So How Accurate is Your AK47?

[35 Whelen]

I posted this on another forum and was pretty much rewarded with the sound of crickets chirping. So, let's try here!

Not a big AR fan although I own one. Not a big AK fan either, although I own a Saiga.

The Saiga/Izmash, a rock-stock 20.5" model, has pretty much languished in my safe since I bought it. I had about decided to sell it and buy a WASR, but thought I'd install a bullet guide, set it up to accept AK mags, and regulate the sights first.

After reading the general lack of accuracy with rifles such as this I didn't expect much, so I was really surprised at how well it performed at 100 yds.:




So next I slid the sight up to the 200 yd. setting and tried that range:



I was pleasantly surprised not only at the accuracy but at the fact that it shot where it was supposed to!

I really dislike tangent sights so will definitely be installing a set of the dual aperture Tech Sights which should help the groups even more.


I'd like to hear others positive experiences with these rifles.

35W

 

[HB]

I don't own an AK but get good groups with an SKS, especially when using good ammo. Brass case is consistently baseball sized and soft ball with steel. I'm talking consistently, not a 3 shot group fired once.

My buddy's AK is similar but the short stock and horrible sights limit it immensely. I highly recommend the tech sights, they turned my sks from a club to a very usable rifle.

I think AKs get a bad rap from the horrible ammo available. How can you compare steel cased 7.62 to milspec ammo fired from an AR? I would bet that Tula .223 and Tula 7.62 perform similarly when fired from equivalent rifles.

AKs certainly shoot good enough within their cartridge's effective range.

HB

 

[entropy]

Like the old Colt!

I get 'minute of goblin' as Col. Cooper used to say. Good enough for me.

Say; interesting sight adjusting there- first group, all in the black. then you moved them out of the black to the right, then off to the left. Then you didn't finish sighting in.

You are still 1.25" low and to the left. 2 inches if that one at 1 o'clock is a called flyer.

It really isn't an AK-47 if you have a 20" barrel on a Saiga, anyhoo. That's like saying a Camp Perry AR is an M-4. Try to reproduce that group with an off-the rack WASR-10 16" or an AMD-65, like I have. Only 12" of rifling in that barrel.



Now, where is that chirping cricket smiliey?

 

[BP Hunter]

My WASR, if I do my part, can consistenly hit my 8" AR500 steel gong 200 yards out with open sights.

 

[Lord Teapot]

shoots where i aim it, never put optics on it so i cant say past ~150.

 

[dvdcrr]

The pics show typical "good" accuracy for a 47 style rifle, IMO 20" or 16 really makes little difference, 16 may actually be a little better.

 

[jrdolall]

Mine are accurate enough at 100 yards. I personally cannot shoot that distance with iron sights because of old eyes but they have been shot by several people that are proficient and are adequate.
I won them more for fun than actual utility so dead nuts accuracy isn't a big concern for me.

 

[Fishbed77]

My converted 16" 7.62x39mm Saiga is a 2 - 2.5 MOA rifle if I do my part.

IMHO, the biggest hindrance to AK accuracy are the terrible sights (compared to the aperture sights of an AR or Garand), and the wide variety of AKs out there. Some are just better than others. The Saigas have a rep for being pretty accurate by comparison.

 

[bikemutt]

My Vepr puts up 1.5-2" at 100 yards with bloc ammo, it actually doesn't seem to like the good Hornady SST stuff. That's with a SigTac CP4 4X optic, maybe it would do better with a scope. Then again, I don't know if a Vepr is considered to be an AK47.

 

[fotheringill]

No scope. Maada (Maida) which has been beaten up. No scope. 100 yards. Accurate enough to hit what is coming at me four out of five shots.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

Those Siaga's and VEPR's ^ tilt the scale a bit. There are a few THR threads and I think they typically get around to AK's being 2" (Really good one) to a 4" (Average) rifle (At 100yds). There's always some example of better or worse, but you have to watch out for parts guns, kit guns, etc.

I've owned a few and this is what I have experienced. I find that the sights are about on par with the rifle, meaning if you can:
1. See it
2. Line up to the wide front post

You can typically hit it.

IF your aiming at something half a post width or so, then good luck, the "System" just isn't that accurate. an example, is the rifle range I go to has a berm at 150 yards. I can hit a clay target sitting on the berm about 50% of the time. With my SKS, the best I've done is 9/10 targets, same distance, same ammo.

All off hand, I don't shoot these from a rifle vise....

 

[Inebriated]

IMHO, the biggest hindrance to AK accuracy are the terrible sights (compared to the aperture sights of an AR or Garand), and the wide variety of AKs out there.

For targets, yes. But for a fighting carbine, I really prefer AK sights over AR. I find that AK sights are just easier to get effective hits with in on the move, in odd positions, in close quarters, and in low light/no light (with white light). I've done quite a bit of back and forth with both, and I am just more efficient with AK sights in those areas. But a bench gun, it certainly is not, and I'll always be able to put a better group up with an AR's irons.

In any case, all my important rifles have Aimpoints, so the irons are secondary, and I'm content with either.

My experience does mirror yours for accuracy, though. My Saiga, SGL-21, and SLR-107 all hover somewhere between 2-3 MOA when using the Aimpoint and Hornady SST. I imagine Federal Fusion would do better, but I never find any locally. If I do, I'd like to toss a magnified optic on them and see how they do.

 

[C-grunt]

My old WASR was about a 4 MOA gun with normal combloc ammo. My buddies Arsenal is probably a 2-3 MOA gun with combloc ammo.

