Century Arms C39V2 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...*NIB PICs *

[edsinger]

I know I should not start another thread, but it is a very long read so I decided to post the pictures. As a lead in, the story started here:

Your thoughts on a 5.56mm AK.....
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/long-guns/432894-your-thoughts-5-56mm-ak.html

It moved on to another thread,

C39v2 - WASR - YUGO - DDI - VEPR (***) What for my first AK ?
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...-wasr-yugo-ddi-vepr-***-what-my-first-ak.html


Then it moved to another board...

New to AK's and I just bought one.....a CIA....a C39V2....now wait just a second..
New to AK's and I just bought one.....a CIA....a C39V2....now wait just a second.. - The AK Files Forums

Its a ride for sure but lots of good information, laughs, and some whining. Nonetheless after all that, I went and picked up my C39 (V2) today. For those that know AKs you will know more than I, but here are the pictures and the speak for themselves. I hope to shoot it soon and then at least part of the mystery will be done.

These of course are UNFIRED, right out of the box. I will post newer ones once fired and look for wear.




The rifle

The guts

An All American Made AK 47........

I have an email into Century and there is speculation on whether they will reply or not. I of course did not see the crack in the picture as I am sure you do, but we shall see.


Here is my letter to them today, so far no reply. This was BEFORE I saw the rifle.


Good Morning, I have a few questions that I would like to get some answers for and what better place than to contact the manufacturer and give them a chance to chime in. You see I have just purchased a C39V2 and will receive it in the next few days but in the meantime I have been researching my rifle. It is that research that brings me some initial concern. I want to be up front and frank about why I am writing this. There are those that do not speak well of Century Arms, in both their product quality and customer service. This is partially my test to take that to task and give Century a fair shot.

There are those that do not have issues either. I am trying to determine if this is a case of ‘gunsnobbery’ to be frank. I would appreciate it, if whomever is reading this can pass it to one of the designers or warranty specialists as they would be better able to answer my questions. The questions are about the series of rifles, RAS47, C39V1, C39V2 Gen 1, and C39V2 Gen 2 (the one I purchased).

So here are my questions.

(1) There is good reason to believe a ‘batch’ or two of poorly heat treated parts got out. Hey I work in manufacturing so this stuff happens, no real issue if dealt with properly and promptly. The online scoop is that customer service just says the wear is normal. Now this can very well be the case and people can get nervous way too soon which is what I think is happening in at least some of the cases. Either way, I think the evidence of a least a few of these having this issue is reasonable as the Rockwell tests seemed to indicate just that. If so, then Century would know the serials of this ‘batch’ or ‘batches’ if the case may be. The problem is I can find no evidence of any information that acknowledges this. Century Arms is being taken over the coals for not responding to this. I want to state I am happy that I purchased the rifle I did, no worries, but I want some assurance that
those issues of about 9-16 months ago were addressed. I am not asking for proprietary information at all. So I guess what is Century’s public take on this subject?

(2) Warranty – this one sort of bothers me but I want to at least hear the logic behind the policy. My understanding is that it is 1 year from date of manufacture. That seems a bit odd for a couple of reasons. The first being what if it sits on a shelf for 11 months? I am sure Century would honor manufacturing defects past that date if obviously a manufacturing issue and not an end user issue. This just puzzles me, this will be my first Century purchase and I wanted to understand the why’s of that policy. I would be willing to bet you as a company do desire to have repeat business.

(3) Being that I have done a lot of research on the C39V2, and read for hours and hours I have come to a conclusion. There are haters out there that will for whatever reason speak ill of Century Arms. What I have learned is that in the past, the service and quality were suspect so maybe some of that is fair and duly earned. What I am reading now is that it is changing for the good and continuously getting better. That is a good thing and I want to be able to agree with that statement.

(4) So in summary, you will have folks that say only buy Combloc AK’s and there is some reasonable logic for that. I however wanted to give jobs to Americans, and I chose the C39V2 for just that reason and that at least a portion of the reviews say it is a great gun being accurate and well built. I am excited to take her to the range and give her a go.

(5) One of the latest reviews I came across states that the C39V2 and its parts were designed for a life of at least 15,000 rounds. I would like a confirmation of that statistic as it could have only come from Century Arms. If this cannot be confirmed as to coming from Century Arms, does the company have an official stance on this subject?

I would be highly grateful it if Century Arms could address my questions. I want to give a disclaimer though. I fully intend to inform the AK community of the results of my inquiry. Thanks for your time.

Ed

P.S. Bring back the Grey Laminate stock that was available on the C39v1. I looked and looked and could not find a V2 with that stock. That is a thing of beauty

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Well I did receive a reply from Century Arms..

