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Old January 28, 2016, 01:14 AM   #1
Ignition Override
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Have you tried a Century C-93 (.223)?

My interest in guns is keeping them all-original, used for simple plinking. 98% of my semi-auto rifle use has been with the SKS (2% Garand). Had a Mini 14, but might buy a very different .223 before retirement.

What are your impressions of 93 ergonomics, trigger pull, magazine issues etc vs. an AR? The AR just doesn't ever 'grab me', despite the basic rifle's attributes.

The search function at the top of this page produces nothing about the C-93, although various Youtube videos indicate a very high level of customer satisfaction with reliability & function, along with random Google excerpts.

As for quality/integrity, there have been many issues with Century AK clones, and some of their Tantal AK-74s (5.45) were Knowingly shipped out with 5.56 barrels!
Have there been some "integrity issues" with assembly of their C-93s, whether outsourced or not?

Last edited by Ignition Override; January 28, 2016 at 02:18 AM.
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Old January 28, 2016, 08:46 AM   #2
ttarp
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The C93's have some of the worst qc issues of any Century products, the "Drunken Monkeys" took it to a whole new level when they first started putting these together. Crooked cocking tubes, crooked front sights, improperly pressed barrels made for headspacing headaches, they even ground the bolt heads on some to achieve a false headspace.

I took a gamble on them when they were a little cheaper, and made it out with a good shooter, and from what I've read I think your much more likely to get a good rifle now than a few years ago.

Ergonomics don't compare very well to an AR, the safety is a stretch to reach unless you have massive thumbs, the trigger isn't anything to get excited about, these rifles have rock in mags and were designed with a paddle mag release and a button, the C93's only have a button which is hard to reach if you don't have giant hands, the bolt doesn't hold open, lots of folks don't like how the cocking handle is set up, and its a heavy rifle.

The sights are some of the best out there, not easily adjustable, but once set allow for an excellent sight picture, recoil is low, its a very modular design with a lot of aftermarket available albiet often expensive.

Its worth noting the roller lock design is probably the filthiest in existence, not difficult to clean with the right assortment of brushes, but it gets dirty fast.

Also worth noting, you shouldn't count on finding or reusing your brass, it doesn't always ruin every piece, but thats when you can find them after its ejected 20 feet away.

I like mine, but make no mistake, its no AR.
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Old January 30, 2016, 12:01 PM   #3
HankC1
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Quote:
The C93's have some of the worst qc issues of any Century products, the "Drunken Monkeys" took it to a whole new level when they first started putting these together. Crooked cocking tubes, crooked front sights, improperly pressed barrels made for headspacing headaches, they even ground the bolt heads on some to achieve a false headspace.
Are you sure C93s were Century "monkey" build and these Century CETME/G3 issues apply to C93? I believe the 223cal C93s were not Century in-house built and the vendor doesn't grind the bolt heads. At least the early batch is known for the headspace grows out of spec after a few hundreds rounds while the vendor claims they build according to century "spec" to press the barrel to mid spec instead of lower end to accommodate wear. I can't remember who build the C93 for Century and don't know if they change the barrel press spec or not. I looked into C93 at the time but still not brave enough to buy a Century G3 platform firearm! For 223, stay with AR!
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Old January 30, 2016, 01:45 PM   #4
ttarp
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Now that you say that, I don't know if they ground any of the C93 bolts, that may have been only on their .308's.

But the barrel issue and shrinking bolt gap has been a very real issue up untill the last year or two. Like I said your much more likely to get a good rifle now than when they first came on the market.

My sample came with front sights canted over so far that the irons were unusable, but all else checked out, so I sent it to a smith who's known in the roller lock world for fixing the many C93 issues and turning them into decent rifles. With the iron sights straightened out and a paddle magazine released installed its turned into quite a nice rifle.

[IMG][/IMG]

The C93 is sandwiched between my PTR and SW89.

Honestly other than a custom build or one of the MKE imports, I think the C93 is a better bet than the Vectors which cost almost twice as much and have had more than their share of issues as well.
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Old January 30, 2016, 03:50 PM   #5
Ignition Override
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Well, your comments plus random comments the last several years on HK forums helped me make my decision.

The only problems with my two Yugo M59 SKS were caused by nasty popped primers. Some low cost chamber-reaming at Murray's has been a permanent cure.

Thank you.
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Old January 31, 2016, 01:00 AM   #6
ttarp
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For what its worth, I wasn't necessarily trying to steer you away from them, its just important to know what you might have to deal with.
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Old January 31, 2016, 02:08 AM   #7
Model12Win
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They are a sharp looking weapons platform but Century QC sucks hard ones.

For an intermediate HK rifle, I'd go for the PTR-32 in 7.62x39mm.
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Old January 31, 2016, 07:51 AM   #8
peggysue
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CAI makes fine inexpensive guns. One just has to be able to tinker with them to get them right.
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Old February 6, 2016, 03:16 AM   #9
Ignition Override
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Thanks very much for the advice, but I have neither any experience nor knowledge to tinker with guns, despite my age.

Bought a stock 'nib' Saiga .223 to keep all original. Except for shooting 3-4" left from 50 yards (!) with a
Cold barrel, but common with some "AKs". The nice trigger is just right.

The gun smith has it for an estimated two weeks to help 'zero' the gun's aim point (hot barrel groups or not).
It required luck to spot two Izhmash 10-rd. .223 mags on GB. These are very scarce.

Last edited by Ignition Override; February 6, 2016 at 03:22 AM.
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