Centerfire systems Ak-74

[Hamrhed]

Originally Posted by ttman

I am glad I took this gamble.

Looks good, TT... can't say i personally would go w/ the 'Donkey dick' (especially after watching some Suarez material)- but if it works for you then great! I will say that you have a better stock than mine: looks like a tapco w/ steel buttplate & sidemount sling hook; mine was cheapo w/ bottom mount hook and plastic buttplate... probably the only thing I want to & will replace at this point.

[bigmegina]

got my ak74.when i ordered it it said came with siderail.well mine does not have the rail.i called them and they said they will take it back and send me 1 with the rail.they said they are expecting them any day.nice looking rifle,receiver is elk river.

[maxhush]

I finally managed to get the Bulgarian AK-74 I got from Centerfire out to the range today (it was a beautiful warm, sunny day in the 80s here today and only two other people at the range and after they left I had it to myself). I brought up the defective muzzle brake with Centerfire and Magnus sent me a new one, which I installed and used for this trip. No further issues related to it were observed.

I fired a total of 90 rounds. During that, I had one failure to feed (first time that ever happened to me with an AK-74), which I suspect was related to how I had loaded the mag (for some reason, as I preloaded the mags last night, I kept getting the nose of the 2nd or 3rd round down popping forward and jamming the mag). I also had one failure to extract from the chamber with the Silver Bear. A little force on the operating handle extracted and ejected the fired case. I'm wondering if this may be a reflection of differences between US and Bulgarian barrels/chambers. No failures of that sort were observed with the Golden Tiger, so it may prefer the laquered cases over the zinc plated, or perhaps that was an underpowered Silver Bear round. I used Silver Bear 60gr and Golden Tiger 59gr. No obvious keyholing occurred. I did have to adjust the front sight, using a tapco front sight vise, to bring the point of impact left and the front sight is definitely more to the right, not centered (I consider that livable). Accuracy was mediocre for the first two magazines, the third, fired fairly rapidly offhand, seemed to go much better and that mag cycled with no glitches whatsoever. So far I feel it was well worth the $349 invested. I will now go ahead and change the furniture on it by replacing the handguards with a K-Var plum set, the pistol grip with K-Var plum, and the rear stock with a new EG folder I recently obtained.

I also tested a 7.62x39 Yugo folder (M70AB2) I obtained used from a local shop. This is the second of these I have owned, and they are just one sweet rifle in my opinion. Even with the folding stock it was surprisingly accurate for what it is. No issues whatsoever with it, it was flawless in operation. I was using Hungarian 20 round mags. The only flaw to it is that the black plastic handguards get hot quickly. Since I'm unaware of any poly plum with stainless heat shield for Yugos at present, I'll look into replacement wood eventually. The ammo used was Golden Tiger.

The Bulgarian Makarov and Polish P-64 I took along also functioned very well, with no jams or failures of any sort in either (firing Silver Bear and Brown Bear). That P-64 does live up to its' reputation of being a handful due to its' small size and the caliber (and I find removing the magazines from it to be a little difficult for me at times). Not something you want to put more than a box full through in a range trip. All around, I had a very good day at the range.

[USFS10]

I picked up my Centerfire System bargain AK-74 today, the receiver was not an NoDak Spud as advertised but US Armory. Looking down the barrel it looks like when they drilled the gas port hole they hit the bottom of the barrel, the muzzle takes the bullet to the case mouth but if it doesn't keyhole and functions fine I can live with a lot.

[zeos]

i got one these the other day and the only complaints i have so far are the rear sight is off and the extractor seems awfuly tight. i haven't gotten to shoot it yet, but that extractor thing kind of worries me.

[axwhipmaker]

I am thinking of picking one up - how do they shoot?

I have two Lancasters (Kool Aid, what shall I say *g*) that I will go and put 500 rds ea. through tomorrow to see if the trunion moves - so in the event they both go back I need a gun to shoot.

[stevie73]

Originally Posted by axwhipmaker

I have two Lancasters...

My condolences.

[axwhipmaker]

Thanks Stevie73 - almost hoping they fail so I can return them BEFORE Lancaster goes belly up.

They LOOK well made, lol. On the other hand, so did the Titanic

At least I bought them from Atlantic so there is hope since I hear they are trying to help making things right.