I think AKs get their bad accuracy reputation from 3 sources. 1. the sights arent the best for accuracy. 2. cheap ammo. and 3. Bad quality AKs. However a well made AK is plenty accurate for its job.

Like Larry Vickers says "The AK is more accurate than people think it is and the AR is more reliable than people think it is."

 

[MIL-DOT]

Several years ago, I was shooting with some freinds on one of the guy's property that has 3 different ranges on it.
At one point, I was shooing my un-coverted Saiga x39, from a bench-rest, at those little round, orange target-decals that are somwhere between the size of a quarter and a half-dollar, and I was putting rounds consistently inside that orange circle, from about 90 yards.
Now, I admit I was REALLY concentrating and trying hard and felt like I was shooting better than normal, and I honestly couldn't even see the circles behind my front sight post, so I was amazed I was getting such good shots in, but I wasn't going to complain, though I almost felt like I couldn't even take credit for those shots.
Anyway, I'd say that was the most accurate I've seen from any AK variant (and certainly,from me.)

 

[35 Whelen]

Like the old Colt!

I get 'minute of goblin' as Col. Cooper used to say. Good enough for me.

Say; interesting sight adjusting there- first group, all in the black. then you moved them out of the black to the right, then off to the left. Then you didn't finish sighting in.

You are still 1.25" low and to the left. 2 inches if that one at 1 o'clock is a called flyer.

It really isn't an AK-47 if you have a 20" barrel on a Saiga, anyhoo. That's like saying a Camp Perry AR is an M-4. Try to reproduce that group with an off-the rack WASR-10 16" or an AMD-65, like I have. Only 12" of rifling in that barrel.



Now, where is that chirping cricket smiliey?

The sights are a bit of a bear to adjust, so when I began adjusting for windage I hard time. After firing the third group I turned the front sight in 1/4 and moved it to the left just a hair, then fired the 200 yd. group.

I totally agree that the sights are bad. Once i.install an aperture sight I expect accuracy to improve alot.

35W

 

[BudgetBucks1]

I tested six types of ammo for accuracy out of a WASR that I own. The worst group was made by Wolf black box hp. I got a full six inch group out of that ammo. However, on the other side of the spectrum I shot a 1.5 inch group with Golden Tiger and a 2.5 inch group with Remington psp's. Wolf military shot a 4 inch group. Brown Bear shot a 3 inch group. Wolf Black Box shot consistently poor. If my memory serves me I believe Wolf Black Box is a hot round(around 150 fps faster than most). Maybe that is the reason for the poor accuracy. In my experience, with decent ammo, they shoot plenty accurately for whatever you choose to use them for. I shot a deer at 75 yards with mine and hit right where I aimed it(using red dot sight). My friend has a RRA AR(.223) that we couldn't get better than 2 inch groups with and I think he paid around $1,200 for it so in my opinion my $280 WASR was well worth the money. Try the Golden Tiger ammo(124 grain). I think it comes in a red and yellow box.

 

[carbine85]

Mine don't shoot nearly as good as my ARs but they will hit what I aim for.
Chinese - 5"-6" groups @ 100 yards
Bulgarian AK74 with a Bulgy barrel - 3"-4" groups with a dot sight.
Hungarian AK47 - 4" groups. I just built this one and still have to get to know it a little

 

[leadcounsel]

I've shot a bunch of AKs and SKSs and only had 1 that was inaccurate. For instance my 1980s WASR can ring a small/medium gong at 200 meters consistently from the bench if I focus. That's plenty accurate for a battle rifle.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I was hitting 16 oz. water bottles at 100 yards with mine, about 4 MOA. That was good enough for what I want to do with it.

Anything better and I will get out the precision rifle which can knock the caps off the same bottles at that range.

 

[M1key]

Most of my shooting is at 10 inch plates @100-200 yds with iron sights, however the Saiga is capable of shooting 3-3 1/2 inches at 100yds with Wolf MC HP.

M

 

[d2wing]

My Saiga, scoped with American SP ammo will do 3 inches at 100 yards measured consistently. If I shoot it enough I might be able to cherry pick a tighter group.
I had several other SK's and SKS's. They were all in the 6 MOA range or worse but I found that receiver mount scopes were worse than open sights and ammo makes a difference. Steel case ammo can be all over the place.
I have seen 2 inch groups but that was heavily cherry picked, not really an honest expectation.

 

[KBintheSLC]

Century Yugo M70AB2. I have a Burris Scout on a forward rail. Shoots ~2.5" groups all day. However, it came from the factory with an American-made Green Mountain barrel. Also, the muzzle brake I added is somewhat heavy and helps limit the natural barrel flop.

Amazingly, the tightest groups are from Golden Tiger ammo [cheap].

 

[MechAg94]

The AKs I have shot do from 2" to 5" groups. That is Vepr, Saiga, and Zastava. I have one nice looking AK I had made that does about 8" groups.

Lots of ARs do better than that, but not by much.

 

[Rudedog]

Mine will shoot 3" groups from the bench with irons at 100 yards using Tula ammo.
Offhand at 100 I can put a 30 round mag in the vitals of an FBI target.
Practical accuracy I guess.

 

[Garrobo]

AK-47?

Or did you mean an AKS? The AK-47's that I had experience with in the mid 60's were all full auto. Though they were sturdy and dependable weapons (I carried one for a while after experiencing jams in the M-16.) it wasn't accurate beyond about 50 meters. Of course, it was never intended to be an accurate rifle.