It is as following, they had made a boo boo and sent me an email I should not have gotten on Friday but there was nothing of note in it. Still I have the VP's email address now, so maybe that is why I am getting a response. I did not directly copy him to this email trail (yet).

Kxxxx Cxxxx (Century Arms) Mar 27, 10:56 ADT Good Morning Ed, I wanted to let you know that I have submitted your request to the VP of Sales and Marketing. You have asked a lot of really good questions and I want to make sure that you are going to get the best response possible. I will have an answer for you as soon as possible and I will keep you updated. Thank you for your patience. Kxxxx Attachment(s) Century c39v2 (1).pdf

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See the crack in the cast?

Edited and added pictures and an update via the email train.


So I replied as such along with 5 pictures of the issue / crack: I posted 3 of them below.

I made them smaller so zoom is not so good.


Re: [Request received] C39V2 Issues and Questions
ED <ED> Today at 5:39 PM
To:Century Arms
Message body
I replied earlier and thank you for passing it along. I look forward to the replies. I have done lots of reading on this gun and I am looking forward to shooting it. I do however have another question, this one a little more pressing. I will attach some pictures that show a crack in a piece that I think is cast. I am not sure if this is safe to shoot. Please pass these along to someone that can tell me what I have here. I hope it is nothing to worry about but I have never seen anything quite like it before..


My Serial number is in the 33xxx range.


ED


View attachment 54290 View attachment 54291 View attachment 54292



So I am not sure if it is a crack as it only shows up on one side. When you cast something it could be a hair or whatever. So they now have two things that I await an answer on...

 

[indykid]

My only real questions about that rifle is: first, is that bolt carrier really a cast piece? And two, why did Century put those lightening slots in the front of the carrier where the gas piston screws in? The carrier speed is fast enough without making it lighter.

Regardless, best of luck with your rifle. Remember that for every one person that posts a complaint about anything, there are a bunch who never post that they don't have any problems with what ever is being discussed.

 

[tradertator]

Yikes. The bolt carrier looks like it was cast, and maybe the bolt too? Very porous looking stuff, looks like it would crumble under stress. And the cutouts in it would only weaken it more. This has been the problem with American made AK's. Manufacturing them is 1 part gunsmith / one part blacksmith. The blacksmith part is where they have really struggled. Looks spooky to me, I would consider returning it to the vendor you purchased it from if possible. Or not firing it and selling it "New in Box".

And I'm sorry, I highly doubt you'll get a response to that email. Century is known for a lot of things, but good customer service is definitely not on that list.

 

[Steel and wood]

Well that is a great written letter and the photos are great I will be very interested if you get a response. I also have a century arms c39v2 that I love like you I wanted to support America jobs.

 

[Glockman20]

I have a C39V2 and have not had one issue with its been a great rifle and I also have a RAS47 that I have shot A LOT and so far no issues ... I hope you get a response and they make things right.....Good luck

 

[Jimb]

I have a C39v2 as well....love the milled rcvr, and MIA is definitely a bonus. I highly doubt your average shooter will ever come close to subjecting the bolt to the stresses required to pose a threat to these bolts....but time will tell. Well made, tight, and likes cheap candy........what do men like in both women and guns? Lol

 

[PaulF]

Following this one closely. I also have a C39v2.

Yes, the bolt carrier and bolt are cast. The online "haters" suggest replacing these parts with Polish surplus parts. I had not considered this option seriously, until I saw your pictures.

...brb, going to take a closer look at my rifle.

BTW...am I seeing two cracks? One on the striking surface of the bolt itself, near the left edge of your last picture? And another one in the groove of the bolt carrier?

 

[edsinger]

Well I will update as I can but for those that would like some good entertainment you can go to the thread on the AK Files.

New to AK's and I just bought one.....a CIA....a C39V2....now wait just a second.. - The AK Files Forums

I probably stretched it out too much but the darn AK snobs are something else, especially to new people. They HATE the c39V2. I got myself banned last night but I am not too worried about it as this is my home so to speak. The funny part is I got banned for telling someone to go perform a procreation act upon themselves for telling me they hope it blows up in my face. Thing is the MOD did not read that nor that the dude apologized and I accepted it...took three days for the MOD to see it. Still, many there were complaining and calling me a troll which was true to some extent but I was not rude to them and I fully answered questions etc...Good read if you want laughs. Many there agreed with me in PMs but just did not want the bandwagon attacking them also. I got thick skin so no worries.


On to what I have found out... Rob Ski did not say the rifle is a POS as has been said about the RAS47. The c39V2 has passed a 5000 round test without cleaning,

[video=youtube;ecMwMdp94Vs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecMwMdp94Vs&amp;t=173s[/video]

Still doing research but good and bad information is on the link to AKFiles. No reason to repeat it.

I have mine in hand and although I wanted to shoot it this weekend, it just did not pan out for me. Next week maybe.