It irkes me that folks get away puttng together potentially dangerous guns. Explosions, fast moving parts combined with shotty workmanship inches from my face - doesn't sound comforting to me.

Well, I will know more tomorrow night. Will take before pics before and after to compare.

[FAL GRUNT]

Originally Posted by axwhipmaker

Will take before pics before and after to compare.

Is that of your face, or of the gun?

-myers

[axwhipmaker]

Good question

[AKBLUE]

Originally Posted by maxhush

I finally managed to get the Bulgarian AK-74 I got from Centerfire out to the range today (it was a beautiful warm, sunny day in the 80s here today and only two other people at the range and after they left I had it to myself). I brought up the defective muzzle brake with Centerfire and Magnus sent me a new one, which I installed and used for this trip. No further issues related to it were observed.

I fired a total of 90 rounds. During that, I had one failure to feed (first time that ever happened to me with an AK-74), which I suspect was related to how I had loaded the mag (for some reason, as I preloaded the mags last night, I kept getting the nose of the 2nd or 3rd round down popping forward and jamming the mag). I also had one failure to extract from the chamber with the Silver Bear. A little force on the operating handle extracted and ejected the fired case. I'm wondering if this may be a reflection of differences between US and Bulgarian barrels/chambers. No failures of that sort were observed with the Golden Tiger, so it may prefer the laquered cases over the zinc plated, or perhaps that was an underpowered Silver Bear round. I used Silver Bear 60gr and Golden Tiger 59gr. No obvious keyholing occurred. I did have to adjust the front sight, using a tapco front sight vise, to bring the point of impact left and the front sight is definitely more to the right, not centered (I consider that livable). Accuracy was mediocre for the first two magazines, the third, fired fairly rapidly offhand, seemed to go much better and that mag cycled with no glitches whatsoever. So far I feel it was well worth the $349 invested. I will now go ahead and change the furniture on it by replacing the handguards with a K-Var plum set, the pistol grip with K-Var plum, and the rear stock with a new EG folder I recently obtained.

I also tested a 7.62x39 Yugo folder (M70AB2) I obtained used from a local shop. This is the second of these I have owned, and they are just one sweet rifle in my opinion. Even with the folding stock it was surprisingly accurate for what it is. No issues whatsoever with it, it was flawless in operation. I was using Hungarian 20 round mags. The only flaw to it is that the black plastic handguards get hot quickly. Since I'm unaware of any poly plum with stainless heat shield for Yugos at present, I'll look into replacement wood eventually. The ammo used was Golden Tiger.

The Bulgarian Makarov and Polish P-64 I took along also functioned very well, with no jams or failures of any sort in either (firing Silver Bear and Brown Bear). That P-64 does live up to its' reputation of being a handful due to its' small size and the caliber (and I find removing the magazines from it to be a little difficult for me at times). Not something you want to put more than a box full through in a range trip. All around, I had a very good day at the range.

I would not think the muzzle device is a copy or USA made brake at all but Bulgarian. May have been one of the welded brakes that was cut loose.
You just missed the Romy wire sidefolders at Copes. Here

http://www.copesdistributing.net/pro...7b6513920fa630

[maxhush]

Originally Posted by AKBLUE

I would not think the muzzle device is a copy or USA made brake at all but Bulgarian. May have been one of the welded brakes that was cut loose.
You just missed the Romy wire sidefolders at Copes. Here

http://www.copesdistributing.net/pro...7b6513920fa630

The brake problem wasn't being cut from a weld, it appears to have been a factory misbore, or the original was not concentric and they rebored to "correct" it (finish was applied over the defect -- if you look down the bore hole, you see a divot out of one side all the way down the inside that looks to have been bored, also the area next to the laser cut zigzag shows the results of this). I think it is indeed an original Bulgarian made brake, just a really bad job. Magnus sent me a new one after I requested one and sent a pic of the defect, so all is well, and I am quite happy with the quick and professional way in which Centerfire dealt with the issue.

As for the sidefolder, I managed to find a place that sold me a new East German one (it's still in the orange vpi paper wrapper) with the hardware for $50, so that is also no longer a concern. I did notice Copes' adding the Romies the other day. Thanks for the info though.

--

[Nitris]

Received my 74 today from center fire, very well built straight and has the scope rail well done. Very well pleased with the rifles fit and finish and the 3 mags are brand new.

