Kalashnikov Himself Says AK Works With Sand

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This thing had been building its reputation for many years, long before internet myths and lore.
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The reputation has been built over years due to propaganda, the opinions and beliefs of 3rd world conscripts and their commanders, and the fact that the early incarnations of the M16 were prone malfunctions.

However, the fact remains that a half-century on, the AK is not the platform it's cracked up to be, and the reliability issues with the AR platform are blown completely out of proportion.

I've owned and shot plenty of rifles in both configurations, and my experience has lead me to conclude that AK reliability is incredibly overrated, and that in modern AR's, malfunctions are rare. From there, it's only a hop, skip, and a jump to realize that the AR's modularity, ergonomics, and accuracy are far and away superior to the AK platform.

Ultimately, though, it's not about defending the AR as "the one true sword" out of some infantile form of brand worship. Show me a rifle that does what the AR15 does, but better, and at a comparable or even slightly higher cost, and I'll dump the platform completely and utterly.
 
The AR15 landed on the second or third place the day it was isued first time. As time passed, and newer rifles came in service, it only went down on the combat rifle's food chain.
 
Good grief!

We now have two threads running concurrently, covering AK's and sand, with 157 total posts.

Surely anything worth saying has already been said!
Several times!

rc
 
The reputation has been built over years due to propaganda, the opinions and beliefs of 3rd world conscripts and their commanders, and the fact that the early incarnations of the M16 were prone malfunctions.

However, the fact remains that a half-century on, the AK is not the platform it's cracked up to be, and the reliability issues with the AR platform are blown completely out of proportion.
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They are both great battle rifles designed to do what they were designed to do. Everyone is guilty of propegating at one time or another, me I'm guilty with my 1911s.
 
Good grief!

We now have two threads running concurrently, covering AK's and sand, with 157 total posts.

Surely anything worth saying has already been said!
Several times!
Click to expand...

Several of my postings in both threads have been essentially the same things directed to different people (and in some cases the same people). The AK is a good platform. It's reliability has been highly exaggerated for years on gun boards, specifically in regards to the whole "dumping sand in the action and it will still work" part. This doesn't mean it is a bad platform. Kind of starting to feel like this... :banghead:

Internet gun myths die hard...

At least I know who started the "myth". It was Kalashnikov himself...
 
At least I know who started the "myth". It was Kalashnikov himself...
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One need not be a capitalist to spout marketing BS, apparently.

I wonder if he moonlights for Remington, writing the text in their catalogs.
 
Show me a rifle that does what the AR15 does, but better, and at a comparable or even slightly higher cost, and I'll dump the platform completely and utterly.
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FAL, unless of course you need a rail full of lasers and flashlights.

Adopted by 90 countries vs how many for an AR? A couple?

Sounds like you have a few rifles for sale.:)
 
So I take it you are not jumping on the SCAR bandwagon anytime soon, Justin?
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I've handled the SCAR, but not shot one. My initial impression was overwhelmingly "meh."

Several of my postings in both threads have been essentially the same things directed to different people (and in some cases the same people). The AK is a good platform. It's reliability has been highly exaggerated for years on gun boards, specifically in regards to the whole "dumping sand in the action and it will still work" part. This doesn't mean it is a bad platform.
Click to expand...

Within the limitations of the round(s) the design is chambered for, as a simply-designed firearm for engaging human-sized targets to about 200ish yards, the AK fills the role with a workmanlike competency.
 
Good luck mounting optics on an FAL. It can be done, but nowhere near as easily as on an AR.
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??

Railed top covers are easy to come by. Quad rails as well. Quad rail is pretty heavy for an FAL though. Didn't care for it on mine and stuck with the top cover rail and Bushnell trophy optic.

Only drawback to mounting optics is that the carry handle is rendered useless. Hardly a drawback.
 
at least this thread has humor in it...tempted to start one titled 'Who is the best at taking a joke; AK or AR fanboys'.

Although I think the answer would be C, those that own both.
 
Thats what happens when I try and get some rack time...

Fireside44 beat me to it...FN-FAL.

