AK-47 Centurion 39 Sporter Rifle - Close-up Review

[surplusjunkie123]

can it handly a torture test is it like the klashnikov and whats the range

[gun2ish]

What did you use to get the front side to have that red tip? I picked one up and there was no red tip.

[bigstabby]

One thing to consider about the Arsenal brand SGL AK's is that they have 74-style compensators coupled with 90 degree gas blocks, which more than make up for any supposed lack of accuracy derived from a stamped receiver. We should also take into consideration that the SGL's are AK-103's while the Centurions are AK-47's. It's probably going to come down to which you like better. The 103 or the 47. I do like where Century is going with this AK though.

[GNut1980]

dude i remember subbing to you like twice...is it somethin against me?

[randomfatblob]

wasn't the rifle origianally designed to have a stamped reciever but due to problems with manufacturing it they had to switch to a milled reciever until the late 1950s when they improved the manufacturing procedures to mass produce stamp recievers?

[Reynard13Fuchs]

@randomfatblob You are right, the welds for certain parts did not hold up with the stamped design, so they produced a milled version, instead of halting production all together.

[skyhop]

Where's the scope rail?

I wouldn't buy an AK without one, all my optics are side mount.

[spaxspore]

@skyhop

for that price it damn well better be.

[FredFlintStoneRox]

Thanks for the review. I like this rifle,regardless of the chrome barrel issue. I clean my rifles and pistols as you do. I own a WASR 10 stamped in 1978 all numbers do match.

I know there are issues with some of them but mine is a shooter and works great. I had a SLR-95 but had to sell it 5 years ago. Still kickin myself but rent was due and it had to go at the time. Now I am ready to get a milled one and looking real hard at these. Thanks again!

[wizemanful]

I thought I had heard that AKs were originally made of stamped steel, but switched to milled when they found it too hard too weld or something. When they figured it all out, the switched to stamped for the AKM.

[sum12see]

Looks like a Nice rifle...I have a Bulgarian Milled Recievered Ak,and its really accurate and smooth to shoot! It has the CherryStocks and a Stainless Steel Bolt and Carrier,its a real nice rifle but it wasnt cheap! And I recently purchased a Romanian WASR 10/63 Under-Folder and its actually a nice rifle..Matching #'s and is well built...I did have to CANT the front site hood...But it shoots well...

[dp665]

one thing i hate aboot century is none of there guns have chrome lined barrels i know its not needed but i like it. i took a polish m60 off layaway from them to get an arsenal sgl10 simply cuz the barrel wasnt chrome lined on the centruy. sucks cuz i like that polish but thats the way life goes cant have a cake and eat it to.

[blackstar1986]

"It would help if I put the bolt in..."  Haha, doesn't doing two things at once screw you up? I do that with my Glock if I'm putting it together while talking to someone.

[FordhamBaldie]

You have it exactly backwards. It was intended to have a stamped reciever. The Russians didnt have the welding capacity required so they went to a milled receiver. Milled receivers were expensive, heavy, and labor intensive so when they had the manufacturing footing required for stamped receiver manufacture they gave up on milled receivers.

[InspctrClouseau]

I've been doing some research on the Centurion as far as it accepting high capacity drums but can't get an answer. Does anyone know?

[semiautoriflelover]

Actually the Norinco and Polytech AKs are very accurate and have very thick receivers, way thicker than the Arsenals.

[rllang01]

Nice lead squirter

[GENODELMAROATL]

does it jam and is it better thane the arsinal brand

[RIPbiker13]

@GENODELMAROATL I couldn't say, I've never owned an Arsenal. But "better" is a subjective term. It's a high quality AK47 and no it doesn't jam. It's been perfect so far after hundreds upon hundreds of rounds.

[kommando92]

Thank you man im going to invest in one. Btw ignore that other comment i messed up lol

[kommando92]

Please reply

I was wondering how much did you pay for your centurion 39 sporter rifle?

[RIPbiker13]

@kommando92 I paid about $850 w/ tax out the door.

[abragdon]

@RIPbiker13 I was wondering where you went through to get it. So far i have only been able to find sites that are accepting orders. Just wondering what your reccommendation was, Thanks. And i love the "symbol of freedom on the weapon of oppression" haha

[RIPbiker13]

@abragdon I purchased it through my local gun store and even he had to order it. He didn't have it in stock, so it was purchased sight unseen. However I am not at all disappointed with my purchase.