[xuanloc69]

I finally got to put a few rounds through the AK74 from Centerfire.
It is the one with the scope rail built on a Nodak Spud receiver. The rifle looked ok with some scrapes on the receiver and barrel. However, it has some serious function problems. The stock is the worst I have ever experienced. Everytime I fired it, it gave me a painful jolt to the jaw/teeth. That was not the worst part; it keyholed every round I fired (only shot 20 because I couldn't take anymore). I used Wolf 60 gr. FMJ. Targets show keyhole yaw impact on every round. Wonder if the barrel was the same as the ones Lancaster used.

I haven't called Centerfire yet, shot it today. Now the hassle begins. If it was just the stock, that could be fixed but the keyhole? Can't anyone make a good 74?

[stevie73]

Originally Posted by xuanloc69

I finally got to put a few rounds through the AK74 from Centerfire.
It is the one with the scope rail built on a Nodak Spud receiver. The rifle looked ok with some scrapes on the receiver and barrel. However, it has some serious function problems. The stock is the worst I have ever experienced. Everytime I fired it, it gave me a painful jolt to the jaw/teeth. That was not the worst part; it keyholed every round I fired (only shot 20 because I couldn't take anymore). I used Wolf 60 gr. FMJ. Targets show keyhole yaw impact on every round. Wonder if the barrel was the same as the ones Lancaster used.

I haven't called Centerfire yet, shot it today. Now the hassle begins. If it was just the stock, that could be fixed but the keyhole? Can't anyone make a good 74?

Yes, plenty of manufacturers make good 74's. The problem with you, and many others, is that you buy the cheapest piece of shit rifle you can find, and then when it doesn't work you quickly conclude that "nobody makes good 74's."

You played the "Cheap AK-74 Lottery", and lost. Anytime you buy a $399 AK-74, you have to realize that you might get a decent rifle...and you might not. That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's done even a small amount of research on their purchase of one of these rifles. Some are fine, and some keyhole. And there's no way to know what you'll get, until you get it.

But as I said, there are plenty of good 74's out there. You simply have to be willing to spend more than $399 to get those good rifles. Get a SGL-31, an ARS 74, a Gewehr Werks rifle, a MarColMar rifle, an Interarms Tantal, a good Romanian rifle or a good kit build, and you will have a good AK-74.

You tried to get into the 74 game for $399, and found out the hard way that going cheap is always a gamble. Wish I could say I was sorry for you, but it's not like there haven't been plenty of warnings with these guns.

[xuanloc69]

Oh, really? Well first of all, you don't know anything about me. What's with the attitude? FYI, I have a couple of Bulgarian Arsenal milled SLR95/93, $400ea, two Saiga's, less than $200ea., a $399 AMD65, a $259 Romanian SAR2. Everyone was a reliable, accurate and inexpensive rifle (Had to change the fcg on the SAR2 but it was an accurate, compact, lightweight AK). Have had others that were inexpensive and did what they were designed to do. They are an AK, not a Weatherby. They're supposed to be inexpensive and simple. By your criteria, if you spend more, you get more, is not necessarily true. Hey, I've heard that some of those $6-700 AK's have had problems too.

I have contacted Centerfire and they are sending a UPS pickup tomorrow. They reacted as they should. Chill a little....

[Bomber13]

Got my Centerfire Bulgarian AK-74 in last week. I noticed that the barrel angled off to the left and initially thought that it was mounted to the receiver incorrectly. After completely stripping the rifle down, I discovered that the receiver was actually twisted. I cycled the bolt several times and found that small metal shavings were being created between the bolt face and the barrel face. I guess this is due to them meeting up at an angle.
I did not attempt to fire the POS. Centerfire has my label in the mail for an exchange. Hopefully I can test fire the replacement and report back. This one is definitely a gamble.

[Tantal74]

Originally Posted by Bomber13

Got my Centerfire Bulgarian AK-74 in last week. I noticed that the barrel angled off to the left and initially thought that it was mounted to the receiver incorrectly. After completely stripping the rifle down, I discovered that the receiver was actually twisted. I cycled the bolt several times and found that small metal shavings were being created between the bolt face and the barrel face. I guess this is due to them meeting up at an angle.
I did not attempt to fire the POS. Centerfire has my label in the mail for an exchange. Hopefully I can test fire the replacement and report back. This one is definitely a gamble.

