Why I learned to stop hatin' and love the AK!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Fish, not any noticeable weight, we had a strong hand only rifle stage and I barley even noticed the weight. Though I am a bigger guy.
 
Very interesting discussion. At times I find myself mourning a decision I made in December of 2011. Considered getting myself beautiful AK-47 for Xmas. The shop owner gave me a price of "$350, out the door" - I decided to pass, 'get one later' but with all that's happened in the past year +, I wish I'd gotten that rifle... haven't seen one anywhere near that price in a while.

More pics of your AK's would be very appreciated. :)
 
1002190_10201848014630193_178882310_n.jpg


... after a trip to the Zone for diet sausage.
 
fishbed, the mag pictured with the vepr 12 is for a saiga 12, just took a metal file too it so it will work, minus the bho feature which this saiga mags dont have. not sure what ur askin bout converting back to ak configuration
 
Tony, I've been very interested in the Chaos rail for another rifle. How does the top section connect to the lower section? Allen bolts? I thought it was meant to be quick detach for easy access to the gas tube?
 
I had an AR15 for a while before I picked up my first AK47. I always found problems using cheap steel cased ammo with my AR but not my AK. My AK is def the rifle I would bug out with, and depend on with my life. I also recently traded my AR for a Sig 556 due to the similarity of the operating system to an AK and have had no issues with any types of ammo. Also the 556 is more fun to shoot than my AR but still not as fun as my AK.


Posted from Thehighroad.org App for Android
 
I own 2, I gave one to my dad and one to my brother when they thought the end of an erra was coming, big AR scare. Ones a Russian the other is a Yugo, but both have eaten everything I put through them.
My brother couldn't believe I was better with my 30-06 than he was with an AR. Then I did the milk jug test with him and even I was a little surprised by the -06, big difference but I had a feeling it would be. Then he went AR vs AK and I still beat him. I used ARs in the service so I know there limitations.
Marksmanship is still the biggest part of shooting. Know your limitations. Know your tools.
 
Fireside, It attaches with Allen bolts 2 on each side. It is not a quick detach, unless you consider 4 bolts quick. It does come off fairly easy though.
 
If I had it to do all over again I'd choose the AK over the AR, as the AK offers more capability to me for certain applications. But I'm so heavily invested in the AR platform that I'd have to win the lottery to make the change-over.
 
I've been an "AK guy" since 1989, when I bought a Norinco AK84S in 5.56mm just two weeks before Bush 41 signed the import ban (when I suddenly had people offering me as much as $1500 for a rifle I'd just bought for $425). I still have it today, and it's still a great rifle. I've put all manner of ammo through it in those 24+ years, probably upwards of 10,000 rounds, and it's never once had any kind of failure. Accuracy? Yeah, it does exactly what it's supposed to do; hit a man-size target out to 300 meters. It's definitely combat accurate. Though I've never benched it to judge MOA, it eats the center out of a target easily at 100 yards off-hand and with its original iron sights...at least when I do my part.

The only criticism I can think of is that I don't (yet) own one in 7.62mm.
 
Fireside, It attaches with Allen bolts 2 on each side. It is not a quick detach, unless you consider 4 bolts quick. It does come off fairly easy though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I had watched a pre-release computerized demo of the chaos rail and it seemed like it used some sort of sliding pieces to secure it that would make it quick detach. It shows no allen screws so apparently it didn't work out for them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoIEG8lBdI4

Assuming you might have tried both, any reason then that I should select this rail over another midwest industries rail like I already have?

I always found problems using cheap steel cased ammo with my AR but not my AK.
Click to expand...

Maybe some guys who are more familiar than me with AR's and steel cased ammo could chime in. I've shot AR's, but it was always with brass cased. I have seen guys use cheap Tula in them and they run great and other guys state they had a lot of problems with it. I NEEDED to run steel case for the cost factor. I don't wanna take my thread off topic, but it does seem that some of the steel case problems with some AR's might be different manufacturing tolerances or something? Kinda lost on that one.

