Best Affordable AK variant? Century Arms AK-47 VSKA Review 

Don't listen to these hating comments, they are just bias on century arms past. They have fixed the problems with their guns after the recall. Plus these guys never have probably held a century arms AK. I own vska and it great. I love how it feels and shoot and I'm already decking it out to the max lol. Definitely get one or the btf. Though the aes 10b is better fun to get if you want to save up

For your optics….several companies make a dust cover replacement that has a pic rail on it. I just bought this same firearm ( thinking I was buying the BFT47 that HAS the side rail.) The optics mount to fit the side rail is anywhere from $100 to $160. I BELIEVE the dust over replacement mounts are roughly the same or, possibly less. Hope this helps!

Own two, more than 7000 thru one and 3000 thru the other and they both shoot MOA at 200 and have no visible wear or damage beyond what would be considered normal.

I would recommend checking the locking lugs on your bolt and your trunnion every couple hundred rounds, the vska's do typically run well and don't mimick the sames issues earlier century made AK's had. Just invest in a set of go and no-go gages and you'll be good 😉 Happy shooting!

I'm looking at this firearm but thinking I might go with the BFT. Robski did a huge review on it and it passed. I think his channel is AK Operators union. He puts these AK's through some serious torture. Check it out.

If you want to take some of the sharpness out of the recoil, you can swap out the recoil spring. I used the extra power recoil spring from M*Carbo and it reduced the recoil a lot and was much better on follow up shots. BIG improvement for a whopping $15.00. Also replaced the stock grip with a Houge overmolded rubber grip and slapped a UTG Recoil pad on and while it still has more recoil than an AR, it's worlds better than the stock config. Three days after I bought my VSKA, the BFT came out. If I had known, I would have waited & got the BFT because it has the optic mount for the side rail. But that just rationalizes me getting a 2nd AK! haha

My c39v2 failed at like 300 rounds so they sent me a VSKA as a replacement. I like it alot and it seems accurate, but I'm not a fan of the wood color. I like yours much better. Mine isn't blonde, but it is lighter than yours. Also mine has the slant brake, but yours has the nice brake/compensator which works very well and what was on my c39v2. Where did you get the green strap?

Almost bought this but was told not to, ended going with a SAM7

There are mounts that are made where you can replace the whole top cover and it's got a rail built on to it

i got one and it has shot thousands of rounds much better than my AR

How is this rifle holding up? I’ve been having this one as an option to buy. I see mix reviews about it . People either hate it or love it. I never see an in between.

I just bought a VSKA AK47 in maple and the rear sight is not tight and moves right to left. I was wondering if yours moves any. I'm researching some ways to tighten it up.

Edit: My apologies, the bolt and front trunnion are billet. Only the carrier is cast. Cast bolt carrier, bolt, and front trunnion. What that means, in a nutshell, is that safety has the potential to be VERY questionable, to say the least. These three components are what allow the gun to go bang safely. That said, there are two common types of these components: cast and forged. Without getting into technical stuff, The former is a lot cheaper, but they are also a lot shittier which is why they're found on lots of budget AKs. The latter is more expensive but of much higher quality which is why they're found on basically all of the better AKs. A lot of American-made AKs are budget and thus, they have to cut corners somehow. A notable way they do it is using cast parts. US-made AKs have been known to have catastrophic failures (gun blows up) in the past because of using the aforementioned cast parts. Therefore, for the sake of your and those around you's safety, PLEASE just buy an import AK. When you're already spending $800 MSRP on a VSKA, might as well dish out an extra $200 for a much better product. Many of you may argue that you've purchased a VSKA, RAS47, etc. and that it's been fine; I'm sure it has. However, given the potential for such dangerous failures, it's simply not worth taking the risk, especially when options that are known to be significantly safer and more reputable are only a little bit more. Two VERY well-known and established rifles with good reputations while still being relatively budget-friendly are the: WASR-10: Retail Cost (as of writing): $800-$1,100 Notes: It is IMPORTED by Century Arms but MADE in Romania. Very reliable rifle but the furniture has been known to be kind of shitty, but not a big deal. Standard AKM furniture means you can swap them out relatively cheaply. ZPAP M70: Retail Cost (as of writing): $970-$1100 Notes: Made in Serbia by Zastava, very good quality in just about every aspect. it also has a bulged front trunnion, which is typically found on RPKs (machine guns), making it stronger than normal AK trunnions. This has Yugoslavian furniture though, meaning that only specific furniture meant for Yugo rifles will fit (usually costs more). Additionally, the side mount is also proprietary to Yugo rifles meaning if you want an optic you need to buy specific Yugo mounts. I personally recommend the ZPAP just because it is aesthetically prettier. Just to give you some numbers (it's for aluminum but the principle is the same): Cast: Tensile Strength: 34,700 psi Yield Strength: 23,200 psi Shear Strength: 27,600 psi Forged: Tensile Strength: 45,000 psi Yield Strength: 40,000 psi Shear Strength: 30,000 psi Term definitions: Tensile Strength: maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking Yield Strength: maximum stress that can be developed in a material without causing deformation Shear Strength: the ability to resist forces that cause the material's internal structure to slide against itself.

Cast parts are a no go for me. Especially when you can get a GF3 for less and it's a much better built rifle.

If you can afford 600 another 300 won't matter.

Only thing Century Arms does is any good as imported stuff and that said I think,the zastava and the wasr 10 are a lot better ak. For the money

you comfortable using the nato stock on it ? I think its to long for AK

I own two, the one you have and the trooper model. Love them both, have had no issues. I’m sure you’ve heard all the horror stories with American made AKs but I do believe they’ve finally got it right with the VSKA. The trooper version I out on a cheese grater gastube cover and a circle 10 pistol grip. It has holes in and matches the tube cover perfectly. It also has the circle 10 triangle stock. The other of course is wood. I want to and will restain the wood to a reddish color. Just want it to look more commie I guess lol. Oh and I’ll reapply my “Russian whore “stickers one on each side of the buttstock. Got those from AK union. Ok, enough of my ranting lol. Very nice video and also thank you for your police service! New sub here!

Its better than nothing it will save your life.

My wasr is just as good as my $1000 ak and $2000 ak

🤣

Texas weapon systems dog leg rail gen 3, happy shooting bud. Lol

Sling...not "strap"

You are going to get a lot of backlash

I wish people would stop buying these so companies like century would go out of business. These are genuinely unsafe to fire. The trunion (the part that attaches the barrel to the receiver) is made out of really bad materials in very lazy manufacturing methods, namely casting. As such, these rifles very commonly explode before 4,000 rounds, which can critically injure you for life if not kill you. Please, trade it in asap. There are so many better US made AK’s for cheaper than this, which are not unsafe to fire.

Bruh this AK is shit tier

Worst ak variant cheap stamped receivers not any thing like a milled