Blowing up an AK, for fun.

[Sam Cade]

Over the last few days we have had several threads concerning the catastrophic failure of AR rifles, in the name of fairness and good fun, I decided to blow up an AK.

...as it turns out, that is harder than it sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u3LfCXoCf8


(videos still uploading)

Packing the bore with Play-Doh had no effect, So I packed the bore with sand. By packed I mean packed literally full. Still no damage.

I then drove pulled bullet from some Yugo 8mm surplus down the bore and fired. This resulted in a bulged and split barrel and a stuck bullet.
The next round fired cleared the bore and the rifle continued to function.

In frustration I went to the press and whipped up a compressed 7.62x39 load of titegroup.

...and other than flinging the brass into the stratosphere, nothing unusual happened.

 

[THE DARK KNIGHT]

Such absolute beauty. Words cannot describe the genius of Mikhail Kalashnikov's design.

To another 64 years of the AK-47 being the best rifle the world has ever seen!

 

[ECVMatt]

Pretty funny, sounds like a good way to spend an evening.

Eagerly awaiting the next video....

 

[THE DARK KNIGHT]

Yeah, speaking of which, I'd be interested to see what kind of makeshift bunker you were hiding behind during testing

 

[Dreamcast270mhz]

Impressive

BTW, be careful, looks like your neighbor's animal wasn't too happy

 

[Sam Cade]

Yeah, speaking of which, I'd be interested to see what kind of makeshift bunker you were hiding behind during testing

A pallet of bricks, and I was very very low.

 

[Dreamcast270mhz]

So what you gonna do with the AK now?

 

[Sam Cade]

This is proof. No contest, versus an AR.

Its a strange contest.

BTW, be careful, looks like your neighbor's animal wasn't too happy

Hah, that black blur in the background? That was one of my cats, Sir Harold Squeekers. My nearest neighbors are miles away.



Tomorrow Im going to load a case full of 777, drive an obstruction in from the breech end so the gas won't be able to vent into the action and see how she fares then.

I might need a longer string.

 

[Dreamcast270mhz]

Or a suit like this guy in this vid:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3TMh1qkjFk

 

[Sam Cade]

So what you gonna do with the AK now?

Salvage the trigger group,dustcover,gas block,sights and furniture. That is an east german forearm and gas tube. The gas tube actually took quite a bit of fitting.
The piston is a little bent now and I wouldent trust that bolt since it took a pounding.

 

[kis2]

awesome test, better cat name.

 

[Dreamcast270mhz]

You're lucky, I've had the game warden talk to me at least 5 times, we have some paranoid dude neighbor who seems to think it is illegal to discharge a firearm within earshot of him. Never gotten a ticket, his home is 300 yards away from my makeshift range and it is in the opposite direction of him. Now my dog really hates guns, she cowers worse at them then lightning.

You got guts though, I never would've done that but once again, Mikhail Kalashnikov was correct: You can do almost anything to it, but besides running it over with a tank or filling it w/ cement, it will still work. He said that in an interview w/ Mr. Stoner.

 

[Robert]

This is proof. No contest, versus an AR.

Proof of what? The AR is still far more accurate, just a dependable, just as reliable and still has vastly superior ergonomics. You can still get an AR in almost any configuration you can dream up, even in 30-30+p. Sorry I mean 7.62x39. So an AR blew up. Big deal. You like AKs, good for you. Please come to the next rifle match and see how it does up against all those inferior ARs.

Sam,
It was really interesting that to see that. I would never try and kill one of my rifles. My hat is off to you for being willing to do that. Interesting stuff indeed.

 

[Dreamcast270mhz]

Maybe in other things but to me having a rifle i can count on even in dire circumstances trumps anything else. The PSL and M76 rifles, anyways are AK designs and serve as designated marksman rifles on eastern european nations, and they have excellent accuracy, approaching the SVD and M24 rifles ( I have even seen a PSL shoot better than an SVD, both with custom loads, but isolated case of course)

Still, there are AKs out there with match grade parts that can approach AR performance, close that is. I'm not going to hijack sam's thread but clearly here your poodle gun serves a disadvantage, that alone cannot be debated from what is shown here. We have a bottom feeding AK which survived Playdoh, sand and squibs, and STILL is intact. I await an AR that lasts this long, and for kicks, lets make it a Mil-spec M4.

 

[THE DARK KNIGHT]

You like AKs, good for you. Please come to the next rifle match and see how it does up against all those inferior ARs.

Yeah, see, that's the thing...

The Soviets didn't design the AK for rifle matches.

That's like saying a Corvette sucks at off-roading and a Jeep isn't any good for racing.

 

[Sam Cade]

Proof of what? The AR is still far more accurate, just a dependable, just as reliable and still has vastly superior ergonomics.

Yup.
No reason to think that an AR would do any worse if subjected to the same treatment. Probably be a little tougher in fact since the barrel is quite a bit thicker.

Sam,
It was really interesting that to see that. I would never try and kill one of my rifles. My hat is off to you for being willing to do that. Interesting stuff indeed.

It wasnt much of a loss, it was a total POS. I really thought that packing the barrel would cause it to fail. Maybe it was saved because it was lose dry sand and not mud.

 

[Buck Kramer]

Gus dont get your panties in a bundle, it was just for fun. Also, this was a reliability test. I only own ak's, never had an AR but I will hands down give accuracy to the AR. But give credit to where it is due...You like AR's good for you.

 

[Effigy]

This, my friends, is why I own an AK.

 

[Dreamcast270mhz]

^ Same reason. I also like the looks on people's faces when they see the infamous banana mag.

 

[Effigy]

My one regret is that I'll never be able to shoot a poodle at 500 yards. I guess you can't have everything.

 

[Dreamcast270mhz]

That one got me going, I'll be sure to remember that argument in years to come. Yeah me and my Dad share a Polytech AK/S preban rifle and it is pretty cool. He is deadly accurate w/ it, me, not so much but thats because I have most of my experience with bolt actions.

 

[grant1265]

Don't blow it up, give it to me.

 

[boricua9mm]

Yeah, see, that's the thing...

The Soviets didn't design the AK for rifle matches.

That's like saying a Corvette sucks at off-roading and a Jeep isn't any good for racing.

You're absolutely right. The Soviets designed a fully automatic assault rifle that could *also* be fired in semi-automatic mode. The Americans designed a rifle that could *also* be fired in automatic mode.

Since I don't have the $12k+ to play in the automatic realm, a rifle that I can actually make vital zone hits with, faster, and out to further distances, better suits my needs. We need to be honest about the designs and what our needs are before jumping the gun and throwing mud. This is coming from 12 year s of shooting both platforms for pleasure and competition.

Bottom line: the AR is a bit more reliable than it is given credit for, and with suitable ammo, the AK is more accurate than it is given credit for.

 

[mr.trooper]

I watched your video.... It was just you talking for 20 seconds....nothing blew up.

 

[Sam Cade]

I watched your video.... It was just you talking for 20 seconds....nothing blew up.

The other videos are in the youtube account.