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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Why Century? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 4/14/2010 11:21:49 AM EDT
| Why do they seem to come out with the cool stuff, Galil clone, Yugo M76, PSL, Tantal, just to name a few. I would kill for an M76, but not from Century. I guess it's a good thing that Century is out there, gets more people out there shooting (when they work) Even though the quality is wanting, it's nice to see some of these guns out there. |
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its only obvious in that price range corners will have to be cut. they know they will sell,because most people only care about the price and half will hardly ever get shot........so if there is issues,half wont show and the other half that do wont bother. I dont know what the barrels are like now,(remember keyholing tantals?) , that would be the main concern.
but yeah, I will give them credit for introducing tons of people to the AK. I wonder how many they have sold over the years? |
| I've had 5-6 CAI rifles ove the past 10 yrs or so. Everything from Cetmes to WASR's and havent had one problem! I realize that there are some who have had problems, but what is a G3 clone worth that's accurate and 100% reliable? I paid just a hair over 300 for mine 7-8 years ago and it ran perfect and was very accurate! Compare that, as an example, to what else is out there and the very small % of rifles that do actually have problems seems well worth the gamble to me. If you have a problem, send it back under warranty as opposed to passing it off. When you pass it off, Century's obviously not going to fix something that they dont know about AND if you have a problem and pass it off to another, that's at least TWO people that are likely to give the same rifle bad publicity on a forum, such as this. How many times do you think the same problematic rifle's been passed from one individual to another and the end result was several people bitching about the same exact rifle, without anyone being the wiser?? I'll continue to buy CAI stuff until I have a problem and when/if I do, I'll do the right thing and send it back, as opposed to passing it on to yet another unsuspecting victim. |
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Not everything from Century is made by them. My understanding is that their PSL's are fresh off the boat from Romania, all Century does is stamp them. Doesn't give them too much room to mess it up... Be careful. There are some PSL's on the market now that are put together from parts kits from Century. One way to tell, the parts kits don't have the bolt hold open on them and they will have Century on the receiver instead of Cugir, Romania. There are several lack luster reports on the quality of these. Want a PSL, buy from AIM. Bryan won't sell any that aren't Romanian built. That said, I have a CETME and several AK's from Century that are just fine. They all needed a little work but I like to tinker. 
Edit: Here is a link to the PSL thread. Link |
| I used to like Century but I bought one of their keyholing, jamming Polish Tantals that changed my opinion of them. It was the only AK I have ever shot that jammed. I got my money back but was out shipping and FFL fee. The Tantal was a disaster for Century. Problems are widespread and highly publicized so no need for further explanation. I also don't like what they have done to the AMD-65. Using a cut down Romanian barrel w/no threads, another Franken-Rifle. I think buying from Century is a crap shoot. I think that if you deal w/them long enough you will run into problems. |
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I guess it's a good thing that Century is out there, gets more people out there shooting (when they work) Even though the quality is wanting, it's nice to see some of these guns out there. What makes you say Centurys don't work? Bias? Or facts? I vote bias. I'll bet there are far more working Centurys out there than any other brand, and possibly all other brands combined. You'll hear of mag wobble and canted sights, but those are easy to inspect for at time of purchase, and in all probability are defects mostly gone these days. Not that these are terrible serious defects to begin with. Mine has no problems. If there does happen to be a problem with a Century, are you implying that they won't fix it under warrantee I proudly own a Century, after closely inspecting it side-by-side with an Arsenal at my local gun shop. I chose the Century over the Arsenal on purpose, after close inspection, even though I could have easily afforded either one. I inspected several Centurys on the shelf at that gun shop, and all were fine rifles easily worth the $400 price tag. The Arsenal on the other hand, was not worth its $700 price tag, even though it was a fine rifle too. I guess you could say an Arsenal is better than a Century in the same way you can say a Ford Eddie Bauer Edition is better than a Ford XLT Edition. But both vehicles are functionally identical for their basic purpose, you just pay more for more cosmetic trim. It's not as if an XLT "doesn't work" as well as an Eddie Bauer. |