[abragdon]

@RIPbiker13 Ok great. Thanks for the help. Looking forward to getting one.

[Cobalt135]

For that price you are better off getting an Arsenal. That is alot of good gun money and that kind of money you need to be getting chrome lined barrel, a metal sight post, and NO machine marks. Stamped vs milled is not really that important. Not trying to down Century, but their name is not synonymous with quality and good support. Heck, it is even difficult to get 922r info from them in regards to their builds. FWIW I have one of their Yugo M70's and an Arsenal Saiga SGL 21.

[RIPbiker13]

@Cobalt135 It's all a matter of opinion. I don't care about chrome lined barrels. The AK doesn't need it like the AR does. It's a pointless debate. However I will agree for the price it shout be offered. I wanted a Yugo M70 but this was easier for me to get and I don't regret it.

The stamped Vs. Milled is also going to be an endless debate. No matter how you slice it an AK will last your entire life. Beyond that who cares?

[CarlRF99]

So not chrome lined....?

[RIPbiker13]

@CarlRF99 No, but unless you shoot corrosive ammo it's pointless. Besides, I wouldn't run corrosive ammo in any gun because it will still rust out the receiver. AR15 type weapons NEED the chrome lined bore, not the AK.

[politicalsheepdog]

I've seen this rifle advertised at around $800.00 dollars. That's about what I payed for my stamped Lancaster. I'll need to get a Centurian next.

[kellysnipes]

what type of furniture does it accept standared or is it like a saiga where you gotta buy the overpriced stuff

[RIPbiker13]

@kellysnipes You can put whatever you want on it as long as it's made for a milled reciever. Most AK parts will tell you if they are for stamped or milled. It's not like Saiga.

[peniosasdasd]

Mighty fine plinker. Has yours got that red tip sight?

[RIPbiker13]

@peniosasdasd Yes. It's nice because it stands out but it's plastic, and you need to be carful when adjusting it. And pray you never bang it or your zero goes away. I'll be replacing it someday.

[peniosasdasd]

@RIPbiker13

Yeah thats a might fine plinker right there. Boy does it get hot too.

[TyrantBoxer]

Wow! Awesome video, very informative. Thank you very much.

I like what you said, "The symbol of Freedom, on the Weapon of oppression." It just goes to show that NO ONE can ever oppress our Freedom.

You mentioned it's very accurate, especially by way of AKs. This is very important to me. Have you ever fired it scope at 100+ yards. Any info on this medium-long range would be much obliged.

Thanks

[scoutsgt18b]

does this rifle package come with a tapco g2 double hook trigger



[RIPbiker13]

@scoutsgt18b yes it does.

[scoutsgt18b]

@RIPbiker13 ill b gettin one shipped to my ffl dealer when i get back from fort benning training hell lol it pretty much looks like it has all the gadgets i want except for a galil handguard

[bemmington]

@RIPbiker13, if you don't care for the non chrome barrell, couldn't you simply have a chrome barrell installed by a contractor like Arsenal Inc in Nevada or simply buy one and install it yourself, if you're a mechanical person.

Just curious.

Greetings

[RIPbiker13]

@bemmington Yes, that can be done. I've thought about it and I'll keep it in mind if I ever need to.

[esh325]

@bemmington I don't think it would be worth it.

[TheGunSpot]

The orginal Kalashnikov design was made with a STAMPED receiver. Only due to the poor welding technology at the time did they move to the Milled receiver. In 1959 they improved welding tech and went back stamping their receivers. Soviet made AK-47's made after 1959 were called AKM's. "M" meaning "modernized". The stamp versions made after 1959 work perfectly and are the most common USSR made AK's today. I agree, milled is nice, and that canturion 39 is on my wish list. However, stamped=orginal.

[RIPbiker13]

@TheGunSpot I stand corrected. Thank you for the insight, I appreciate it.

[TheGunSpot]

@RIPbiker13 as you can see on my vids, I am VERY new to the AK world! LOL. I just remeber reading that while doing my research. Anywho, I LOVE your centurion! It is, IMHO, one of, if not thee, best looking guns out their today. I will for sure be getting one. The price tag is the only thing delaying me! But for a quality milled receiver and having all the parts made in USA I find the price VERY fair. *Side note, Kalashnikov does favor the milled receiver over the stamped. .

