Unknown facts on AK-47

[cigarros]

AK-47 is probably one of the most well-known Russian weaponry piece. They say it became so popular worldwide because of it’s high durability (it can go for years without any kind of cleaning or special maintenance) and extreme simplicity - it has only eight moving parts and can be stripped down in one minute.

In some countries of Africa it can be bought as cheap as $12 for one piece and no any license is needed, so even children armed with the guns. Maybe that’s why some of the countries of this continent have the AK-47 depiction on their coats of arms, like Mozambique on pictures above has it both on its flag and coats of arms.

Zimbabwe got it too. Burkina Faso had it from 1984 till 1997.

And Eastern Timor got it live as an official symbol starting 2007.

Then the radical Mid Eastern groups are also well known for AK-47 affection.

As we can see Hezbollah has it on its flag above.

And Osama is known (or was known) for having one or two AK-47s standing somewhere near him during his video appearances.

Those groups are not the only in the modern world who are fond of this epic assault rifle. For example architects of Russia were going to build a AK-47 shaped skyscraper in the home town of its inventor, Mr. Kalashnikov. And by the way, people say he didn’t get any profits upon inventing and introducing this gun just because in Soviet Union authors of such inventions didn’t get any royalties at all.

But while the Russians are just planning to built something like this, in Egypt they have already built a giant AK-47 monument on the coast of Sinai peninsula.

Sometimes the AK-47 mania gets really crazy and one can get a gold coated rifle.

This particular one was owned by Hussein, not Barak but Saddam.

Or in Afghanistan people put AK-47 on the hand made rugs.

And probably the most freakish AK-47 mod is Hello Kitty pink gun.

Also in Russia you can get a silver coin with it.

But then sometimes even countries that are far from participating of wars and enjoying peaceful living come up with something as strange as a dollar coin with AK-47 (New Zealand).

And it goes in a neatly shaped box.

And this is Russian basketball star Alexandr Kirillenko known playing for Utah Jazz. No, he doesn’t own hello kitty AK-47, but he is known to be called “AK-47″ by his teammates.

Then AK-47 is something that is not forgotten by Music industry participants.

Or an MP3 player

And of course, the last but not the least is AK-47 vodka bottles

[Colt45]

Feel free to call me a hypocrite, but I've no idea why this would be posted here.

(I'm not going to bother to explain myself)

[Warren]

Feel free to call me a hypocrite, but I've no idea why this would be posted here.

(I'm not going to bother to explain myself)

National pride?

[El Presidente]

I found it interesting. Ken will no doubt find it more so

[maalouly]

Feel free to call me a hypocrite, but I've no idea why this would be posted here.

(I'm not going to bother to explain myself)

For the vodka bottle?

[shrink]

I found it interesting. Ken will no doubt find it more so

OK, I'll be the first to chip in and get Ken a Hello Kitty AK-47. It'll go beautifully with his slippers.

[Kangaroo495]

Feel free to call me a hypocrite, but I've no idea why this would be posted here.

(I'm not going to bother to explain myself)

A bit of gun jealously there eh, Colt45?

[sandholm]

As a former military person i just want to make some points clear...

AK-47 is probably one of the most well-known Russian weaponry piece. They say it became so popular worldwide because of it’s high durability (it can go for years without any kind of cleaning or special maintenance) and extreme simplicity - it has only eight moving parts and can be stripped down in one minute.

No, the word you are looking for is not "high durability", the gun is very likely to jam, and dont expect the bullet to hit the target you are aiming at. Wounder why one of the great feateur of the gun is called "bullet spray?.

The word you are looking for is...

In some countries of Africa it can be bought as cheap as $12 for one piece and no any license is needed, so even children armed with the guns. Maybe that’s why some of the countries of this continent have the AK-47 depiction on their coats of arms, like Mozambique on pictures above has it both on its flag and coats of arms.

CHEAP, as in easy to make and not very sophisticated. Good weapon for terrorist because they are easy to get hold of (or even make) and easy to use but not a gun that you want to trust your life in. Look at this vbs.tv about the gun market in Pakistan, they are practcly making them in the caves... http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-guide-to-...ets-of-pakistan

I would just call them a menace, its a gun that today is used mostly by terrorist and dictators...

sorry, dont want to pick on your national pride, but i have seen what that gun has done when being on international peace mission.

On the other hand, as a military person, i see no fascination in guns. I had a sergent that told us that if you see a man that want to carry a gun in the supermarket and go shooting fully automatic on a gun range, you dont want him on a mission, he is a loose end. Personal, even as a trained snipper who has been involved in several "peace keeping" missions, i just dont like gun, and I will not even mention what i think about people who loves guns..

(for the record, to take a gun apart in one minute is not a good "result", we had the time limit for assembly a more complexed automatic rifle in the dark..)

now, time for a nice cigar

[rahko]

the gun is very likely to jam

The AK-47 and its variants is just about the only automatic rifle that can work reliably in difficult conditions, from sandstorm to extreme cold. This is not an opinion, it's been tested.

and dont expect the bullet to hit the target you are aiming at.

