Draco mini AK47 for home defense

[Dr_2_B]

I've had an interest in these Draco mini AKs. Anyone shot them? How do they handle? Some will say it's gimmicky but frankly it seems like a pretty mean home defense pistol - lots of power but short enough to manage corners and stairways and such. About 4 bills from Classic Arms.

I'd love to hear from someone who's fired one.

 

[Buck Kramer]

If it wasn't $200 to put a vert grip on the front I'd be all over it.

 

[dso970]

dosent a rifle round loose alot of its potency with short barrels?

and...the flame that would come out the end would blind you and/or start a fire.

but, it does look cool

just stick with a handgun or shotgun

 

[Brockak47]

i would second the fireball inside of house being a bad idea, lol

 

[Dr_2_B]

Ha. It would be a self defense/marshmallow roast situation.

 

[dso970]

how would you aim accurately? you would have to spray and pray

 

[Ro1911]

I sold mine when my brother told me it was an AOW with a vertical grip.

it is quite controlable for what it is, if I would get another I'd SBR it and put a folding stock on it, and a grip.

It does have a respectable flame that comes out the end when fired.

 

[dso970]

if you miss the bad guy, you can start him on fire. its like having 2 weapons in one. a regular gun and a flame thrower...awesome

 

[winchester '97]

Fireballs in closed spaces are never good, and one reason I personally use a handgun is that I really don't want have to spend what time I would have between being in court and the police station if something happened fixing whatever the bullets hit when they penetrate completely.

 

[M2 Carbine]

I don't have the mini but I do have the AR pistol, AK pistol and two Kel Tec PLR pistols.

In the hands of a practiced user these guns would be deadly defense guns, EXCEPT for one reason. The muzzle blast is ear shattering. You would not want to fire this gun inside a house or car, or even outside without good ear protection.


While I don't intend using these guns as a first line of defense, I do keep a loaded magazine in all of them.
I also have a pair of ear muffs in the top of each gun safe.

 

[valnar]

If you want something bigger than a handgun but smaller than a rifle for HD, I'd chose a carbine with a pistol round. How long can your hallway be? You won't need more than 10 yards. Outside? 50 yards tops.

 

[snooperman]

+1 on a carbine in a pistol caliber such as the...

9mm +p. That said, I prefer the shotgun for home defense along with my 9mm Glock 19.

 

[Chindo18Z]

I'm sure it's a fun range toy and an interesting conversation piece, but...

Ask yourself why pistol configuration rifles (Dracos, AR pistols, etc.) are not used by any serious CQB force to fight inside of structures?

Is it lethal? Yes. Could you use it? Yes. But why would you want to? It's a niche weapon best suited to firing from a cramped car interior at someone standing a few feet away. Like a pistol grip only shotgun, the configuration is a huge compromise designed for unique circumstances.

You could mitigate some of the design shortcomings through judicious load selection and a lot of practice, but (IMHO), the juice isn't worth the squeeze. I'm not talking about accurately busting some caps at paper (which can be accomplished quite handily), but rather, fighting for your life against an armed and moving opponent.

The weapon delivers poor ergonomics for fighting, reduced muzzle velocity & bullet lethality, terrific muzzle blast & fireball, a terribly designed combat rifle safety, poor ability to deliver controllable followup shots, and mediocre practical accuracy.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln enjoyed the show.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

I think you would be better served with a 9mm carbine. Stockless guns like these don't lead to being that accurate.

 

[rcmodel]

Not withstanding the horrific muzzle blast & flash of the 7.62x39 rifle cartridge out of a 7.5" barrel inside a house? Probably in dim light?
You will be night blind & deaf after one shot!

And over penetration of the FMJ bullets would likely kill your neighbor two houses down the street!

Please rethink this.
It's simply not a good idea, except in video games!

rc

 

[Skribs]

The rifle-caliber pistols are a niche weapon not to have a "pistol" but to have an SBR without paying a tax stamp. With a one-point sling, I'm sure they'd be stable enough to use in a 7-yards-or-less environment. Armies don't use AR pistols because they can get the SBR just like they would a carbine, whereas a civilian has to do a lot of extra paperwork. Personally, I could see a rifle-pistol on a sling as being a very good backup to a shotgun.

Rifle rounds aren't going to overpenetrate any more than pistol rounds. That's reading the rifle stickies on this very website. In fact, after going through drywall, handgun hollowpoints will clog up, fail to expand and actually overpenetrate MORE. I'd be less afraid of a 7.62x39 FMJ killing my neighbor than a 9mm JHP, to be honest.

Instead of an AK platform, though, I'm looking at eventually getting a piston AR pistol. I will have to look for something with reliable terminal ballistics at 2500 FPS, though...