Cheers!

 

[edsinger]

Yes, the bolt carrier and bolt are cast. The online "haters" suggest replacing these parts with Polish surplus parts. I had not considered this option seriously, until I saw your pictures.

I am going to wait and see what the wear is first, I think that might be jumping the gun. My serial is in the 30,xxx range.

BTW...am I seeing two cracks? One on the striking surface of the bolt itself, near the left edge of your last picture? And another one in the groove of the bolt carrier?

I will have to look again, I do not see it. Maybe the camera angle?

 

[55fairlane]

If you suspect cracks,please find a machine shot or hot rod engine shop,that does MAGNA-FLUX and have them checked,as a tool and die maker, I have checked dies,seen cracks not seen my the naked eye,and other times,what we thought were cracks in the steel weren't

Have the parts Crack checked by a pro

Aaron

 

[edsinger]

Deleted added to beginning of post. Pictures still attached.

 

[indykid]

That first picture isn't likely a crack but a casting mark. It looks like the carrier is rough cast with no finishing. In a rough casting you have unevenness that shows up like the first picture. Usually finish machining would remove that and leave a nice smooth area.

 

[edsinger]

That first picture isn't likely a crack but a casting mark. It looks like the carrier is rough cast with no finishing. In a rough casting you have unevenness that shows up like the first picture. Usually finish machining would remove that and leave a nice smooth area.

Thank you , I was worried. I thought if it was a crack it would show up on the other side also...

 

[edsinger]

Just heard from a buddy I have known 11 years, he bought a C39V2 about a year ago and loves his. I can not wait to shoot this thing...

 

[kscessnadriver]

It will be interesting to see how yours plays out. I've sort of had a bit of interest in picking up a milled gun, and these Century builds are the cheapest way into the game. Don't really need another AK, but that's the whole in my collection at this point.

 

[knutty]

A lot of hoopla over an unfired rifle. Go run 500-1000 rounds through it and get back to us.

 

[Expat]

It will be interesting to see how yours plays out. I've sort of had a bit of interest in picking up a milled gun, and these Century builds are the cheapest way into the game. Don't really need another AK, but that's the whole in my collection at this point.

You should put up a poll on what to get.

 

[edsinger]

Nah guys I will shoot it as soon as I can, right now I am waiting on Century's reply but Saturday is the day I hope I can shoot it.

 

[dye]

Nah guys I will shoot it as soon as I can, right now I am waiting on Century's reply but Saturday is the day I hope I can shoot it.

I agree. Shoot 1/2 a case thru it, and look at things again. I have a C39V2 with about 2,000 trouble free rds thru it. Dirty Wolf and Tula. Eats it all up good. Other than initial inspection at purchase time, I never even took it apart to clean it until 1,500 rds. You will definitely love this weapon.

 

[edsinger]

Onto the range report….
(12) P Mags 30rd, (1) P Mag 10rd, (1) P Mag 20rd, (1) Polymer Bulgarian 40rd, (1) Bulgarian polymer 10rd, (1) metal Korean 10rd, and (1) metal Korean 20 rd. --- the only issues was the 10rd Bulgarian Polymer did not lock in the MK47, other than that no issues with any one of them or any particular gun.


One thing of note, in firing I used full mags with around 1 second between shots….Some maybe 1.5 seconds but in all purposes it was continuous shooting as the aim spot was the same so I could tell what was going on. I then used a telescope to see how it was shooting….
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First I will start with the CMMG MK47, wow is this thing accurate as heck. I was going to put a red dot on it but saw no need, so I shot irons all day. I put about 350 rounds through here and had one misfeed per se. I cannot attribute it to anything as I just loaded in back in the magazine and had not further issues.
After 2 mags of shooting and getting the MagPul sights dialed in, I then did the following:

@50 yards sitting at rest

If I need to post the first 3 magazines I can, but you can see what happened once dialed in. The first impressions I have of this gun are WOW! This thing is an accurate gun. I would like to have a last shot hold open and a bigger charging handle but those are only annoyances. This is a fine piece of work. It is just like an AR for the most part which was expected……

@50 yards standing,

Things dropped off a bit, still at one second bursts I would have hit my target, just not as many as sitting.

@100 yards sitting at rest

This is where this gun shines, I saw no need for a red dot and with my old eyes, even better.

&

You can see the marks on different mags….Believe me this might not be great shooting to those looking but for me with irons this is amazing. I cannot nor have I done this with my AR. I do not even bother with irons at 100 yards.
Still this was a pleasant surprise to me and I shot around 400 rounds through this gun for the day..
I ended with a standing 10 round mag at 25 Yards just to see….

In conclusion, this would be a good go to gun in a pinch. I have no doubts and I love this rifle!!


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