is hard to fix. The sights on an AK are probably the worst part of the rifle and worth upgrading. There are a couple companies making apeture sights that are worth looking into.

Don't put a tapco folding or adjustable stock on it, they are junk. Shoot it with the druganov stock first, you may like it. If you want to change afterwords, the fixed wooden standard AK stock is hard to beat, as long as you are not too big. Standard stocks have a pretty short length of pull for big guys.

If your WASR has a loose mag well, don't get too discouraged until you shoot it to see how it runs. I had one where the mags really wobbled around, but it never affected functionality. If you are worried about it try some of the polymer mags (Tapcos are pretty good). These seem to fit a little tighter in the mag well.

The Lee 155 grain boolit shoots well in the AK if you get into casting for the rifle. Accuracy is better than Wolf or Tulammo with the right load. Groove diameter on three WASRs I've had have been .312 or .313.

Good luck, and great choice on a first rifle.

[Animal]

Thanks guys. That is just what I needed. I love the looks of the dragunov stock, I'm happy that the experienced consensus says to keep it. I'm glad to know that this is a great platform in it's bare bones state. For an inexperienced guy like me with his first rifle it would be easy to get caught up in "putting lipstick on a pig" with all the sales pitches out there.

Possibly:
Tapco Mags for best fitment
Slant muzzle break (is there a preferred brand?)
Tapco trigger group (if needed)
Friendlier sights (some point down the road)
Lee 155gr boolit in .312 or .313 (if I want to cast/load)

[Animal]

[QUOTE=historicfirearms;2415017]You got the rifle at a great price if its in good condition.

He is a good friend that is financially strapped and I'm not too much better right now. He has more guns than he knows what to do with and I've only got 2 revolvers. I can't pay much more than what I offered, but I'm giving him as many extras as I can like the Nitrogen for brewing, the primers for his large pistols and teaching him what I know about casting and helping him get started in his automotive service career. So, I think we've exchanged a few priceless items over this rifle. Hopefully when I come back from his place in NC, I'll know how to brew my own beer :redneck:

[Animal]

[QUOTE=historicfirearms;2415017]You got the rifle at a great price if its in good condition.

He is a good friend that is financially strapped and I'm not too much better right now. He has more guns than he knows what to do with and I've only got 2 revolvers. I can't pay much more than what I offered, but I'm giving him as many extras as I can like the Nitrogen for brewing, the primers for his large pistols and teaching him what I know about casting and helping him get started in his automotive service career. So, I think we've exchanged a few priceless items over this rifle. Hopefully when I come back from his place in NC, I'll know how to brew my own beer :redneck:

[Animal]

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/983611_10200732068216624_977851162_n.jpg

this is a link for the pic of the rifle

[HATCH]

Find a standard buttstock.
I can send u a.pistol.grip.
I got 30 grips.
Don't use tapco mags. Get original metal mags.
Don't worry about parts count cause if they are counting parts in ur gun you are in bigger trouble and it will not matter.

A tapco us made slant break is as cheap as original so.use it.

[Animal]

Hatch, what is parts count?

Oh, and I live just outside of columbus, ga

[Multigunner]

My Rumanian AK clone has the common faults. The magazine that came with it was a loose fit but worked okay, a spare mag fits perfectly so I don't think the magazine well is at fault.
I haven't fired it much, but its far more accurate than I'd expected. The front sight is canted a bit but not so far that I couldn't adjust for it and sight it in. I'll get around to fixing that one day.
No failures of any kind so far.

A friend has an AK he put quite a bit of work into and it is the most accurate of the type I've seen so far.
I think his is a milled body but can't remember for sure. It had a pretty good finish so I doubt it was stamped. He was a gunsmith in Canada before he moved here so he knows his guns.
He installed an aftermarket black synthetic stock set with a better feel to it than mine has. I guess it has a longer pull.

I'm not particularly interested in the AK. I only have this one because its a bequest.

If I were to make any modifications I'd first replace the gas block with one of those that has the front sight base on the block, then get rid of the present front sight. A receiver mounted peep would come next.
My lower has a scope mount attachment base. I might look for the proper mounts one day.

