I bought it new at a gun and pawn shop in Wilmington. It's imported by Century Arms, which I understand is now making AKs here in the USA. I never have owned one of these Third World guerrilla icons. I have seen tons of them in my assignments overseas, but never fired or owned one until now.
To start: The gun definitely has the cool factor, about which I have written before. Holding one in your hands, you want to wrap a rag around your head, jump onto the bed of a Toyota pick-up truck, and babble-shout words to the sky while you pump the weapon up and down. I refrained myself. I certainly have the rags, but I have a Chevy pick-up, and that jumping part, well, that's in the long ago past for me. I can still babble-shout meaningless words, however. Not all my abilities are gone, I'll have you know!
Yes, where was I?
Cool. Yes, sir, it's definitely cool looking. On closer examination, however, one does see that it's a pretty crudely made weapon: Stamped parts, kinda loose fit, and it makes an infernal racket when you rack a round. It has a clunky and enormous safety, the trigger pull is nothing to write home about, it can be tricky to get the magazine to sit just right, and ejecting an empty magazine is not always smooth and easy.
But the beast shoots! I ran good American-made Winchester 7.62X39 factory ammo through it, some local reloads, and some cheapo Serbian-made stuff, as well as a few rounds of some otherwise problematic "frangible" ammo. Unlike my much better-made American Ruger Mini-30--which chambers the same 7.62 ammo but would not digest the frangible stuff--the AK ate anything I fed it. No fail-to-feed, no fail-to-fire, no jams, in something over 100 rounds. I am going back to the range tomorrow; my son is bringing his AR, and we are going to have a NATO vs Warsaw Pact demo.
Accuracy? OK, here's a picture
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This shows 40 rounds at 25 yards.
I was standing, using a sling, gun straight out of the box. I started off well enough with a nice center grouping, but after a bit the damn thing gets heavy; I have trouble squinting through the tiny sights; the barrel gets hot; and my shooting starts to drift down and left, and then when I correct, it wanders up and right. It's tiring for an old fart! Now I know why armies want the young ones. I also noticed that the gun is a tad short. That means your head gets real close to the gun itself, and a couple of times the recoil, although not excessive, knocked a hearing protector off my right ear.
Is it as "good" as a 15? No, no it's not. The AR's my son and I have (his a Ruger; mine an S&W) are made much better, but, but, but . . . the AK is a lot of fun to shoot. It will certainly do the job for which it was designed. I am a bit annoyed, however, at the price on these things. They should cost a lot less than an quality AR, but they don't.
OK, politics tomorrow . . . after the NATO Vs. Warsaw Pact "re-enactment" . . .
UPDATE: I am sorry to report that the Warsaw Pact won the WP vs. NATO "re-enactment." The AK performed as an AK should; my son's Ruger 5.56 repeatedly jammed. We are going to check the gas block and the need for some extra special deep cleaning and oiling. We hang our heads in shame . . .
Diplomad, now really! How many sheriff's deputies helped you poke holes in that target?:)
ReplyDeleteNo. They were too busy investigating a hoax hate crime in Chicago . . .
DeleteDip have you ever had the pleasure of shooting the F1-A1 SLR which was the main infantry weapon here in Oz for many years? Also 7.62mm. Reliable, accurate and extremely effective and proved itself in Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteA Most Excellent rifle!
DeleteScott an American contemporary of mine was of the opinion that US Forces would have been better served if the F1-A1 had been adopted as the principal US rifle.
DeleteAn interesting take on this is the attached video reference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jexf8A462jM
I have never had the pleasure. I have heard only good things about it.
DeleteThe Aussie derivative was designated L1-A1 after the British version which was itself a derivative of the Belgian original. Made at the Lithgow Small Arms factory in New South Wales. The museum there is fascinating.
Deletehttp://www.lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/
Sling? Like, old school wrapped around the arm and everything? My younger son tells me that the USMC doesn't even teach that anymore. Which is a shame.
ReplyDeleteI believe they don't teach that technique any longer for the simple reason, they don't use that type of sling any longer.
DeleteIf you look, they army and marines use a sling that drops the rifle to their chest and they can swing it up far more quickly into the ready position than the old style over the shoulder slings.
Now I may be mistaken of course.
Yep, old school. I wrap that sling around my arm. I find it gives me a bit more stability.
DeleteLewis, you have described pretty what gives the AK it’s reputation. Everything about an AK says is can take a lot of mistreatment and still function. It is the “Fishwife” of battle rifles.
ReplyDeleteThe "Fishwife"! That's great.
DeleteI think I shall keep my HK G3. I saw an AK once, in a gun shop, where the fore end had been nailed on!
ReplyDeleteSo you are using a commie gun instead of the patriotic All American rifle? Shame on you!!
ReplyDeleteAt 25 yards, which is really close, my groups are the size of a golf ball. What you have their is a rifle capable of shooting at one minute of Side of Barn.
I know. I know. This morning I am going to the range with my SW M&P 15. I picked 25 yards because my tired old eyes don't do well at extended distances and that would;t be fair to the gun. I have two safes full of All American guns. I consider the AR15/M16/M4 to be the best mass produced rifle in the world.
ReplyDeleteI like the Golden Tiger 124 grain FMJ. Indeed the AK is much stronk!
ReplyDeleteMight I suggest adding a rail system to the AK, so that you can add optics or red dot?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.texasweaponsystems.com/product-p/33310.htm
This works quite well.
Also, if you replace the fixed stock with an adjustable stock, that can add a couple inches to the length as well. Like you, the standard length AK is uncomfortable for me to shoot.
ReplyDeleteHold your fire boys~~~ enters waving white flag```
ReplyDeleteNot exactly sure of where in his writings, books or blog that the “eccentric/effective” David Hackworth wrote about the dependability of the AK47? I remember tho -- primarily due to his eyewitness, Combat Infantry descriptions – he had respect for the AK, primarily because of its all-terrain reliability. To paraphrase from my memory banks, said he: ‘the piece could be dropped in a mud pit, left for a year, picked up and fired with not so much as spitting on the breach’. He also attributed the weapon’s reliability to the loose tolerances to which it was built. Of course, if he had his druthers. in close combat, I suspect he’d opt for “grabbing the enemy by the belt-buckle”~~~ If you don't know of Col. Hackworth, here's a place to start:
https://sftt.org/david-hackworth/
On Watch~~~
~~~ Ready on the Firing Line...
The AK is sloppy, sure; but it's like an old Chevy - it'll run poorly far longer than a BMW will run at all.
ReplyDeleteI hooted at Mr Mad's complaint that the AK was built with generous tolerances, since that was what made it such a superior weapon. The shoot-off confirmed that.
ReplyDeleteRACIST!
DeleteDidn't pee my pants, but I laughed *really* hard at your update.
ReplyDelete- reader #1482
Very cruel . . . (sobs uncontrollably) . . . RACIST!!!!
DeleteI know it's RACIST to even ask, but can we get the task, conditions and standards set for the NATO v. Warsaw Pact challenge?
ReplyDeleteThose are secret.
DeleteAccording to author Michael Williamson, who was an armorer, "Failure to feed is usually a bad mag. Failure to extract is usually dirty or a broken extractor spring. Failure to cycle the firing mechanism is usually a broken disconnector spring."
ReplyDeleteUgh! We had all those things.
Delete