One of mine,not four feet from me has a butt stock adaptor on it and now wears a MagPul PRS,she has a Free Float Forearm that is ventilated and has multiple Picatinny mounts,Bipod,the front sight/gas block is picatinny,dust cover is picatinny,the lower receiver has picatinny instead of rear sight,she has sweet tiritium BUIS,upper receiver is a type 1, WITHOUT carry handle cut,a 24" stainless fluted and threaded barrel and she is topped off with a custom Leupold...It is capable of 1/2" [email protected] home I match up against my buddies tricked out M1A...Its a toss up.(Plan on trying a nightforce once back home.)

The other one sitting right next to me is a converted PARA model with MagPul PRS tele-folder,picatinny rear,dust cover and gas block,Quad rail forearm,Type 1 Upper no carry handle cut, 16" medium fluted barrel threaded(usualy has phantom brake...),Bla,bla,bla...ya' get the picture,your "mall ninja" only they are working.

Both are coated inside and out appropriately(no lube and FDE),have ambi-safties and feed from 30rnd mags,well mostly the shorty...

If needed/wanted uppers can be changed like an M16/AR15 for multi cal. uses.

The FAL "platform" still kicks it hard!!:D

Other than passing the time,one GOOD thing I see from these type of threads is that folks can begin to see how these weapons have and are evolving...the true pros and consand how to fix them...problem is it takes SO MUCH SIFTING...uhga!!

Sorry for the OT.
 
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Didn't the military recently test a bunch of rifles and the latest and greatest M4 incarnation come in last in reliability again.Of course its an American designed and until recently fully manufactured weapon. Got to be good right. Don t worry the Chinese will be making them soon anyway.
 
Didn't the military recently test a bunch of rifles and the latest and greatest M4 incarnation come in last in reliability again.
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I believe that is right (the others were HK-416, FNH SCAR, and Magpul Masada), but there are numerous rifles that will do just as well and better than the AR and the AK as far as reliability, none of which will reliably operate with a "handful of sand" in the action. That is not to say that the AR (or rather the M16/M4) is not the unreliable carbine of yesterday, it is very reliable, and very much combat proven. You can do a whole lot worse than the AR platform (and this is coming from someone that doesn't really like the rifle system, at least in DI form).

:)
 
A few days ago I watch a short piece on military channel were it was run over by a truck in a mud puddle picked up and had the 30 rd magazine emptyed then reloaded and emptyed again, now I love all my AR's but you can't run over them with a truck or a Geo Metro as far as that goes.
Seems all Viet Cong AK's were cleaned ever 10 years weather needed or not. Maybe the rain kept them clean but the ones we had captured normally were shot till cosmolene turned to pure carbon and the gas pistons refused to come out without vice grips and hammer. Straight pull bolt actions? I never saw any tire tracks on them but I saw one with bullet sticking out of rear of lower receiver and it still fired
 
Don't worry about that video from RockyMtnTactical The Pretender. They gave all favor to the AR in it and purposely left the AK they tested exposed.

Fair testing would have been an open AR and an open AK. Instead they closed the AR and left the AK open. Advantage AR.

Let's see them do the same test but this time throw dirt into each of them. One handful into each receiver.
 
My thoughts on watching the AK dirt video were that they had found a rather small weakness in the design, (how many times do you bury your AK, ejection port up with the dust cover open?), and exploited it to make a point. Still, I'm not sure that's a bad thing. It helps to be aware of any weaknesses or deficiencies a weapon might have and those videos demonstrated that one particular deficiency extremely well.

As to it's reliability vs. AR's, I don't really care that much. I've shot both extensively and for simplicity, ruggedness and reliability I prefer the AK. For precision I'd rather have an AR or a bolt gun. As a civilian shooter however, accuracy is generally more important to me than which gun might be better suited to surviving the zombie apocalypse.
 
The AK marched around the world because the Soviets gave them out to anyone who said they were communist. The Soviets also gave away the blueprints and tooling so country's that excel at mass production like China could crank them out on the cheap, and sell them for a huge profit.


Most of the world thats poor uses AK's because they are simple and cheap, mostly cheap. When it comes down to it its money. I don't know what an export M16 goes for if say I wanted to buy 50k. But lets say its $750, which probably isn't far off. I could go pick up 50k AK's for probably $200 a pop from China.


This is also why every country we fight has mostly old Russian junk as equipment, they simply can't afford better. On the flip side the drug cartels are quite well armed, they can afford the good stuff.
 
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