Doesn't Centerfire check the rifles before they ship them out!!! Seems like quite a lot of people are reporting some major problems, you'd think they'd try to head these problems off before they ship the rifles to the end-user......

I'd like to meet with the guy who decided on the black plastic AKM pattern handguards! WTF were they thinking!

[Bomber13]

Originally Posted by Tantal74

Doesn't Centerfire check the rifles before they ship them out!!! !

Yes whoever placed the rifle in the box needed only to take a cursory glance at the rifle to determine that it was defective. It was that obvious.

[FAL GRUNT]

Originally Posted by Bomber13

Yes whoever placed the rifle in the box needed only to take a cursory glance at the rifle to determine that it was defective. It was that obvious.

Oh I garuntee you that the packer did take a cursory glance. In all likelyhood however, that person is clueless and knows nothing about firearms, or even more likely, it is not "their job" to check them.

None of the rifles should have ever reached Centerfire in the first place.

And no, Centerfire does not check them before they ship them out. They did not check when they shipped their Yugo kits, why would they check these?

-myers

[Nitris]

Guys I must have gotten lucky, I have had no issues and no key holes. Now I have only fired a couple hundred rounds............I'll see how it is after a few thousand rounds and let ya know.

[bigmegina]

mine has a elk river receiver.150 rds fired russian surplus.functioned flawless.no keyhole and M.O.M= minute of man accurate.when i tried to take the gas tube off to clean it the lever broke.looked like it was ground thin.instead of hassle of sending it back i bought a new lever for $9 and replaced it.very happy with my first ak74.cheap price,cheap ammo,cheap gun to shoot.might get another 1.

[phatcatblues]

i got mine yesterday, built on NDS receiver after close inspection, the rifle is very well made, i am also pleased with my purchase. the 9.99 additional mag is a good buy too, but i don't understand why they repainted the mag, and grind off the circle 10 mark.

[Tantal74]

Originally Posted by phatcatblues

i got mine yesterday, built on NDS receiver after close inspection, the rifle is very well made, i am also pleased with my purchase. the 9.99 additional mag is a good buy too, but i don't understand why they repainted the mag, and grind off the circle 10 mark.

I don't think Centerfire did this. I may be wrong but it was probably scrubbed of the markings before it was exported out of Bulgaria.....

[bigmegina]

went to the range today.sighted in my kobra.after dialed in 150 rds fired.hitting clay pigeons at 50 yards.no malfunctions after 300 rds fired.happy whit this rifle.

[ZombieHunter]

Originally Posted by phatcatblues

i got mine yesterday, built on NDS receiver after close inspection, the rifle is very well made, i am also pleased with my purchase.

That basically describes mine as well. Finally picked it up today after over a month from purchase. But yeah, she's really looking great.

[Bomber13]

Update:
Just got my replacement Century 74 from Centerfire. Initially, everything looks pretty good, except for the fact that the bore and gas tubes were dirtier than women who sleep with me for no monetary compensation.

I'm thinking maybe this filthy beast is somebody else's returned gun. I sure hope not. I'll try and take her to the range tomorrow and see if she keyholes. *Crossing fingers*

[drjarhead]

Originally Posted by Bomber13

Update:
Just got my replacement Century 74 from Centerfire. Initially, everything looks pretty good, except for the fact that the bore and gas tubes were dirtier than women who sleep with me for no monetary compensation.

I'm thinking maybe this filthy beast is somebody else's returned gun. I sure hope not. I'll try and take her to the range tomorrow and see if she keyholes. *Crossing fingers*

I firmly believe that most of the time when you return something you get somone else's return back. Hopefully it will shoot and run well for you though.

I've just made it a rule to not buy anything Century without getting my hands on it first. No guarantees there but the odds get much better. The Yugo I have is kick ass. One of the best gun purchases I ever made. I sold the Cetme I had--nice but I just couldn't get into it--and I have a nice SAR-1 I bought a few years ago off a gunstore shelf. That is a decent rifle also. It spoke to me...what can I say?

I hope you are happy with what you got.

[maxhush]

Originally Posted by drjarhead

I've just made it a rule to not buy anything Century without getting my hands on it first. No guarantees there but the odds get much better. The Yugo I have is kick ass. One of the best gun purchases I ever made. .

