The M+M M10-762 rifle for this review was provided by the Kentucky Gun Company.
Thanks to Century Arms and their crappy-ass 2005-2008 era WASRs, conventional wisdom is that Romania generally takes the prize for making the worst AKs in the history of the world ever. Well, maybe not as crappy as those homemade Pakki Darra models that GIs sometimes encounter in the ‘Stan, but pretty crappy nonetheless. So when I heard that the M+M M10-762 was a Romanian-made rifle, I was prepared to be unimpressed. But after six range visits and well over 1000 rounds downrange, on the whole I’ve been very pleasantly surprised . . .
Basics and Special Features
The M10 is a traditional AK design, but has six unique and/or “custom” features that set it apart from the pack:
- Front sight is integrated with gas block;
- Rear sight includes “RPK” style windage adjustment;
- Features factory installed UTG Picatinny handguard rail;
- M+M Chaos billet flash hider / muzzle brake;
- Factory side rail mount;
- Tapco G-2 trigger and retaining plate;
- Hogue pistol grip.
One of the first things I noticed about the M10 when I picked it up was that it’s fairly light for an AK. The rifle weighs in at only 7.3 pounds. This is achieved via a thin barrel, lighter dust cover and a polymer stock. This rifle is more nimble than other fixed-stock AKs I have handled, especially compared to the more zaftig, heavy-duty Yugo models.
The overall length of the gun is 36″ with the fixed “Warsaw Pact” length stock. Apparently, M+M has imported a folding stock version as well, for those seeking a more compact carry gun.
Unlike a lot of the AKs on the market these days, the M+M M10 isn’t a parts kit gun. Rather, it’s made from all new parts. The marking – in my case “13 RO” – denotes a new Romanian-built rifle made in 2013. Once in-country, 10 U.S.-made replacement parts are added to make the rifle 922r compliant.
Mag Well
The mag well is a common source of complaints on modern imported AKs. The BATFE will only allow the importation of small arms that are for “sporting purposes.” As a result, when these rifles are brought into the country, they feature a small mag well opening intended for use with a single-stack 10-round magazine.
Once here, certain foreign-made parts are removed and replaced with U.S.-made replacements. As many of you will know, this is the so-called “922r compliance” process. It is named after the law that sets forth the rules under 18 USC Ch. 44, Sec. 922(r).
Some of the early WASRs had problems because the mag-well widening process was bungled by the drunken monkeys at Century. M+M Inc. solves the problem by using a CNC machine to widen the mag wells to standard AK specs. It’s good to know that M+M has seen fit to do this conversion the right way. My gun didn’t have the mag wobble issue that’s common on a lot of the AKs that are widened here in the states such as my TGI AMD 65.
Having said all that, the front-to rear fit of the mag well is a little on the tight side. It works perfectly with the Tapco magazine that’s provided by the factory, but many of my other steel AK mags were a bit too tight to work well. However, it was an easy fix which took me all of about 10 minutes with a file to complete.
Magazines
The M10-762 ships with one 30-round Tapco Intrafuse® “Smooth Side Low Drag” 30rd Magazine. As shown above, the Tapco smooth side has the same external dimensions as a traditional AK mag, but mimics the look of an AK-74 magazine. I didn’t torture-test the Tapco magazine for durability; there are plenty of YouTube videos on that topic, with varying results. I did put many hundreds of rounds through it without any problems, though, and it certainly didn’t strike me as being unacceptable.
As you’d expect, the Tapco mag is lighter than a traditional steel AK magazine, and won’t rust. Unlike the older style Tapco mags, these so-called “smooth sides” will fit into standard-sized AK mag pouches. And at $10-14 bucks a pop, they’re a pretty good deal. Overall, I would buy more of them.
Furniture & Rails
The M10 includes a UTG quad rail. Although I generally believe UTG products provide a lot of value for the buck, I’m not a huge fan of the design of this particular top rail for one big reason. Unlike, say, the Ultimak or Midwest Industries U.S. Palm rails, the UTG doesn’t allow the operator to co-witness optics with iron sights. Rather, the optic sits high on the rail which also tends to mess up the operator’s cheek weld. Aside from that, however, the UTG rail appears to be well-made and does the job for a fraction of the cost of other rails on the market.
The M-10 also includes a CNC-machined side-mounted optical sight attachment rail. Unfortunately, when I compared it to other AKs in my personal arsenal, I found that it sits a little higher on the receiver than it should. I like to keep my optic as low as possible and this rifle’s side rail sets the optic up almost ¼-inch higher than the rails on my other AKs.
While not a total deal killer, it’s certainly not ideal. I had a K-Var KS-04S rail on hand, but I didn’t like how high it placed my optic. Crazy me; I want a cheek weld, not a chin weld. I might have to try a Midwest Industries mount to see if that will bring the optic down a little lower.
In the photo below, you can see how the M+M’s side plate is mounted higher on the receiver compared to a Bulgarian AK variant.
The M+M labeled handgrip is manufactured by Hogue so it’s sized correctly for large-pawed corn-fed Americans, as opposed to the tiny commie-era factory grips you typically see on AKs. The standard commie grips (two examples shown above) were made to fit five-year-agricultural-plan under-fed 1950’s era Soviet bloc peasants and it’s a “must-replace” part for most American shooters.