[esh325]

@TheGunSpot I can understand buying it because it's made in the USA, but don't get the idea that it's going to shoot better then stamped guns. I have many milled AK's and stamped and the milled ones don't shoot better.

[TheGunSpot]

This AK is for sure on my wish list!!

[AK47andGlocklover]

your retarded, you zeroed that at 25 meters? you should be zeroing a rifle at AT LEAST 100 yards. other than that it looks like a nice rifle.

[RIPbiker13]

@AK47andGlocklover you come on to my page and start name calling? I try to be polite but that's just rude. First off, a zero starts at 25 meters. Once you're on paper you take it out farther. Next time try to refrain from name calling and being rude. 

[AK47andGlocklover]

@RIPbiker13 well you didn't say you were going to keep extending the zero so i could only assume you were to leave the rifle zeroed at 25 meters forever, which wouldn't be the best thing.

[RIPbiker13]

@AK47andGlocklover In this video I hadn't even had the rifle out to zero yet. I did a zero video. Somewhere in the comments I think, someone had asked about that. I explained I simply haven't been to the range yet but I have good ammo on standby for it to do a 100 meter zero. It's not explained in this video, simply because I hadn't zeroed it yet. I still haven' been to the range. I'm lucky to get to the desert to shoot as I'm extremely busy. Getting to the range with set distances is difficult

[esh325]

@AK47andGlocklover In the arsenal sight in manual I have, they say to sight it in at like 25 yards, and set the sights to 200m.

[RIPbiker13]

@esh325 As long as you hit what you want to, it doesn't matter, lol. But I will be taking it out and zeroing and a greater distance when I get the chance.

[DrakrSlyr]

I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLYREALLY REALLY REALLY... want 1

[RIPbiker13]

@DrakrSlyr I want two! One for each hand!

[akshooter762]

what size groups do you get at 100 yards?

[RIPbiker13]

@akshooter762 I can hit bottles and cans at distances of 100+ yards but I have yet to shooting a grouping at that distance so I can only speculate. I am getting same hole hits at 35m right now. I don't have a range finder or a range with 100 yards so I use a tape measure to get the closer ranges. I can't see measuring out 100 yards with my tape measure just yet lol.

[xxReaverXXCerberusxx]

That looks VERY SEXY! Way better than my Type 56. Whats the retail price or does it vary by the dealer? Well looks like it be time for a road trip.

[SocomElite187]

@xxReaverXXCerberusxx around 830 bucks, well worth it.

[RIPbiker13]

@SocomElite187 Definitly is! I'll be doing a comparison video between this one and a Romanian in a few days. Just to show EXACTLY why you pay the extra money. I'm thinking a dual weilding AK vid is in order too! :-P

[xxReaverXXCerberusxx]

@SocomElite187 That definitely beats my Norinco Type 56 by centuries, thanks for the info dude.

[esh325]

Also, thanks for doing this review. I've always been curious about this rifle. I don't really trust Century Arms too much since I use to have a M70 with functioning problems from them. This rifle actually looks pretty good though. The cut outs on the bolt worry me a bit since it's not a standard technique to do that on AK bolts. For that price they should give you a chrome lined barrel.

[RIPbiker13]

@esh325 A lot of people are leery of Century Arms but this rifle isn't built from parts kits, and they had complete control over how it turned out. I'm impressed with the quality of THIS PARTICULAR rifle, however I can understand trepidation on the part of others regarding the company.

[esh325]

I have 2 polytech legend milled AK's and it shoots about the same as my Romanian WASR and MAK 90's. Paying more money doesn't buy you more accuracy necessarily. The lightening cuts and dimples have no bearing on how tightly a magazine fits. It's the width between the lower rails on each side and the magwell width that stabilize the side to side movement.

[RIPbiker13]

@esh325 Paying more doesn't make it more accurate, but being milled does. I mentioned the dimples as an external reference and not to imply they do anything, the explanation of the mags was noted. Corrosive ammo is bad for more than just the bore, so I wouldn't ever recommend using it. I agree however that it should have a chrome lined bore, but for me it isn't a deal breaker. The bolt cuts are new to me as well, but I've noted no issues with the carrier because of them.

