Century Arms VSKA?

[CutBaitNBlowSh*tUp4ALivin]

I'm reading good things about these rifles, but I am not nor have I ever been an AK guy, completely out of my wheelhouse.
Everywhere I'm reading says the VSKA isn't the same Century AK everyone knows and hates.
Thunder Ranch even teamed with Century for one.

These are the first two reviews on DDG:

https://www.tactical-life.com/guns/rifles/century-arms-thunder-ranch-ak/
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/10/26/thunder-ranch-ak-47/
Hickock45 and Demolition Ranch have also extensively reviewed them.

Would love to hear some pros and cons about my first potential AK. I'm not a purist and I refuse to pay the big money that the Tantals, Krinks, and SLR104URs bring, but I also don't want a PSA.

 

[HarryBear]

Try it, if you don't likey, sell on OSA!

 

[joegrizzy]

I'm reading good things about these rifles, but I am not nor have I ever been an AK guy, completely out of my wheelhouse.
Everywhere I'm reading says the VSKA isn't the same Century AK everyone knows and hates.
Thunder Ranch even teamed with Century for one.

These are the first two reviews on DDG:

https://www.tactical-life.com/guns/rifles/century-arms-thunder-ranch-ak/
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/10/26/thunder-ranch-ak-47/
Hickock45 and Demolition Ranch have also extensively reviewed them.

Would love to hear some pros and cons about my first potential AK. I'm not a purist and I refuse to pay the big money that the Tantals, Krinks, and SLR104URs bring, but I also don't want a PSA.

yeah man go for it. it's got some rpk features like bulged trunnion and whatnot. every review i've seen says they are legit. psa's are too fwiw.

 

[HoLeChit]

That thing is sweet. US palm grips are the best in my opinion. I’m not a big fan of magpul zukhov furniture honestly. The forends offer mounting options, but not a ton of grip. Not much better than the standard issue hardwood forends. Some skateboard grip tape fixes both types of furniture grip problems perfectly in my opinion. I really liked the features of the zukhov folding buttstock, but not a big fan of how it felt. The folding button and stock extension button were both really stiff/sticky, and cheek weld was nonexistent.

Honestly, in reference to purchasing a first AK, I think there’s few ways to go wrong. Import vs US made typically ends up just being a case of preference. Some of the nicest AKs you can buy are American made. Yeah, you can get an old kalashnikov or maybe a saiga, and while nice, they’re typically costing you an arm and a leg for the name and scarcity. If you wanna ball out, you can buy Gucci AK’s like Rifle Dynamics, Mesa Kinetic Research, or Krebs, or you can work your way down and get a Kalashnikov USA, Arsenal, or something midrange. While they aren’t “true to form” imports, the PSA AKs are pretty decent. I’ve heard decent things about newer Century’s, as well as the Zastavas. At the end of the day, the AK design is something made to run reliably in any condition, and you can work on them with a dang hammer. Or use one AK as a hammer to work on another AK.

Honestly, getting a cheap AK is a nice intro, and then you can figure out if you wanna run down that rabbit hole. PSA now sells their AK without any furniture, so you can build it as you please. I suggest a US Palm Grip, magpul mags with the steel inserts, ALG triggers, and if you wanna mount an optic, I suggest RS Regulate side rails. Lots of options for good optics, a 300bo reticule trijicon is on the top of my list, for a more affordable option primary arms sells a few nice ACSS options as well, I like their 3x prism and their LVPO. Whatever other furniture tickles your pickle really, you can go modern, or old school eastern bloc style. I like AR style stocks on AK’s for practicality, I also like style of the classic folding triangle stock.

 

[AKguy1985]

I'd be interested to see if robski has done a torture test video on it and to see his opinion.

For the century arms RAS AK, he said: it crumble like Oreo cookie.