Rob Ski, founder of the AK Operator’s Union, has posted a review of the newest American-made Century AK, the RAS-47. This is a follow-on to Century’s C39 Centurion rifle, differing in its stamped receiver. Rob wastes no time in taking the rifle apart to show, in detail, both the good and bad aspects of the gun:

As a former owner of a Century kit-built M70B1, this is all very familiar. Century’s an odd company, chronically suffering from cost-cutting and quality control issues. They do make good guns, but their quality is inconsistent. Rob identifies some good and bad points about the new rifle:

Good:  Includes side rail, good recoil spring, tight fitted handguards, Century trigger, rifle has nice finish, 4140 ESS chrome-moly nitrided barrel, threading on slant brake looks good, and it has the standard AK buttstock mounting

Bad:  Top cover rattles, cast recoil rod, 1.6mm non-standard receiver stamping, thicker nonstandard trunnion, “paper clip” pin retainer, non-braided mainspring, and Century arms pistol grip

Rob also received some user feedback on the RAS-47 already, identifying some quality control issues, including canted front sight posts and proud rivets in the receiver that prevent the insertion of magazines.

I’ve so far been really impressed with Rob’s knowledge of the AK platform (a weaker area of mine), and his willingness to be forthright and honest in his reviews. This review is in my opinion a good example of that.