"The gun don't make the man, the man makes the gun."
I've heard this many times over the years from my father.
Both of these topic weapons were utilized in Vietnam. Both sides had many casualties due to the other. Yes, the M16's were lethal, yet had issues. Yes, the AK was vicious, and is not considered accurate.
Many will probably agree that the M16 was rushed into deployment. But over time it has proven itself. It is effective, capable, and does what is asked of it. If it can't do the job at hand, other weapons are available.
The AK utilizes a cartridge designed for under 300 meters. 300 is the max range. Not a suggestion. Most firefights occur well short of that, especially in a dense jungle region such as Vietnam. It wasn't made to drive nails, it was made to kill men. That's it. It will do this VERY well.
Why does this type of topic happen? Not in this particular thread, but in general you do see many posts, our moderators included, that go on and on and on about how wonderful the AR platform is in accuracy, versatility, reliability, ergonomics (which really kills me. Bullets whizzing by your head and you're gonna complain about the grip?) That's great. I mean really, if you're happy with it, that's a great thing. You can do a lot of cool things with them. However, many of these people degrade the AK. Which is foolish.
AR's are great, but the AK47 continues to be the gold standard that everything is compared to. Whether we like it or not. Yes, it hasn't changed much over the years. It doesn't need to. You're talking about a 60 year old design. Most of the world has moved on, but the damn thing keeps chugging along. Don't hate on it. Appreciate it. Respect it. Remember where we've come from. It isn't hype, propaganda or lack of military funding for it's longevity. It's because you can count on it to do the job. And it has. Time and time and time again.
It is not a question of one being better than the other. If you have a personal preference, more power to you, but do not try and force it on everyone else. Would you try to convince the world that Coke is better than Pepsi? And feel that strongly about it as we see on these boards?
If you have ZERO combat experience, you do not know. You can read all you want, watch all you want, listen to all you want, but you will not have the full understanding until it's YOUR ass on the line.
I'm sure most of us sit around and ponder what weapon we want for a bad situation. And we pick a certain ammo, have a setup we prefer, do our homework, and then that's it. Honestly, we have better chances of getting hit by lightning or winning the lottery than ever needing a gun. And that is a GOOD thing. I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I've experienced it twice myself. Sitting around hyping ourselves up on chat boards and among friends about how tough we will be in a given situation is absurd, ridiculous, and shows a bit of immaturity. Especially when we put so much of that faith in the tool. (How big of a man do you feel without the gun?)
As for these ballistic comparisons, stand down range and let someone shoot you in the chest with each. Then tell us which one killed you better.
I hate seeing one side degrade the other. And this is going to continue on and on regardless. Why? Because this is what people do. They have daydreams about war and glory. But you don't know the truth until you have been. We see things glorified in television and movies. It's a sense of heroism and bravery. If you feel that strong about it, enlist. Don't dress up and go to the range and then mouth off on these boards.
And to our veterans: Thank you for your service. And thank you for your input. You have had experiences most of us will never see.
If a man were so inclined, he could be very lethal and efficient with a 22 mag or 22 LR.
Shoot what you want, have a blast and be safe while doing it, and stop worrying about what the hell everyone else uses/wants/prefers.
The gun don't make the man, the man makes the gun.
