Shot my first AK yesterday...

[Inebriated]

Point being that manipulating the safety requires you to remove one of your hands from the firing position, unless you are a 7'5" basketball player with 6" long fingers.

Nah.

The recoil impulse is different when the bolt locks open; you darn sure know when your AR is dry. AK pretty much feels the same as the other 29 times it slammed home.

When your focus is on accomplishing a task, analyzing a situation, running a course of fire, shooting the guy that comes around the corner, etc, and not on the gun itself, the chances of you feeling the different recoil impulse and immediately recognizing that you need to reload without impulsively pressing the trigger one more time, are minimal.

 

[AK103K]

Point being that manipulating the safety requires you to remove one of your hands from the firing position, unless you are a 7'5" basketball player with 6" long fingers.

My hand never leaves the grip.

The recoil impulse is different when the bolt locks open; you darn sure know when your AR is dry. AK pretty much feels the same as the other 29 times it slammed home.

Assuming it locks open. As I said, Ive had them not, and on more than a few occasions. If you havent yet had it happen, sooner or later, you shoot them enough, it will.

As for the mags, 95% of mine are GI, with the other 5% being PMags. Not saying mags dont get beat up or go bad over time, sure, it happens, but it happens, and you cant ever know when thats going to be.

I dont use Tula or junk ammo. These days, some GI, Federal, and Winchester 3131 for factory, or my reloads, which normally arent a problem.

Face it, if you shoot them enough, things happen. Doenst matter what they are. If you dont accept that, and work towards best working things out when they do, then youre not being realistic about things. Best to have the simplest response down when something unexpected goes down, than to stand there trying to analyze things.

 

[MachIVshooter]

My hand never leaves the grip.

So you use your off hand? Or are you counting your thumb touching the grip as "on it"?

Or, have you done modifications that permit you to manipulate the safety from a firing position?

Because otherwise, no normal person's finger can reach the tang on the safety with a full grasp on the pistol grip. It's 2" forward of the trigger, and 2" above it when engaged. I've got pretty long fingers, actually find the Desert Eagle comfortable. But I sure as heck cant operate the standard safety on an AK without repositioning one of my hands.

Assuming it locks open. As I said, Ive had them not, and on more than a few occasions. If you havent yet had it happen, sooner or later, you shoot them enough, it will.

Like I said, weak ammo or mag problem, unless the rifle is just a POS. Between the 7 complete ARs I have, I'm probably well north of 40k rounds down range. Still, aside from the case of Tula I bought (never again) and some cheap import mags or totally worn out GI mags, never had one fail. And these aren't "high end" rifles; my most expensive is my BCM 12.5", and I'm still barely over a grand on that one.

 

[wally]

I like the "74" Style muzzle breaks. They really work!

The Krinkov style works even better!

While the AK ergonomics seem inadequate by US standards, if you watch the various Spetznaz videos kicking around youTube you'll realize that in addition to the utmost in mechanical simplicity (is it even possible to make an autoloader with fewer springs? ignoring the leaf spring for the rear sight ) it also simplifies the Manual of Arms so no matter what the stoppage its the same corrective action.

 

[AK103K]

So you use your off hand? Or are you counting your thumb touching the grip as "on it"?

I open my hand with my thumb behind the grip, and sweep it off with my middle finger. I dont use those selector levers like the epic above, as they are unnecessary.

As much as we're starting to split hairs about how far you might shift your hand, its really all meaningless, especially if youre practiced with the gun. Its an AK, and how you work it, thats all there is to it. Its not an AR, you work them like an AR. Trying to cross breed things is where things usually start to go south. Learn them for what they are, and dont try to make them something else. Its like trying to speak another language, and convert it to English in your head.

Like I said, weak ammo or mag problem, unless the rifle is just a POS. Between the 7 complete ARs I have, I'm probably well north of 40k rounds down range.

Ive been shooting M16's and AR's since the late 60's. I currently have four, and still have the first one I bought new in 74, a Colt SP1, and its easily got double that 40 on it by itself. The others are a couple of Armalites, and a S&W M&P15. Ive had a few other Colts and Bushmasters over the years, and other than a couple of home builds I bought, never really had any troubles.

Ive shot a lot of USGI and foreign surplus through them over the years, as well a commercial and reloads. Never really had any issue with ammo either.

 

[nathan]

I love my AKs and SKSs. Long live the Kalash Design Bureau! LOL