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Home Articles Articles by Issue Volume 16 V16N4 (4th Quarter 2012)

CENTURY’S C-93 RIFLE & PISTOL

SAR Staff by SAR Staff
September 16, 2022
in V16N4 (4th Quarter 2012), Articles, Articles by Issue, Guns & Parts, Search by Issue, Volume 16
CENTURY’S C-93 RIFLE & PISTOL
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By Will Dabbs, MD

In the field of small arms design there are frequently multiple routes available to reach the same destination. As such, the many methods by which gun designers have harnessed the energy of a detonating cartridge and used it to subsequently cycle the action of a repeating firearm can be fascinating. There is the Ljungman-inspired direct-gas impingement system, gas tappets, long recoil systems, short recoil systems, and pistons of all shapes and sizes. There are bolts that rotate, tip, pivot, and float. One of the most fascinating, however, is the Teutonic contrivance of locking by means of roller bearings.

The first roller-locked German assault rifles had their genesis in the waning days of World War II. Adapted loosely from the roller-locked, recoil-operated system of the extraordinary MG 42 belt-fed General Purpose Machine Gun, this line of roller-locked infantry rifles traces its parentage through the Spanish CETME produced in Spain by German engineers soon after the close of WWII. The design was brought back to Germany in the 1950s and produced as the G3 in 7.62 x 51mm. The G3 went on to become one of the most successful Western-produced weapons of the Cold War. Subsequent evolution of the design led to the 5.56 x 45mm HK-33 and the ubiquitous 9mm MP-5. For a relatively brief period of time the 5.56mm rifle was imported into the United States as the semiautomatic-only HK-93.

The original C-93 rifle is a spitting image of the 1980s classic HK-93. It is lightweight, accurate, and robust and sells for less than the originals did back in the 80s. Overall, it is a great bargain in the black rifle market.



The HK-93 was a jewel in any 1980s-era gun collection. They were never all that common and after the import ban under George Bush Senior the prices on these pieces grew to outrageous proportions. Today an original pre-ban HK-93 brings at least a couple thousand dollars or more on the rare occasion that they can be found. It is into this sad state of affairs that Century International Arms works their magic yet again.

Century Arms has carved itself a tidy spot in the American gun market by, among other things, resurrecting surplus gun kits on U.S.-made receivers. They offer some unique and fascinating firearms as a result. This author has owned several and has been very pleased with them as reliable shooters that are priced for the common man. The full-sized C-93 rifle was profiled in detail in a previous article. (SAR, August, 2011)

The C-93 pistol lends itself well to offhand firing using a buttcap-mounted sling as a firing platform. Interestingly, in this configuration the weapon is both comfortable and effective. Shooters of various experience levels could consistently make hits on targets at typical handgun ranges and the full power .223 round packs quite a punch even out of the short tube.



Big Brother Brings a Lot to the Table

The original C-93 is a very nice contemporary rendition of the HK-93 that has been on sale for several years now. The standard C-93 is built from excellent surplus military parts on a new-made U.S. receiver. I have pushed several thousand rounds through mine since the first article and have had nary a hiccup. It is a nice-looking rifle that is as reliable as a ball peen hammer. My copy shoots straight, readily eats any respectable ammunition, and looks great. The purchase price on this rifle is lower today than was that of an original thirty years ago even discounting inflation.

One of the interesting aspects of the roller-locked recoil system used in these guns is that it will function reliably independent of barrel length. Unlike traditional gas-operated weapons that depend upon a pulse of high-pressure gas to cycle a weapon’s action, the HK series of roller-locked rifles will function just fine whether the barrel is one inch long or twenty. As a result HK successfully marketed a line of short-barreled variants of their rifle lineup back in the day as well. The short-barreled version of the HK-33 that spawned the newest Century offering was designated the HK-53.

The C-93 pistol combines the power and reliability of the full-sized German rifle with the compact footprint of a stockless submachine gun.



Origins

American gun laws are just plain ridiculous. The arbitrary definitions of Rifles, Pistols, Shotguns, Machine Guns, and, Lord help us; Any Other Weapons can boggle the mind. As a result of this disjointed mess we do get some fascinating products directed specifically at the U.S. consumer, however. One of those is the classic, for lack of a better term, purpose-built pistol-made-from-rifle-parts.

AR-15 pistols have been around for years. They come in countless configurations from several suppliers. SIG also offers a pistol version of their 550-series black rifle with a short carbine barrel and no stock. There has been any number of Kalashnikov-based handguns floating about as well. The new kid on the block for this odd genre is the Century C-93 handgun.

The buttstock on the C-93 pistol is replaced with a buttcap that includes a handy sling swivel.



The Runt of the Litter Still Bites Hard

The HK-53 was in essence a full-sized HK-33 action mated to the slightly modified forend of the MP-5 submachine gun. The resulting gun was compact and maneuverable while still launching full-powered 5.56mm ammunition. The propensity of the 5.56mm cartridge to spill unburned powder out of such a short barrel with the resulting inevitably excessive muzzle flash necessitated the inclusion of a generous flash suppressor to the muzzle. It is in this configuration, sans the shoulder stock, that the C-93 pistol hits U.S. gun shops.

