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wasr problem?

4K views 29 replies 23 participants last post by  drobs 
#1 ·
Hi all, been a lurker for a little while and I had a question I can't find a definative answer to, so I will ask you guys.

I bought a century arms gp wasr 10/63 not too long ago (first ak). Everything about the rifle checked out and it was the highest quality wasr I've seen. The problem is, when I take it to the range, the groups are bad. 14 shots spread over 6 inches at 25 yards bad. Is this typical ak accuracy and I'm just not used to that? Or is there variables with the rifle itself that could cause this? The barrel itself and the rifleing look fine. The is a small hairline scratch going down a portion of the length of the bolt carrier from contact when cycled. The crown is has a layer of hard carbon around it, but not on the inner portion of the muzzle, and it looks a little worn out, but nothing too severe.

I'd like to think its not the shooter as I'm an expert qualed Marine. Any ideas or info is much appreciated.
 
#2 ·
Whats the rifling like? I cant think of anything else that could do that. Century WASRs are typically famous for improperly cut magwells and canted front sights. That wouldnt explain THAT bad of a group though I think. Only thing I can think of is worn or corroded rifling.
 
#7 ·
First thing to do is look at your front site. Is it canted off to one side or dead center? If it is off to one side your barrel is probably off and was adjusted to fire on target at 50 to 100 meters by the tester at the place of production. Remember the WASR rifles we get now are kit guns put together with a number of US made parts to keep them compliant. On some of the guns a US made barrel is used and it may or may not be correct to the gun.

I have one WASR gun but it shoots pretty much dead on. I really prefer preban guns and today the ARSENAL production guns. You pay more but it is worth it if your life is on the line. GB
 
#8 ·
Canted sight or not. At 25 yards you should be able to group fairly well. Sounds to me like the muzzle crown may be nicked or damaged. Clean it up really well and check it out. My Saiga was getting poor groups recently and I re-cut the muzzle crown and the groups at 50 yards went to about 1.500 to 1.250.

Folks tend to use the steel cleaning rod on these guns and that will mess up the inside of the crown worse than anything.
 
#13 ·
the next part is going to sound hokey but if you have a laser bore sighter (a bright light will work if its small) pull your bolt put light in to where he center is shining down your bore on to wall across room the center focus will be your bore now look thru sights and see where the sights are they should be on target centerline..If anyone has ever seen a "old School Marine "bore sight with a pencil you'll get what I'm talking about.I don't think it really a sight issue tho.
 
#14 ·
JEB i am assuming yours has a fixed stock... I have had about 9 AK47's..Imo it may very well be for you to become a little more familiar with it and i'll bet things tighten some...Also as mentioned ammo...I use Brown Bear FMJ laquer coated...
Being that you are a MARINE you will adapt and the rifle will be fine...
Thank you for serving...Semper Fi MARINE..
Here is a great site on AK47's www.AR15.com then on their first page look in the upper left corner and click on AK47..Enjoy..
 
#15 ·
That is abnormally bad grouping. Check before you re-crown, as the bore is likely chrome lined. Anyone know off hand if re-crowning a chrome lined bore/muzzle will screw up anything?? Would the crowning tool just mess up the chrome and chip it? Never thought of that...
 
#22 ·
It will not.. I have re-crowned many chrome lined barrels thru the years and have never had an issue with flaking or braking the chrome away from the barrel at all. As stated earlier I just re-crowned my Saiga and improved my groups by at least a 1/4" to a 1/2".

Even with canted sights at 25 yards you can establish part of the problem. If the front site is canted then the 3 shot group will all be off the same amount in the same direction. If the crown is bad. They will all be off a little in different directions. Like Al said. Ammo plays an important part in this issue...
 
#16 ·
It has to be the operator. AK platform rifles can be cobbled together from rough parts cut from the steel of rusted out tanks destroyed and left on WWII battle fields by unskilled peasants drunk on vodka and shoot sub-MOA groups with ammo loaded in a hut in Siberia by drunken convicts using pliers and a wooden dowel and unknown type of powder measured from a keg with a cut off shell casing and be 100% reliable in the worst conditions imaginable having been lubed with used lard.
 
