Jambooo! I sold my Saiga and bought an Iraqi Contractor WASR from Atlantic
Well, I'm 63 years old, a retired LEO and ex-military, and not expecting to battle Zombie paratroopers any time soon. If I did, I have a couple ARs, a PTR91 with a 3x9, an M1 carbine, and 12 Gauge riot gun as a back up. For an AK platform, I had a Saiga (restored to its intended form with a pistol grip and AKM furniture), but it was too pretty.
For an AK platform, what I really want is a cheapo, beat up "featureless" AK that I could throw behind the seat in the 4x4 F150 in the mountains (without a case) and not feel the slightest bit bad about it. As I already said, my restored Saiga was just too pretty. I also had too much into it to beat it up! With that in mind, I ordered one of the Atlantic Firearms "Iraqi Contractor" WASR 10/63s for $489. I sold the Saiga to fund the purchase, and I used the extra money left over after buying the WASR from to fund another AR15 project. I wish I had done it when they were $449, but oh well, what the heck, better late than never. The payment to Atlantic for the Contractor WASR cleared my bank, and it is supposed to ship in the next week.
Another reason I wanted to switch from the Saiga to an AKM based one was spare parts. Just try to find a spare Saiga (AK103) bolt, carrier, or extractor. If you do, it will cost more than an entire AKM parts kit! Heck, I can get a complete Polish Bolt, carrier and recoil spring set for $69!
Do I think they are super special because a SOC contractor from Uganda guarded the PX on a base outside Baghdad with it? Not really. While it does add a certain neato-keen factor, the price was actually the main selling point. If door kickers had used them, that would raise the value in my mind. And, no, I don't think they took new WASRs, aged them artificially, just to sell them for $80 or $90 LESS than they would get new. That's just a retarded argument from couch commandos, mall ninjas, wannabes, and "Atlantic haters." I have been buying from Atlantic for years, and have had nothing but EXCELLENT customer service.