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

Rifle rounds aren't going to overpenetrate any more than pistol rounds. That's reading the rifle stickies on this very website. In fact, after going through drywall, handgun hollowpoints will clog up, fail to expand and actually overpenetrate MORE. I'd be less afraid of a 7.62x39 FMJ killing my neighbor than a 9mm JHP, to be honest.

Rifles have alot more penetrating power than handguns.

 

[Zerodefect]

Sure.

But a round traveling at high speeds deosn't survive hitting things. Where a slow heavy pistol round might have the energy to penetrate and be slow enough to not instantly shatter into nothing.

I can swim just fine in water without getting hurt, but jumping off a 100' bridge is probally a bad idea.

Will an AK pistol bullet go fast enough to be like that? I don't know. Test it.

 

[valnar]

7.62x39 does indeed penetrate pretty well. Perhaps you are thinking of the .223? It's heavier than a .223 and slower by comparison. So by both standards, does penetrate pretty well.

 

[Skribs]

I'm referring to this article, which seems to match a lot of what I've read. Rifle rounds travel at such velocity that their expansion and deceleration can be much more controlled. Hence why an SBR 5.56mm is an issue - the M855 rounds are not travelling at 2700 FPS, and thus do not reliably fragment.

Same concept as the mythbusters episode where they tried shooting at Buster underwater. Handgun rounds went down a lot. Rounds shot from a rifle just shattered when they hit the water. Which one penetrated more? The pistol rounds. I know water =/= wall, but if you get a pistol HD round and a rifle HD round, everything I read tells me the rifle round will be better at not overpenetrating.

 

[Zundfolge]

This things only exist as a result of silly and capricious laws (namely the National Firearms Act which restricted short barrel rifles). Otherwise they'd have stocks on them like they left the factory.

The simple fact is that AR and AK pistols only exist as toys (nothing wrong with that either) or as the base for an SBR.

I suspect a regular handgun would make a better home defense weapon (all the reasons have already been posted here).

 

[jojo200517]

I haven't shot one but I think they would make a nifty toy at the least and if reliable they should be able to get the job done but with some consequences.

How does the muzzle blast and flash compare to say a snub nose .357 magnum? How about comparison to blast and flash from a pump shotgun (for the sake of this argument with pistol grip only and in reality to actually compare it would have to be a SBS or AOW to be as short as the mini draco) While were at it are they any more accurate/easy to aim? Some people can shoot a snub nose fine while others can't hit the broadside of a barn from inside.

Since I haven't handled or fired one I'm going to go with "its not a perfect weapon for the job but neither is any of the others"

As for over penetration I believe this dead horse has been beat quiet a bit, and eventually the conclusion reached is that any round with the capacity to do a proper job has the ability to over penetrate and do more damage than intended.

 

[Dentite]

Give me an 18.5" shotgun with normal stock with buckshot.

Mini draco is interesting and better than nothing but IMO there are better choices for HD.

 

[towboat_er]

There is no way I would consider that for home defense.

 

[ugaarguy]

How does the muzzle blast and flash compare to say a snub nose .357 magnum? How about comparison to blast and flash from a pump shotgun (for the sake of this argument with pistol grip only and in reality to actually compare it would have to be a SBS or AOW to be as short as the mini draco)

I haven't shot the Draco, but, like M2C, I've owned an AR pistol (as well as pistol length rifle ctg. bbls on T/C Contenders). No pistol round, nor shot shell, compares to flash & blast of shooting high pressure rifle cartridges out a pistol length bbl.

While were at it are they any more accurate/easy to aim? Some people can shoot a snub nose fine while others can't hit the broadside of a barn from inside.

Strictly my opinion, but rifle ctg pistols with 7.5" to 14" pistol barrels & snubbie revolvers are about equal in aiming difficulty for the first shot. If the snubbie is a lightweight in .38 Spl, or steel frame in .38 Spl or .357 Mag, I'll take the snubbie for follow up shots. An AR pistol vs. a PGO shotgun is a draw for me. The SG has less flash & blast, but more recoil & muzzle flip. The AR pistol has tremendous flash & blast, but much less muzzle flip. Pick your poison.

Of course, there are pistols like the Glock 17 / 19 that are still smaller, lighter, and more controllable than the Draco. These can be found for only slightly more money than the Draco, and still have factory 33 round magazines available if capacity is a concern. The 20 round Mec-Gar mags for the Beretta 93R will also fit the M9/92FS. There are also plenty of other pistols with 17+ round flush fit factory magazines if capacity is a major argument for the Draco. If thumping something with a pistol is the major concern then there are .44 Special revolvers with much less flash & blast than the Draco, and they're far more controllable in recoil as well.

I'd really only consider a Draco useful as a base to SBR & turn into a Krinkov clone.