Useful Info on Century Polish Tantals

[mak47]

Ok, we've all heard the horror stories about Century's Polish Tantals, but I'm sure many of us have been tempted by the price and the fact that they still seem to be readily available.

I was so tempted I contacted Century and got the dirt before buying one.

I was told that there are two versions of the Tantal floating around out there. One is model number RI-1436 (older) and is made with a barrel that has a twist rate of 1:7--it can only stabilize the 52 or 53 grn military surplus bullets. Shooting the heavier commercial bullets (Wolf MC is 70 grn) will cause keyholing and accuracy issues.

The new version is model number RI-1576 and is made with a 1:9 twist. It can handle the newer commercial ammo.

I found one of the new ones at Dunham's in Lebanon the other day and it was on sale so I picked it up and gave it a shot (ok about 250 shots)

I did the bullet test and the barrel seems to be the correct diameter--it did NOT swallow the bullet. First test passed.

I took it out to the range and went through the whole barrel break-in process just to be safe and had good accuracy at 25 yards (it was raining so I wasn't gonna run out to 100 or 200 that day).

Once that was done I blasted it fast enough to get the cosmoline smoking off and fired another couple of full mags at the target. ZERO keyholes! If it was going to keyhole, it would do it when it's hot like that, and it didn't. Second test passed.

I shot Wolf MC 70grn ammo all day and had no keyhole issues, and accuracy was as good as can be expected. (I was really just blasting away, not trying to win any medals)

So, it appears that the info from Century was good. I have to say that I was impressed with their support too. I emailed them and asked what to look for, and the same day I got an email back with exactly the information I asked for. In the current climate of gun-sellers/makers taking days or weeks to respond to questions, that impressed me.

The gun also looks great, is built on a NoDak Spud Receiver, and unlike other AK's, the safety lever is actually quiet.

I know lots of people out there are searching for AK-74's right now to save money on ammo. I haven't had a chance to shoot the Milsurp stuff yet, but the problem seems to have been fixed with these rifles.

If you're going to go out and buy one remember a couple of things:

1. The model number is on the box and the white tag that hangs from the gun, not on the gun itself. So if someone is selling you one that is "new in box", insist on seeing the box and check for the RI-1576 model number.

2. Lot's of dealers are selling off old stock that has simply never been removed from the box--they bought it 4 years ago when they were dirt cheap and are selling them off now at a high markup. That's all well and good, but check that number! Just because the dealer says it's new in box doesn't mean it's actually new stock.

3. Buy smart. These guns (the new ones too) are still fairly readily available. $700+ for one of these is too much. They can be had for under $600 with just a little patience, and even under $500 if you've got a lot.

Hope that helps solve any mysteries that are out there. I'm sure that the ones with the original barrels have some superiority but if I can save $300-$400 by getting one of these I think it was worth it.

I'll post a follow up after I get and shoot some of the cheap milsurp stuff, but I can't imagine the lighter bullet would be less stable out of the barrel than the Wolf MC.

[LisaA]

Thanks for posting this, mak47! I have a Century Polish Tantal, and I was concerned about shooting it after hearing all the bad reports. I will be checking the model so I can shoot the correct ammo. I appreciate your calling Century and researching this for us. Again, thanks! +1 rep

[mojo]

Great info .....

[nfafan]

<snip>

I was told that there are two versions of the Tantal floating around out there. One is model number RI-1436 (older) and is made with a barrel that has a twist rate of 1:7--it can only stabilize the 52 or 53 grn military surplus bullets. Shooting the heavier commercial bullets (Wolf MC is 70 grn) will cause keyholing and accuracy issues.

The new version is model number RI-1576 and is made with a 1:9 twist. It can handle the newer commercial ammo.

<snip>

Is this the version with the all-black poly front HGs?

Reason I ask is that I was under the impression that the black HGs were the tell-tale sign for a new version, as the buiders ran out of the dark red/brown bakelight seen on the older/originals from Cent.

[mak47]

This one has the red/bakelite mismatched hand guards.

I've seen both model numbers with both types of hand guards.

I believe for a time they sold a fixed stock version with black synthetic buttstocks. I'd bet they simply had multiple colors and just used whatever they had laying around.
I'd stick to checking the model number.

Or just use milsurp ammo and keep it clean, that's the cheap stuff anyway.

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

This is good to know. I ended up getting an extremely good deal on russian surplus 5.45x39 so I ended up buying ammo first, and then looking for something to shoot it with. I was looking at the tantals but not the CAI versions. A friend of mine is expecting an interarms version of the tantal in the next week or so. I ended up going with a Bulgarian build that from what I have read seems to be pretty solid.

[LisaA]

I just checked my Tantal, and the numbers do not match what you wrote, mak47. Maybe you can help with this.

Here is the info on the white tag:
RI 1436B-X
1:9 Twist BBL
Date of Manufacture: 12/03/08

Note how the twist is different from the 1:7 with the 1436 model. Should I concentrate more on the twist than the model number?

[mak47]

LisaA,

Supposedly the problem was the twist rate in the barrel, and if yours says 1:9 I would think you're ok.

What I would speculate is this: (total speculation on my part)

Perhaps Century had already built your rifle with the old barrel under the old model number. That means that it's serial and model numbers are registered with the BATF as RI-1436, that's etched in stone, it can't be changed.

Maybe (and it's a big maybe) they rebarrelled your rifle (and probably some others) before it was actually sold.

With that being said...???

I've never heard anything about these rifles being unsafe, only of the bullets keyholing and having accuracy issues. I don't think you need to worry too much about shooting it.

There is a popular rumor out there that Century actually used 5.56mm barrels on the older versions of these rifles. Personally I think that's a lot of web-based conjecture, and I find it hard to believe that a company that sells as many "evil" rifles as Century does would do that.

You could do the bullet test (see pic below), just to be positive that it's the (approximate) right diameter bore. Just take off the muzzle brake (unscrew it to the right--those damn commies did everything backwards just to mess with Americans) and insert a bullet, nose first into the barrel. If it goes in all the way up to the neck--you have a problem. It should get stuck amount a millimeter or so before the edge of the case. If it doesn't swallow it, you should be in good shape. If it does, go to a gunsmith and have them take an exact diameter measurement--then call Century with the data and demand a replacement.

If the diameter is right, then the rifle should be safe to shoot. Test out some different types of ammo and see what it likes.

bullet test.jpg

[AFARR]

I was told that there are two versions of the Tantal floating around out there. One is model number RI-1436 (older) and is made with a barrel that has a twist rate of 1:7--it can only stabilize the 52 or 53 grn military surplus bullets. Shooting the heavier commercial bullets (Wolf MC is 70 grn) will cause keyholing and accuracy issues.

The new version is model number RI-1576 and is made with a 1:9 twist. It can handle the newer commercial ammo.

I thought it was the other way around....

Faster (1:7) Twist stabilizes heavier bullets better.

Slower is for lighter (shorter) bullets better.

An old AR with a 1:12 twist will keyhole 62 gr and heavier bullets.

(A pic of what happens with keyholing....an FNC I used to own fired with heavier...if I recall properly, it was 68 and 72 gr target loads, and the FNC had a 1:12 twist)...

[Republicrat]

deleted...wrong info. i'm a noob