Century Arms has brought another AK to the market for 2022 and had its new BFT47 on hand at the NRA Annual Meeting in Houston over Memorial Day weekend to show it off. The company's description of the rifle positions it as the “new flagship rifle of Century Arms” with the goal to set it as the new standard for American-made AK-pattern rifles.

“Our test guns have over 20,000 rounds through them, brass and steel, with zero deformation.” said Adam Ruonala, Century Arms and Canik marketing director, who was quick to point out some of the added features on the BFT47 that arouse from the feedback from American AK fans.

Over the years, Century Arms has imported and built a variety of AKs for American consumers, such as the companies VSKA and WASR series, but there are things that help the BFT47 stand out if you know what to look for.
 

The BFT47 line all offer a bayonet lug and cleaning rod, which are hardly unique in the AK world but often missing features on previous American-made and even imported AKs. Less common is the inclusion of an extended T-shaped magazine release paddle and enhanced safety selector, which features additional support for manipulating the safety and a cut to lock the bolt to the rear. That last point is a nice touch if you’ve spent time with AKs at ranges when the range officer calls for the actions to be locked open…and you can’t. 

There’s also the addition of a left-side optic rail and the RAK-1 enhanced trigger group. To put more of an American-made stamp on it, the guns also feature all-American hardwood – currently available in a more common blond American maple look or a dark red American hardwood engraved limited-edition Veterans version.

But the real upgrade is the 1.5mm stamped receiver that leads into the “BFT” in the name, i.e. bulged/forged front trunnion. Made of 4140 steel, the thicker trunnion is designed to beef up the durability over thinner 1mm variants. Additional features include a carburized 4140 steel bolt, 1.5 mm heat treated stamped 4130 steel receiver, and 16-inch 1:10 chrome-moly 4150 steel barrel.