2001 SAR-1 Impressions.

[TARGET0000]

Hello,

I'm new to this board and have been lurking for a few weeks and wanted to add my take on my SAR-1.


Having a limited budjet i decided to go with the romanian SAR-1. Those VEPR's looked really nice and were very attractive to me but my limit was 400 bucks. I picked up a 2001 sar-1 for 324 dollars. And have put a case of ammo through it (barnaul HP 500rds)

My first impression is that the SAR was very crude compared to any other firearm that i own, the finish was scratched up just from the box it was shipped in, you could see where it had chafed on the box, and the metal was full of tooling marks. Clearly this is not a firearm that i am afraid to take out and ding around, it has a sense of roughness about it. After checking for all the SAR ailments I have been reading about on this board and finding none to my relief i headed out to fire a few rounds. Now i have heard they come packed in cosmoline and such, but mine was not really greased up that bad at all, so i just fired away right out of the box, the thing didn't look like it needed to be babied to me! After 250 rounds the first day i wiped off the easy to get to parts after field stripping, which was a breeze. And the next day finished the case. No missfires everything worked perfect.

The accuracy of the SAR was what i expected. I plan to use it for plinking and for deer, where I live in maine the shots are 90% withing 75 yards so the AK is perfect. I like how lite it is with the small mag, i still need to get a 5 rounder although, mine came with a 10 and a 40. Under 100 yard accuracy was fine for hunting IMO. I happen to live on an island off the coast of maine that i can shoot out to unlimited range which is a great way to test that long range accuracy. The ak actually is better than i expected out to about 300, but good luck after that. I shoot at lobster bouys [smile] im a fisherman, i know the owners, hehe. Overall i love the rifle, small, lighweight and a ton of fun to shoot. Its also very easy to take down and clean due to its simplicity which i love. Now all i need is a bolt action rifle that uses 7.62 for some longer range fun! I know the 7.62 doesn't shoot very flat, but im all for the cheap ammo prices.

Looks like im on my way to becoming an ak addict!

[0302]

sounds just like my sar1, except mine has trigger slaposis in the worst way. i filed away some of the rear area of hook where it seemed to be getting banged and transmitting the impact to my finger hope my elcheapo approach fixed it. i have shot out to 330 m and can keep the groups to about 2' at 330 m from a kneeling position resting against a gate using surplus barnaul.
my impressions match yours perfectly. perfect companion to the fal. happy shootin

[TARGET0000]

I forgot to mention the trigger slap, i get it, sometimes it stings but most of the time its just a tap. I'll probably be taking the dremel to it before to long to remedy the problem. It is annoying but not the end of the world for me.

[Merlin]

Hey Target. have the perfect gun for you. I just bought a Ruger M77 Mark II bolt action in 7.62 and love it. I'm shooting 1" groups at 100 yds on a consistnet basis. You can only get the rifle in the skeletized stock so it isn't real pretty but it is extremely accurate for a "out of the box rifle". I put a cheap 3x9 scope on it and am really impressed with its accuracy.Don't think you could go wrong in buying one of these. There are several places you could buy one on the web. Most go in the range of $419.00. If you need any further info let me know.

[TARGET0000]

I found one of those ruger m77's for 424. I think i'm going to pick one up and put a scope on it. I like the 7.62 ammo for its cheapness, and its perfect for the deer i hunt in the fall. The SAR is a blast to shoot but the accuracy isn't the greatest. Just wanted a bolt rifle for a little precision plinking. Have you shot yours with the cheap russian ammo?

[ellisr7.62]

A buddy of mine just bought a CZ597? in 7.62X39. He loves it.
One suggestion I have on the SAR1's is to "combat retro-" I take #4 steel wool and remove the varnish from the wood. Then a scotch pad on the metal to polish off the rough bluing. Underneath is really good smooth steel. A touch of cold blue where it gets too "silvery" and you have a weapon that looks as if it came off a battlefield. Everyone at the range asks me about my SAR. I installed a Polish pistol grip made for a milled rec. variant that's large and checkered wood, and it draws more attention than ever. Then again I have a lot of time on my hand; or so my girlfriend thinks-

[Rotti]

I had similar experiences to yours when I picked up a 2001 SAR-1. It had little oil on it, looked a little rough, but not too bad (I paid $299 with a 10 & 30 rndr incl.). I took mine out of the box, like you, put a dab of oil on the rails & dumped 850 rnds in about 2 hrs... It got so hot that the hand guards were smoking, but it NEVER failed!!! The accuracy on mine was combat efficient out to 250 yds (est.) & great at 120 yards... We actually blocked the action open to let it cool for a few minutes after bumping a few 75 rnd drums back to back - these things are TOUGH!!!

NO trigger slap in mine, guess I'm lucky. It has a real nice pull, basically no play, crisp break & EASY to bump... Backblast (great friend that he is) gave me pistol grip front hand guard - trying it out this afternoon...