I’ve been running Hogue and Ergo grips on three of my AKs for years and I highly recommend both grips. The big difference is the Hogue has more pronounced finger grooves and the grip angle seems a little different than the Ergo. It probably comes down to personal preference as to which one you like better.
The M10-762s arrive from Romania with thumbhole stocks. M+M installs a U.S.-made, Warsaw Pact-length Tapco polymer stock (shown above, at bottom of photo, compared to an olive drab U.S.-made NATO length stock by K-Var, top of photo). The Tapco stock is a copy of the Bulgarian design, except for the notable absence of the trap door in the buttplate for the cleaning kit. Despite being inexpensive ($25-30), it’s a solid performer. I’m not sure what happens to all of those old thumbhole stocks and other parts removed off M+M rifles, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they are shipped back to Romania to be installed on the next batch of import AKs.
The test sample rifle did, however, exhibit an ever-so-slight amount of movement in the receiver to stock fit – not enough so to send it back, but just enough to make you wonder if it would hold up in a critical situation. If I was going to be jumping out of airplanes or low-crawling through the bush with this thing, I might consider an upgrade. For the rest of the 99.9% of us, it’s probably good to go.
Barrel and Muzzle Brake
The M10-762 features a new, Romanian-made, cold-hammer forged, chrome-lined 16.25″ barrel. It has a 1:10 right-hand twist rate with four lands & grooves. The barrel is rather ‘skinny’ when compared to other AKs in my collection. It measures .56 inches in diameter one inch past the gas tube, whereas my other AKs measure somewhere between .61 and .65 inches in that same vicinity.
As expected, the M-10 barrel experiences a very small POI shift when it gets hot, but it’s not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Overall, I like the weight reduction you get with that svelte barrel.
Whereas older M10s came factory-equipped with the TAPCO RAZR muzzle brake/flash suppressor, current versions feature a design manufactured by M+M that appears to be a shorter, fatter version of the RAZR. The M+M brake is made from billet, as opposed to being case hardened. The photo above shows the M+M Chaos brake (top) compared to the Tapco brake. The M+M’s brake does make the same resonating twanging sound that was characteristic of the RAZR, but it is not nearly as loud/noticeable.
For me, the sound of the RAZR is a deal killer, whereas the M10’s brake is acceptable. Like the RAZR, the M+M brake can theoretically also be used as a barbed wire cutting device by jamming the wire into the muzzle brake’s prongs and then pulling the trigger to cut the wire…if you’re into that sort of thing.
Trigger group
The M-10 sports a Tapco G-2 single-hook trigger kit. The Tapco trigger seems to be the gold standard for “cheap” AK triggers, and for good reason. While not perfect, the G-2 is probably the best of the non-custom triggers on the market. Sure, companies such as Red Star Arms offer adjustable milled triggers that will outperform Tapco’s, but you’ll pay a steep premium for those units. [October 2014 Update: If you google “Tapco sucks” you will see that there are some high-profile gun gurus that have expressed dislike for the G-2 on account of durability problems. I will express no views on the topic other than to say I have not had a problem with any of my G-2s after many thousands of rounds].
The steel fire control group retaining plate compliments the G2 fire control group. The plate locks the hammer and trigger pivot pins in place and the plate itself is held by the selector. I wasn’t very familiar with this plate and, as a result, I put the rifle together incorrectly on one occasion, causing the charging handle to get stuck in the rearward position. Oops. Now that I’ve figured it out, though, I’m a fan. It allows for quick detail disassembly of the trigger group and will likely have better service life than a standard wire retainer.
The test sample’s trigger exhibited some of the typical AK creep over its ¼ inch pull, but broke at a little over 4 pounds. It also is devoid of that annoying “trigger slap” that is typical on many AK builds. As discussed below, I preferred the M+M’s trigger to the trigger on the $1000+ Arsenal SLR 107 that I tested. I own a really nice Vector Arms AKMS built from a Polish Radom parts kit, but the stock trigger on that rifle was nasty due to a wicked slap. The Tapco G-2 solved that slapping problem as well. So the M+M trigger gets high marks.
Iron Sights
The rear sight is probably one of the best features on the M+M. On most AK variants, the rear sight is adjustable for elevation only, using a sliding “ramp.” (above right). The M+M has that same feature – in this case graduated to 1000 meters in 100 meter increments – but it also adds an RPK-type rear sight, which is adjustable for windage (above left).
On a typical AK, there’s no true “windage” adjustment capability. You can adjust the sights in the horizontal plane by using a tool to press on the front sight adjusting block (i.e., the cylinder-shaped part that holds the front sight in place). But that’s a coarse, time-consuming method you can really only accomplished on a range. The M+M has that same cylinder block, but the addition of a true field-adjustable, no-tools-required windage sight is a big plus. I suspect that other firms will follow this example, too.
Another interesting, albeit unusual, feature on the M10-762 is the front sight, which is integrated with the gas block. Although this specific part is adapted from the Romanian short-barreled AIMR, the general concept is a Finnish design dating back to 1962. It first appeared on the Ryannäkkökivääri Malli 62 (aka: Valmet Model 62). The Chinese adopted the design on their Type 81 so that the weapon to be used with rifle-launched grenades.