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I guess it's a good thing that Century is out there, gets more people out there shooting (when they work) Even though the quality is wanting, it's nice to see some of these guns out there. What makes you say Centurys don't work? Bias? Or facts? I vote bias. I'll bet there are far more working Centurys out there than any other brand, and possibly all other brands combined. You'll hear of mag wobble and canted sights, but those are easy to inspect for at time of purchase, and in all probability are defects mostly gone these days. Not that these are terrible serious defects to begin with. Mine has no problems. If there does happen to be a problem with a Century, are you implying that they won't fix it under warrantee I proudly own a Century, after closely inspecting it side-by-side with an Arsenal at my local gun shop. I chose the Century over the Arsenal on purpose, after close inspection, even though I could have easily afforded either one. I inspected several Centurys on the shelf at that gun shop, and all were fine rifles easily worth the $400 price tag. The Arsenal on the other hand, was not worth its $700 price tag, even though it was a fine rifle too. I guess you could say an Arsenal is better than a Century in the same way you can say a Ford Eddie Bauer Edition is better than a Ford XLT Edition. But both vehicles are functionally identical for their basic purpose, you just pay more for more cosmetic trim. It's not as if an XLT "doesn't work" as well as an Eddie Bauer. A lot of the problems with Century's can be far beyond canted fronts and mag wobble. I had a Yugo M70 that didn't function when I bought it. If you got one of the broken ones like I did, you would say the Arsenal is better. You're more likely to get a lemon with a Century rifle then if you bought another brand. |
| Well in the case of the Century Golani [Galil] the problem wasn't with the Century build, rather the out of spec receiver built by ORF. The left locking lug on the ORF receiver doesn't make contact with the lug on the bolt head. This causes the right lug to take all the force instead of dividing the load between the 2 lugs. Also they weren't heat treated correctly, causing the lug on the receiver to mushroom. On the Golani's I've seen, the build quality was pretty good. The magwells varied in size too. Some guns could take all mags, while others could only use genuine Izzy metal mags. Again, an ORF problem. GARY N4KVE |
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I guess it's a good thing that Century is out there, gets more people out there shooting (when they work) Even though the quality is wanting, it's nice to see some of these guns out there. What makes you say Centurys don't work? Bias? Or facts? I vote bias. I'll bet there are far more working Centurys out there than any other brand, and possibly all other brands combined. You'll hear of mag wobble and canted sights, but those are easy to inspect for at time of purchase, and in all probability are defects mostly gone these days. Not that these are terrible serious defects to begin with. Mine has no problems. If there does happen to be a problem with a Century, are you implying that they won't fix it under warrantee I proudly own a Century, after closely inspecting it side-by-side with an Arsenal at my local gun shop. I chose the Century over the Arsenal on purpose, after close inspection, even though I could have easily afforded either one. I inspected several Centurys on the shelf at that gun shop, and all were fine rifles easily worth the $400 price tag. The Arsenal on the other hand, was not worth its $700 price tag, even though it was a fine rifle too. I guess you could say an Arsenal is better than a Century in the same way you can say a Ford Eddie Bauer Edition is better than a Ford XLT Edition. But both vehicles are functionally identical for their basic purpose, you just pay more for more cosmetic trim. It's not as if an XLT "doesn't work" as well as an Eddie Bauer. Nope, not personal bias, but I like to research a potential buy,and I will trust my fellow ARCOMers to steer me the right way. Century is not for me, thats all, and if your happy with them than kudos. I just want a better product for my money. Arsenal has been great, I went through the whole SLR 107 canted sight debachle, and still am very happy to have weathered through it. The 107 is a gem. I would rather own a FACTORY built gun rather than a kit gun, unless it is from someone like Krebs. |
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I wasn't a big Century basher for a long time. I thought it was cool that they brought so many budget priced guns to the market, even if I didn't have much interest in them. I'm tempted to get a Yugo RPK by them.