#20 ·
Dwind and others said what I was guessing, that it was the bore condition. All of these rifles were assembled from used parts, they weren't new,unless you got one of the later ones made with a U.S.-made barrel, that aren't chrome lined.
Also, as already stated, you should try some different ammo.
Another thing: Being only 25 yards,I'm guessing that you are shooting off-hand rather than from a rest. Expert-qualed or not ( I also shot "expert" on Parris Island and Camp Pendleton:D:) you need to be shooting from a rest to properly test the rifles accuracy.
I would clean the rifle well, try some different ammo, and shoot from a rest before doing any surgery.
 
#21 ·
Before I started doing any mechanical adjustments to the rifle, I would first try different ammo. The ammo can make a huge difference. And I did not see where the OP mentioned what ammo he was using. If the ammo is crap the groups will be crap.

Al
 
#23 ·
Crown first, ammo second. Reason is because when you have a barrel with a bad crown,
shooting better ammo just complicates the problem. In fact I suggest you get the cheapest
ammo you can get and go from there. With a new crown it will make cheap ammo look good
and match look great. If a gunsmith says it's not the crown then continue with Process of
elimination.
 
#25 ·
Thanks for all the responses and tips guys. I ended up taking it to a gunsmith builder and he noticed the problem right away. His explaination went way over my head but the gist of it was the barrel was not mounted correctly by century when it was put together, it was somehow crooked and after taking it apart completely, saw the barrel was actually curved slightly.

Nice.
 
#27 ·
I hate to tell the OP this.
When you skimp and buy cheap made AK's like the WASR's its a crap shoot (literally thats what your shooting). You get either a good one or a dud, you got a dud.
Sell the gun and move on to another AK from a quality builder. Do not try and put more money in that gun you will not be happy. Call it a learning experience and take a loss.
Look at the converted Saiga's or an older Chinese/Polytech.
In order of which countries have the best made AK's it is Russian->Chinese->Yugoslavian->Romanian. I'm not sure where the Bulgarian AK 47 is in there but its an excellent gun also.
AK's can shoot flawless, but have horrible accuracy, its all part of the AK legacy.


WASR=low end, you get what you pay for. Its the Hi- Points of AK's
 
#28 ·
Rocky river, I understand that and yes I sold it. Sold it to a pawn shop and they surprisingly gave me what I paid for it. So I took that money, bought quite a bit of extra ammo for my other rifles and got a couple accessories for them as well.
 
#29 ·
You won't be sorry. Another AK will come along that is of better quality that will function better and make you happier. Not being happy with a gun that is protecting you and your loved ones lives with, makes for a mentally un happy you.
When people think of a gun being defective, its usually because it jams, however with the AK thats not the case, its problems lies with horrible accuracy (defective ones) and even the worst of AK's will feed ammo, but its like a luck of the draw to hit the target where you intended.
 
#30 ·
All stamped AK's have the potential to have crooked barrels. It nature of how the barrel is pressed into the front trunion at the factory. While it's more comon on the Romanians it has been seen on the Russian Saigas and stamped Arsenals.


It's best to send the gun back to the manufacturer and get it fixed. Once it's fixed test fire it and sell it. That way you don't pass that problem on to another fellow shooter.

We've all done it but try to learn from that lapse in judgment and do the right thing next time. I did it when I was a younger shooter with a defective shotgun and a friend pointed out my error in my ways -- passing on a dud of a gun to someone else.

When it happened to me again, it was a Vector Uzi, the firing pin bent and gouged out the firing pin hole causing the gun to stop firing. I sent the complete bolt assembly back to Vector who replaced it. I then test fired it and sold it.

That's doing your due dilligence as a shooter and not passing on a dud/problem to the next unsuspecting buyer.
 
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