Incidentally, the Valmet removed the rear sight from its typical location near the front trunion and moved it to the back of the receiver’s dust cover. Oddly, the M+M retains the typical AK rear sight despite having the 16-inch barrel. The downside to this is that it lowers the sight radius from the typical 14.9 inches to 11 inches.
So, the big question: is there any advantage to the M+M design? As far as I can tell, no. I suspect that M+M was just going for a unique look for aesthetic reasons when it chose the design. It does make it possible to “SBR” the rifle by removing four inches or so of the barrel. If you go that route, be sure to submit your Form 4 and pay your $200 tax. I’ll probably end up SBR’ing mine. Combined with a side-folding stock, a shorty AK variant would be a nice, compact can of whoop-ass.
Workmanship
I remember going to a gun show about eight years ago and seeing a gun dealer with 20 to 25 WASRs in a rack, ready for purchase. The price, as I recall, was in the $275-300 range which was extremely attractive. But after inspecting the shoddy workmanship, defective metalwork, and canted front sight posts, I decided to pass on that batch. Rightly or wrongly, I’ve viewed WASRs as crap ever since.
Assuming you can believe what you read on the internet, it turns out that all those early pre-2008 Century Arms WASRs were made with parts from the Romanian Sadu arsenal that were rejected for use in military grade weapons. While certainly sounding credible, I can’t verify any of that. What I can confirm is that the M+M M10-762 doesn’t appear to display any of the shoddy workmanship I witnessed on those early pre-2008 WASRs or other AK builds made by Century.
According to M+M, the M10-762 is manufactured out of brand new high quality parts — everything is newly manufactured to be US 922(r) compliant. The receiver and major parts are made in Romania by F.A. Cugir, the main military arsenal in Romania. Many of the recent WASR imports are made by Cugir and I have to admit, they look way better than the junk I saw that that gun show.
Truth be told, on close inspection, the M10 doesn’t look as cosmetically nice as a Bulgarian Arsenal, a Hungarian FEG, a Serbian PAP or a Polish Radom Tantal. In comparing it to other AKs in my collection, I see more visible toolmarks on the M10. Also, it has a number of sharp edges inside the receiver, similar to the early 1990s-era Chinese Norinco MAK-90s. Nonetheless, putting these cosmetic issues aside, I would rate the workmanship of this rifle as acceptable. As discussed below, the M+M has proven to be highly reliable and accurate, which is more important than looks.
Although it may be difficult to see from the photo above, the Cugir (farthest right) isn’t as refined, and has more sharp edges than the others. The corners on the Polish, Hungarian and Chinese bolts have been rounded off to improve their handling characteristics. Again, this may just be nit-picking on my part — this is an AK we’re talking about, after all.
One non-cosmetic issue I noticed: the dust cover on the M-10 was made using metal that was noticeably thinner and lighter than most of the dust covers found on my other AK variants. It seems strong enough to get the job done, however.
Performance and Reliability
One thing’s for sure, reliability is an AK strong point. In my travels, I’ve had the opportunity to spend time in various tropical jungles in Southeast Asia and I can attest to the fact that jungles are extremely hostile environment for firearms. Petroleum-based lubricants tend to wash off in torrential never-ending rains and the extremely high daytime temperatures combined with cool, humid nights cause virtually everything metal to rust. Even aluminum tends to corrode in those environments, especially when exposed to sweat.
While AKMs are certainly not rustproof, their generous tolerances and lack of small precision parts make them well-suited for jungle operations. Whereas other guns with more precise tolerances have a tendency to have parts “weld” together overnight due to rust, the AKM’s relatively loose fit, powerful long-stroke piston and beefy extractor tend to minimize the welding effect to a large degree.
In addition, heavier .30 cal bullets tend to do better in terms of penetrating thick jungle vegetation. If you ever get a chance to shoot a magazine loaded up with tracers into thick vegetation at night, you will quickly understand the advantage that the M-43 ball (123 grain) 7.62 x 39 has over the M-193 ball (56 grain) 5.56 x 45 round. [Note: If you try this test, do it after a heavy rain so you don’t start a forest fire!]
Unfortunately, my T&E budget doesn’t include a trip to Thailand or the PI. So to test the M10-762, I not only fired 1000 rounds of ammo over a period of about three months, I also left it out wet in the rain overnight while camping to see how well the finish held up to rust. The weapon was 100% reliable using everything from TulAmmo, Wolf, Federal American Eagle and Winchester White Box to corrosive Yugo military surplus. And the finish held up surprisingly well to the cold soggy Pacific Northwest weather.
To further test the performance of the M10 I shot it side by side with what is perhaps the gold standard in factory AKMs: the Arsenal (aka: “Circle 10”) SLR-107F made in Kazanlak, Bulgaria. The particular Arsenal used for the test (shown on top, above) was heavily accessorized, with ergonomic features such as the Krebs safety, Ergo Grip, Ultimak rail and a knurled charging handle knob from Tromix which make it a relatively expensive AK. My conclusions from shooting these two rifles side by side are as follows:
- The M&M Chaos muzzle brake was just as effective in controlling muzzle rise as the Arsenal AK-74 brake, despite being lighter and more compact.