But... after the whole Tantals with 5.56 barrels debacle, I'm probably going to stay away. There is no excuse for any company to put out a 5.45 rifle with a 5.56 barrel. That is just pure half ass corner cutting. I may still get a Yugo RPK, but I would have to inspect the hell out of it first. |
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Well I'm going to add further that I think Century (CIA) has damaged the reputation of the AK in the United States. First case, the outstanding Polish Tantal reputation has been ruined. This was possibly one of the finest AK-74 variants in existence. Now it is known as a keyholer POS. The few that actually bought a nice specimen from Interarms now have to contend with the deflated resale value caused by the CIA Tantal disgrace. Second case, everyone pretty much knows what went down with the Romy AKs. Many issues across multiple models. Sure they have fixed a lot of the problems (trigger slap, jamming, worn out parts), but the damage is done. Third case, they are currently in the process of ruining the venerable AMD-65 by "frankenizing" them with parts from whatever they just happen to have lying around. Putting cut down Romy barrels w/no threads, US made recievers, and US triggers on a gun and then calling it an AMD-65 is ridiculous. Where exactly is the AMD-65 in this design??? The bolt carrier and some other minor parts I would imagine. CIA is not completely to blame. The outrageous import laws are responsible for the US receiver and barrel phenomenon that we are seeing on all the slapped together parts kits.
You just don't know what you are getting. |
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I guess it's a good thing that Century is out there, gets more people out there shooting (when they work) Even though the quality is wanting, it's nice to see some of these guns out there. What makes you say Centurys don't work? Bias? Or facts? I vote bias. I'll bet there are far more working Centurys out there than any other brand, and possibly all other brands combined. You'll hear of mag wobble and canted sights, but those are easy to inspect for at time of purchase, and in all probability are defects mostly gone these days. Not that these are terrible serious defects to begin with. Mine has no problems. If there does happen to be a problem with a Century, are you implying that they won't fix it under warrantee I proudly own a Century, after closely inspecting it side-by-side with an Arsenal at my local gun shop. I chose the Century over the Arsenal on purpose, after close inspection, even though I could have easily afforded either one. I inspected several Centurys on the shelf at that gun shop, and all were fine rifles easily worth the $400 price tag. The Arsenal on the other hand, was not worth its $700 price tag, even though it was a fine rifle too. I guess you could say an Arsenal is better than a Century in the same way you can say a Ford Eddie Bauer Edition is better than a Ford XLT Edition. But both vehicles are functionally identical for their basic purpose, you just pay more for more cosmetic trim. It's not as if an XLT "doesn't work" as well as an Eddie Bauer. Please explain what "closely inspected" means? How did a Century out perform an Arsenal in Fit and finish? What did you look at to come to these result? |
I have an Arsenal SGL-31 and I have a Century WASR-10. I have no complaints about either rifle. I've never had a malfunction with either one. The WASR encompasses much of the AK philosophy....rugged, ugly, reliable. The Arsenal gun adds a little "finesse" to an AK collection. Dead on reliable though.
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Quoted:Please explain what "closely inspected" means? How did a Century out perform an Arsenal in Fit and finish? What did you look at to come to these result?
First, I didn't say the Century outperformed the Arsenal. What I said (actually, "implied") is that the Arsenal FAILED to outperform the Century for my needs. So no need to pay its higher price. "Closely inspected" means: Check front sight - no cant Check rear sight - no cant Check gas tube - no cant Check all rivets for looseness, crookedness, or not flush with receiver - no problems found Check trigger - labeled Tapco G2 - perfectly fine with me - I did not check the rest of the FCG, assuming it was all Tapco G2 (I verified this when I got home) Check stock for tightness and solidness - perfectly fine, labeled Tapco Check pistol grip for solid feel - perfectly fine Check forearm upper and lower - perfectly fine Check operation of selector - perfect - tightly locked trigger in the "safe" position Rack bolt back and forth several times checking for smoothness and any hangups - perfectly fine Ran SnapCaps fed from magazine through action - fed and ejected perfectly (this test was done by the salesperson,at my request, while I observed) Checked two included mags for lockup and lack of wobble - perfect (came with Tapco mags) Check three other surplus steel mags I purchased for lockup and lack of wobble - perfect Grabbed front of barrel and rear of stock and tried to bent/twist the rifle to check for anything feeling loose - perfect Checked barrel by shining flashlight in breech and inspecting through