[esh325]

@RIPbiker13 I haven't found that to be the case. If there is any accuracy difference, it's probably from that most milled AK's have a heavier barrel profile then the stamped ones. Corrosive ammo can have really bad effects on none chrome lined barrel. I've found that the non chrome lined barrels will rust like like crazy if they aren't cleaned soon enough, where the chrome lined barrels don't get really rusty at all.

[RIPbiker13]

@esh325 It is a fact Yugo's are more accurate due to the thicker receiver wall, this is the same as with the milled. The rifle is less likely to flex during ignition, which can affect the accuracy. Most people won't notice until they start shooting greater distances. I was able to group 3/4in at 25m with Wolf 124gr. See my "Combat Zero" video. Any firearm component can rust if it's metal, and chrome is not immune. However, being that I wouldn't use corrosive ammo, I'm safe. Chrome lined

[RIPbiker13]

barrels were introduced mainly for the M-16 to keep it from fouling in the jungle. The AK has no need unless you shoot the corrosive ammo, but I'd still prefer the chrome barrel simply because the chrome is much harder and tends to preserve the life of the barrel.

Nice vids BTW.

[esh325]

@RIPbiker13 I agree. Chrome linning greatly extends the barrel life. I've never seen a worn out chrome lined barrel before. Thanks, I should get some more reviews up soon.

[esh325]

@RIPbiker13 The thing about "reciever flexing" and so on is that it's just a theory started by people on the internet. I shot my Polytech Legend underfolder on Friday and at target 100 yards away and I remember the groupings looked quite similar to my Romanian WASR. Not a night and day difference. Yes, I know chrome can rust. It's just a bit more resistent I usually leave a preserative in the barrel of my PSL after shooting corrosive ammo and leave it for a few days and it doesn't get rusty.

[RIPbiker13]

@esh325 Good advice on the preservative in the barrel. I use a very light coat of oil/preservative in my barrel for storage, and run a bore snake through it just before I head out to shoot.

[machinegunmana]

pistol grip is butt ulgy, other than that, this looks like a really great deal for a milled reciever AK, J&G has them right now for 900. what is the overall weight difference between this and a stamped AK? as you mention, chromed lined bore isnt needed, with modern ammo.

[RIPbiker13]

@machinegunmana Pistol grips can be changed without any fuss. I have sitting here a Romanian GP1975 also. The 39 actually feels lighter than than the stamped steel one. But if you noticed, the bolt carrier has been cut out to smooth the action. This might be the reason why. Overall the milled 39 is 8.2lbs which is still heavy for any rifle. But all AKs are heavy. Bottom line, it's not any heavier than the stamped AKs, and I would dare say, even lighter.

[machinegunmana]

@RIPbiker13 great information, really thinking about this milled AK

[RIPbiker13]

@machinegunmana I'm going to try to get out tomorrow or Thurs and do some more shooting. Keep an eye out for that. And if you can afford it, this is the best AK for the price I have found. The same thing from Arsenal will run from $1500-$3000.

[ootdega]

I watched this video a while back, but forgot to leave a comment. So here we go.

I've been looking at this rifle for a long time now, but I've been hesitant because of the apparent reputation of Century Arms. I'm glad you did such a thorough and informative review, since this is also the only review I've been able to find of it. Thanks for putting this out there, it helped me a lot and I'll be sure to point it to people looking at this rifle as well.

[RIPbiker13]

@ootdega I believe this rifle was introduced in Feb (which IS a long time lol) and I was unsure if I wanted to get it. I could find little info on it but decided to do it anyway and upload the first video review on the internet. I looked and one didn't exist. It was even mystical talk in the forums. I'm glad I bought it though, and I only hope I have done it justice in my video. I'm new to this kind of thing. I'll be doing more though and I hope I can get even better. I'm glad I could help you.

[jogi729]

Great review, very well done!! thanks for the info, she will be my next purchase after I pick up my pre-ordered Keltec PMR30 and S&W Body Gaurd 380, gotta give the wife some time to forget about the recent purchase's before I can justify another AK :)

[RIPbiker13]

@jogi729 I hear that. I spent a fortune on a Nighthawk 1911. Still waiting for it too. But I'll be doing some more cool AK vids. I have a few planned out.

[hairy67panda]

I was wanting an arsenal, now I want this. Thanks for the review

[RIPbiker13]

@hairy67panda I'm glad I could help. You won't regret it.