Okay, a few years ago...probably in 2018 I think? I made a comment on the strange quirks of the Ban Era (Yuck) WASR-10s. Edging on a decade later, when I undertook building my final (Yeah, right) AK: A "Russian" AKS-74 (Made of US, Romanian, Bulgarian and Russian parts), I finally realized what was going on...Well, sort of...errrr...
If I remember correctly; in a certain thread, I made mention of the fact that ban-era WASR-10 cleaning rods will not fit standard Romanian AKMs, (or any other country's standard barrel-length AKMs) because the front sight was actually set back a bit further. I thought it was to accommodate for the weird ban-friendly barrel nut, (which is similar to an AK47 nut, but longer and welded on.) and that much may have been true, but it turns out that the cleaning rod for my 2002-dated AWB-era WASR-10 fit perfectly in my AK-74's populated barrel. This raised some eyebrows. Well, not eyebrows in the plural sense, just my ONE eyebrow. I have two eyebrows to be clear; but I typically only raise one when I'm faced with something idiosyncratic.
ANYWAY...
It appeared that the front sight block on my WASR (16.3in barrel) was pinned back at exactly the same place an AK-74's (16.3in barrel) front sight block would be, only the AK-74 has the additional real estate on the front and back - (the front having the threaded shroud to take that big-azz muzzle brake, the rear, you know...it has that bitchin' bayo lug) and my WASR just had a "sort of" standard AKM front sight block. So, yeah...weird stuff. Under that welded-on, extended muzzle nut was a barrel with the threads ground off - projecting way beyond what a standard AKM barrel should past the front sight block. For all us nerds out there, that's quite interesting, no?...Could that have been doing of Century Arms International? Who's to know? Were they using AK-74 specs and some AK-74 parts to complete their compliant AKM rifles back then? Wouldn't doubt it. The internet was still burgeoning and practices like that would likely persist...
Now, other things I noted about the AWB era WASR that I own...The fire selector was an AK-74-styled one - but with softer stamping. The dust cover? Also, a spitting image of Russian and Bulgarian AK-74's. The strangest thing is that despite the dust cover/receiver cover/etc. being clearly for AK74 pattern rifles - the serial numbers matched with very little evidence of force-matching with the rest of my rifle. Also, the shape and make of the push button on my WASR-10's recoil spring assembly is worth noting because it was also a spitting image of an AK-74's.
Finally, though it may not be a big deal- is the fact that my WASR-10s receiver has a double trigger-hump...Many exports did...but when you take into account the other anomalies...I don't know...
So, there you have it! If you own a ban-era WASR-10 and are wondering what the hell is going on...Century Arms probably used AK-74 parts and specs to keep your rifle compliant back in those early days - and Cugir probably Frankenstein-ed their AIMS specs with their export models.
If you got into AKs after the ban had sunset in late 2004...well, congrats, you not only learned something new, but you didn't have to deal with this silliness. It definitely does come in handy when you suddenly decide to build a '74 and need parts, though.
Now, despite all the above, I do hold this AK in high regard as it was my first. I was 13 years old, and the FFL operated out of a marathon station. He's long since gone out of business, but this AK still grinds on, and after many thousands of rounds out of this OG barrel, I plan to take my old friend and get him chopped down, pinned and welded by a qualified builder. (Always gonna' be Ken) Put a folding stock on and make a sort of rifle reminiscent of a Romanian AIMR.
If I remember correctly; in a certain thread, I made mention of the fact that ban-era WASR-10 cleaning rods will not fit standard Romanian AKMs, (or any other country's standard barrel-length AKMs) because the front sight was actually set back a bit further. I thought it was to accommodate for the weird ban-friendly barrel nut, (which is similar to an AK47 nut, but longer and welded on.) and that much may have been true, but it turns out that the cleaning rod for my 2002-dated AWB-era WASR-10 fit perfectly in my AK-74's populated barrel. This raised some eyebrows. Well, not eyebrows in the plural sense, just my ONE eyebrow. I have two eyebrows to be clear; but I typically only raise one when I'm faced with something idiosyncratic.
ANYWAY...
It appeared that the front sight block on my WASR (16.3in barrel) was pinned back at exactly the same place an AK-74's (16.3in barrel) front sight block would be, only the AK-74 has the additional real estate on the front and back - (the front having the threaded shroud to take that big-azz muzzle brake, the rear, you know...it has that bitchin' bayo lug) and my WASR just had a "sort of" standard AKM front sight block. So, yeah...weird stuff. Under that welded-on, extended muzzle nut was a barrel with the threads ground off - projecting way beyond what a standard AKM barrel should past the front sight block. For all us nerds out there, that's quite interesting, no?...Could that have been doing of Century Arms International? Who's to know? Were they using AK-74 specs and some AK-74 parts to complete their compliant AKM rifles back then? Wouldn't doubt it. The internet was still burgeoning and practices like that would likely persist...
Now, other things I noted about the AWB era WASR that I own...The fire selector was an AK-74-styled one - but with softer stamping. The dust cover? Also, a spitting image of Russian and Bulgarian AK-74's. The strangest thing is that despite the dust cover/receiver cover/etc. being clearly for AK74 pattern rifles - the serial numbers matched with very little evidence of force-matching with the rest of my rifle. Also, the shape and make of the push button on my WASR-10's recoil spring assembly is worth noting because it was also a spitting image of an AK-74's.
Finally, though it may not be a big deal- is the fact that my WASR-10s receiver has a double trigger-hump...Many exports did...but when you take into account the other anomalies...I don't know...
So, there you have it! If you own a ban-era WASR-10 and are wondering what the hell is going on...Century Arms probably used AK-74 parts and specs to keep your rifle compliant back in those early days - and Cugir probably Frankenstein-ed their AIMS specs with their export models.
If you got into AKs after the ban had sunset in late 2004...well, congrats, you not only learned something new, but you didn't have to deal with this silliness. It definitely does come in handy when you suddenly decide to build a '74 and need parts, though.
Now, despite all the above, I do hold this AK in high regard as it was my first. I was 13 years old, and the FFL operated out of a marathon station. He's long since gone out of business, but this AK still grinds on, and after many thousands of rounds out of this OG barrel, I plan to take my old friend and get him chopped down, pinned and welded by a qualified builder. (Always gonna' be Ken) Put a folding stock on and make a sort of rifle reminiscent of a Romanian AIMR.
