Symbolism of the AK series, turn you on or off?

[Sleeping Dog]

They used to symbolize the commie hordes, the enemy, the revolutionaries.

Now they symbolize the scary, the bad, the evil. In the minds of MMM'ers and BradyBunch folks.

Mine, however, is not an evil rifle. It has no bayonet lug.

Regards.

 

[VaughnT]

Personally, I can't own one because of what they helped accomplish. Like others, I have a problem supporting communist governments with my dollars. The ergonomics are not good for me. The lack of aftermarket accessories mean that I have less to play with.

And I can't get an upper in .458 SOCOM!

I won't buy a new pistol with an integral lock. I won't take a class at Thunder Ranch. I won't own weapons that have a negative connotation in my mind.

 

[MAKOwner]

Pretty sure my AKs are all from Democratic countries now (Bulgaria and Romania...) anyway. Can't say as it would bother me if they weren't though. What the heck, I figure I'm helping democracy to succeed there...

I like AKs because they're a kickass rugged yet simple and inexpensive military style weapon. I don't really care what country they're from or what style of government they have/had...

 

[Cosmoline]

I don't buy ChiCom stuff for the same reason I won't buy ammo from Mugabe's defense forces. Those dollars support evil. But frankly 90% of the semi AK's on the market are the product of communism's downfall in the eastern block. I can think of no better tribute to freedom than to buy and sell rifles that once outlawed private ownership

 

[geekWithA.45]

I separate the actual gun from the symbolic use of it.

An actual AK is simply wood and steel, like every other crafted chunk of wood and steel, with its relative merits or lack thereof.

In using iconic imagery of the AK, I'd say that it comes with too much negative baggage.

Imagine a simple silhouette of an arm holding an AK aloft.

Does this scream "freedom" to you? Or does it conjur up thoughts of some commie 3rd world revolution?

As for the AR being a symbol of oppression, I'd say, Nope. Not yet, and not with so many of them in the people's hands.

 

[Lobotomy Boy]

Attaching importance to symbolism is one of the most effective tools any person or organization with fascistic tendencies has at his or her disposal. Take the feminist movement of the 1980s, when I went to college. The feminists thought that if they could change the symbolism that people used in speech, they could alter the psychology of the speaker and thus change the world. That was the birth of politically correct language. And now, almost 20 years later, men and women are still different in spite of the best efforts of the feminists to convince us otherwise through symbolism.

Now the same sort of totalitarian impulses are driving the closet fascists who try to ban guns like the AK. What, exactly, can you do with an AK that you couldn't do with a BAR or a Remington 7400? The answer is, of course, nothing. Yet totalitarian thinkers like Kennedy and Feinstein and Schumer are trying to use the AK as a symbol to enforce their fascistic agenda.

I rank symbolism pretty low in the grand scheme of things. If I was to attach any symbolism to the AK, it would be positive, since I admire Mikhail Kalashnikov a great deal. He developed his gun because it broke his heart to see the Russian soldiers getting shot to pieces by the Nazis. His goal was as noble as that of any person who has ever developed a military firearm, perhaps even more so. He wasn't concerned with exporting revolution or world domination--he was concerned with saving the lives of his comrades. And isn't that, ultimately, one of the reasons many of us own guns today?

 

[Lonestar.45]

Lobotomy Boy, couldn't have said it better myself.

I used to be turned off by the image, but not anymore. It's just wood and metal. Anti's are turned off by "images", we ought to be more open minded.

A few weeks back I was looking at Shotgun News when I was at Dad's house. He saw an AK-47 type being advertised, and got curious. He said, how much is that? Tell me about them? I told him....I asked him why he wanted to know, he said he wanted to get one. I asked him why (he has deer rifles, but doesn't shoot much). He said he wanted a gun he could show the grandkids and tell them this is the kind of gun he was shot with in Vietnam (he took 4 AK rounds and survived, barely). If anyone had a reason to have a negative feeling about it, it'd be him. I guess everyone is different.

I've seen M-16's in the hands of the PLO, and in some of the beheading videos coming out of Iraq. It's not the weapon, but the person behind it.

 

[gulogulo1970]

I always wanted one, but I just have the thought that it is the "Bad Guys Rifle" . Every recent foe tends to shoot at us with those. I can't make myself buy one even though I want one. Conflicted, yes.

