WASR-10 vs. Yugo..

Ok, so I went over to Dunhams to check out the WASR-10 I spotted in the Sunday paper. It's $299 and comes with a 30 rnd mag. The wood was OK, though it looked like it could use some work, the mag was pretty loose and was something of a pain to get back in for some reason, and the sight, while straight up and down, was set about 3mm to the left of center.

The guy behind the counter then pulled down a Yugo for me to look it. It was all black with a folding stock. The mag sat perfectly with no wiggle, and the sight was right where it should be. Price: $499.

Now I could have simply been looking at a particularly bad WASR that they had, I don't know. But that Yugo just felt REAL nice.

I don't have any specifics on the Yugo really, other than what I eyeballed while I held it. OH, it had a grenade launcher sight as well.

So what are everybody’s thoughts? They have a pretty nice lay away program there that I'll have to take advantage of no matter which way I go, so if you folks think the cost difference is worth it, I might go for the Yugo instead.

 

Hmmm, I think I might go for the Yugo, because I'm not just getting it for fun and plinking, but as part of my SHTF package and I'm thinking the extra 200 bucks for a better quality weapon might be worth its weight in gold in a SHTF situation.

 

Yeah, it's a Century Arms Yugo. At least, that's what it said on the tag when I got a glance at it

 

Ok, well I was doing some research (inspired by another thread actually) into the Saiga Sporters. They cost around 250 (give or take), and, from what I've been reading, it costs about 130 or so to turn them back into a regular AK (a far better AK than even a Yugo from what I'm reading). Has anybody done this themselves? I guess I just trust the folks on this board more than any other forum out there

 

This is not to say that the Saiga receivers are weak though, correct? They are all mil-spec as far as what I've read. And I see what you're saying about the Yugos. It looks like part of the reason they are tougher is that they were made to use rifle grenades.

Either way though, it seems that I could do it this way and save a few bucks, and still end up with a mil-spec rifle, not to mention have some fun in the process I also hear that the folding stocks on the Yugos can have some problems, but I have no first had experience on this.

What it really comes down to though is my better half seems to be able to swallow the up-front cost of the Saiga a bit more than the Yugo right now

 

Yeah, tell me about it man. I don't know what the local price is on Saiga's yet in my area (gonna be calling around today actually) so not sure how the price will compare with the WASR's over at Dunhams yet, but we'll see.

The cleaning rod isn't as important to me, though I can totally understand why it would be awesome to have it there (even if only for looks). For me, the only things I would be looking to change at first would be the stock, magazine, FCG, a pistol grip and a front rail so I can also mount a forward folding grip. Now all told, with the rifle, that's gonna cost me. But the cost can be spread out over an extended period, and in the end I'll have a better rifle than the Yugo for $500, if only because it's something I built myself and is fully customized for my personal needs.

UPDATE: Called the local gun shop to ask them about prices. He said they had Saiga's, in all 3 rifle calibers as well as several shotguns. He said he thought the prices were around $500. I'm gonna go check it out myself today if I can. If the rifles are $500, that's a bit high and I could do much better on gunbroker (even with transfer fees and shipping) but if he was off, then I may get one in the not too distant future.

 

Thanks for the heads up Panoz

I went to the gun store and they had the .223 there for 600, though they said they could come down "A little bit" on that price. It's got the 20 inch barrel, so I'm thinking that explains a bit of the extra cost, but even that is high compared to gun broker. So I'm gonna call a few other places and see if they have them and what their cost is, otherwise I'm just gonna grab one off of gunbroker.

I WILL say it was a VERY solid feeling rifle.

 

Those ARE good prices! But I can't find them on their website :? Should I give them a call? And what are their shipping rates like (though even if shipping was $50 it would be cheaper than most of the Gunbroker ones )

UPDATE: Never mind, I found it on their front page. Still could use shipping info though, if you got it Thanks again!