Article about the AK47 in Wired Magazine.

[PaulD]

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/11/ff_ak47/

 

[Zappa]

It has helped ensure that even the poor, the small-statured, the dim-witted, the illiterate, and the untrained are able to acquire weapons and keep them functioning.

A gun so idiot proof even a democrat can use it

 

[whatluck]

Nice photos.

 

[flintoid]

It has helped ensure that even the poor, the small-statured, the dim-witted, the illiterate, and the untrained are able to acquire weapons and keep them functioning.

evidently, they can build them too

A gun so idiot proof even a democrat can use it

agreed... if they didn't piss their pants and pass out from the sight of one.

 

[lupis42]

A gun so idiot proof even a democrat can use it

They might even hit something with it if they get really lucky...

 

[BullieBred]

Esquire magazine also had a great article this month about the AK-47 vs. the M-16 and the early days of Vietnam, the cover-ups of wide spread jamming problem from Colt & the army brass. Great article but also sad to read the first hand accounts about the rifle jamming during firefights with AK-47's.

 

[flintoid]

Esquire magazine also had a great article this month about the AK-47 vs. the M-16 and the early days of Vietnam, the cover-ups of wide spread jamming problem from Colt & the army brass. Great article but also sad to read the first hand accounts about the rifle jamming during firefights with AK-47's.

ak-47s jammed in vietnam, too. You just don't hear about it because it wasn't our problem. The whole "AKs are more reliable than m16s" is largely a myth.

You put any rifle of that era in a damp, dirty, muddy jungle and it's going to misbehave. The only "plus" to an AK is that they're easy to clear and clean when they do bind up on their ammo.

 

[RKG]

This article (and others of like ilk) are what happens when writers with limited knowledge of anything beyond a pressing deadline are inspired to personify a mechanical device.

In fact, the ubiquitous appearance and possibly malevolent application of the AK-47 have absolutely nothing to do with its design or mechanical features. Both, rather, are a result of the Soviet approach to world politics.

The Soviets invented destabilization as an export product. They were the ultimate in "bomb chucker" mentality: pull the pin, pop the spoon, give a toss, and see what happens. The results were often chaotic, sometimes unsuccessful, generally lacking in any coherent plan, and surprisingly successful at deflecting criticism (and its offspring, revolt and rebellion) related to problems at home.

One can argue that part of today's problem lies in the fact that once one has chucked the bomb, it is hard to get it back again after you've changed your mind about fomenting destabilization abroad. However, most folks in the know reject the notion that the Soviets (a/k/a today, the Russians) have changed their mind about anything.

 

[lupis42]

ak-47s jammed in vietnam, too. You just don't hear about it because it wasn't our problem. The whole "AKs are more reliable than m16s" is largely a myth.

You put any rifle of that era in a damp, dirty, muddy jungle and it's going to misbehave. The only "plus" to an AK is that they're easy to clear and clean when they do bind up on their ammo.

There's some truth to the myth. The AK has a number of features (Gas piston, loose tolerances, plenty of internal room)* that help it to function when wet, dirty, and muddy, and allow it to go longer between cleanings than a DI system like the M-16.

It's not infinitely reliable or anything, but it certainly is *more* reliable.
Newer M-16s have made strides, but reliability comes at the expense of accuracy or cost.

*Most of those features also do bad things to accuracy. Everything's a tradeoff.

 

[Preachers Sheets]

I got a chuckle out of the guy at my gun club who told me not to bother aiming my wasr-10. He was saying @ 50 yards it's impossible to hit something. I was trying to explain to him it's a modern firearm made by modern machines and it shootings modern ammo.....it's more then easy to punch a small circle at 50 yards. His just kept telling me a AK47 type rifle is a "hip shooter" and you'd only hit something at 50 yards if you had a few magazines of ammo to burn.

Some people are just set in their ways.

