The TEC-47 kind of came out of nowhere. Who saw an AR-10 that shoots 7.62 x 39 and takes AK magazines? We’ve seen AR-15s that use AK magazines, like the CMMG Mutant, aka the MK 47, but never an AR-10. 21st Tec sent me a TEC 47 to test and review, and I was excited to give it a spin. I like the 7.62 x 39mm round but have some reservations about the round in an AR-15. However, the glorious AR-10 has always been a .30 caliber platform. It’s a different take, but one worth checking out.
The AR-10 Advantage
What’s the point of using an AR-10 for the 7.62×39 round? The AR-10 is designed for those big, full-powered rounds, and the 7.62x39mm round is widely considered to be an intermediate cartridge. It’s an odd mix, but it does make sense when you look at the case diameter of the 7.62x39mm. The round is fairly large, with a large rim.
With the AR-15, we run into a bolt designed for a much smaller cartridge diameter. When we start modifying that bolt to work with a large rim, we start thinning out the lugs and internal diameter. It gets awfully flimsy in some cases. That’s not a problem with the AR-10. We get a big, thick bolt and lugs that are tough and strong. The AR-10 offers more room in its guts for a bigger bolt because it’s designed for the original .308 round.
Using an AR-10 upper also keeps things more or less in spec with the AK magazine. Other platforms that aim to be AR-15-sized are not truly AR-15-sized but have a proprietary length and design. With the TEC-47, an AR-10 is an AR-10.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. The downside to using an AR-10 design is weight. The TEC-47 weighs about a pound and a half more than the competition. Curls are for the girls….and for the TEC-47. Honestly, 8.5 pounds isn’t too bad, especially with a red dot. When you add an LPVO, light, and other accessories, it might start to weigh on you.
Modern Ergonomics
The TEC-47 does what all ARs do right, and that is to have way better ergonomics than the AK platform. We get the AR safety and bolt handle, as well as the ability to use AR stocks and handguns. Putting the AK magazines into the gun takes care of the problems ARs have when shooting AK rounds. Mainly, AR magazines that chamber the 7.62×39 tend to be awkward, oddly curved, and sometimes unreliable.
The TEC-47 comes with a long M-LOK rail for mounting accessories everywhere. There are tons of slots at multiple angles, as well as one long rail across the top. This opens you up to a wide variety of accessories, and you can put them exactly where you want them. It’s also slim and easy to handle. The TEC-47 uses Thrall furniture and provides a six-position stock with plenty of sling points. Four, by my count.
The gun lacks a magazine release button and bolt lock. One of the downsides to AK mags is the lack of a last-round bolt-hold open device. This sucks, but it is what you have to deal with when you use AK Mags. The magazine release is an AK-style lever. It’s massive and ambidextrous and can be reached with your trigger finger. At least I can, but I do have big hands.
Reloading with a second hand is a bit easier and faster than trying a one-hand reload. Fans of the Call of Duty-style AK reload will be disappointed, but fans of a protected magazine release will be pleased. Overall, the TEC-47 feels like a modern AR with a few quirks, but ultimately, it’s much more modular and ergonomic than any AK series rifle.
The Magazine Run Down
There are tons and tons of AK manufacturers, so there are tons and tons of AK magazines out there. A lot of these AKs and AK mags follow specifications fairly loosely. This means some magazines are wider or thicker than others. Maybe the magazine locking lug is thicker than the standard. There are all sorts of variables.
The TEC-47 doesn’t fit US Palm magazines, and while KCI mags fit, they gave me some feeding issues. I tried Magpul, Tapco, Romanian, Chinese, and Bulgarian magazines without problems. Some fit a little tighter, namely polymer magazines. Metal magazines are a bit looser and slide in with ease. Magpul and Bulgarian magazines are my favorite and were my primary testing magazines.
At the Range
Range days are always the best days. I get to say I’m going to work, and all I’m really doing is blasting away. My only 7.62x39mm ammo is the classic steel-cased Wolf stuff, which has always been the go-to for many AK owners. If the TEC-47 can’t eat the cheapest AK food on the market, we have to ask if it’s even worth it. The TEC-47 series would only get to eat junk food in my testing.
First and foremost, I had to slap an optic on and zero the gun. I used a Swampfox Blade, which is a 1X prism. Zeroing allowed me to observe accuracy from a bench-rested shooting position. I wish I had a ten or even a twenty-round AK magazine for zeroing. Those 30-round magazines are super long. I used a bag as a rest on a table and fired slow groups at fifty and 100 yards to zero the optic.
Using the cheap Wolf ammo, I was able to create a 1.5-inch group at 100 yards. It’s not too bad for cheap ammo. Getting 1 MOA with Wolf Steel isn’t going to happen. If I could find some of the Hornady loads, I’m betting I could get it close to 1 MOA. The trigger is a two-stage design. The first stage is hardly noticeable, and we hit that short wall. Just a hair extra of pressure gets you the boom.
Blasting Away
Another surprise was the lack of recoil. I expected more recoil. Maybe something in my inner brain was triggered by the weight and size of the gun. Mentally, I thought, oh, this is an AR-10. It is an AR-10, but it’s also firing the little 7.62x39mm round, which turned the AR-10 into a kitten. The gun didn’t have much bite and was downright soft shooting. Recoil is minimal, and you’ll find yourself coming right back on target.
While I might have first noticed the lack of recoil on the bench, it wasn’t appreciated until I got off the bench and started lighting things up. Shooting fast splits and Mozambique drills turned out to be a total blast and easy to do with the TEC-47. In terms of recoil, there isn’t much, but the gun is quite loud, giving it a bit more bark than bite.
Where I got a little slowed down was on reloads. There is this weird programming I have with an AR. I’m not used to stripping the magazines, and I’m not used to rocking the magazines in an AR. It takes some practice to break that programming. Thanks to the lack of an LRBHO device and the need to strip the empty mag before inserting the fresh magazine, reloading the TEC-47 is slower than an AR.
Chucking Lead
The TEC-47 proved to be quite reliable. I only had one type of ammo, and it’s the cheapest ammo out there. It worked flawlessly. The only time I had issues was with KCI AK magazines. They gave me a few failures to feed. A round would fire, and the next one simply wouldn’t load.
The TEC-47 series proved to be a fun rifle if you’re a 7.62×39 fan and an AK owner. It gives you the modularity of the AR platform with the ammo and magazines you already have. It’s a big rifle that’s fairly heavy. However, it’s modern, modular, very reliable, and easy to shoot. Plus, the accuracy is impressive with even the cheapest ammo.
We can’t ask for much more than that. The rifle is well-made and certainly worth the $1,500 price point when you consider the unique nature of the rifle. What do you think? Let us know below.