A very good rule of thumb. I've gotten two of the Century Yugo UFs (one with wood handguards, one with plastic) and both were fine. I seem to recall seeing some posts from someone a while back on one of the forums that mentioned that they worked for the subcontractor CAI used on those. I can't recall having seen or heard of a truly bad Yugo build sold by Century (as odd as that is).

[Bomber13]

Okay, Update:

Got my REPLACEMENT dirty as hell centerfire 74 out to the range and she shoots great. Ran a couple of different types of ammo through her; no jams, no failures. Ak-type accuracy and the fit and finish is nice and tight. Great value even after two transfer fees.

My final take: get one, but only if you intend to test fire during the 10 day return period. If you get a lemon and you discover it in time, chances are they will ship you a good replacement out.

[Bomber13]

Pics after I test fired her and changed out the stock, grips, and dust cover.

[spiders88]

Bomber13
What kind of groups are you shooting at 100 yards....everyone is saying how great these are but no one is telling how well they shoot....any info would be appreciated...thx

[Bomber13]

Sorry, but I was shooting on a really windy day with no benchrest and 30 round clips. All I can say is that I was hitting the target with the iron sights.

[mopowergtx]

Got my Centerfire AK74 Bulgarian three weeks ago. $369.99 w/free shipping. Came with 3 mags. Nodak Spud reciever serial no. J002xxx imported by CAI. I took it to the range two weeks ago and ran 300 rounds of steel Bulgarian surplus out of a 1080 rnd sardine can. At 100 yds resting on the clip on the shooting bench I was able to put 3 or 4 of the rounds out of the 30 rnd clip in a 3" orange dot sticker and the rest strung horizontally. The front sight picture is to narrow in the rear sight than I like and I pretty much blame it on that. The group was no more than 3" vertical but about 10" horizontal. Had to be me and my sight picture. NO KEY HOLES. They were most definately going through straight as arrows. Shooting pop cans at 110 yds on the dirt back stop was a blast. Trigger was light with normal creep. Pistol grip fit to the gun is super as is the handguards. Stock is longer like said before and I like the extra length but I wish it sloped down in the back a little more. Puts my head to high over the reciever. Might be nice I guess if it was scoped. Scope rail was perfectly horizontal with the top of the reciever. Great rivet job through out. Muzzle brake was excellent quality and not welded but screwed on. Metal Finish is grayish and very uniform. I was impressed by it. Reciever cover looks new. The bolt and carrier are surplus full auto type and they were still in their original black finish. They looked to be in excellent used shape. Gas piston was probably new. Gas tube fit really great no slop but not hard to get off. As close to perfect as you can get. Hand guards were a little on the cheapy side but fit great. Came with a cleaning rod under the barrel.
Great looking gun no complaints other than the rear stock but thats just personal opinion and heck who doesnt change their rear stocks on an AK anyhow? Of the 300 rounds I put through it I bump fired the last 5 mags in 10 and 15 shot bursts to give it a good work out. From the bench, to off the shoulder semi, to the hip bump fire I DID NOT HAVE ONE SINGLE MALFUNCTION. If I could be guaranteed I would get anymore just as great as this rifle I would order 2 more at that price without a doubt today. And thats saying alot because ask me about my P.O.S. PSL-54 thats back at CAI right now hopefully getting a new barrel. Its definately a crap shoot unfortunately because look at all the happy PSL-54 guys out there with CAI guns and then the one I got looked SUPER but had a TERRIBLY pitted shoulder in the chamber so bad the steel cases expanded into those pits and wouldnt cycle the action. But thats off topic of AK74's. I guess if you get one hope its as good as the one I got and if not shoot it quick to find out so you can get it sent back PDQ. Worst case scenario Century will take them back (they did my PSL) but what a nuisance.

[spiders88]

Ok noob statement, but I was under the impression that the ak-74 would be more accurate then the ak-47 because it is a smaller bullet etc. But I am not seeing that in any reviews I read, perhaps it is because many of the ak-74 are century built and have used parts. Or the lack of any brass case ammo. Perhaps Arsenal or Arizona Response and other well made ak-74 do shoot better, but no one I have seen has said that. I know an ak-74 will shoot more accurately out beyond 100 yards. If this is the current rifle why isn't it more accurate?