You can dump sand in the AK and it will still run

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Alright, I am going to make like a anti and

SCREAM EVERYTHING IN TYPE LOUD ENOUGH YOU CAN'T EVEN GET YOUR POINT ACROSS!!! THE AK IS THE BEST GUN EVER!!! AHHHHH!!!!! YOU CAN'T SAY OTHERWISE!!! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!! THIS IS ME NOT LISTENING TO YOUR UNBELIEF IN MY WEAPON SYSTEM!!!!!! AAAHHH!!!!!!

Disclaimer: I am not an anti but sometimes you got to hand it to them, their way of arguing does sometimes work.
 
I love how the OP posts a SINGLE video and considers it enough to call the AK's legendary reliability a myth. Truly funny.
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I didn't see where the OP called the AK's "legendary reliability" a "myth".

People are, however, pointing out that the AK isn't invincible and infallible as often portrayed.

In a way, however, you could say the AK's "legendary reliability" is a myth, for the "legendary reliability" often refers to the saying that "the AK will never jam". That characterization should be sent to the same trashcan that the myths of "racking a pump shotgun will always scare away an intruder" and "the .45 will knock a man back five feet and instantly kill him with one hit" reside in.
 
With the action closed and dust cover open the AR lets very little sand into the action.
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Good catch. I had missed the fact that he always dropped the bolt each time before he laid the rifle down and applied the dirt.
 
I love how the OP posts a SINGLE video and considers it enough to call the AK's legendary reliability a myth. Truly funny.
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Maybe you should go to the Derek Zoolander School for Kids Who Don't Read Very Good.

All I said was that the AK reliability has been exaggerated by many people on gun boards who do more talking than shooting.
 
All I said was that the AK reliability has been exaggerated by many people on gun boards who do more talking than shooting.
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The same can be said of virtually anything posted on a gun board :D
 
The same can be said of virtually anything posted on a gun board
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That is exactly right. It is important to be aware of that. A lot of new guys get on the internet and read time and time again, "You can pour sand into the action of an AK, run it over with a truck, throw it out of an airplane, freeze it over night, and soak it in salt water and it will run without a hitch". If only that were true.
 
You can dump sand in the HK and it will still run

Fixed it.

I bought an HK91 in the early '70's precisely because you could pour a handful of gravel into the open chamber and then 1) release the bolt 2) chamber and fire the rifle 3) watch gravel get ejected with the casings and drift out of the trigger group.

It never had a problem with crud buildup in the operating system and I ran it dry for years. Roller locks seem to work ok that way. It also shot well enough I had to admit it was operator error, not the rifle. Unlike AK shooters who can blame third world quality standards and cheap milsurp ammo all day.

The charging handle wasn't connected to the bolt, either, and it worked just fine, as did my issued M16's for 22 years in the Reserves.

The problem with the legend of AK invincibility is that it's believed in inverse proportion to the actual amount of military experience someone has served.

Meaning, only the wannabes and newbs pass that disinformation along. 99 out of 100 don't bother to serve our country these days.

But, an American Soldier makes it up worldwide equipped with an M16 or M4, and the number of AK's we take from deceased opponents far outnumber the ones we lose.

Why do so many ignore that obvious fact?

The AK is a loser's gun. Carry one and you are just part of a target rich environment.
 
Carry one and you are just part of a target rich environment.
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Good to know. :rolleyes:

What I want to know is why so many ignore the obvious fact that the opponenets we fight today have no concept of firearms training like we do...so of course they are less effective. An AK in a properly trained soldier's hands is a very deadly weapon indeed, internet hype about reliability aside. Why this is so oft overlooked astounds me :banghead:
 
why so many ignore the obvious fact that the opponents we fight today have no concept of firearms training like we do..
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Cause it makes us sound better in the press to kill "enemy combatants" rather than "an twelve year old with an AK he couldn't shoulder, let alone clean"

If the AK-toter who just hit the dirt doesn't know how to remove the dust-cover to clear the FCG....
 
I love that show Untimate Warriars. They did a show where one group's primary weapon was the AK, the other was the M16. And they have experts from each group performing the tests. At least in that show, they dumped a cup of sand on the AK and it shot fine. Not so for the M16. However.... in every other trial they put both guns through, the M16 prevailed. Or it's all a bunch of BS, but I enjoyed watching it, and it tested what people have said for years. Still not giving up my AR's!!!!
 
While personnel experiences are not truly scientific, here's mine.In April of 2003 I was sent to Iraq armed with an M9 beretta, soon found myself in need of more effective fire power So I acquired an AK-47 from a gentleman who had no use for it anymore, ammo was available by the storeroom, much more so than 223 ammo which had to be flown in. I loved that rifle as it performed flawlessly, I shot it often, defended myself and shot dozens of gazelles and feral dogs with it,I was sorry to have to turn it in to be destroyed when I left the war zone. M16 was OK but needed daily maintenance and cleaning, Military PR crap don't tell you that the M16 Jams often.In the war you dont always have time to clean weapons and shine your boots like the career brown nosers in the rear. Hope this helps
 
Do NOT,repeat,DO NOT underestimate the weapons capabilities in the hands of a professional trained to use it properly!