- The Ultimak rail keeps the optic down lower than the UTG rail featured on the M10.
- The M10’s Tapco G-2 trigger was superior to the Arsenal trigger.
- The mag well opening of the M10 was ever-so-slightly smaller, making reloads somewhat more difficult (this test occurred before I filed the mag release).
- The “practical” accuracy between the two weapons was similar with no noticeable differences between the two. (Both samples had the annoyingly short “Warsaw-Pact length” stocks).
Overall, the M10 acquitted itself quite nicely against the vaunted Arsenal rifle. Given the extreme price difference between these two, the M+M provides a lot of value for the money.
Note: The Aimpoint T-1 on the Arsenal SLR-107F crapped out midway through testing leaving me stuck using the mediocre AK iron sights. Turns out the battery cap had loosened up causing the battery to lose contact. Once again, this experience demonstrates how important it is to have co-witnessed iron sights to back up the electronic optic.
Accuracy
AKMs are typically minute-of-bad-guy guns; they are simply not known as tack-drivers. As I have opined in previous reviews, the AK’s standard sites are partially to blame for this as the front and rear sights are typically only 15 inches apart and lack the sophistication of the U.S. military’s traditional aperture sights. The M10-762 compounds the problem by setting back the front sight post another four inches resulting in a sight radius of only 11 inches. For comparison, that’s the same as on the diminutive AMD-65.
Nonetheless, the M10 gives the user two locations for mounting optics: a front mounting location for red-dots and a side rail for magnified optics. I tested both of these options. I mounted a Leupold LPS 3.5010 x 40 scope on a K-Var side mount and proceeded to bang out some impressive 100 yard, 3-shot groups using American Eagle 123 grain FMJ: .80 in., .87 in., .89 in, .94 in., 1.18in., 1.52 in., 1.56 in., 1.59 in., and 1.78 inches. One group started with the first two shots touching in almost the dead center of the bull, but then I did a Tony Romo, choked and dropped the third shot 1.7 inches away from the first two.
Despite the good groups, I had some trouble holding a consistent zero with the K-Var mount. I’m not sure if I had everything tightened down perfectly or not, but I suspect these side mounts for AKs are just not as sturdy as a traditional scope mount when using large heavy optics.
I’m not going to put much more effort into troubleshooting the set-up, though, because it is obvious that a 3.5-10 x 40 scope has no real practical applicability on this rifle. I did prove that the M+M M10 has a lot of inherent built-in accuracy, though. Going into this review, I would have never believed that I could shoot consistent 1.0 to 1.5 MOA groups with a stock AKM. I’m really impressed with this rifle.
The image above is a “typical” 3-inch group using iron sights at 50 yards. These shots were made using the “rapid aimed fire” technique (one shot every 2 seconds or so), using the dead center between the two shown circles as the point of aim. I shot 13 rounds in this particular string. The six shots in the middle probably approximate what the rifle is capable of. The other seven off-center shots likely reflect my own aiming errors. I will never claim to be an expert marksman using the iron sites on an AKM and I think I’m getting worse with irons in general as my eyes (along with the rest of me) gets older. Naturally, YMMV.
Conclusion
After spending three months with the M+M, I’m definitely ready to add this Kalash to my collection. Despite a few faults, this is a very nice rifle overall, especially if you don’t want to lay out the extra bucks for an Arsenal.
Specifications:
Caliber: 7.62 x 39
Barrel: Chrome-lined, 4-groove 16.25-inch barrel with 1:10 right-hand twist
Length: 36-inch overall
Weight: 7 lbs., 3 ounces empty
Operation: Semi-automatic, long-stroke piston
Finish: Parkerized metal
Trigger: Tapco G-2, 4-pound pull weight
Capacity: One 30-round Tapco mag included; accepts most AK magazines
Sights: Iron (RPK adj. rear sight); side rail is factory installed by M+M
Price: $670-800 (street)
Ratings (Out of Five Stars):
Accuracy: * * * * *
Very accurate for an AK: it’s 1 to 1.5 MOA shooter with good quality U.S.-made ammo and magnified optics. As is typical, imported steel cased ammo won’t shoot quite as well – expect 3 MOA with Wolf, Herters, TulAmmo or the various colored “Bear” ammo.
Ergonomics: * * * *
Typical AK ergonomics, except the Hogue pistol grip and UTG rail covers add to the comfort factor.
Reliability: * * * * *
Come on. It’s an AK.
Durability: * * * *
After 1000 rounds, I didn’t see any indications of premature wear or other signs that this gun won’t go the distance. The Parkerized finish isn’t as durable as other AKs I’ve owned, which warrants a one point deduction.
Customization: * * * * *
Aftermarket parts for AKs are plentiful. The M10 already comes pretty well equipped and doesn’t really need a whole lot of customization. But if you want to swap out parts, you can do so to your heart’s content.
Overall: * * * * ½
The M+M M10-762 provides a lot of value for the money. Although it may not be the most refined AK on the market, it’s accurate and reliable. The Hogue grip and UTG rail covers give it pretty good ergonomics. It gets a surprisingly enthusiastic “buy” recommendation.