As is though its good enough for anything I'd likely need it for.

[HATCH]

All imported 'evil' guns can have only so many foreign made parts that are listed in 922r.
Some of the counted parts
Receiver
Hammer
Trigger
Disconnect
Flash hider /muzzle device
Gas piston
Magazine body
Magazine follower
Magazine floorplate
Buttstock
Handguards (upper and lower count as 1)
Pistol grip

Ur rifle may be one of those gray rifles when they didn't classify the thumbhole stock as evil.

I have built around 25 ak rifles or so.
If you want to some reading go over to www.theakforum.net

I am a technical adviser there. It was my former life before i matured....

[HATCH]

If it were mine.

Thread muzzle install slant break
Install standard buttstock with pistol grip.

Shoot the **** out of it.

Don't change the front sight base or gas block...
Don't do anything except what i said

[Animal]

Hatch, I've seen the standard wooden furniture for sale at a reasonable price. Are these all made by the same company? or is there a preferred manufacturer?

Am I correct in assuming that the Tapco style stocks are supposed to help with recoil? or does the stock have anything to do with that?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I don't do much with AK's, But I do shoot an SKS.
I like the feel of a dragonov stock, so I put a cheapo zytel one on.
plus the standard SKS stock is way too short for me.

If you're gonna shoot lots of ammo and a fast rate... a Muzzle Break makes it shoot like a ruger 10/22...YES they do help follow-up shots.

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/SKSPhotocontestentry.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/SKSPhotocontestentry.jpg.html)

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Hatch, I've seen the standard wooden furniture for sale at a reasonable price. Are these all made by the same company? or is there a preferred manufacturer?Wasr10's are of Romanian manufacture. Get a Romanian stock set. It will be the easiest to fit to the rifle and will likely require no fitting.

Am I correct in assuming that the Tapco style stocks are supposed to help with recoil? or does the stock have anything to do with that? The recoil of a 7.62X39MM isn't much to begin with. Save your money, get a Romanian stock, the slant brake suggested above and go shoot the rifle. You can spend a fortune putting lipstick on a pig trying to make it look like a cow, but the pig is still a pig underneath and is never going to sell for the price of a cow, so you'll not get your money back on the accessories and aftermarket junk that doesn't really help the rifle in any significant way.

Hope this helps,

Dave

[Animal]

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/2-TINTIM06000BLK

Is this a good thought? I'm leary about the word "laminate". It makes me think the wood is fake.

[olereb]

If your going to change out the stock for a fixed wooden stock I can send you one for free if you want,i build AK's and have several spare stock sets,i will never use all of them. They are all surplus though so they aren't brand new,just like to mention that.

[Animal]

Olereb, that would be great! I'm okay with used. Sandpaper and stain will go a long way with used furniture. Let me at least cover the shipping.

[olereb]

Olereb, that would be great! I'm okay with used. Sandpaper and stain will go a long way with used furniture. Let me at least cover the shipping.

Let me look tomm at what I have and I will let ya know,do you need just the buttstock?. I guessing you will also need a pistol grip after looking at your current set up,i have several extras of those also but will need to see if I have a extra grip screw and nut. I'll pm you tomm with what I have to send.

[HATCH]

Let me look tomorrow.

The stock on the rifle now is laminated

The one u picked out looks fine but u just need a buttstock and pistol grip. Let me look tomorrow
Night

[WILCO]

I helped build around 5500 of these.

Arms dealer? :kidding:

[badge176]

'laminated' does not mean cheap. it's real thick Plywood! Alternating direction thin layers of wood and glue. Less flex than 'real wood' and dang tough to crack or split. Don't let it carry deep nicks or gouges cause if it soaks up too much water it might choose to de-laminate. A can of matte Poly spray takes care of maintenance.

[badge176]

Muzzle devices fall into at least two major categories: muzzle BRAKES and flash Suppressors. some do both but seldom do these combos do both well. Muzzle brakes reduce recoil felt and help keep gun on target for follow up, but AT&T he cost of increased noise to the sides and somewhat back at shooter. Flash hiders reduce or eliminate visible flash to help conceal shooter and not blind shooter with the ball of fire at the muzzle.

