AK47

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Milsurplover

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Decided to take my rommy AK47 out of the safe on Saturday for some fun shooting at the range. Put a 4x POSP scope on it loaded up a mag and set up a 12 inch steel target at 150 yards. Using wolf steel case ammo, I hit that plate every single time. I then noticed a 6 inch plate at 200 yards a fellow was using to shoot at with his Rem 700 so I asked him if I could take a few shots with my AK. After 5 shots I got 2 hits on it. I understand a 12 inch plate at 150 yards is nothing to be proud about but I was kind of happy with the hits at 200 yards having not shot my AK in a long time and using cheap ammo. So, it got me thinking, are AK's really as innacurate as people say? or are those just Urban Legends? How far have you guys shot with your AK47? with what ammo? I really want to shoot longer ranges with my AK because it is just such a fun gun to shoot and it eats anything! ;)
 
By design, they're not going to be as accurate as an AR15 at the longer ranges.

Out to 300m, it'll keep up with any AR if the shooter does their part.

Beyond that, "optics" and "shooter skills" separate the men from the boys (but don't expect too much).
 
Depends on what you consider accurate....The AK wasn't designed to be a tack driver, that's what a Sako is for.
 
Out to 300m, it'll keep up with any AR if the shooter does their part.
Click to expand...

An AK is as accurate as you can expect a semi-trained conscript/revolutionary to shoot, with a weapon he just carried around in the Russian Winter/Tropical Jungle for weeks without cleaning or practice. Some grown up mall ninja at the range will always complain that an AK is not as accurate as his AR, and then go back to resighting in his AR because the scope got bumped and its not hitting the paper.
 
There are numerous reports of Saiga 308 AK based rifles shooting MOA groups or better, essentially rivaling bolt rifle accuracy. Most AK rifles do not shoot that well because of a number of factors (Ammo, sights, and things bearing on the barrel), but be advised that the AK is NOT an inaccurate weapon. I have owned a dozen or so and one should expect 2-3 inch groups at 100 meters or better with a bone stock rifle, it only gets better from there.
 
I had the opportunity to shoot the USMC rifle qualification with an AK while I was at the Foreign Weapons Instructor Course.

The course of fire consists of shooting from different positions at different yard lines.

200: 5 sitting, 5 kneeling, 5 standing. 10 rapid from sitting.
300: 5 sitting, 10 rapid from prone
500: 10 prone.

We used Polish Model 60 AK-47s. I utilized a V-tac sling as well, and shot surprisingly well at the 200 and 300 yard lines. At the 500 with the stock sights it becomes a crapshoot. Most of my 10 rounds were hits, but calling your shot was impossible.

They really don't get the credit they're due in the accuracy department. It's nothing special, but better than you may expect, and certainly capable of engaging targets at practical distances.
 
I read an NRA monograph where it was demonstrated that an AK-type rifle had the same practical accuracy as an AR out to 300 yd--ie, 'minute of soldier'.
AIUI, what makes the AK challenging is the more arched bullet trajectory, plus the crude sights. This makes getting hits at unknown ranges more difficult, since the shooter has to estimate more hold-off.
Does the AK even have a "battlesight zero"?
 
Yes, the AK has a 250m BSZ. The front post is the width of a man at that distance. When the sights are at this setting, a 6 o'clock hold will get you a hit on a man-sized target out to 300m.

My WASR has a railed forearm so I could install a 1 1/4" sling swivel on the bottom of the handguard and mount a GI web sling. It also has Tech Sights. With this setup, I can keep the groups well under man-size out to 400 yards from prone unsupported using a sling. 400 is all I've had the occasion to test it to.

We have a range with a head-sized steel plate at 200 yards, and I nailed it every time for about 8 rounds sitting cross legged with that AK.

I don't have a problem with it's accuracy.
 
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Damn it man....this thread makes me want to get an AK. Everybody talks about how great the AR system is, but I like the AK system.
Now if I could just figure out which rifle to buy. Seems a lot of threads have AK owners bashing the AK, but I have a hard time finding folks that share info on the AK's that they are very happy with. Can somebody point me in the direction of a reputable AK?
 
Personaly, I'm really happy with my Saiga, but I don't have any experiance with the other AKs, so I'm kind of biased.

I've found it to be a pretty good rifle, and the conversion wasn't that hard (they are imported in a sporter configuration, and require a little bit of work to be legal with Hi cap mags)
 
I shoot well with my AK. Plus being able to clean it in a mud puddle in a tight spot.... end of the world and all. It gets the job done for what its intended for.
 
Hey Mike, if the stress is too much, I can help...just PM me where to send an FFL--I'll even pay shipping. Anything to help someone in distress... ;)
 
I've shot out to 300 yards with both mine, with optics, of course (my eyes ain't so good no more). With a Nikon 2-7x shotgun scope or a 1-4x SDM scope, 300 yards is very doable once you find the ammo yours likes to eat. Some of the guys on WarriorTalk.com say they've gone to 500 and even 600 yards consistently, but my Rommys open up way too much at that distance to make it anything but pure luck. Maybe a scoped Arsenal or converted Saiga with handloads could ring a 500 yard plate 75% of the time. But anything past 300 yards is where I break out the scoped Saiga 308. The x39 round just has too much drop at that distance, and the 5.45 becomes greatly affected by the wind. 500 yards is 308 territory if first or second round hits are critical.
 
I'm not an expert, but I have two cents usually. The AK is a cheap, durable, dependable, 3rd world assault rifle. Nothing speacial, IMOP. The full auto ones have horrible recoil which makes them inaccurate. My little marlin 30-30 is accurate out to 200 yards consistenly with cheap ammo, and it does more dammage. In the right rifle, 7.62 is highly accurate, but the "good guys" use 223 and 308 for a reason.
 
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