Century Arms PAP M92: A Range Review

Century Arms International (CAI) has been manufacturing firearms from parts kits and components for a number of years. In the beginning, some of their firearms left a little to be desired. However, in recent years, they’ve stepped up their game and have been producing some very nice guns.

I have one of their AK-63D underfolder AKs, and it’s a great rifle. So when my buddy bought one of their PAP M92 AK-47 pistols, I jumped at the chance to help put it through its paces.

Poor Man’s Krinkov

A true Short Barreled Rifle (SBR) “Krinkov” (a copy of the AKS74U) goes for big money these days, plus you have to jump through the hoops of the ATF’s Class III licensing maze.

Century’s PAP 92 offers a similar platform for far less money. Granted, it doesn’t have a bona fide shoulder stock, but a brace can be attached, making it somewhat close.

As a bit of trivia, the name “Krinkov” is slang, and the Russians have never referred to the AKS74U in that manner. The shortened AK-74 variant initially served as a PDW (Personal Defensive Weapon) for tank crews and such, but it has morphed into a most desirable (and pricey) “Cool Guy” toy these days.

Tech Specs

Let’s take a gander at the technical specifications of the PAP 92 before we hit the range.

The barrel length is 10 inches. The pistol weighs 6.6 pounds and has an overall length (excluding the brace) of 19.3 inches. It is chambered in 7.62x39mm, though Century also has a model chambered in 5.56mm.

With the very short barrel, the 7.62x39mm is the better bet because velocity loss isn’t too extreme with that round in the shorter barrel.

The PAP 92’s muzzle features an optional muzzle device that acts as a booster for the short gas system and directs gases and blasts away from the shooter.

The standard dust cover was replaced by a unit from Texas Weapons Systems, which features a Picatinny rail and an aperture sight that fits on the rail. The aperture sight can be placed at the rear of the dust cover, giving a longer sight radius, which helps with accuracy. If one were so inclined, one could easily add an optic to the Pic rail.

Finer Details

We gave the PAP 92 a thorough once-over, noting the fit and finish, which is quite good. The controls are all very standard for an AK, with the safety lever and magazine release being in the expected places. Really, nothing was remarkable in those aspects.

The dust cover with Picatinny rail is hinged and attached to the receiver where the rear sight assembly would normally be on an AK, which makes it nice for field stripping. The cover is held in place and aligned, and all you have to do when reassembling is guide it back down and snap it into place. Aside from that, it’s a pretty basic AK-47.

The trigger is quite good on this model; good enough that you can notice a difference on the Century Arms gun when comparing it to an AK made in another country. I compared it to the trigger on my Century-made AK63D, and they’re both similar. In fact, you can read about the AK63D here.

One thing that we noted with both the PAP 92 and the AK63D is that certain magazines don’t always like to fit in the magazine wells. For instance, my Bulgarian 30-round magazines were an extremely tight fit in the mag well of the PAP 92. And I’ve had that same issue with certain magazines for my AK63D. From what I can gather on this subject, not all AK-47 magazines are manufactured to the same specifications. I guess it makes sense, considering we see magazines made in China, Korea, Russia, Bulgaria, and a host of other countries from around the world. There are bound to be variations, and not all rifles will take to every magazine. Still, it can be frustrating.

At The Range

Here’s where the real test comes into play. Was the PAP 92 reliable? Was it accurate? Inquiring minds want to know!

We stuffed some magazines full of ammo and hit the range. Initially, I lined up my shots at 25 yards for some close-in drills, and then we moved out to 75 yards to ensure that the pistol was accurate enough to reach out a bit.

At 25 yards, there were a few groups where the impacts were actually touching. Frankly, we were a bit shocked by that level of accuracy, but it wasn’t a fluke, as we replicated these results a few times. Even when rounds weren’t touching, the groups were very tight. At 75 yards, groups obviously opened up some. But with us shooting offhand at 75 yards, accuracy was quite acceptable, easily keeping all the rounds on an IPSC target.

And yes, it was 100% reliable, which was not a surprise to us. We ran several brands of steel-cased ammo through the pistol, including Wolf and TulAmmo. All performed as they should.

Muzzle Blast

Because the gun has a 10-inch barrel, I was expecting my eardrums to take a beating and to see muzzle flashes resembling the sun. But in reality, the noise wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting; in fact, it sounded just like…an AK. Nothing extra really happened. Granted, I think the muzzle device was pretty efficient at directing the noise and blast away from the shooter, and I’d recommend that exact device if you go this route. But other than that, there just wasn’t anything worth writing home about. It was just your standard AK.

Yes, it was every bit as bright as we anticipated, and maybe even a little more. With certain brands of ammo, it was downright spectacular, while with others, it was more subdued.

Where recoil was concerned, there might have been a little more than a regular AK, but it was barely discernable. Trust me; we shot the AK63D right alongside the PAP 92 just to compare them, so there was no mistaking reality. The little PAP was quite civil as far as recoil was concerned. That surprised us because of the lighter weight; we figured it would be more pronounced, but it really wasn’t.

Final Thoughts

Initially, I thought Century Arms’s PAP 92 AK pistol might be more of a range toy/novelty/fun sort of pistol. However, after handling and shooting it, the gun’s utility became apparent. While it’s a run-of-the-mill AK in many respects, its shorter profile made it rather easy to wield and maneuver.

It handles efficiently in tight quarters, such as a home or vehicle. As a vehicle or truck gun, its value is obvious, as it can be tucked away until needed. It has plenty of practical accuracy to reach realistic distances. In fact, there’s more than enough range and accuracy for the vast majority of self-defense scenarios that I could ever imagine.

In addition to functioning with complete reliability and accuracy, it looks cool, too. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with our firearm looking cool; it’s just another plus. Ammunition and magazines are widely available for the AK, which is another major advantage that this gun has going for it. And if you’re looking to turn a pistol into an SBR, this would be a great stepping-off point as you launch into the process of filling out the ATF’s Class III paperwork for an SBR.