I sold my AR-15 & stocked way up on AK mags & I love this one so much that I'm thinking about a SAR-2... I'm hooked!:cool:

[imanaknut]

SARs will do that to you, inexpensive AKs. My first was an SAR-3 that was as good as they come. Unfortunately my 14-year-old daughter decided it was fun to fire, so she declared it hers. I then bought an SAR-1 because I knew she would not like the greater recoil compared to the soft shooting 3. I changed the furniture and played with the trigger group, turning it into a really sweet shooter. It is nice to be able to bump off enough rounds to heat the rifle to the point you could cook lunch with it, and it just keeps on shooting.

I made the mistake of visiting a nearby gun show, found the straightest SAR-1 I have ever seen at a great price. Now I have two. They are addictive.

Oh yeah, you should see the looks that father and daughter get when we pull our "toys" out of their travel bags and stand side by side plinking with dual AKs. Gotta love it!!!!!!!

[Rotti]

COOL!!!

Backblast & I got invited to a "machine gun shoot" with some class III buddies, & after he & I bumped off a few mags the full auto guys were asking if our AK's were full auto... when Backblast said no, just bumping it, the guys demanded that he open his top cover & show the FCG! They were amazed at what a $300 + AK could do w/ a little technique...

uh, did I mention that I like my SAR? :D

[imanaknut]

You said it perfectly, Rotti. Technique and practice are the most important part of firearm ownership. If someone owned a known tack-driver but had poor technique, that person would blame the gun and not admit the he/she was the problem.

My daughter practices alot, usually at 25 yds. She is able to shoot a less than one inch group with iron sights. Technique can make a crude weapon like the SAR shoot like a dream. The other day she impressed some friends with her ability to take a rifle that she had never fired and turn in a good first group. She was handed a High-point Carbine and after getting familiar with how to hold and point the rifle, her first four rounds could be covered by a quarter. I could only smile with pride.

Technique and practice, practice, practice.

[HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin]

For those of you new to Militery guns, cosmoline is a waxy orangish yellow substance that armories pack rifles in for long term storage. It's a task to get it all off a gun, and if you don't your gun will start smoking and smelling like melting crayolas after about 20 rounds. If you ever get a gun with cosmo on it, go to the C&R section of this board where there's a sticky thread on cleaning off cosmo. Some people use EZ-Off to get it out of gunstocks.

The stuff Century packs the SAR's in is a sticky clear grease that can usually be taken off with WD-40 from both the wood and the metal.

When cleaning an AK right out of the box, just make sure at least to get that stuff out of the barrel, and the bolt. You can get the rest off later, after you clean it good for the first time.

[Secesh]

Originally posted by TARGET0000
I forgot to mention the trigger slap, i get it, sometimes it stings but most of the time its just a tap. I'll probably be taking the dremel to it before to long to remedy the problem. It is annoying but not the end of the world for me.

Don't put up with that slap, fix it.
Just a little tip, you don't have to remove the entire trigger group or even the "shepards hook" retaining spring.

1. relocate the hammer spring ends to the hammer( a small pair of needle nose pliars works best), the hammer will then swing foward and out of the picture.

2.with a small flathead screwdriver push the retaining spring down and inwards out of it's channel in the axis pin.

3. remove the axis pin.

4. remove the trigger group, mind the disconector spring.

5. dremmel away, I suggest removing the entire nub at the rear of the disconnector and a good bit at the bottom around the spring hole.

6. as a bonus polish the contact points on the hammer and trigger with a emory cloth, or some sand paper and steel wool. It'll do wonders for your trigger.

7. re assemble.

If it is still slappin' just go back in and remove some more, you can remove quite a bit from around the spring hole and not worry about hurting anything.

[backblast]

Originally posted by Rotti
COOL!!!

Backblast & I got invited to a "machine gun shoot" with some class III buddies, & after he & I bumped off a few mags the full auto guys were asking if our AK's were full auto... when Backblast said no, just bumping it, the guys demanded that he open his top cover & show the FCG! They were amazed at what a $300 + AK could do w/ a little technique...

uh, did I mention that I like my SAR? :D

Hey rotti,

Yes, you have mentioned how much you like your SAR1 ! :D After all, every time you look to spend money, you compare it to how many SAR's you can buy!!! hehehe

I'm here to tell you, after shooting that full auto 74, nothing compares. I really think I saw the M249 shivering with intimidation when that 74 was going off :D hehehe We all know the M16's were scared!

Looking forward to going out to the next full auto shoot!!!

See you this weekend rotti. Let's see if we can get your handguards to catch fire :D I'll bring the fire extigusher! hehehe

cya

[Rotti]

First, you're welcome (for dragging you kicking & screaming to the machine gun shoot)...

Second, I have a birthday coming up in about 7 months - so start saving for my SAR-3. I'll need plenty of 30 rnd mags & ammo to feed it, so you might wanna skip a few meals so as to save money for my B-day present... save for it - thusly - :D

Finally, when did you say you were gonna have an RPD for me? I forget, was it yesterday or tomorrow?:D :p

I think we'll have to definitely make my wood furniture burn so I can have a good reason for buying plastic stocks! C-ya in the AM;)