Face it,most of the people using the AK today are poorly trained,poorly funded and poorly equipped.In the hands of a professional...Keep a healthy respect for it. It can and will kill you weather you like the weapon or not!
It has proven effective time and time again. like it or not, love it or hate it.

How many former Eastern Block professionals have any of us encountered?!Don't fool yourselves.They are stait up bad***.
 
While personnel experiences are not truly scientific, here's mine.In April of 2003 I was sent to Iraq armed with an M9 beretta, soon found myself in need of more effective fire power So I acquired an AK-47 from a gentleman who had no use for it anymore, ammo was available by the storeroom, much more so than 223 ammo which had to be flown in. I loved that rifle as it performed flawlessly, I shot it often, defended myself and shot dozens of gazelles and feral dogs with it,I was sorry to have to turn it in to be destroyed when I left the war zone. M16 was OK but needed daily maintenance and cleaning, Military PR crap don't tell you that the M16 Jams often.In the war you dont always have time to clean weapons and shine your boots like the career brown nosers in the rear. Hope this helps
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I was squadded with a Marine Reservist who was first wave into Iraq. He personally poured sand into an AK. He took the top cover off and poured sand while firing. He expressed surprise and frustration in the difference in sand sensitivity between the M16 and the AK. The AK is far less dirt sensitive. While he was cleaning his M16 three times a day to avoid malfunctions.

A work bud, back in the early 70’s he was going through Navy boot camp. The instructors had a AK and a M16. This was a weapon confidence building exercise, to show the boots that the American M16 was a better weapon than that crappy Commie rifle. The instructors poured sand into the AK and it kept on functioning. But less than a teaspoon jammed the M16.

The point made was that the American M16 was a much more “precise” weapon than that loose rattle trap of an AK, and therefore better. Because we all like precision built weapons. :)

It had never occurred, in the twenty years hence, what that confidence building exercise proved, was that the M16 was a less reliable weapon than the AK, and that precision does not mean a thing if your weapon is jammed. :mad:
 
Ak vs m16

I'm not saying the M16 is a bad weapon.In 1981 I scored a 240 out of 250 with a Vietnam era M16 in Marine Corps boot camp on Pre Qual day, on qual day it rained and I shot a 221 to make expert, I was really impressed with the M16 then.I will say the M16 is one of the most accurate semi auto rifles out there, much more so than an AK.
I was trained in the Infantry as an 0311 and Marine Scout Sniper by NCO,s who were Vietnam war veterans. At that young age I actively sought there opinions.Bottom line was they said they said they would have rather had something like the AK47 for jungle fighting. They said when shooting ball ammo it usually took 3 shots to drop charlie, where an AK47 could do it with 1 shot. Again these are just opinions but they were backed up with real world experiences that you will not find on Utube, To me the real advantage to the M16 was its light weight,since the Infantryman is an overloaded beast of burden. the tragedy was in when they gave me the heavy barreled version in 1984 I would have rather they just went to the M14 if I have to carry a heavy weapon all day.I guess for Police the M16 might be better than the AK. You just have to pick your weapon and get as good as you can with it. Vince
 
What I want to know is why so many ignore the obvious fact that the opponenets we fight today have no concept of firearms training like we do...so of course they are less effective. An AK in a properly trained soldier's hands is a very deadly weapon indeed, internet hype about reliability aside. Why this is so oft overlooked astounds me
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I don't think many people here would argue that fact.

This video got shot to pieces by rifleman channel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXgaJV05_9g) They leave the dust cover open so all the dirt falls into the receiver. Of course it wont work. Its like opening the bolt on an AR-15 and dumping dirt into there, forget about it.
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It's a design flaw on the AK. Plus, my point in posting this thread was specifically because I have heard people claim "you can dump sand in the AK and it will still run" or something similar so often on message boards. This shoots that "myth" to pieces and proves it is simply wrong. Not that the AK isn't reliable.

Yes, the AK is reliable, but let's not exaggerate so much like people tend to do on message boards and in gun shops. Internet myth, meet reality.
 
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RockyMtnTactical said:
I don't think many people here would argue that fact.



It's a design flaw on the AK. Plus, my point in posting this thread was specifically because I have heard people claim "you can dump sand in the AK and it will still run" or something similar so often on message boards. This shoots that "myth" to pieces and proves it is simply wrong. Not that the AK isn't reliable.

Yes, the AK is reliable, but let's not exaggerate so much like people tend to do on message boards and in gun shops. Internet myth, meet reality.
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I don't think shoveling little rocks and sand into the ak action until its nearly full was a design consideration. And by the same token, I seriously doubt E. Stoner considered the possiblity of middle eastern desert silt clogging his design without having to shovel any onto the rifle to literally bury it.
 
...the OP posts a SINGLE video and considers it enough to call the AK's legendary reliability a myth.
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What thread were YOU reading? I was the first poster to use the word, while my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek. The OP has proven his knowledge many times over, and he's not calling the AK unreliable.
 
I don't think shoveling little rocks and sand into the ak action until its nearly full was a design consideration.
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Then maybe people should stop saying things like this:

You can dump sand in the AK and it will still run.
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Just trying to bring some truth to those who are perpetuating this lie all over the internet.

That's all this is about, clearing up some exaggerations about the AK. It's a good, reliable gun. It has proven that over the course of it's existence.

I like the AK design.
 
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