I did indeed buy an AK to shoot that cheap steel cased stuff. I like it cause it's very cheap and I don't have to police up the brass afterwards. I hate reloading for necked cartridges. I'm working class so it's a real bonus to be able to use cheapo ammo. There was lots of heated debate about steel cased ammo in FALs so I always ran brass in it. Expensive-as-hell. Some guys had no trouble with steel case, some had no trouble until it kaboomed, and others absolutely refuse to touch the stuff. I wanted absolute reliability with steel case ammo.
 
Fireside, I chose this rail on the fact that I have there Titan rail on my saiga 12 and I like it a lot. Plus they are making a section that goes from the front sight to the rear of the dust cover and it can pivot, and not loose zero. As far as the MI rail I don't have it and if you do then I would stick with that but I really liked the Chaos styling better, personal preference I guess.
 
What I like most about AK's is that they will eat steel-cased ammo all day long and require minimal maintenance. I have always been an AR guy but recently have taken a liking to AK's and SKS's for their reliability and simplicity.


The AR has a bolt carrier. bolt and gas piston. Just on a AR the gas piston is formed by the bolt and bolt carrier. On a AK the gas piston is riveted to the bolt carrier, effectively making them one piece.

I'll give you that the AR is more modular. AKs do require hand fitting of parts.

BSW
Click to expand...

A standard DI AR15 does not have a gas piston, that's why its called Direct Impingement (unless you are specifically referring to piston variants like the HK416, Sig556, etc).
 
A standard DI AR15 does not have a gas piston, that's why its called Direct Impingement (unless you are specifically referring to piston variants like the HK416, Sig556, etc).
Click to expand...

Nope. There is a gas piston formed by the bolt and the bolt carrier. Stoner's brilliant idea was seeing that you could pipe gas from the FSB to the receiver and that the gas piston could be made from the bolt and bolt carrier and in the process eliminate the weight and bulk of the op rod.

See the Armalite Tech note #54 here: http://www.armalite.com/images/Tech Notes/Tech Note 54, Gas vs Op Rod Drive, 020815.pdf

This gas operating system works by passing high pressure propellant gasses tapped from the barrel down a tube and into the carrier group within the upper receiver, and is commonly but incorrectly referred to as a “direct impingement” system.

The gas expands within a donut shaped gas cylinder within the carrier. Because the bolt is prevented from moving forward by the barrel, the carrier is driven to the rear by the expanding gasses and thus converts the energy of the gas to movement of the rifle’s parts. The bolt bears a piston head and the cavity in the bolt carrier is the piston sleeve. It is more correct to call it an “internal piston” system.
Click to expand...

BSW
 
Last edited:
What I like most about AK's is that they will eat steel-cased ammo all day long and require minimal maintenance. I have always been an AR guy but recently have taken a liking to AK's and SKS's for their reliability and simplicity.
Click to expand...

You said something there. I went from spending $20+ per box of 308 to just over $5 a box for 7.62x39. I actually now own an autoloading rifle I can afford to wear out the barrel on it.

I know there are more AK heads on here. Where are you all at?
 
I was originally an AR fan, but I'm never quite comfortable with the AR, whereas I can point the AK like my finger. It wasn't later until I understood how much of the "crude design" of the AK was actually brilliant engineering. Eventually I became an AK advocate.
 
I tried so hard to like the AK. I started off with a WASR when I was 24 and hated it, so I sold it and bought a nicer model, hated that too, sold it and bought an even nicer model. When the Maadi didn't cut it for me, I just gave up. The ergonomics never felt comfortable to me, it was never as accurate as I would like, and I just didn't enjoy shooting it.

Sure, it's a simple and reliable battlefield weapon and some people attribute a certain "coolness" factor to it. If I were trying to survive alone on the streets of Mogadishu or chillin with my homies in Compton, maybe I'd be better served by an AK. But I don't ever plan on pouring sand in my rifles and an AK would never be my choice for a home defense weapon, so when it comes right down to it, I have no need or use for an AK.