The M+M M10-762 rifle for this review was provided by the Kentucky Gun Company.
Tapco and UTG? Be still my heart.
Hogue AK grips are the shizzle! It’s a night and day feel compared to other AK grips.
One of the best upgrades you can make to your AK.
Agreed.
Oh S**t,
That thing is defaced. Don’t check it in NYC!
…and what is wrong with a WASR? They are not that bad.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S WET! QUICK, GET A TOWEL!!!
Sorry, I tend to get nervous when I see water anywhere near a gun.
Relax friend, its an AK, you can pretty much repeatedly smash the receiver off sharp rocks and it’ll still work. Water is no real issue. Now if you’re recovering from losing your AK to Davey Jones, sorry for your loss.
In Russia, water gets nervous when seeing gun.
Damn you! Beat me to it.
An AR has hydrophobia, but around Russian guns water is hoplophobic. Yup.
Don’t even ask me how many ARs I wrote-off due to “jungle rot” electrolysis caused by sweat and humidity, especially in front of the mag well!
We were issued an epoxy kit to make repairs to the lowers!
These are excellent rifles, a little mag finky though as noted in the article. I would still take my SGL20 over it but if I bought a 2nd AK the M10-762 would be my choice
Not bad for the price, and probably more reliable than a similarly priced AR (in today’s market), but it just doesn’t do anything for me. I would think the smart play would be to pay a bit more and get a reliable and more accurate rifle.
Whiteout over the serial number? Isn’t that “defacing a firearm” punishable by 50 lashes with a two week dead carp?
The combination gas block/front sight is usefull if you use over-barrel suppressors (called telescopic suppressors). They are usefull because you dont need to cut down the barrel.
I love the pictures. That should be an AK meme… it makes it look more like a mountain bike than the people killing death machine we all know it is.
Thought the same thing. Excellent photograph.
I was taking nice photographs like that of my guns… then they all fell in the river. That’s right Mr. NSA snoop, they all fell in the river.
“AKMs are typically minute-of-bad guy guns; they are simply not known as tack-drivers.”….which is why these geniuses shortened the sight radius.
Geez. What happened to leaving well enough alone?
Are there any that don’t have the rail? I have precisely zero desire to mount optics on an AK and the only think they serve to do is get hung up on my clothes.
M+M Inc makes a version with Hogue furniture (No UTG rail up front) but I think all versions have the side plate on the receiver.
Yeah, the only ones i’ve seen without the receiver mount have been underfolders. Granted, I really want an underfolder BUT i also don’t want the rail on my fixed stock. lol
Thanks for this review. I saw this, and, “That’s my AK” ! – When folks ask what I have most people have no idea what I’m talking about when I say M+M M10-762. (Maybe now they will.) Made (or finished, at least) here in Colorado, too!
I tell them it’s a Romanian variant and they tend to ‘harumph’. For the reasons stated above. (One LGS has a Century WASR-10 going for $850; I don’t know what it is about Colorado and AKM variants but they’re impossible to find here, so they demand a stupid premium. )
Recently I let a doubter shoot it at the range and the reaction was “Huh. That’s pretty nice.”
I’ve had nothing but good luck with mine. Never a malfunction, nothing. I replaced the ‘stock stock’ with the Phoenix KickLite adjustable stock, too, which is nice. True the sight mount is a bit high, and I do use a MI side mount. I also added the Tapco slotted muzzle device to counter muzzle rise and that does a nice job on recoil too.
I guess I’d have to underline like Joe said: Value for money on this one. You can get cheaper AKMs, you can get better AKMs, but I looked for a while and didn’t find anything at this price/value ratio.
Thanks for the review, confirms pretty much what I felt about it!
Since I’ve become bald, my nitpicking instincts have to be expressed elsewhere. It’s “SIGHTS”, NOT “SITES”, confound it. Strangely, in many places both versions are next to each other.
At least the muzzle brakes and no longer breaking.
You are correct. Thanks. Corrections made. Spelling was never my best subject. Still somehow managed to graduate “cum laude” from law school, though. 🙂
Love this rifle. This review is dead on! The trigger feel is better than almost any other rifle I have shot. I’ve gone through a few thousand rounds and not one single issue even while using cheap Brown Bear and WPA ammo. Excellent value for the money with this rifle.
So I really wanted to read this review because I really want to like this rifle. See, M&M is a sub of a home state company and I like that. I also LOVE my Romanian AKs. I also love that these are new manufacture not old parts on a new receiver and new barrel. My only complaint to now has been the gas block / sight, I just don’t like the looks of it. But you see, I won’t finish this review and find reasons why I should love this rifle and over look the ugly gas block / front sight because [FLAME DELETED] has to continue on the bashing of Century! I get it, they put out some questionable to bad stuff. However, everything I’ve gotten from them (which is quite a bit) has been fantastic, including my WASRs! The truth is, as far as I know, Century is now using a CNC machine to do their magazine wells now too. So, why is it okay to continue to bash on them? If you still don’t like them because you can’t [FLAME DELETED]realize that even good companies can make stuff that has problems from time to time(Springfield XDS anyone???) then fine, don’t buy from them. That will leave more inventory for the rest of us. [FLAME DELETED]
Century Arms International has proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted to make a quality product. They never did come clean on their Tantal debacle, and for a while even had the audacity to say that their warranty period started from the date the FFL holder obtained the firearm (as opposed to the end consumer). If they want me to stop bashing them they can contact me and offer to fix my POS VZ-2008 free of charge (it lost headspace after 200 rounds or so and will not fire because the barrel was not pinned in correctly). In the meantime, I’m working on a review of it and (Spoiler alert) it sucks.
