benEzra
Moderator Emeritus
A beautiful SAR-1 followed me home this weekend . . . guess I'll have to feed it now . . .
I've shot Kalashnikov-pattern rifles before, but never really sat down and studied one until now. I've come to the conclusion that Mikhail Kalashnikov was a really sharp designer (surprise, surprise).
How many of you AK owners have ever noticed that when you flip the safety on, it tightly seals the gap in the receiver so that dirt and crud can't get in the action? Sorta like the nifty little door on AR's, except that the SAR can be sealed up even with a round in the chamber.
And that when the safety is on, you can cycle the bolt enough to visually check the chamber, but NOT enough to accidentally chamber a round?
And talk about easy to field-strip . . . I thought the mini-14 was easy, but, wow, push-button disassembly . . .
I was also surprised how light the SAR is--it's even lighter than my Choate-stocked mini-14, and somehow even handier (I didn't think that was possible). The trigger is smoother and lighter than I expected, too.
I am also impressed with the SAR's apparent ruggedness. Compare an AK magazine and a mini-14 (or AR) magazine and check out the thickness of the feed lips. You'd be hard pressed to dent the feed lips of an AK mag by careless handling, from the looks of it.
I have to say, I'm sold on the Kalashnikov design. Can't wait to get out to the range with it to see how it shoots. (More to follow . . . )
I've shot Kalashnikov-pattern rifles before, but never really sat down and studied one until now. I've come to the conclusion that Mikhail Kalashnikov was a really sharp designer (surprise, surprise).
How many of you AK owners have ever noticed that when you flip the safety on, it tightly seals the gap in the receiver so that dirt and crud can't get in the action? Sorta like the nifty little door on AR's, except that the SAR can be sealed up even with a round in the chamber.
And that when the safety is on, you can cycle the bolt enough to visually check the chamber, but NOT enough to accidentally chamber a round?
And talk about easy to field-strip . . . I thought the mini-14 was easy, but, wow, push-button disassembly . . .
I was also surprised how light the SAR is--it's even lighter than my Choate-stocked mini-14, and somehow even handier (I didn't think that was possible). The trigger is smoother and lighter than I expected, too.
I am also impressed with the SAR's apparent ruggedness. Compare an AK magazine and a mini-14 (or AR) magazine and check out the thickness of the feed lips. You'd be hard pressed to dent the feed lips of an AK mag by careless handling, from the looks of it.
I have to say, I'm sold on the Kalashnikov design. Can't wait to get out to the range with it to see how it shoots. (More to follow . . . )