What was once a booming market for cheap foreign-made AK rifles has dramatically dried up over the last few years. Even USA-based AK sellers and makers have taken a hit, with budget-friendly Pioneer Arms recently closing its doors and Kalashnikov USA filing for bankruptcy shortly after. 

Thankfully, there are still a handful of homegrown designs that can be had at entry-level prices. Top among these at the moment is the Russian-red VSKA from Century Arms. It’s consistently near the bottom for cost, but what can you really expect out of a budget AK like the VSKA? 

Well, here’s the good, the bad, and the not-so-ugly if you’re in the market for a cost-friendly AK.

Table of Contents

Pros & Cons
Overview
Specs & Features
Trigger
Reliability
Accuracy
Conclusion

Pros & Cons

Let’s hit the highlights first for the Century Arms Russian-red VSKA. Here are my top pros and cons for this rifle:

Pros:

• Low price point
• Reliable, even with cheap ammo
• Reasonably accurate
• Vibrant red furniture
• S7 tool steel bolt, feed ramp, trunnion
• Chrome-moly 4150 barrel prevents corrosion
• Decent muzzle compensator
• Accepts most AK magazines
• Enlarged mag release

Cons:

• Basic AK iron sights are just OK
• No optics rail
• Fit and finish are decent, but budget
• Matte texture finish collects marks
• No bulged trunnion
• Not a precision shooter
• Not the best option for high-volume shooting

Bottom Line Up Front: The VSKA rifle is a reliable AK variant with some nice enhancements to the basic AK parts. It is not a precision shooter or a gun I would recommend for extremely high volumes of shooting. Early models had some QC and longevity issues, which Century Arms addressed. Still, this is not what I would pick as a go-to-war AK. You can expect functional accuracy and reliable cycling that will satisfy most folks’ AK cravings at a reasonable price while also looking good.
 

Overview

Century Arms launched its VSKA family of AK-47 clones in 2018. Perhaps the most remarkable “feature” of the gun – at least right now – is that it remains largely unaffected by the price spikes that have impacted import and domestic AKs in recent years. 

As an example, at the time of this writing, the once notoriously cheap imported WASR-10 AKs are demanding several extra Benjamin Franklins compared to this red VSKA.

In fact, the cost of the current VSKA lineup is routinely below the original $735.95 set in 2018. For those who follow the market for AK rifles, that’s rather remarkable in the age of inflation and import restrictions. 
 

The VSKAs come in various forms and finishes, but the one I have here wears deep, blood-red furniture that makes it pop on the range and gun shop walls. The finish is vibrant, but it’s not terribly deep. Regardless, after several trips back and forth to the range that included 300 rounds of shooting in a single day, the finish and parts show no notable signs of wear or damage.

Let’s jump into the specs.
 

Specs & Features

The VSKA uses a typical AK action that relies on a gas-operated piston and bolt assembly. Standout features on these USA-made AKs include chrome-moly 4150 barrels for corrosion resistance and heat-treated S7 tool steel used in the gun’s heavy-wear parts. 

Those S7 parts include the non-bulged trunnion, bolt carrier, and feed ramp. There’s also a carburized 4140 steel bolt. Another nice feature is the RAK-1 Enhanced Trigger Group, which is a clear step up from the many of the rather clunky AK triggers out there. I’ve got a demo video for that trigger in the trigger section below.

The manganese-phosphate finish looks nice and hasn’t shown any wear so far. However, it has a somewhat sandy texture that makes it a magnet for small specks of debris and oil. That’s a minor cosmetic complaint that has no bearing on reliability and function. More on that below.
 

Here’s a quick breakdown of the basic specs:

Weight: 7.6 pounds
Length: 36.2 inches
Barrel Length: 16.25 inches (18 inches with muzzle device)
Sight Radius: 14.9 inches
Length of Pull: 12.8 inches
Muzzle Threads: 14x1 LH
Capacity: 30+1 7.62x39mm (accepts most AK mags)
Trigger Pull: 5.22 pounds (10-pull average)
 

Overall, I like the look and feel of the furniture on this model, and the texture on the pistol grip works well without feeling overly gritty.

Here's a look at some other key features worth noting.
 

Overall, the VSKA is a good-looking AK variant that’s wieldy and pleasant in the hands. It doesn’t feel like an overbuilt tank, which is either good or bad depending on what kind of shooting you want to do.
 

Trigger

Unlike most AKs that sport a braided hammer spring, this VSKA hosts a rolled and bent wire spring. The RAK-1 Enhanced Trigger Group is definitely an improvement on traditional AK triggers that are hard to predict and almost flop into the break instead of predictably hitting a wall.

Here’s a closer look at that trigger in action.

As you can see, staging the trigger isn’t difficult, and you can feel the wall with the pad of your finger. This allows for easy staging at the wall before breaking your shots. It isn’t nearly as refined as even rather basic AR triggers, but it worked well on the range and lent itself to decent accuracy for my testing. 

You can also run that RAK-1 trigger fast thanks to the positive, springy reset. On that note, let’s review how this gun fared on the range for accuracy. 
 

Accuracy

My test ammo for these targets was all 125-grain Remington Core-Lokt. Since this gun had no optics rail, I had to rely on the small rear notch and front post for my testing.

These work, but I’ve never been able to shoot them nearly as well as the peep-style aperture sights common on AR-15s and other more traditionally American rifle designs. Even so, my 50-yard targets had tight groups with occasional fliers.

Since standard AK sights do not lower to 50 yards and tend to shoot high anyway, I had to hold on my targets, which left room for a few fliers. Here’s how that turned out.
 

Between my nearsighted eyes and general mediocre skills with AK iron sights, the 100-yard groups were serviceable but nothing to write home about.
 

I would say these groups are about the limit of my abilities with this rifle unless I have an optic. I imagine the gun could shoot better, but I cannot with the stock sights. Nevertheless, hitting a man-sized target and 10-inch steel plates is not hard and easily repeatable. Precision, on the other hand, is a challenge.
 

Reliability

As for reliability, this VSKA has 540 rounds through it. Test ammo included 240 rounds of steel-cased 123-grain Brown Bear hollow-point ammo, 240 rounds of brass-cased 123-grain PMC Bronze FMJ, and 60 rounds of 125-grain Remington Core-Lokt.

To the gun’s credit – and the AK platform as a whole – the issues were few. I only experienced a handful of “malfunctions” that were easy-to-clear stovepipes, which only happened when I was shooting off a bag that impeded some of the ejecting cases.
 

All the mags I tested ran fine, though some are a bit tighter/looser than others. 
 

Conclusion

This Russian-red VSKA is a good-looking gun, especially for the money, but it feels far more like a fun, nimble shooter than a hard-use tank eager for abusive range sessions. Given its pocket-friendly price tag, I would treat it less as a disposable rental car and more as a fun range companion for those looking to scratch that AK itch.

It could serve as a home defense firearm, and its reliability has been great in my testing. The close-range accuracy is solid, and it can still reach out to do some practical shooting at longer ranges. 

If the goal is to add a fun AK to your collection as an occasional shooter, this gun fits the bill.