Century never “made” any WASRs, and they have also been CNC milling the WASR and AES magwells since 2009ish.
My 2010 WASR and 2012 AES-10B have very clean magwell cuts and have worked with every mag I’ve ever bought, from Euro steel to Izhmash Bakelites.
The one I received from KGC had some issues. Once I spent another $165 to correct it, I had a reliable rifle that I will consider my go-to for any SHTF situation.
1. Had constant FTEs. This was remedied by ordering a new bolt/carrier/buffer assembly from blackthorne. After swapping around parts, it turns out that the carrier allowed the bolt to wobble horribly. The buffer that comes with the M-10 is essentially 2 loops of wire that slide past each other, versus the telescoping rod assembly I replaced it with.
2. The iron sights were slapped on at the factory. I had to adjust them to get it on paper at 10 yds. Also, you do not want to get a UTG or similar sight adjustment tool for any AK with sights on the gas block. Their alignment tools are cut to work with the standard front sight posts. I had to get the beefy armorer’s sight tool set.
3. I have very little experience with the AK platform, but from the few I have played with, to get any co-witness (even lower 1/3) you would have to mount it to the barrel or really close to it. I put a SPARC red dot on mine, and yes, I lost cheek weld. This was remedied with a Rifle Dynamics Stock adapter. This allowed me to mount any AR stock and riser. I had the opposite issue that you had with my stock. My receiver required some force to push the stock back into it.
4. The higher scope mount seems to be translated to the trigger group as well. Pushing the carrier back into the rifle takes a bit more effort than the MAC-90 and Soviet AKs I have shot and field stripped.
Parts links below.
http://blackthorneproducts.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5_12&products_id=644
http://rifledynamics.com/products/ak-to-m-4-stock-adapter-by-rifle-dynamics
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AK-SKS-Polytech-NOS-HD-Armorer-Sight-Adjustment-Tool-Set-Windage-Elevation-/230780956360
Thanks for the very thorough, well-illustrated review, Joe. That was very well done.
Yeah, not a bad option for the price… Since I was only ever going to get one AK, a milled Arsenal was the choice. And no regrets there. It’s a gem. Like someone else said above, this would be a great #2 AK in the stable. But my stable is mainly American (M1a, AR), so no spots left for any more AK variants.
The Arsenal has changed my mind about AK, btw. AK sure has it’s place and can do things I wouldn’t want to do to my AR’s (including riding it like a mountain bike lol)
I’ve owned one of these in 5.45×39 for a while, so some comments:
1. My magwell was tight with polymer mags, but was great with steel.
2. Most front sight tools don’t like the front post. You’ve got to file your tool until it can get all the way around it.
3. The side rail is maddeningly useless if you care about cheek weld. I wound up using a TWS Dogleg cover, but this introduces its own set of problems (namely, all the good stuff for 5.45×39 needs a side rail!). Why M+M doesn’t fix this, I don’t know. If you’re into American stuff, RS Regulate’s AK310 mount compensates for the high mount.
Don’t get me wrong, I love that rifle… I just feel like a couple adjustments would have made it truly amazing.
Great review Joe, I have had the M10-7.62 rifle for about a year now and I have to say that it is a great firearm . It is a very reliable and very accurate rifle .
Thanks again for a well done review.
I bought mine just before the election and gun control scare for a little under $600 from KYGunCo. I absolutely love it, and I have to agree with this review 100%. I plan on Duracoating it desert camo(I live in AZ) and getting a fore grip and a cheap red dot for it, but i was very impressed by the accuracy OOTB. I managed a 1 1/2 inch group at 50 yard my first time out with it, with the stock iron sights. Can not beat it for the money. There are better AK’s out there for sure, but not at that price!
It’s not “Sadr”, it’s Sadu.
And it’s not “Cujir”, it’s Cugir.
Not that it matters, we can’t have in Canada 🙁
Thanks! Corrections made!
Joe, great interesting review! I like buying value and that is a gun to put on the wish list. The top pic with Oregon scenery in the background is well tops.
To those that wonder why we bash Century:
Joe and I bought Century Bulgarian AK-74s at the same time. His had a badly canted front sight, and mine had the wrong caliber barrel. 50% critical defects so far, although I discovered my barrel issue quickly and my dealer made Century replace it. Joe had to pay a gunsmith $45 to straighten and re-pin his Bulgy’s front sight.
Joe also had a Century Polish Tantal with the wrong-caliber (or wrong-twist) barrel. It was a keyholing, inaccurate POS: 20 inch groups at 50 yards! Century replaced it, but even the “new” one will only shoot 53 grain 7N6 without keyholing, and even those will likely keyhole in really cold weather. No Wolf 60 grainers for you, Mr. Grine! Now 66% critical defects, with 3 guns.