[badge176]

I have several AKs in several favors. I like the folders (ACE and Romanian 'wire' folders) for storage and compact carry, but none fit my cheek well at all- poor cheek weld doesn't help good shooting.

Stick to surplus metal mags, you can pull the mag back with your support hand almost like it was a vertical grip and it doesn't adversely impact feeding. The dang mags are perdnear sturdy enough to brain an opponent and then run like a house afire in the gun. I favor the 20 round Hungarian 'tanker' mags for compact slung carry.

[waksupi]

Arms dealer? :kidding:

No, I was working for Montana Rifle company, on a contract from Century Arms.

[Animal]

I picked it up this weekend! It is in nicer shape than I was expecting. He gave me 4 30rd metal mags and 2 10 round mags, a front sight tool and a mag pouch. I put a couple of hundred rounds down range while in NC and didn't have any failures. I put 40 more down range on my land and had one Tulammo round not want to chamber smoothly when I racked the action back. I'm not sure if it was an ammo, mag or operator malfunction. I'm not to concerned with it though. It ate every other type/brand WPA, something in a white box I couldn't pronounce, FMJ, SP, HP.

Sight isn't canted. Trigger doesn't say Tapco, but I didn't have any issue with it. The mag does wobble a little bit, but isn't noticeable unless you want to notice it.

My buddy spent a lot of time walking me through the mechanics of it. He taught me his technique in cleaning it. After the cleaning was done, drilled me over and over on the disassemble and reassembly until I could break it down and put it back together without looking at it (literally, eyes closed). Was that necessary? Hell yes!

I haven't done a whole lot of accuracy testing/sighting. I've mostly been trying to find what feeds well and doesn't feed well. Now that I know this rifle pumps WPA without a hitch, I'll start buying it up and practicing for accuracy.

Thanks guys

[Love Life]

Ak47:

What feeds well- Everything
Accuracy- Minute of Man to 300 yds +ish

[historicfirearms]

I've had a couple AKs that weren't 100% with the Wolf hollow points, you might want to try a box or two before you stock up on them. On the other hand, fmj loaded ammo has always fed just fine.

[MtGun44]

I never saw one go tighter than 5-6" at 100 in stock form with mil or Rooskie commercial ammo.

Minute of man is correct. Not a target rifle, but they generally work reliably.

Bill

[HATCH]

My 5,56 krinkov will hit clays at 100 yards all day long and its got a short barrel.

If you have a us made barrel you will be lucky to hit a basketball at 100.

[Animal]

I'll see what I can do at 85 yards with a paper plate. The SKS did fine at that range (no tight grouping though). For an all-purpose rifle, I'm pretty happy with it.

[DeanWinchester]

While the AK system is reliable...... I personally find them lacking common sense ergonomics and fair accuracy. I had a pack of 5 dogs last friday rummaging through my yard..... I dug out an AR ( retro A1 clone ) and managed to still have them in range ( 250 +- yds ) and with the excellent A1 sights nailed two - all 5 were on the run too. I've got a neighbor that insists on raising packs of semi wild dogs and cares not where/how they roam and what they do.And the neighbor cares not if I thin out the herd. So my point in this..I'd wager with the Iron sights the AK's have such shooting offhand is not easy to replicate.
I've never gotten my mind around the AK safety/selector setup. Why has'nt someone engineered a viable more user friendly selector..and one that is quiet too !. I had a Wasr in 5,56 early last year. Accuracy was mediocre and some of the Romanian factory plastic mags were junk..but the steel examples worked flawlessly.
PS - I see a couple guys now and then at a local range when I pick brass and clean the place up whom have taken their AK's to "tacticool" levels of accessorization. Uber ugly and no gain in accuracy.


The Israelis did. They called it a Galil.

[Multigunner]

Some of the Rumanian clones have carriers with poor heat treatment that allows an indentation to form that can be caught by the hammer causing the bolt to hang up. Mine hasn't developed this problem yet, but its not been fired a whole lot so I keep an eye out for signs it might be a problem in the future.

If examining a used WASR one should cycle the action slowly and feel for any tendency to hang up. If you feel any hesitation check the bottom of the carrier for indentations.