Even the cheap copies of the original russian-made gun can hit a man-sized target at 300 meters. In any case there is no mechanical reason for inaccuracy with it.

I would just call them a menace, its a gun that today is used mostly by terrorist and dictators...

That's another thing entirely, but no reason to make false claims on an emotional standpont.

[chuck1rar]

I wouldnt go so far and say it doesnt need cleaning and still works like a charm...

Every weapon needs cleaning after a few hundred rounds have gone down the barrel.

But yes it is a very simple rifle that is not hard to break and most of the jamming that occurs is due to the magazine spring or to the rambo's out there that tape another mag onto the loaded one.

Another point is the stopping power of the 7.62 round, and yeah have seen enough wounds caused by a 7.62 and a standard NATO 5.56 round to realize the difference.

As for the issue about accuracy, the muzzle velocity of the older versions was the main cause of the inaccuracy but this was all remedied with the AK74.

Even the other versions in my experience could still hit a target at 300m in the prone position with iron sights only.

But everyone has differing opinions and experiences, those who did national service and deployed on some peace keeping missions compared to the reg's who may have had more deployment exposure.

No better way to appreciate the AK when u have rounds from one flying over ur head.

Just my two cents take it or leave it.

[FireDigger]

And this is Russian basketball star Alexandr Kirillenko known playing for Utah Jazz. No, he doesn’t own hello kitty AK-47, but he is known to be called “AK-47″ by his teammates.

The guy's name is Andrei Kirilenko.

[stargazer14]

Here we go....

I'm just gonna sit back with cold beer (and possibly a kevlar vest) and

watch this thread unfold.

[Wiley]

The AK-47 and its variants is just about the only automatic rifle that can work reliably in difficult conditions, from sandstorm to extreme cold. This is not an opinion, it's been tested.

Even the cheap copies of the original russian-made gun can hit a man-sized target at 300 meters. In any case there is no mechanical reason for inaccuracy with it.

That's another thing entirely, but no reason to make false claims on an emotional standpont.

I've never fired this weapon, so I can only relay what I've heard, which is that there's well made AKs and not so well made AKs. A "good" (Hungarian?) version, scoped, could easily hit a bullseye at 300 yards. A "cheap" version is more likely to have a 6 inch spread, or more, at 100 yards. If that's true, hitting a man sized target at 300 yards with the basic iron sights on a cheap version seems unlikely.

For anyone who is interested in rifles, I'd like to recommend an excellent book which talks about the genesis of the rifle, from the American perspective, but covering the entire global history to some extent: American Rifle, by Alexander Rose. Even those who don't like guns might find the historical perspective enlightening.

[samb]

I dont know anything about the quality of the gun, but I can see it being a national symbol for those countries, and I think its kinda, kinda cool that they use it for so many decorations in those parts of the world.

[Onsto]

It's the ubiquity of the weapon and it's durability that's amazing. All arguments about accuracy / reliablilty and questionable availabilty or use aside, you're talking about a design classic; like the Willys Jeep - simple, cheap, fit for purpose.

On the argument from out friend who has been on deployment and doesn't rate the AK - I don't care who's shooting at you and with what... if the rounds are flying nearby, you get low and get to cover and THAT is precisely the point; to impede your ability to shoot back. In a conventional contact scenario, it would be relatively unusual to have one particular individual hit by a targeted round at 300m, even if the soldier and the weapon are up to the task (and in a firefight the vast majority are not).

An AK-47 is not suitable for use as a sniper rifle, but then that's not what its for. I doubt even a trained marksman would shoot much better with an Armalite than he would with a Russian AK-47 (apples to apples comparison imo). He might do better with an SA80 (which is vastly more expensive and complex), but at the expense of regular stoppages which are far more problematic than poor accuracy to the average soldier.

/end opinion. I love how heated these discussions get and how much wider than the original post the topic becomes. Cigarros - maybe next time you could pick a safe subject like politics or religion?

[Wiley]

I think this is a safe enough topic. He just happened to tap some pent up interest among us gun lovers. Bring on the fun!

[rahko]

I've never fired this weapon, so I can only relay what I've heard, which is that there's well made AKs and not so well made AKs. A "good" (Hungarian?) version, scoped, could easily hit a bullseye at 300 yards. A "cheap" version is more likely to have a 6 inch spread, or more, at 100 yards. If that's true, hitting a man sized target at 300 yards with the basic iron sights on a cheap version seems unlikely.

I'm more accustomed to the metric system, but I'll try using your numbers

6 inch spread at 100 yards is about 6.3 MOA, which is just under 20 inches at 300 yards. The shooter has to do their part of course, but the mechanical accuracy is enough with that example. With the cheaper models there's certainly an increased chance to get a dud, but anything over 7" at 100 yards, and there's something wrong with either the gun or the ammo. Of course there's lots that can be done accuracy-wise, with a good gun and ammo groupings will be under 4 inches. Granted, I've never shot an AK that was made in a cave, so I'm only talking about commercially produced stuff here, but my point is that there is no intrinsic inaccuracy with these type of rifles. Although I think you're very correct in saying that quality differs alot between the different makes.