muzzle - all looked bright and shiny - no problems Other things that I didn't check for (but know to look at next time) - front sight NOT frozen in place, gas tube release functionality and tightnes of gas tube - these were NOT a problem on my rifle after I got it home, but I failed to check them in the store. I should have also field stripped the rifle and inspected the bolt carrier, the bolt,the recoil spring and the piston. All were fine when I got the rifle home and checked them, but I should have looked in the store. The only part that showed any wear was the bolt, and that was very minor. Just a few rub marks. So, in my estimation there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Century. I did not check the Arsenal as fully as the Century ... I didn't see the need to since the Century passed with flying colors and was much much cheaper. There were a few things on the Arsenal that I noted however: It had a chrome lined barrel, the Century did not - so the Arsenal wins this one. But this wasn't enough to justify the much higher price for my needs. The furniture on the Arsenal was almost identical to the Century, minor cosmetic differences only. The only place the Arsenal had better "fit" than the Century was at the forearm grip attachments. The difference was very minor and not worth a second glance to me. The Arsenal was a deeper black color than the Century, the Century finish was flatter and less reflective, although the Arsenal was not really reflective either. The Arsenal had an AK74 style muzzle brake installed, the Century had a slant brake. The Centurys was screw-on, I did not check how the Arsenal one attached. The Century was $429 (it was their "GP1975" model). The Arsenal was $700. I don't know what "model" the Arsenal was, other than it was a 7.62x39 (like the Century) |
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I'm not an Ak guy at all as I love the Ar-15 and M1A's much better becasue I'm tall, long armed and its hard to get a good cheak hold from a very short stock. That being said I have had and have a Century M70AB2 and Ab and both have been great! My Youg underfolder M70AB2 has been compaired wth a friends real ChiCom Ak47 brin back from nam. It is smooth and reliable and accurate and I would hesitate to bet my life on it. I have not had any problems with my Century AK's (4) but I have had many friends that have. Most of them would not buy another gun from them.
It is truly hit and miss with Century |
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Very nice check list haertig Hopefully some of the people here will use some of those when purchasing.
I will add if its a used rifle check the Throat, this can be deal breaker. If allowed use NoGo and Go gauge to check the head spacing. I had 2 different WASRs w/ tight headspacing, not excessive like i thought before. The problem showed up after 300 rds or so. These were from one of the first batches i believe.[B) |
| I have no problems with builds from Century. I own three rifles built from them and so far they have been very reliable although my AES-10B does have some trigger slap which I should be able to remedy with a different trigger group. Between my experiences and what a lot of others have reported it seems to be a roll of the dice when buying one of their rifles. You either get a fantastic gun for a great price or you get a gigantic paperweight that needs some work to function 100%. Fortunately for myself I have not bought any of their paperweights. |
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Most of the people who talk trash about Century rifles have never even owned one. Once internet rumors start up, they're tough to silence and people just keep perpetuating them. Century is not Arsenal quality, nor they do they charge Arsenal PRICES. Most Century rifles are reliable, decently accurate, and affordable. You cant ask for more.
The average joe who's buying high speed rifles like Arsenal or VEPR or having top-tier professionals build kits for them is a joke. Most of them will drop $1000+ on an AK and not invest a dime in professional training courses. They have wasted potential in their rifles. Gabe Suarez with a WASR could easily out-shoot joe nobody will a Red Jacket, custom-built AK. The rifle is just a part of the equation. If you only have $1000, don't spend it all of it on the rifle. Buy a $350-$400 WASR, spend $400 on training classes, and buy ammo with the rest. Training is as crucial as the firearm! |
I've had two WASR 10's (and another Century AK) and they worked perfectly. They looked a little rough around the corners, but did look better than most others I had seen IMO. I have been fortunate enough to buy three arsenal rifles and have sold one WASR to fund these, and hopefully selling the other one today. I hated to let them go, but see no need in keeping them since they'll get little use... that and I'll still have five AK's after getting rid of those two.  I know there are "better" guns out there, but I personally haven't had any problem with Century and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one if I ever needed to... only if I could check it out beforehand though!
Here's what my WASR's looked like when I was done with them... 