Joe has a Century Golani Sporter, which, as is typical for these Century builds, jams on the last round. 3 out of 4 guns have problems.
Joe also bought a VZ 2008 which simply self-destructed after two hundred rounds – the barrel wasn’t pinned in correctly. Once again, Century refused to fix it, because it sat on the FFL’s shelf too long. 4 for 5 suckage rate: Failure rate now 80% over five rifles.
80% critical defects is 100% unacceptable. This is why we slam Century. When they change their QA and warranty policies, we’ll change our opinion.
Any problems with that?
Excellent review , I really do like this firearm and when I seen it on CTD.com for $630 bucks I just had to have it . Shipping took a little while considering the ship date fell on Veterans Day, but all things considered it made it to my FFL in a timely fashion. I expected the m10 at FFL and everything seemed fine, fit seemed good, finish is some what finicky & crude but what the hell, it’s an Akm right? So I accepted the transfer. Got it home, gave it a little tlc with some simple green to rid of packing grease and all was dandy or atleast so I thought, I did happen to notice what seems like a cant either in the front sight gas block & rear sight or the barrel. The sights seem maybe an 1/8th of an inch off to the left and the barrel seems a tiny bit to the right. So I’m kinda pissed off at this point & didn’t get a chance to take it to the range until about a week later , gun functioned like a champ shooting nothing but some Walmart special, steel cased 122 gr. FMJ tulammo, & I’m not surprised, theirs not that much that’ll stop an ak from firing, that is unless something’s really fudged up. Anywho, I didn’t bench rest the rifle considering the rainy/cold shitty weather we were having here that day in the north east. But I did tolerate enough of it to burn up about 300 rounds in about an hour and a half . Firing this weapon as intended; standing up I was hitting my targets from 25 yards without a problem after a few adjustments at the RPK style rear sight . But I figure at 25 yards you’re not going to notice whether or not if your guns poi is off or not , or atleast not that much , but in the same hand at 100yds that’s going to be a whole different story . Once I bench it @ 100 and see where I’m hitting I’ll decide whether I should get in touch with M+M to take advantage of its 1 years warranty or not . I realize those guys are busy as all hell trying to get those guns out, I understand supply and demand but when you pay a reasonable amount of money for a firearm as a consumer you expect good craftsmanship and quality control . The gun is great besides one tight ass fitting UTG quad-rail (FYI; I had a hell of a time getting tht sucker back on properly after disassembly, had to bust out the file to get the bottom section of the rail to fit onto receiver and the front sight gas block assembly properly) & the crook in sights or barrel this gun would be excellent and highly recommended for the value. Maybe I got the lemon out of the bunch, I don’t know . Has anyone had this problem and did they get in touch with M+m for repairs ? If so please let me know how it went and whether I should send it back or not . Thanks for your time . Stay safe , shoot straight, and protect and defend our 2nd amendment by anymeans, nowadays anymore that’s all that we really have left as Americans .
my friend bought this rifle not too long ago, ive read some of the reviews on this site and well i dont know maybe he got a shit gun but let me start from the beginning. when his rifle first arrived he realized that the front sight was canted left, also the top receiver has a slight bur to it as well as the actual safety mechanism. Making his particular rifle unable to engage the safety ( without some tweaking of the mechanism ). He also has shot no more than 53 rounds through his rifle between our two range trips, and the gun is literally falling apart. The spring that attaches to the trigger falls off making the trigger wobble. The parts that actually hold the gun together are all falling apart and now the handle is wobbling out of place. I mean what the fuck happened? after my friends experience with this gun i doubt either of us will ever by from M&M again.
Purchased this rifle a few months ago from the KGC and have put hundreds of rounds through it without a problem. Accuracy is excellent on man-sized targets which is what I practice with…not worried about “the MOA” math mumble jumble…it’s a combat rifle not a sniper rifle…didn’t use “optics” during my service and didn’t need to…iron sights, good basic marksmanship training, point and “click”…with all that being said, this rifle is NOT a POS AK-47 like found around the world and I love the fact that it’s tight and accurate…problems with magazines? Not many if you use TAPCO or PLINKER…a little tight in the well? Ram it and jam it and they’ll work out fine…can’t do a smooth combat reload? Practice more! Problems with FTE, FTF? Check your magazines and how they’re seating before you spend a lot of money for nothing! If someone got a “lemon” that fell apart, sorry about that…send it back to M+M and they’ll take care of it. It’s an above average AK-47 knock-off at a decent price from a good company! Want something better than a WASR but don’t want to spend 1K bucks, buy this one! I wanted the .30 cal versus .223 for “zombiegeddon” and also to have fun with…my combat wasn’t in the “sandbox” and in order to get to the great wide-open from where I live, one has to negotiate the “jungle”…perfect weapon for all that seems practical! OOH-RAH!! Semper Fi!!