On the other hand, I do have about a dozen 10/22s, which I'm sure wouldn't fare well in desert combat...
 
The ergonomics never felt comfortable to me, it was never as accurate as I would like, and I just didn't enjoy shooting it.
Click to expand...

They aren't great right out of the box. I'm looking to add a six position stock as soon as I catch up with my other gun purchases. I think that and a new grip combined with the MI rail and AFG I have already on the go-to will help enormously. You might wanna give an "updated" AK a try. As I noted in the OP the aftermarket has EXPLODED in terms of parts and accessories for AK type rifles. Much more out there than even five years ago. I think it's part of what's fueling the demand.

Fireside, I chose this rail on the fact that I have there Titan rail on my saiga 12 and I like it a lot. Plus they are making a section that goes from the front sight to the rear of the dust cover and it can pivot, and not loose zero. As far as the MI rail I don't have it and if you do then I would stick with that but I really liked the Chaos styling better, personal preference I guess.
Click to expand...

I notice they still haven't released the top cover/rail deal yet. I wonder if they had problems with it holding zero.

I have a Saiga 7.62x39 and have converted it to meet 922r regs.
Click to expand...

I have a similar conversion. Great gun. Did you do the handguard mods yourself? I know guys spend extra dough converting that front end to use standard handguards. I don't see the point when you get the extra real estate up there just leaving it alone. Seems smart to leave it with all these straight out support arm shooting techniques going on nowadays.
 
I know guys spend extra dough converting that front end to use standard handguards. I don't see the point when you get the extra real estate up there just leaving it alone. Seems smart to leave it with all these straight out support arm shooting techniques going on nowadays.
Click to expand...
That's pretty funny. A month or so ago I found myself saying, "Gee, I wish my -74 had a Saiga front handguard," while doing some pretty interesting out-of-position stuff in a carbine class. :)

The gas block does get -- a mite -- hot, making it a poor choice for grabbing onto.
 
That's pretty funny. A month or so ago I found myself saying, "Gee, I wish my -74 had a Saiga front handguard," while doing some pretty interesting out-of-position stuff in a carbine class.
Click to expand...

Maybe someone can make a business out of undoing Saiga converted front ends, lol.
 
Fireside44, yes I cut and drilled the fore end grip myself. That was my first version. I bought another stock fore grip and cut it down lower in the front to show more gas tube, and drilled holes also on what was left.. I like the latter version better. I just like the look of the gas tube showing, kinda like the old style AKs.
 
Nope. There is a gas piston formed by the bolt and the bolt carrier. Stoner's brilliant idea was seeing that you could pipe gas from the FSB to the receiver and that the gas piston could be made from the bolt and bolt carrier and in the process eliminate the weight and bulk of the op rod.

See the Armalite Tech note #54 here: http://www.armalite.com/images/Tech%..., 020815.pdf
Click to expand...

I get what you are saying , but in common terms we call it DI. What i'm saying is that a DI does not have the piston as you would see in an Sig556 or HK416.

Its pretty stupid really because why then do we DI vs Piston debates, when they're all considered Piston to begin with?
 
Its pretty stupid really because why then do we DI vs Piston debates, when they're all considered Piston to begin with?
Click to expand...

Well, there are only two ways that have been discovered to make a self loading firearm: gas operated or recoil operated. If it's self loading it has to be one or the other.

Now, categories within gas operation are another subject.

BSW
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

ugaarguy
  • Locked
AKs - What I've Learned (Norinco in Particular)
Replies
10
Views
3K
Al Thompson
A
M
  • Locked
Why does the US supply AKs?
2
Replies
31
Views
1K
Rubber_Duck
R
A
  • Locked
AK-47 vs AK-74 . Thoughts or opinions anyone ?
Replies
21
Views
2K
wford
W
J
  • Locked
Why are AK 74s not more popular???
2
Replies
44
Views
5K
nathan
N
M
  • Locked
Why no AKs that use AR mags?
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
El Tejon
E
Back
Top