AKM/AR15 pro's/cons

S

SIFU1A

Joined
May 12, 2001
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heres one for ya CJ - which design would YOU carry if your life depended on it, and no gunsmiths available - the AR15/armalite series, or the AKM kalashnikov stuff - included in the AKM is the 5.45X39MM, as i have just gotten one of these - imho the AKM series is much more reliable, while suffering little in terms of combat accuracy - a bud and i had an informal match going on, his std model AR vs my maahdi AKM 7.62X39MM at an 18" gong at a little over 300 yards, and my AKM held its own(iron sights) - i am very impessed w/the design/reliability/accuaracy - what do ya think???

greg
 
This is an easy one, so I can knock this out quick. I am trying to get motivated to conclude that, “which gun thread”, and I will shortly. But this issue goes along with it, in the right manner. It is not always just about caliber or velocities, there is a lot more.

Weapon dynamics are very important in my view thus your answer, I would carry the AK gas system any day of the week over the AR. Now you’re going to ask why? That answer will take quite a bit longer, I will wait to see if you want it.
In the end, they both do what they were intended to do, and as always there are a multitude of variables that fray the line of a definitive conclusion.
 
I am very curious and want to know why the gas system AK over the AR. Thanks for the info.

Mac
 
i would think because its more reliable, i have shot AR's and AK's quite a bit thru the years, in both semi - and full auto modes (through the military and a bud who has a class3, and MAC10's and an MP5 along w/the AK's, etc ) it has been my experience that the AR is a lot more sensitive to cleaning, and ammo, while an AK will just shoot and shoot and ...........i put 1200 rounds thru mine w/no cleaning, no nothing, and still it just kept shooting - not as accurate as my H-BAR, but my H-BAR wont shoot 4ever w/no maintenance.....watch the show on the history channel tales of the gun about old kalashnikov, he wanted a reliable robust easy to use weapon - and thats what he made imho- the most prolific assault rifle in the world, and many say the best

not to put words in anyones mouth lol...

one of my nightmares is a weapon jamming when i need it, that is why i carry glocks/AKM/HK - they all tend to work no matter the conditions

just my .02 worth

greg
 
As stated above, "not to put words into anyone's mouth"

The biggest complaint I've heard about the AR series gas system is that the rifle "shytes where it eats."

This is true enough, but I still prefer the M16/AR15 over the AK family. I carried the M16A1 and the A2 in both the Army and the Corps and aside from one incident of intentional sabotage, I never had a problem. With the M16, it's all about maintenance.

On the other hand, the AK is a bullet hose from hell. Turn the tap on, bullets come out. Abuse it, mis-use it, neglect it, and it will still keep going bang. However those bullets won't always go where you want them to.

And that is where I'll stop.

People either love or hate both the M16 or the AK47 and it's a subject that can produce high intensity flame wars in a Bible chat room.

CJ summed it up quite well with;

<b>"In the end, they both do what they were intended to do, and as always there are a multitude of variables that fray the line of a definitive conclusion."</b>
 
absolutly correct, they all do the job, just keep the AR clean and it wont jam(usually) - i, personally, have had more than one malfunction w/a relativly clean AR, and never one w/a AK so go figure, huh???

sifu
 
Well I am Russian and I have fired a number of AK family weapons but I never fired any AR weapon so all my experience with 5.56 NATO is from my training with the Australian Air Force the weapon used was Steyr AUG. First you have to compare ammunition of the two firearms and later on I'll write about some over aspects of the two.

7.62-39 Russian Vs 7.62-51 NATO
Russian ammo is more compact and lighter to carry a 30r clip of 7.62-39 ways as much as 20r clip of 7.62 NATO. But NATO ammo is more powerful and has grater stoping power and longer range. The disadvantage of this powerful ammo is any weapon cambered for 7.62 NATO will be practically uncontrollable if set on fully automatic rate of fire as a resalt most weapons are sammie automatic which can be a disadvantage in CQB conditions but will out preform its Russian counter part in long range shooting.

5.56 NATO Vs 5.45
Ever ammo is inaccurate and too light but NATO is slightly better personally I consider .243 Winchester (6.17-51) a much better alternative. (some AKs are actually chambered for this type of ammunition)

One of the seatbacks of the AK family is the "banana" clip it is too long and a solder armed with such weapon may be uncomfortable when laying down in some new models have a clip that is put in to the side of the weapon simular to British Sterling SMG.

P.S. I have some good literature on AKs so if someone is interested in a particular model I can look it up and give you some info on it; that includes foreran and some civilian rifles.
 
I've fired both and when it comes to accuracy the AR-types can't be beat. However, for close-range(under 100 yards), full-auto reliability the AK is tops. It's just difficult to shoot accurately at longer ranges. I've read accounts of some AK's in Vietnam being found buried in mud and the GI's would forcefully chamber a round and empty the clip on full-auto! Try doing that with an AR/M-16! I can see why some of our soldiers preferred the AK's. However, I don't abuse my firearms and I like some long-range(over 200 yards) accuracy so I'll go with the AR.
 
my experience w/the 2 weapons has shown that the accuracy of the STANDARD model AK and AR rifles, is, imho, not hat great, easily offset by the latters far better reliability - hey no knock on AR's, i have 3 ( a CAR15 semi 5.56MM, a H-BAR 5.56MM, and a CAr15 7.62x39mm, all w/iron sights, verses a steyr maahdi 762X39 and a romanian AK74 type in 545X39, also w/iron sights) at 300 meters, the accuracy differntial is negligible, at least in my rifles - sure the AR is a little more accurate, but hardly enuff to matter in combat, imho) but if the S hit the fan, i would prob grab my AKM rather than the AR's..........although i admit the CAR15 is hard to beat in the easy to carry dept, very light, etc - one of mmy favs


sifu
 
I have an AKM variant with a milled receiver and Steyr barrel. It is very reliable and surprisingly accurate. Not as accurate as a Bushmaster heavy-barrel target version of the AR, but the AK can regularly hit a chest-size steel plate that our range has positioned at about 375 yds.
 
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