Polish Tantal (Century) Review

[plouffedaddy]

I picked up this Tantal in March of this year to have another rifle that I could shoot tons of cheap 7N6 surplus ammo through. I had heard all the internet horror stories of the Century Tantals that had improperly sized chambers but I decided to take the plunge anyway due to Centuries 1 year warranty for all new gun purchases.

Picking the rifle up at my FFL I noticed the front sight was slightly canted but it didn't appear it was canted to the point that it couldn't be zeroed so I took it home. Well, the first range session proved otherwise. Although there was no keyholing, even with the front sight moved all the way to the right the rifle was still shooting about 3'' right at 50m so I called up Century and spoke with a nice young lady who gave me a claim number and I sent it in.

Two weeks later I was back on the range with it––-the rifle zeroed with the front sight post in the center of the tower so good on the Century repair guys. Of note, the rifle came back immaculately clean. Cleaner than I'd ever seen any AK.... I'm talking not a speck of carbon; it almost looked odd it was so spotless! I was very pleased with Century's warranty.

Here's a quick run down of the pros and cons of the rifle:

Pros:
-Cost. I only paid $389 for mine and sold off a few parts to take my cost down to $330
-Reliablilty. This rifle has over two spam can through it with 0 malfunctions
-Seems well built (I know, CAI guns aren't supposed to be but other than the front sight post it is)
-Chambererd for the very effective and inexpensive 5.45x39 cartridge. Although it's more expensive than it used to be it can still be had for under $0.15/round.
-Comes with 2 magazines (Polish steel when I bought mine, your mileage may vary)
-Accepts any standard AK74 variant magazine
-Comes with a bipod and folding stock. I sold mine buy many people like the option of folding the stock
-Backed by a good warranty
-I like the bakelite lower handguard with the palmswells. It feels good in the hand
-The non-standard brake works very well, although it does add a little length to the rifle

Cons:
-The barrel is US made and not chrome lined and will not last as long as other AK74 variants on the market. When I notice accuracy degridation, I'll have to have it re-barreled
-The finish is rough which is why I refinished mine with Alumahyde II semi-gloss black to fix that
-The front sight came canted. That said, I've seen plenty of SGLs ship with canted sights too so it's not exclusively a Century problem

Here's a video of me shooting the rifle from 15m, 100m at steel, followed by a quick tabletop review and a chronograph test using the 7N6 ammo:

Polish Tantal HD Video Review Link

The 5 shot average was 3,027fps, 1078 ft/lbs energy

[DeltaSierra]

The Century one-year "warranty" is a bad joke.

They consider the warranty to start the day the rifle leaves their "factory," so if you ever try to use that "warranty" you are gonna be up a creek without a paddle....

I don't care how decent any single sample Century product is, since, as a whole their products are complete and total junk.

[SteyrAUG]

-The barrel is US made and not chrome lined and will not last as long as other AK74 variants on the market. When I notice accuracy degridation, I'll have to have it re-barreled

And honestly, with the barrel ban driving up the price of a factory tantal barrel in decent condition and the cost of re barreling the rifle, you quickly get into Arsenal price territory.

I wanted a decent Tantal and even 2 years ago when I explored the cost of having an original barrel kit built on a Nodak receiver it didn't make sense cost wise.

It's a damn shame about the barrel ban, cause we are FINALLY at a place and time where 922r permits preban configurations but for me the US barrel is simply a deal breaker.

[montrala]

-The front sight came canted. That said, I've seen plenty of SGLs ship with canted sights too so it's not exclusively a Century problem

Out of a curiosity. I keep reading about canted front sights on differents AKs sold on US market. I have yet to see one on Beryl or AK or AKM made here. How it is possible to deliver rifle with canted sights? Are they made with vice, hammer and hacksaw?

When I was at FB Radom factory I've seen how they mount front sight (now for Beryl but I bet same tool was used for Tantal and for AKM before Tantal). Barreled receiver it hold tight in special fixture and pneumatic piston presses front sight in side. Front sight is siding inside special guide made in this fixture, so there is not possibility to cant sight in relation to receiver. Also each rifle is shot for zero at factory range. No rocket science here, neither $1mln tooling required.

[plouffedaddy]

Out of a curiosity. I keep reading about canted front sights on differents AKs sold on US market. I have yet to see one on Beryl or AK or AKM made here. How it is possible to deliver rifle with canted sights? Are they made with vice, hammer and hacksaw?

When I was at FB Radom factory I've seen how they mount front sight (now for Beryl but I bet same tool was used for Tantal and for AKM before Tantal). Barreled receiver it hold tight in special fixture and pneumatic piston presses front sight in side. Front sight is siding inside special guide made in this fixture, so there is not possibility to cant sight in relation to receiver. Also each rifle is shot for zero at factory range. No rocket science here, neither $1mln tooling required.

Just guessing here---I don't think that's the standard everywhere (perhaps it should be). Some rifles come with a zero target, my SLR 106 for example, but most don't. This one didn't.

A lot of our guns here in the US are parts guns so who knows who assembles them? Many folks would say it's done by the Century monkeys

[Arik]

I wanted a 2nd 5.45 and my LGS had a bunch of Tantals. I thought about it for a while and came to the conclusion that i'd rather put that money into something else or add to for a better rifle. I just cant take Century built crap anymore!:banghead:

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[pakieser]

I love my Tantal. I picked it up for $416 out the door at Fleet Farm. I fitted it with a few accessories, Ultimak rail w/ a Primary Arms MicroDot, US Palm grip, and a sling mount.

After setting up the gun and putting about 400 rounds through it to get a feel for how it worked for me I took it to a DTI Urban Rifle Course followed immediately by the DPMS Outbreak Omega shoot. Over the course of four days I put about 2000 rounds through the gun without any problems at all.

The gun is very accurate and the trigger is better than I expected. I'd bet my life on this rifle anytime. My only complaint is magazines are very expensive.

[KalashniKEV]

Although there was no keyholing, even with the front sight moved all the way to the right the rifle was still shooting about 3'' right at 50m so I called up Century and spoke with a nice young lady who gave me a claim number and I sent it in.

Soooooo... Would you classify that as a catastrophic-disastrous-FSB-cant failure?

[montrala]

Some rifles come with a zero target, my SLR 106 for example, but most don't. This one didn't.

Actually FB Radom does not attach test target with Beryl (Archer). They shoot at electronic target (system like used on Olympic Games) and computer displays results and adjustments needed. I tried to convince them to print out test results and attach to each Archer they make, but I do not know if I succeeded. Will see when second batch will come to I.O.

But generally, I always imagined than on market so demanding as US seem to be, companies would put more effort into QC.

Anyway, good you like your Tantal. At least part of it is Polish

[plouffedaddy]

Soooooo... Would you classify that as a catastrophic-disastrous-FSB-cant failure?

I would absolutely not; nor will I ever make such a claim again...