Bulgarian Arsenal AK47 vs Romanian WASR-10

The Bulgarian Arsenal AK47 and the Romanian WASR-10 go  head to head. From a few feet away the untrained eye would see these as the same rifle, but they are really quite different

Looking close up at these two the differences  start to become obvious. Milled vs Stamped receivers,  pistol grips, stock and handguard shape  and material are the obvious external  differences

The camera and lighting can affect the photos, se here are a few taken with  different flash  options to help see the fine details

Again with a slightly different  angle in each shot to move  where light /  flash hit the metal and reflect

The internals are very close the milled version is much more  sturdy of course

The two rear  sights and gas pistons and another shot  of the two receivers

The rear of the receiver  where the  stock attaches and the recoil springs. Another shot of the two rear sights and bolt  carrier

The two recoil springs and bolt  carriers, most AK47s had unpainted bolt carriers. The receiver covers, the AKM uses the  thinner ribbed cover the AK47 has the traditional thicker smooth metal

The bolt  carriers  from the other side and the front of the receiver / front trunnion

Flipped over the wider AK47 pistol grip looks almost twice as thick as  the AKM pistol grip.

The AK47  has the bottom tang to hold the stock in place. The two magazine wells and trigger guards

The  modern AKM, Romanian WASR-10  on top, the classic AK47 style Bulgarian Arsenal AK47 below (with  sling)

The two  without magazines.  Overall length and  other dimensions  are  almost  identical

The stamped receivers have rivets and small magazine dimples. The milled AK47 receiver  has  smooth sides and large cut outs to  help reduce weight

The stocks are  close but  not the same shape. The Romanian WASR-10 uses a thick laminate (plywood) with heavy usually sloppy lacquer finish or no finish and a simple red stain.The Bulgarian AK47 uses  a  solid piece of wood and an oil finish. The end of  the milled receiver is at an angle, where the stamped AKM are cut straight.

The solid  wood of the AK47 and the plywood  stock of the AKM. Bras pins are placed in eh stocks  and handguards when plywood  (laminate) is used  to keep the layers from separating.

The AKM gas tube on top is solid and the gas holes are in the gas block, while the AK47 gas tube (below) has holes and the AK47 gas  block is solid.The AK47 has some weird aftermarket muzzle break, it should be removed as soon as possible of  course. The WASR-10 sports a muzzle nut (which does not count as a part for 922r)