Century Arms BFT47 Pistol Review

If you are looking for a compact AK pistol, Century Arms’ BFT47 is an affordable option with some nice upgrades, given its relatively low price point.

Century took some liberties with the classic AK design on this American-made model, but I found it charmingly compact and fun to shoot. Here’s how it performed for me over 300 rounds of testing.

Quick Summary: Century’s BFT47 Pistol proved to be reliable and shockingly accurate for an AK pistol. It is loud, but the compact size and optics-ready design make it an affordable, range-ready AK pistol option or project gun in an increasingly pricey AK market.

Table of Contents

Video Demo
Features
Specifications
Accuracy & Reliability
Pros & Cons
Final Thoughts

Video Demo

Features

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — The profile of this AK is a bit unique, especially at the front end with the hooded sight and "A2" flash hider. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

The BFT47 Pistol’s claim to fame would have to be the bulged front trunnion that gave it the name BFT. You can see these forged trunnions up front in the receiver. The 1.5mm steel receiver itself is stamped, and the left side sports an optics rail.

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — BFT stands for bulged front trunnion, which is a modification to the AK design that adds robustness to a key high-stress area. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — You can see that reinforced trunnion inside the stamped receiver. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

Century did upgrade most of the controls. The magazine release lever is oversized, and the safety selector lever has multiple raised ridges for easier manipulation. The safety lever is also cut to allow the lever to hold the bolt to the rear.

That’s a nice touch for cleaning, clearing brass crumbs, and for any ranges that require open breeches when guns are not in use.

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — An optics rail on the left side makes it easy to add red dots and scopes, while the enhanced safety lever features a cut to manually lock the bolt to the rear. The magazine release lever is also oversized. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — The rear sight is adjustable for elevation, and the front post is drift-adjustable for windage. The front host a shroud with a cut for better visibility of the front sight post. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

Trigger snobs will not love the standard-feeling, clunky AK trigger on this gun, but it’s essentially the same as most of the competition. The same is true for the rear elevator sight. However, Century got creative with the front sight, which sports an enclosed hood instead of the standard open-faced horseshoe. A circular opening at the top acts like a skylight to better silhouette the front post.

In a peculiar but practical twist, the front of the barrel sports an AR-like “A2” flash hider. It isn’t a mil-spec A2 flash hider, which would have a closed bottom. While it is strange to see this on an AK platform, it’s also very helpful.

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — Century topped the front of the barrel with an A2-like flash hider. The takedown button on the bottom right and the trigger on the top left are fairly basic AK parts these days. The trigger is a RAK-1 enhanced trigger group, which is better than some stock AK triggers, but it’s still a bit clunky. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — The front sight and flash hider give the gun a rather unique silhouette compared to a standard AK-47. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

The BFT47 Pistol’s short barrel all but guarantees a fireball with every shot. This is mitigated fairly well by the A2-like flash hider. Still, this gun has a very loud bark when shooting. Be sure to wear hearing protection whenever you take it to the firing line.

The barrel offers standard Russian M14x1 threads with a left-hand twist. Century left a stock screw hole at the rear of the receiver for those who want to add a brace or file some paperwork with the ATF to make this a short-barreled rifle.

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — The handguard is American maple, and the pistol grip is polymer. The rear of the receiver is ready for a stock/brace adapter. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

Finally, there’s bright American maple wood for the front handguard. The polymer pistol grip is somewhat narrow, but that helps you lock your hand around the grip. Some mild diamond-pattern texturing is added to the sides. Overall, it’s a comfortable grip, but the gun is too front-heavy to wield practically with just one hand.

Specifications

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — This all-American-made AK clone doesn’t have any real surprises on the inside. This is your standard AK piston, bolt, bolt carrier, recoil spring, and receiver cover that you’d expect on just about any other AK. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

Here’s a quick breakdown of the basic specs for the Century Arms BFT47 Pistol.

Weight: 6.6 pounds (no magazine)
Length: 22.5 inches
Barrel Length: 12.6 inches (13.75 inches with “A2” flash hider)
Sight Radius: 11 inches
Width: 2 inches (widest receiver point), 1.8 inches (handguard bulge)
Height: 6.9 inches
Caliber: 7.62x39mm
Capacity: 30+1
Included Magazine: 30-round US Palm mag
Thread Pattern: M14x1 LH
Receiver Type: 1.5mm stamped steel, bulged/forged front trunnion
Handguard Material: American maple
Optics Mount: Side rail
Country of Manufacture: USA
Trigger Pull: 4.7 pounds

Accuracy & Reliability

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — I shot my targets with a Vortex Defender ST red dot. The iron sights work, but they are small and hard to really use on this large-format pistol. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

I have put 300 rounds of various ammo types through this gun so far with no malfunctions. It runs like an AK should, and that includes the enjoyable mechanical feel that comes with the large pistol and bolt assembly.

While I have no complaints about the reliability, I was very surprised by the practical accuracy I got with this gun.

Here’s what the BFT can do to a target at 15 and 50 yards.

Two targets — I hip-shot this Triumph System’s Threat Down Bleeding Yeti target on the left at 15 yards just for fun. These bleeding targets are an absolute riot, and I’ve been using them for several years now. The accuracy for that was terrible, but a full mag will get the job done. The target on the right was what I got for my actual accuracy testing, which I did at 50 yards. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

BFT47 Targets — The left was my slow-fire standing target at 50 yards, and that ended up as a remarkably tight 3-inch group. The top right was shot off a bag at 50 yards. Minus the single flier, that group nearly cut a single hole in the target. The bottom right was shot while seated at a bench, and it was about the same as my standing target. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

AK Magazines — I found this AK ran fine with Magpul, US Palm, surplus steel, Tapco, and Arsenal AK magazines. My ammo was a mix of brass- and steel-cased 7.62x39mm, and it all cycled without any issues. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

Despite the short 12.6-inch barrel, this gun can do some precision work at 50 yards with a red dot. It also has some decent practical accuracy when shot off a bench and from standing.

With that said, the iron sights that come with the gun are small and hard to use on a pistol-format AK. They are standard AK sights, but I’m rather terrible with those anyway. They work, but I would lean toward adding some kind of optic to this gun if you want it for more than just fun plinking and Rambo-style hip shooting.

Pros & Cons

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol

Here’s my list of the top pros and cons for the Century Arms BFT47 Pistol:

Pros:

Reliable
Surprisingly accurate
Enhanced controls
Optics rail
Bulged front trunnion
Affordable price
Very fun to shoot
Ready for a brace adapter
American-made gun
“A2” flash hider works well

Cons:

Loud, even for an AK
Harder to shoot without a brace
Trigger is a clunky, standard AK affair
Too heavy for one-handed shooting
Brace adapter not included
Hard to shoot accurately fast without a brace

Final Thoughts

Century Arms BFT47 Pistol — I’ve been on a heavy AK kick lately, and this one is certainly among the more unique models I’ve gotten to test. For the money, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. (Photo: Paul Peterson/Guns.com)

No, it’s not your standard AK-47. It has some unique tweaks, such as the large-format pistol design, hooded front sight, and A2-style flash hider. However, the BFT47 keeps things affordable while still delivering reliability and some surprising accuracy for an AK pistol.

I would slap a brace on this range companion if it were my personal firearm. Still, it is surprisingly charming in its compact pistol format.

The addition of upgraded controls, a bulged/forged front trunnion, and an easy-to-use optics rail make this a range-ready shooter. It is a loud gun, but that short barrel is half the fun.

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