I purchased an m10 when the availabilty came back after this last ammo and rifle shortage. The barrel is crooked, I can’t put an optic because the muzzle end of the rail is so off to the left, I can’t properly adjust the any red dot sight. The hammer spring wore out after a thousand rounds. The utg style rail would get very hot very fast and stayed hot for quite awhile. The rifle would not shoot hollow points, I had to grind down the feed ramp. The stock wobbled alot. A Midwest industries rail worked a lot better. One thing though, this rifle shot on point straight outta the box, no canted gas block. Many tool marks. The or hand guard retainers are severely crooked as well as the gas piston. The author of this article got very lucky or I have bad luck. The rifle works but I wouldn’t recommend to anyone.
I bought my M10 in 2011, it was one of the early imports. I like my M10 a lot, solid and as we all know, virtually indestructable. Mine came with the Razr attached and it failed very quickly, suffered a crack lengthways that started at one of the slots. I have since replaced that with a shorter one, designed similarly to a M4 birdcage. I’m tall and that short stock didn’t cut it so I replaced it with a cheap 6-position Magpul knockoff.
I’m glad I got mine early..paid $500 out the door and haven’t regretted it. All in all, it’s a very nice AK variant.
I bought my M10 in July 2012. Excellent shooter, eats any ammo I put thru it with no stoppages and accurate. I have no optics on it but I am thinking about it. As has been stated already, the steel mags that came with it (the dealer gave me two steel mags instead of the plastic ones) work perfectly. The plastic mags seem to have some fit issues. This is my SHTF rifle.
just put a ak m+m on layaway put 600 buck down and im glad to see this review thank you
I agree 100% with the reviewer. I love mine! Not running out to sell my AR’s but this is a nice rifle. Put a slidefire on with a hi cap drum and is now a crowdpleaser. Would like a sliding buttstock with variable length of pull however. Great price for a really cool AK.
Just wanted to say “Thanks” for a very thorough (and sometimes humorous) review. While I love my ARs, my AKs are absolutely my favorites. Rugged and dependable. Looks like I’m going to have to add another to my collection.
I’ve had mine for about 8 months now and it has been rock solid. The only complaints I have are with the side mount and the front site/gas block assembly.
——The side mount is installed way too high to use with a red dot like a PK-01V which should co-witness with the iron sites. To work around this I ordered a RS Regulate AK-310 mount that is made specifically for the M10. If you don’t need it to co-witness then this shouldn’t be a problem.
——The front site sits so far back that installing a new brake like a Mantacore Arms NightBrake will not work. There isn’t a set pin to hold a brake in place with this type of setup. I haven’t found a good work around besides having the brake soldered or welded if I want to go with that style brake.
Overall I like the M10 762 and would recommend it if the above complaints are not an issue.
Thank you for that incredibly well-done review, it was non-biased and very thorough. I’m ready to buy.
I got this gun about 2 weeks ago. Just Shot it yesterday. Four different people shot it. No problems at all with wolf. The Tapco mag worked great. Also shot two other mags. One Korean grey steel and one black steel ( don’t know where from). Both worked great. Not one FTF at all. Did not spend a lot of time on checking on target placement. Just several mag dumps. All three mags fit well. Tapco was a little tight, but after a few times taking it out and putting it back in, it worked just fine. Great AK. No complaints. Got it for $599.00 in South Mississippi. Total $641.00 out the door.
Oh, forgot to mention, none of us had ever fired an AK type rifle before. So pretty dang easy to get the hang of. Next will be trying to actually hit a target with accuracy. Will report back..
Got mine in today and after all of the positive reviews I can say I’m a little disappointed, my front sight post is crooked and I can’t get the bolt carrier out to save my life :/
Yeah, the front post on most AKMs under a grand are off. If you know a good machinist or gunsmith, it’s a $60 fix. The bolt carrier will need to be “slammed” back the first few dissasemblies. The slot is surprisingly tight. It’s an AKM, so you won’t hurt it.
so, i bought one of these late 2013, and I’ve had 0 problems with it (that were not caused by a mag ~cough promag cough~) and I love it. I actually use it as an example of a reliable, accurate battle rifle that is not an AR. my only issue with it is, and i can’t believe this hasn’t been brought up, that it has no provisions for a bayonet. now, if you are like me, i want my SHTF rifle to be useful after you have run out of ammo, a bayonet is a must! I am currently debating on either switching out the gas block or getting a clamp-on lug to fix this problem. Also, the factory fixed stock seems rather flimsy after you take off the buttplate and look inside. probably going to switch that out too. In closing, i will say that this is, all things considered, the best AK out there for the budget minded. And a must for anyone who disapproves of the gas blowback AR rifles (like me)
I copped two of these almost immediately after they were introduced in 2011 I think, and paid $499 each. Great AK’s.
Romanian weapons aren’t bad. I own a WASR and a mini-Draco, and they eat everything I put in them. Never once had a malfunction. Granted, if you get a canted sight, you have rightful gripes. However, you can easily detect a canted sight. The guns you can’t trust are those that have hidden issues. If you see a canted sight, return the firearm. Point is, you can examine a WASR for 5 seconds and tell if its gonna be an all-star. Mine was (and still is). In fact, this very website gave the WASR 5 stars
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Just reading the first paragraph shows me that you have absolutely no clue about AKs whatsoever. Romanian made a case are the baseline of acceptable as good. century arms makes 100% junk on everything. The only good items they have are imports. All Romanian guns are imports. The stuff they make in the United States is junk. You have no clue what you’re talking about.
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