The C-93 pistol is 20 inches long from muzzle to buttcap and tips the scales at 6 pounds unloaded. The barrel is 8.5 inches long. It comes from the factory with two forty-round magazines and a buttcap cum sling swivel in place of a buttstock. The magazines are brilliantly executed with a pair of small ancillary lift springs that are configured to give a little extra boost to the column of cartridges when the magazine is fully loaded.

The C-93 pistol is also built from surplus German parts mated to a U.S.-made barrel and receiver. Most of the parts on my test gun were dated in the late seventies and were in excellent condition. The finish was uniform and robust and the finishing welds on the rear sight base and cocking tube were nice. The bolt carrier incorporates a series of grooves in its right hand side to serve as a rudimentary forward assist. To be fair, the crispness of the receiver pressing is not quite up to the original H&K products and the front sight base is affixed with the tiniest smidgeon of clockwise cant but the gun is, relatively speaking, dirt cheap compared to the originals. Don’t sweat these trivial issues, however. The gun still looks great and windage was spot on during accuracy testing from a rest without any adjustment to the sights.

The gun even comes with a nice assault case. The case incorporates pouches for three spare magazines and a small zippered pocket. The accompanying literature claims that the case will float with the weapon inside. I will admit to not being man enough to throw my gun into our farm pond to test this claim.

The C-93 pistol comes from Century with a nice tactical case. The case is foam padded, incorporates three external magazine pouches, and even floats!”



But Can You Really Hit Anything With It?

You might be surprised. I was. The 5.56mm round has negligible recoil when launched from such a platform so keeping the gun on target was surprisingly easy. The most effective technique we found in our range testing was to sling the gun over the firing shoulder and keep tension on the sling with the weapon extended out towards the target in the manner of the stockless MP-5K submachine gun. In this configuration we could consistently keep all rounds in the black on a tactical target at reasonable handgun engagement ranges just by firing over the iron sights. The addition of a laser designator or red dot sight makes this task all the simpler. A little “Google Fu” will turn up plenty of railed forends and scope mounting solutions. At the end of the day I was frankly shocked at how effective this firearm was at up-close-and-personal engagement ranges. Shooters of various experience levels tried the gun out and all involved found it to be an intuitive and simple task to consistently hit a man-sized target, even in rapid fire, at reasonable pistol ranges.

In its standard configuration my particular C-93 pistol was completely reliable with a variety of ammunition loads. Steel or brass cased ammo did not make any difference though the fluted chamber leaves longitudinal streaks on the cases, as do all H&K weapons of this generation, and the ejection system launches the empties into outer space.

The C-93 pistol is not the gun for engaging targets at one hundred meters and beyond. To be fair, neither is your Glock. If the threat is loitering out a couple hundred meters off then the original C-93 is your go-to iron. However, for an immensely powerful package that is short, handy, maneuverable, and carries enough onboard ammo to let you get bored shooting it, the C-93 pistol is unbeatable.

The markings on the side of the magazine well are sharp and crisp.



Why?

A good friend posed that simple question when I told him I had obtained one of these odd guns. There are countless handguns that are significantly smaller, handier, and more concealable. There are countless rifles that are more effective and comfortable at moderate distances. I have no interest in competing for a Gangster of the Year award though, to be honest, the C-93 pistol would look pretty sharp tucked inside a dapper trench coat. Sometimes I have picked up guns just because they look cool and I didn’t already own anything similar. In this case, however, I think there is a legitimate place for the C-93 pistol in a working gun collection. We live in a weird world and it will only get weirder in the coming years. A standard C-93 pistol stashed behind the seat of a pickup truck down here in the Deep South where I live would sure be comforting if you were stuck out in the middle of no-place when the zombies come. The two magazines that come with the gun hold eighty rounds. If that is insufficient to take care of business during the zombie apocalypse then I suppose it just wasn’t your day.

American gun laws are indeed silly but the Century Arms C-93 pistol is a remarkably clever and effective platform that is launched specifically to comply with them. It has been said that when life gives you lemons you should make a little lemonade. The lemonade in this case is pretty sweet.

The markings on the side of the magazine well are sharp and crisp.
The C-93 forearm is interchangeable with that of the venerable MP-5 submachine gun.
The flash suppressors on both the C-93 rifle and pistol incorporate a wire-cutting groove. To utilize this feature the operator presses the muzzle of the weapon against the offending wire to keep it taut and simply fires a live round.
The Malaysian Contract S-U-O fire control assembly on the C-93 pistol is adapted from a surplus full auto version. The fire control group in this case is machined and drilled to be permanently and irrevocably configured in semiautomatic mode.
This article first appeared in Small Arms Review V16N4 (December 2012)
Tags: 20124th Quarter 2012CENTURY'S C-93 RIFLE & PISTOLDECEMBER 2012V16N2Will Dabbs M.D.
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