Century Arms AK-74

[Wayfaerer320]

So, now that I have a hand gun, I'm looking at picking up a long gun.

It's funny because I always thought I would go with an AR-15. The AK-47 never really did anything for me, but my god, the AK-74 is one sexy rifle...

Does anyone own one of these (more specifically, a Century Arms model)? How do you like it? How is the quality for the money? Is it simple to operate/clean? Basically, would you recommend it to an AK newbie?

What kind of deals do they have on these rifles presently? Where do you buy your ammo from?

Thanks!

[JasonK007]

I'm interested in hearing the reply to the OP as well. I'm looking at buying one of these as well, possibly this week. However, the info I’ve read about so far online are not very promising.

Apparently, these specific guns have "key-holing" issues caused by either the wrong sized barrel (5.56) or the wrong twist rate (1:7). Century Arms does have a 1 year warranty, but that is only good from time of manufacture. That means that if you do buy the gun at an FFL or private citizen, there's a good chance that the warranty will be expired.

Atlantic Firearms has the gun with a 1:8 twist rate which is what you want. It also looks as if the online retailers are getting in fresh shipments which leave me to think that the "bad apples" may have been weeded out by now.

Anyway, I don't have the gun yet but will keep this thread updated as to my findings of the gun.

Just so we're on the same page. The Century Arms AK i'm referring to is the tantal sporter. The other, more expensive ones, may be better.
http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/storeproduct858.aspx

http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/storeproduct806.aspx

[Wayfaerer320]

I did read that as well (about the key-holing issues).

I've read mixed reviews about them as well - I'm curious to see what kind of info this community has on them.

[JasonK007]

I did read that as well (about the key-holing issues).

I've read mixed reviews about them as well - I'm curious to see what kind of info this community has on them.

Just be mindful of when the person bought theirs as I'm sure Century Arms had received a ton of complaints and hopefully corrected the issue by now. Otherwise, I'm under the impression it would cost around 400.00 to fix the key-holing problem in which case one could've bought a better AK 74.

[wellcraft]

I did read that as well (about the key-holing issues).

I've read mixed reviews about them as well - I'm curious to see what kind of info this community has on them.

the keyholing issue was with the century polish tantal rifles and i believe the ak74 rifles have not had the same issues. i've seen the century ak74's and they look nice but i haven't fired one. century has a well deserved reputation for questionable quality so you may buy a ak74 with no issues or you may get one with issues. century will take the rifle back and fix it or replace it if you do get a bad one but you're out your rifle for a period of weeks maybe months.

if you want a ak74 i' save up another couple hundred dollars and buy a arsenal rifle. much better quality weapon and far superior to anything century builds. since you live in bucks county checkout tanners sport center i believe they had a arsenal ak74 for sale not to long ago, it was used but in mint condition when i checked it out.

[Jdk261]

Just as others have said, century is hit or miss. It depends on who built it that day or whether yours got built on a friday or not. All kidding aside, I would hope the key holing problem has been taken care of by now. J & G has a bulgarian surplus parts 74 on their site going for $359.

[victory]

Century guns are hit or miss. You can limit the miss by getting a "certified" one through Henderson defense. Realize that the new century 74s do not have chrome lining, something to consider if you want to shoot corrosive surplus.

[glockmaster]

I bought the century arms bulgarian ak74 from centerfiresystems.com
It got it on sale this past fall for around $350 with 3 circle 10 mags. I just checked and same deal is now $399.

I too had my reservations about buying given the internet info on keyholing. I just wanted a cheapo ak74 to shoot russian surplus ammo. I'm glad i got it, haven't had one problem with it and no keyholing. My only gripe was the gas tube was VERY tight. I had my gunsmith address the issue and it is tight, but I can get it off for cleaning now. This is essential as the barrel is not chrome lined and the russian ammo is corrossive. I have no problem cleaning my rifles thoroughly so its not a big deal.

I took off the crappy plastic furniture and added some authentic bulgarian wood furntiure that i got from apex gun parts.com It looks damn nice imho. I don't know why century calls the rifle bulgarian though b/c the barrel is american and so is the receiver (NoDak Spud). Added a sling and voila.

I would also like to mention that my very first AK was a Century WASR-10 and that too has never given me a problem. I also have one of their yugo's which is also problem free. I'm sure some of the problems with Century are true but I tend to not believe everything i read on the internet. Maybe I just got lucky, who knows? I would recommend if you can, inspecting one in person. They have these at Surplus City in Feasterville if you feel like taking that drive and that may relieve some of your anxiety.

If this is to be your only AK (I doubt it!) then you may want to just save the extra $$ and get the Arsenal as suggested. Been hearing good things about the atlantic firearms ones too and they are kind of middle of the road in price. Good luck

http://forum.pafoa.org/rifles-42/118...rs-page-2.html

Check out post #17 by me. Theres a few pics of the rifle with the wood i added, what do you think?

[dc dalton]

I have 3 of them, used to have another. I have two Yugo fixed stocks and one Yugo underfolder. Great rifles!

Tough as nails and well built, I have looked at the other Century AK models but they are crap compared to a Yugo.

Have to warn you though, the damn things are addictive!

[Wayfaerer320]

So I just got back from Surplus City in Feasterville. They did indeed have a lot of Century firearms including the AK-74.

They had two AK74s by Century. They actually look pretty menacing and very sleek in person. The problem was definitely quality - the sights on BOTH rifles were crooked. And I mean, very crooked. At Surplus City, the AK74s by Century were priced at $379, and while that sounds like an amazing deal, I just couldn't fork over even $379 for a rifle with crooked sights.

On the other hand, they had Polish AKs for about $550 and those were absolutely superb.

The Polish AKs were 47s though - I'd still really like to get a 74. The Century 74s were just not worth it. I mean, maybe a gunsmith could fix them up? But then wouldn't it be more worth while to just spend a couple hundred more on a better quality AK74?

Say I buy the Century Arms AK74 and it's got crooked sights - is it worth it to have a gunsmith fix it? Or should I spend a bit more on another AK? Keep in mind, this is really just for fun - I'm not looking for the most accurate AK on the market, but I'd prefer the sights at least be straight.