No that is the WASR I paid $320 for. I've gradually dumped money into it replacing things. By the time I get finished, some will say I could have just bought an AR, but I will just tell them that then I would be stuck with an AR
Those are the TDI synthetic grips. I paid like $90 for the set out of Tantal but you can get just the lower for like $45 if you shop around. They were much heavier and more rugged than I expected them to be. I haven't really heated up the rifle since I put them on, but what shooting I have done seems to indicate that they are not only more comfortable for me, but they disipate heat much better than the wood grips it came with. The wood grips had a metal pin through them, I suppose to keep it from warping and splitting, but boy that sucker got hot with a couple mags through it. You'd touch that pin and feel like your thumb was getting branded. I said the stock handguards had to go, but didn't want to take the time to save the $200 for the metal quad rail systems. I only want to add a vertical foregrip (should get here Monday according to UPS) so I don't need it to maintain accuracy with a laser or anything--but something tells me it would if I asked it to.
I also paid $160 to put an ACE folding six-position M4-style stock on it that makes it really comfortable to shoot. I am 6'5" and had trouble with the original short stock. I kept getting bumped in the cheek with the back of the receiver when I shot. It wasn't bad, just enough to be distracting--like someone just thumping your face--it was just bad enough that you'd begin anticipating it after a few shots. With the M4 style stock on there, I could pull it out till it is even too long for me, then collapse it to the original length for someone short. And it is a whole lot more durable and solid than the TAPCO unit so I don't mind spending 3x as much. Plus it still folds for transport. It's a neat system.
Add the Buffer Tech recoil buffer (not necessary, but nice), M249 style grip, G2 FCG, Mojo ghost ring sight, and the SOG VFG still in the mail and I have a total of about $750 (with original cost of the rifle factored in) into the rifle, but it is a whole lot nicer than when I got it. The rifle is more comfortable and functional, and looks better to my eyes as well. It's never had a problem with reliability so all I am doing is trying to improve ergonomics and use-ability. I want to put a PK-AS-V or Gen II Kobra on it with my income tax return and will probably spend another $100 threading the barrel and putting a flash surpressor on it, and then it will be done.
Some might ask why I didn't just save up for an Arsenal. Several reasons:
1. My brother and I bought these "just in case" about a month before the AWB expired. We barely found the money for these rifles and wouldn't have been able to scronge up twice as much for a Bulgy or VEPR.
2. Most of these mods I would have done on any AK--I don't like the stock sights or spatula style pistol grip that are standard on most Kalashnikovs and I would still have to replace the handguards on most of them to put a VFG on it.
3. In hindsight, I am glad I went this route anyways. It has been a neat learning system that I might not have had with another rifle. I've replaced FCGs, front and rear sights, installed recoil buffers from two different manufactures and discovered the Buffer Tech is worlds above the Blackjack in the process, installed a new pistol grip, new stocks, and new handguards, and by the time I am done will know how to use and adjust the side mount and will have threaded two different barrels and installed flash surpressors. I've learned that the set screw thread adaptors are a good way to watch $30 worth of Krink brake fly into orbit, and that the TAPCO Galil style folding stock can make that SPOING sound you thought only happened in cartoons. I may not have done a lot of this with an Arsenal or VEPR and would be without that knowledge because of it. I've learned a lot about the Kalashnikov in the process of upgrading this WASR and that combined with my experience in the meantime has led me to have a great deal of confidence in the platform and my ability to use it.