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I've had two WASR 10's (and another Century AK) and they worked perfectly. They looked a little rough around the corners, but did look better than most others I had seen IMO. I have been fortunate enough to buy three arsenal rifles and have sold one WASR to fund these, and hopefully selling the other one today. I hated to let them go, but see no need in keeping them since they'll get little use... that and I'll still have five AK's after getting rid of those two. I know there are "better" guns out there, but I personally haven't had any problem with Century and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one if I ever needed to... only if I could check it out beforehand though!
Here's what my WASR's looked like when I was done with them... http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4054/4448062845_5250754f03_b.jpg Beautiful rifles... |
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The average joe who's buying high speed rifles like Arsenal or VEPR or having top-tier professionals build kits for them is a joke. Most of them will drop $1000+ on an AK and not invest a dime in professional training courses. They have wasted potential in their rifles. Gabe Suarez with a WASR could easily out-shoot joe nobody will a Red Jacket, custom-built AK. The rifle is just a part of the equation. If you only have $1000, don't spend it all of it on the rifle. Buy a $350-$400 WASR, spend $400 on training classes, and buy ammo with the rest. Training is as crucial as the firearm! People enjoy shooting for all sorts of different reasons. Some people love the idea of getting all geared up and running thru a bunch of training drills, others just want to plink at the range, and others just want to collect guns they like and occasionally shoot. I'd venture to say most people who shoot for fun have no interest in training classes or running around preparing for the end of the world with all their cool guy gear. I know after being in the Army for 5 years, that is the last thing I want to do. |
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Quoted:Here's what my WASR's looked like when I was done with them...
Where did you get that wood, and how did you refinish it? It looks beautiful ! There was a post up here a couple weeks ago, Rit Dye & Spray on semi gloss. Works awesome and is oh so simple. Someone that knows how to link can bring it up. |
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Quoted:Here's what my WASR's looked like when I was done with them...
Where did you get that wood, and how did you refinish it? It looks beautiful ! There was a post up here a couple weeks ago, Rit Dye & Spray on semi gloss. Works awesome and is oh so simple. Someone that knows how to link can bring it up. That's the factory wood, and I used this thread to learn how to do it. I have some other pictures of those rifles on page 3 of that thread. I also have two SGL 21's with black furniture, and I'm planning on buying an Ironwood Stock set for one of them and finishing it this way. Thanks! ETA: Oh yeah, and I sold the other WASR today for $400. I'm kind of sad that they're gone, but I'll get something else. 
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| I have never really had any major problems with Century AK's. I currently own 11 AK's and 4 of them are Century's. The only 2 problems I had were both minor. The first was on my GP 1975 with a bad extractor spring. The other was a very slightly canted front sight on my WASR. Both were easy fixes and they both run like champs now. I guess I do have one slight advantage, though. I only live about 15 minutes from Centerfire, so if I want to buy a rifle, I can go there and inspect it before I buy. |
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So, in my estimation there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Century. I did not check the Arsenal as fully as the Century ... I didn't see the need to since the Century passed with flying colors and was much much cheaper. Great - but it doesnt mean no one else has ever had problems. After two problem guns I wont buy another Century. |
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I'd buy another Century Arms WASR-10 in a heartbeat if I could find it for the price I got this one ($275).
Here it is with K-Var plastic. 