I guess I favor wearing the white hat as opposed to wearing the black hat when it comes to the firearms I own.

 

[brtecson]

I just bought an AK yesterday. At the gunstore, the a couple workers there and I were talking about this. One of the guys there was against selling the gun at all, not because he didn't like it, but because it seemed that the sale of AKs was harsh to a lot of their older clientele. However, most of them just see the gun as a machine that shoots bullets and does a fairly nice job of it.

I'm going to tell you guys what I told them. For every war that the US was involved in where the enemy had AKs, there was some sort of friendly local guerrilla forces on our side that used AKs as well. (afaik.)

 

[fistful]

I don't have an AK, and I'm not all that excited about them, but I like the AK. It doesn't put me in mind of politics or any particular war; it's just a good gun. It (apparently) has served its purpose very well, and I like the old classics. I don't love the AK like I love the Mauser and the 1911, but the AK is similar in that it is a world standard that has stood the test of time and inspired a million clones.

 

[Kharn]

I like it, the symbol of a failed system, the weapon of the unsucessful revolutionary in the fight against capitalism, in my gun safe for $300.

Kharn

 

[NMshooter]

I liked them more when I could get a SLR-95 for less than $200...

 

[RevDisk]

There is a reason why so many countries have them. Cheap, reliable, "accurate enough". Decent round. Symbolism doesn't matter, because "good guys" and "bad guys" both use them.

 

[>SHOCK<^>WAVE<]

Being able to own the EX enemy's choice weapon which is also first choose of terrorists and revolutionarys around the world is one powerful expression of our freedom in the USA.

 

[kaferhaus]

I bought 2 in 1987, one a polytech "legend" and a plain jane Norinco with a threaded rather than pinned in barrel. Obviously both are pre-ban. I paid $190 for the Norinco and $325 for the Polytech.

The poly is a much higher quality weapon, but the Norinco shoots circles around it accuracy wize.. go figure.

Both are accurate enough for what they're designed for... that said they're the worst guns I've ever owned as far as accuracy goes... The worst shooting AR I ever owned will shoot circles around any of them.

Still have em both though... they're a hoot to shoot and even decent ammo is cheap enough. I've never shot any of the commie surplus/steel case crap in either one of mine.

 

[Mark8252]

Say What??

The AK is a tool like any other firearm. Do guns cause crime? Of course not.
Do guns cause communism. Of course not
People do.

 

[benEzra]

Imagine a simple silhouette of an arm holding an AK aloft.

Does this scream "freedom" to you? Or does it conjur up thoughts of some commie 3rd world revolution?

Holding any long gun aloft one-handed is sort of a fighting gesture. Replace the AK lookalike with a Mossberg 500 or an AR-15 and it would still look, well, revolutionary...

A photo of me holding my AK at port arms, though--that's a symbol of freedom to me.

 

[Dionysusigma]

I suppose for some, driving on an interstate today is out. As is anything VW. Or Toyota, Honda, most Fords (I was surprised by this). Or tobacco. Look, we've been enemies with just about everyone on this ball of dirt. Are they symbols of fallen enemies? Depends if the individual sees it that way... I personally don't. I see each of them as benefits to modern technology that yes, they were invented by some of the most formidable enemies we've had, but in the end they had some decent ideas. I'm not one for rotting in the past.

Shooter973: A little more than symbolism to me!! I was shot at a few times by these weapons and also by SKS's. I have absolutely no desire to own one. I won't give my money up to buy a Commie or former Commie weapon... I guess it makes a difference after being on the wrong end of these weapons!!!

I guess it's just me... I would own them because of those reasons. People in general are more likely to stuff and mount the head of a lion that attacked them in Africa than stuff and mount the squirrel that's been eating all the bird seed in the back yard.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

One of my Buddies came back from Russia and told me that they now have a Tee-shirt just made for Symbolism of the Ak series.

Picture a nice big front letter saying....

"AK-47 WORLD TOUR"

(big picture of AK 47)

On the Back, and I am estimating the dates.....

Poland (48)
Checksolvockia (49) (badly spelled)
East German (50)
etc
etc
etc
Afghanistan (88)
Iran (89)
Iraq (90)
Kuwait (91)
etc.
etc.
Afghanistan (01)
Iraq (01)

finally in italics...

Coming to a war near you!

 

[Reno]

To me, it symbolizes excellent engineering - cheap, reliable, effective. I really would like to get one.