I'm intrigued. What kind of group sizes are you guys shooting at 100 yards? Scope or irons.
4 MOA with irons off the rail of the patio and not taking my time. 3 MOA with irons off the rail of the patio taking my time. Haven't run a scope, probably never will. It screams for a red dot IMO, because it's tougher to do fast follow ups accurately because you have to find the irons. Like I noted, what's the difference if you have two different rifles, one an AK, the other not, and both your targets come back with the center blown out of it? If it's accuracy level was as ineffective as some claim it would've never made it as an infantry weapon. It is accurate
enough.
1. Irons. you won't get any argument from me there. they are crude and not fun to use. I feel the same way about any commie gun. I hate the sights on my mosins and I upgraded my SKS to use a peep sight. I just can't use them well and even as far as leaf sights go they are not anything to write home about.
Glad to see some legitimate criticisms. I hated the sights on my Mosin, sold it. The AK has similarly crude sights though I would say a little better than the Mosins. I hemmed and hawed about getting new irons (tech sights, TWS, etc) when I took mine out the first time or two. I'm gonna be honest, you can't use them well because you haven't used them enough. They are actually quite effective. Yes, a longer radius would be nice, but for someone who puts the time in with his weapon, they are completely usable as well as durable. This gives me cause to re-examine the Mosin next time I have the chance too.
2. ease of use. I kindof disagree with you there. it has a charging handle, a safety, a trigger and a mag release. just about any other paramilitary design up to that point and since has the same basic layout. take it apart and it has a recoil spring, a bolt carrier/piston group and bolt. the same number of major components that most others guns have. I hate when people tote the "simplicity" of AKs when I operate and take apart an SKS, AR15, or heck, a marlin model 60 with the same level of difficulty. that's just me but in the defense of my position, I have spent a great deal of time with all of the listed models. some people may not like a particular model so it's difficult to look objectively at models you haven't spent much time with because you don't like them.
It doesn't have a bolt hold open release, a slightly confusing concept to a newb or youngster. It's internals are accessed very easily. Yes, it is very easy to access an AR, but not if you're 8 years old because you can't just push that big old button on the back of the weapon. The AR is a bit more refined, it's not stupidly easy to figure out how to get it open. It's easy to rack the bolt,
some rifles have too much spring tension for the little feller to operate. My wife can't rack the FAL nor a G3/Cetme nor C93/HK33, neither can my son, they don't have the strength.
It is a very basic and simple weapon.
in the AKs defense both models are WASRs so perhaps saigas are better but I'm nto about to spend my hard earned dollars on another AK when I never liked the one I had.
I can see how a rifleman would prefer a different type of weapon. The genius of the AK isn't that it's particularly accurate. It isn't refined. Neither is warfare. War requires something that works under horribly adverse conditions. That is how it shines. You have admitted not spending a lot of trigger time with yours, which may have contributed to the accuracy as much as your low end AK variant. I was more critical of the AK myself until I started taking it out every weekend and putting some rounds downrange. It's somewhat dishonest to knock a type of weapon until you've put in some trigger time with it and learned it's ins and outs.
4. one thing you didn't touch on was recoil management. I have come home with a bruised shoulder from AKs than any other gun(and I shoot a lot of guns with steel buttplates). you would think with a round as small as x39 it would not kick too hard but... it didn't matter whether it was a wirestock, side folder or fixed wood.
This I can agree with you somewhat. Some AK's seem particularly recoil heavy at times and for different shooters. A metal buttplate never helps. I tamed the recoil quite well just adding some ounces up front and now it's a softy with the MI handguards.