AK 47 or AK 74

5.45 may be more efficient on paper, flatter trajectory and all that, but give me the 7.62x39 all day. Kick over a rock in Papau New Guinea and you'll probably find a few of those rounds.
Cheaper, and more available ammo, and legal to hunt with in most states.....I'll take the 47.
Especially if the supply of eastern European ammo gets severely curtailed, the 74s may get real hard to feed soon.....

I agree with nightlord however I'd take a nice SKS over an AK all day long. Same 7.62 round but much better accuracy & imo they're one of the best deer rifles ever made ...

Better for what purpose? And since you are mentioning AK - do you mean the "real" AK (full auto), or the semi-auto AK-type guns?

Mizar wrote:
Which is the better of these two rifles AK-47 or AK-74 ?

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What are your criteria for determining "better"?

Personally, I would choose the AK-47 over the AK-74 because I can find reloadable brass for it more readily.

As someone living in the United States, if I'm looking for a "modern sporting rifle" in the 22 caliber range, I think I would be a fool to get tied up with anything other than 223 Remington/5.56x45.

Poor Mizar never wrote that...

I happen to like the 5.45 AK-74 a lot, and the 7.62 a little less, but there are good arguments for either one.

hdwhit said:

What are your criteria for determining "better"?

Personally, I would choose the AK-47 over the AK-74 because I can find reloadable brass for it more readily.

As someone living in the United States, if I'm looking for a "modern sporting rifle" in the 22 caliber range, I think I would be a fool to get tied up with anything other than 223 Remington/5.56x45.

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Nnnnaaaahhhh, if you're going to go with a 5.56 why get caught up with an AR tinkertoy when you can have a 22-250 instead ...

Which is the better caliber or the better rifle? Lots of variation in rifle quality in either caliber. I'm in favor of my WASR AKM.

It depends on what you want to do with it. While 5.45 does offer some advantages over 7.62x39, I'm not convinced that it's worth it now that 7n6 is gone. Milsurp magazines also tend to be surprisingly expensive.

I'd say to stick to 7.62x39 these days.

The 74 has a superior muzzle break, and its a better round, ballistically speaking. But the M1943 round is much more plentiful, along with the parts to go on/in the guns. Personally, I care for neither.

Mizar said:

Better for what purpose? And since you are mentioning AK - do you mean the "real" AK (full auto), or the semi-auto AK-type guns?

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Pretty sure he means semi-auto. Full Auto AK's are not too common in the US, and command extortive prices well beyond their worth. I will say having fired a full-auto AK, they are not even worth what a semi auto costs.

In my opinion, the 47 all day long and twice on Sunday. The 74 is far less common, I'm not aware of any domestic ammunition source.

Shoot them both and see which you like. The 74 kicks less and shoots flatter and faster. Ammo is harder to find, and forget trying to reload for it (yet). If you like thump, get a 47.

AK-47 or 74? Meh. Pretty lukewarm on them both, but would marginally prefer the AK-74 if forced to choose. As mentioned, this would be rather silly given the availability of the AR and the 5.56mm. I used to be a fan of the 7.62x39 but now feel it is rather overrated. If I want the ballistics of a .30 caliber round, I will go with a 7.62 NATO in an M14 or AR-10. Basically, I am so over AK. The only people still using the Kalashnikov are the people who can't afford anything else. Even the Russians would have replaced it if they could afford their AN-94s.

7.62 round is more available, and will likely remain that way. A bit more felt recoil thn the 5.45. I prefer the 7.62 over the 5.45.

If the OP picks up a 7.62 with threaded barrel, I'd recommend checking around for a 7.62 version of the AK74 compensator - KVAR, AK Builder, all the usual suspects

My SGL Saiga is 7.62x39 with the AK-74 style compensator. Essentially an AK-103. Best of both worlds - and that compensator seems to make much more difference with the 7.62 round then the 5.45 version.

FL-NC said:

The 74 has a superior muzzle break, and its a better round, ballistically speaking. But the M1943 round is much more plentiful, along with the parts to go on/in the guns.

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As others have stated, ak47 for cost and availability of ammo. There's a thread around here by someone who was heavily involved with the US military evaluation of the ak74. It's very comparable to an ar15 for range and accuracy, but currently more expensive all around.

I will say having fired a full-auto AK, they are not even worth what a semi auto costs.

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I tend to somewhat disagree - if it's an AK 47, or AKM then yes, I would also say that they are not something to write home about, but full auto AK 74 is a fine assault rifle. It may not be a M16/M4, but it's good enough to get the job done with ease. As for the semi-auto versions I would say that they are more or less equal in terms of control - one just has to determine what he wants the weapon for.

I have three reasons to favor 5.45x39---



The Arsenal/Legion AK 74 pictured above now wears a Soviet PK-A red dot of the Venezuelan pattern and with hold variation, will alternate hits on the 200 and 300 meter gongs of the ENGC range here in (NE)verland.
It's a fine rifle---more so than the 47s and RPK I sent on down the road.

Silver Bear ammunition is every bit as good as 7n6 and it's readily available around the neighborhood, too.
-----krinko

Seams to me that if the thing that needs shooting is so far away that you need a flatter shooting cartridge than a 7.62x39 to hit it, then you probably are going to need a more accurate weapon than an AK to go along with it.

The ak-74s have proved to be remarkably accurate. At least as accurate as an average AR-15.

I will stick with my Hungarian SA85M as I have plenty of 7.62x39 ammo on hand to ever consider acquiring an AK74 and all that 5.45x39 ammo. If I want a semi-auto in 5.56x45 I don't have to look any further than my two AR rifles along with a ton of reloadable ammo to go with them.

Mizar said:

I tend to somewhat disagree - if it's an AK 47, or AKM then yes, I would also say that they are not something to write home about, but full auto AK 74 is a fine assault rifle. It may not be a M16/M4, but it's good enough to get the job done with ease. As for the semi-auto versions I would say that they are more or less equal in terms of control - one just has to determine what he wants the weapon for.

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I would guess the AK74 is very controllable in full-auto; I've only fired the AK-47 full auto. Not enough captured AK-74's were in the AMTU's inventory, nor ammo to fire one, when fired an AK-47 in a Weapons Familiarization Course in '88. They had one AK-74, but very little ammo, for us to look at, none to fire.

Personally, I like the 7.62x39 in an AK, and if I feel the need to shoot a smaller boolit, I'd use an AK in 5.56x45 (an Arsenal, Valmet, etc.)