I finally bought myself an AK! I did so about a month ago and have not really said anything about it on here. I know there is a lot of negative opinions of the Century Arms company, and I will share my experience with this rifle thus far, as well as talk about what I have on the way for it.
Here is the rifle:
This is how I received it from widener's. The AK platform is totally new to me, although I am used to the sks. They are similar enough that I had no problems with cleaning or dis-assembly.
Out of the box, this rifle is pretty much dead on. I was able to immediately hit my 8" plate off hand at 100 or so yards. The main problem I have had with this rifle is the "newness" of the gun. It would jam quite a bit when I first started shooting it. This has disappeared after 500 rounds or so of breaking in. Now I can bump fire an entire magazine without a hiccup!
AK Kit/Mags
I HIGHLY recommend the AK-74 kit from classicfirearms.com if you want to get 4 more, yes FOUR more magazines for CHEAP.
http://www.classicfirearms.com/accessories/ak74accpkgblone
This ^^^^ is the link to the kit that I bought. I comes with all the goodies to get you started enjoying your AK-74. Now, I made a big deal about the magazines. They don't just send you 4 Tapco or some other cheap mags, they send you genuine Bulgarian/Russian mags! My kit came with two circle 21 mags, a circle 10, and a Russian mag. Go look up the current going prices for those on gunbroker.com, and then look at this package and tell me that ain't a deal!
Ammo 5.45x39
The next plus I have found is the ammunition costs. Widener's currently has 1080 round spam cans for $175 a piece. That's .16 per round!!!!! Hell, .22 is more expensive right now. I bought 3000 rounds and I have been enjoying it so much that I've already almost shot an entire can of it. I plan on picking up more soon before they raise the price or it sells out.
Optic
I have been debating what type of optic to put on this rifle. I didn't like the look of the large or standard sized scopes on the gun. I also wasn't sure how I was going to mount the scope to the rifle. It comes with the side rail already mounted, so I chose this route. I like the idea that I can zero the optic and then simply slide it off when I need to clean the gun. When putting the optic back, it should be pretty close to where it was when it was removed.
I opted out of a traditional scope because of the size and the practicality of it's use in East Tennessee geography. The longest shot I have around here hunting or otherwise on the farm is 200-300 yards. That is about the optimum range for this rifle anyway. I ordered a Russian made optic, the Rakurs-A. I'm not sure what to call this type of sight...it looks like a red dot, but it has no dot. There is a fixed reticle like a scope and it is tritium lit. This is one of Russia's premium dot optics. The only one better than this, is the model identical to it, but it has a focus feature. I do not see the need, as this one is crystal clear.
Upon installing this optic, the thing was waaaaayy loose on the side rail. It wobbled left to right, so I emailed the seller to see if there was an adjustment I could do to tighten it up. There was. So now, it's rock solid! It mounts centered over the dust cover, and thus aligns somewhat with your iron sights. This model is zeroed at 440 meters from the factory. They claim you can make a one shot kill at that distance with this.
Stock/Grips
The picture at the top looks like an all blacked out rifle; however, the buttstock and the top hand guard are plum. The pistol grip and the bottom hand guard are US replacements I assume. When shooting this rifle, the buttstock is very short. It does not shoulder me or my larger friends well. I have opted to purchase a VLTOR buffer tube and Magpul CTR 5 position adjustable stock, with 1/4" cheek riser for accommodating the optic. I also am picked up a Mako pistol grip with storage compartment to replace that thin, polymer one. It feels much better in the hand, and is so comfortable to hold that I hardly want to let go. I keep picking it up just to hold it.
^^^^This is with everything installed.
The last thing I have thought about putting on this rifle is perhaps a Magpul angled foregrip. My uncle's AR has one, and I really like the feel of shooting with that grip. The only problem I have with that is putting the rail forend on. I would want the side rails covered. I also want this rifle to maintain a level of practicality and not get too crazy with the add ons. What do you guys think? Am I being too "tacticool"