 

[Broc]

check out this videos: in order:

video 5 has some nice new AK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68HSnr69sPw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6c3DLlM9KA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFLHCenoi0w&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-FRXN-kKbs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=075YUx2ujK4&feature=related

 

[william_munny]

I got a chuckle out of the guy at my gun club who told me not to bother aiming my wasr-10. He was saying @ 50 yards it's impossible to hit something. I was trying to explain to him it's a modern firearm made by modern machines and it shootings modern ammo.....it's more then easy to punch a small circle at 50 yards. His just kept telling me a AK47 type rifle is a "hip shooter" and you'd only hit something at 50 yards if you had a few magazines of ammo to burn.

Some people are just set in their ways.

You get that a lot anywhere, but I was hitting my target at 50 yards at the GOAL shoot in September. I can also put rounds on paper with iron sights at 100 yards, although with less than ideal grouping (which I'm sure is more due to my errors than the gun itself). I haven't tried shooting farther than that.

 

[P-14]

They might even hit something with it if they get really lucky...

They won't. Not smart enough to use the sights.......

 

[P-14]

You get that a lot anywhere, but I was hitting my target at 50 yards at the GOAL shoot in September. I can also put rounds on paper with iron sights at 100 yards, although with less than ideal grouping (which I'm sure is more due to my errors than the gun itself). I haven't tried shooting farther than that.

You just need to use the sights.

 

[Bob P]

This article (and others of like ilk) are what happens when writers with limited knowledge of anything beyond a pressing deadline are inspired to personify a mechanical device.

In fact, the ubiquitous appearance and possibly malevolent application of the AK-47 have absolutely nothing to do with its design or mechanical features. Both, rather, are a result of the Soviet approach to world politics.

The Soviets invented destabilization as an export product. They were the ultimate in "bomb chucker" mentality: pull the pin, pop the spoon, give a toss, and see what happens. The results were often chaotic, sometimes unsuccessful, generally lacking in any coherent plan, and surprisingly successful at deflecting criticism (and its offspring, revolt and rebellion) related to problems at home.

One can argue that part of today's problem lies in the fact that once one has chucked the bomb, it is hard to get it back again after you've changed your mind about fomenting destabilization abroad. However, most folks in the know reject the notion that the Soviets (a/k/a today, the Russians) have changed their mind about anything.

Excellent summary!

 

[BullieBred]

ak-47s jammed in vietnam, too. You just don't hear about it because it wasn't our problem. The whole "AKs are more reliable than m16s" is largely a myth.

You put any rifle of that era in a damp, dirty, muddy jungle and it's going to misbehave. The only "plus" to an AK is that they're easy to clear and clean when they do bind up on their ammo.

Check out the article if you get a chance http://www.esquire.com/features/ak-47-history-1110
It would be great if someone here was in or knows someone in the Marines Hotel Company 1st platoon 66-67 and can set the record straight.

 

[william_munny]

You just need to use the sights.

That's one way of looking at it.

To my credit, it was my first day with the rifle and a whole lot of those holes were made with rapid fire. I wasn't really shooting for accuracy as much as I was for fun. But yeah, all of that was done between 50 and 100 yards.

 

[KBCraig]

A grease gun beats a Thompson, too... so long as you're not trying to hit anything beyond 20 yards.

 

[Dr_Scholl]

This article (and others of like ilk) are what happens when writers with limited knowledge of anything beyond a pressing deadline are inspired to personify a mechanical device.

In fact, the ubiquitous appearance and possibly malevolent application of the AK-47 have absolutely nothing to do with its design or mechanical features. Both, rather, are a result of the Soviet approach to world politics.

The Soviets invented destabilization as an export product. They were the ultimate in "bomb chucker" mentality: pull the pin, pop the spoon, give a toss, and see what happens. The results were often chaotic, sometimes unsuccessful, generally lacking in any coherent plan, and surprisingly successful at deflecting criticism (and its offspring, revolt and rebellion) related to problems at home.

One can argue that part of today's problem lies in the fact that once one has chucked the bomb, it is hard to get it back again after you've changed your mind about fomenting destabilization abroad. However, most folks in the know reject the notion that the Soviets (a/k/a today, the Russians) have changed their mind about anything.

The Russians are still up to their old tricks. Just look at what they're doing in Iran and Venezuela by helping them build nukes. They were also in on that little publicity stunt last year trying to remove the U.S dollar as the global reserve currency.