It ate half of a 64lb M67 Yugo ammo order at the March 13th Arfcom Knob Creek shoot, my neighbor's WASR ate the other half, not a single problem. |
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The average joe who's buying high speed rifles like Arsenal or VEPR or having top-tier professionals build kits for them is a joke. Most of them will drop $1000+ on an AK and not invest a dime in professional training courses. They have wasted potential in their rifles. Gabe Suarez with a WASR could easily out-shoot joe nobody will a Red Jacket, custom-built AK. The rifle is just a part of the equation. If you only have $1000, don't spend it all of it on the rifle. Buy a $350-$400 WASR, spend $400 on training classes, and buy ammo with the rest. Training is as crucial as the firearm! People enjoy shooting for all sorts of different reasons. Some people love the idea of getting all geared up and running thru a bunch of training drills, others just want to plink at the range, and others just want to collect guns they like and occasionally shoot. I'd venture to say most people who shoot for fun have no interest in training classes or running around preparing for the end of the world with all their cool guy gear. I know after being in the Army for 5 years, that is the last thing I want to do. An excellent point. After 6 years I don't want to run around my neighborhood like its the middle of Fallujah. I have better things to do and would rather enjoy my firearms. |
| Ihave had 6 Century guns, 5 of which I still own including a GP 1975, a Yugo M70, a PSL54C, a C93, and a Sterling Type 2. All worked great other than the C93. I had to send it back to Century, but when it returned 3 weeks later it worked perfectly. The 6th gun was a Cetme. It worked, but was ugly. I traded up for a PTR 91. If money was no object I would own the real deal, but Im not loaded, so I buy what I can. |
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You have bigger problems than those bad rivets if you're so "pissed the hell off" that words can't describe it. Have Century fix things and enjoy your gun. You'll live longer by not getting so worked up over things. Apparently you have no idea what I have gone through with this piece of crap. I am tired of fixing Century's fk-ups |
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You have bigger problems than those bad rivets if you're so "pissed the hell off" that words can't describe it. Have Century fix things and enjoy your gun. You'll live longer by not getting so worked up over things. Apparently you have no idea what I have gone through with this piece of crap. I am tired of fixing Century's fk-ups You didn't know about Cantury's reputation beforehand?  
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You have bigger problems than those bad rivets if you're so "pissed the hell off" that words can't describe it. Have Century fix things and enjoy your gun. You'll live longer by not getting so worked up over things. Apparently you have no idea what I have gone through with this piece of crap. I am tired of fixing Century's fk-ups You didn't know about Cantury's reputation beforehand? Well of course but once I got my WASR that was bent, I figured I couldnt go wrong with returning it and exchanging it for a m70. Boy was I wrong - Had to get the rifle headspaced, gas port not drilled in proper location (at the gas block), had a member here weld metal to the mag latch to hold magazines tighter so that it would cycle. Opening up the gas port with the 1/8" drill bit is probably the cause of this. Thats what I get for trying to fix someone elses f'up. |
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.125 actually sounds small for an AK gas port. Perhaps it isn't drilled perfectly straight and is actually larger than 1/8th-.125 Your rivet problem is definitely a gas issue. Go look at the Lancaster threads. I have no idea where the gas port was drilled but my ak would recoil very very slowly and felt very weak and wouldnt have enough force to load a new round 90% of the time. I chocked up a 1/8" drill bit and made a proper gas port since the hole was no where near the gas block. Guess ill pay to have it re-riveted and install a buffer and or a stiffer recoil spring. |
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mrtoren: What kind of training do you mean? I'm talking about taking a professional training course. Suarez International is one of the best known AK-specific training institutions, but there are plenty of others out there. A lot of people have no idea what they're doing when it comes to practical shooting, mag changes, etc. By taking a professional course, you'll learn from guys who have used these rifles in their careers and know what works and what doesn't work. Some places even hire on trainers from Spetsnaz, the U.S. special forces, and private military contractors. While the courses are not cheap, they'll teach you how to fully utilize your weapon system. A man is not a rifleman because he owns a rifle. A man is rifleman because he owns a rifle AND knows how to use it. |
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Here is my Century M70s newest problem: ... (picture) ... Words cannot describe how pissed the hell off I am right now. How long did it take (how many rounds fired, approximately) before that problem developed? Ive run around 1500 rounds through it (thought it was around 1000) but I just counted up all the ammo I have ever bought and yeah, a little higher than I thought but still shouldnt be like this after this few of rounds. I just ordered rivets off apexgunparts.com and will use those when I figure out who will be re-riveting this thing. I have extreme moral issues with selling it to someone like this & I want this "beater" to be mine :). Especially after all the money, blood, and sweat that myself and others have put into it. |
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... but still shouldnt be like this after this few of rounds. IMHO, it should NEVER be like that. No matter how many rounds you've shot. I was just wondering. My new Century has nice tight flush rivets, but I've only put maybe 200 rounds through it. It sickens me that something like this can develop later, possibly after your warrantee has expired. |
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... but still shouldnt be like this after this few of rounds. In your other thread, you said you drilled out the gas port hole. So now your bolt carrier is slamming into the rear trunion and bending the rivets. Don't try to blame Century for that error. |
[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Why Century? (Page 1 of 2)
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