If Sam Colt...

[KiwiKev]

If Sam Colt made men equal

Mikhail Kalashnikov made men......

What do you think guys and gals?

[Griff]

If Sam Colt made men equal

Mikhail Kalashnikov made men......

Into terrorists???

[claybob86]

Equaler?

[Pisgah]

...do 95% of the design work on a rifle he took credit for.

[piller]

Lazy! (spray and pray is a lazy method of shooting in my opinion)

[gamekeeper]

Griff, that's funny and true.....

[Streetstar]

Popularized holding rifles in the air at a 45 degree angle and emptying a clip - er, magazine for no reason at all? (birthdays, parties, bar mitzvah's, any other celebrations)

[KiwiKev]

Deluded into thinking that their revolution will lead to freedom?

[Ysabel Kid]

made boys and peons into tools for commies and dictators.

[rangerider7]

In the right military hands it is a great rifle. RR7

[PriseDeFer]

The AK shifted the balance of some equations, the ones that deal with political power. It gave and gives determined men and women a better chance against large and powerful entities. For better or worse, for good or ill. More than a few members of this electric council fire have personal experience with this particular algebra I reckon.

[Lastmohecken]

He made men a cheap gun for the masses, that can be neglected, hardly every cleaned, and if the bolt gets sticky, spray the thing down with WD40, and kick start it a couple of times and it will probably work, not that accurate, but accurate enough for the people who really need them.

[FWiedner]

... ready for indiscriminate short-range fire-fights...

[BAGTIC]

Well, if Sam Colt had been right handed he would have put the loading gate on the other side.

[7.62 Precision]

Mikhail Kalashnikov made men...…

. . . wish their governments could afford M4s.

[7.62 Precision]

Mikhail Kalashnikov made men...…

. . . in the Russian army wish they were in the Czech army.

[7.62 Precision]

Mikhail Kalashnikov made men……

. . . find a new use for shovel handles.

[7.62 Precision]

Mikhail Kalashnikov made men……

. . . develop a whole new fighting . . . uhm . . . STYLE.




http://s47.radikal.ru/i117/1001/c3/e21637e78e8a.jpg[/img]

Disclaimer: Of course, we know all this has nothing to do with the actual rifle.

[JB]

I always wear a life jacket under my shirt in high risk areas. I'm not sure it's going to stop any bullets, but you never know when you might fall in the water.

[Old Savage]

Now that is sad and funny.

[Barcelona Rick]

...well his invention made me duck a time or two...

rick

[7.62 Precision]

Mikhail Kalashnikov made Marc Krebs……

. . . build this:



. . . because Kalashnikov forgot to incorporate one of the important features of Remington Model 8 safety when he copied it; the ability to reach it with your finger.

[jeepnik]

Okay, I gotta ask. What's with the guy wearing the wedding dress? That's got to be one heck of a back story for that.

[7.62 Precision]

Okay, I gotta ask. What's with the guy wearing the wedding dress? That's got to be one heck of a back story for that.

Apparently there is a belief that if they disguise themselves as girls, they will gain some supernatural protection. Maybe the bullet with his name on it won't recognize him?

It is pretty sad, actually, when you understand that the fighting and maiming is for the purpose of winning more aid from the west, when you boil it all down.

[7.62 Precision]

Did you notice the little kid in the UN costume, the guy with a bayonet in his hand since his rifle has no bayonet lug, the feather duster, the beret over the eyes (Look! You can't see me!), the apron guy serving up 7.62x39, the blue dress kid, and the hooker that IS going to get in your car if you don't want to die?


Oh, and the coolest protective mask ever!

[MrMurphy]

Don't blame Kalashnikov for the illiterate savages, or the Russian army's demands.

His AK-46 design had a thumb operated safety, just like the M16 (and the Polish AK variant).


Same thing for Sam Colt. The SAA was designed for cavalry (the 'arm of decision' for centuries), who hold the gun in their left (rein) hand to reload with their right hand (most people being right handed). Same reason the French 1892 Ordnance revolver cylinder opens to the right.

[7.62 Precision]

Don't blame Kalashnikov for the illiterate savages, or the Russian army's demands.

His AK-46 design had a thumb operated safety, just like the M16 (and the Polish AK variant).

His genius was to borrow elements from the designs of those who came before him, (Rem Model 8, Garand, StG 44, and others and combine them into a weapon that met all of the requirements that were placed on it, and still worked well. Could he have done better, more accurate, cheaper, nicer, prettier, more ergonomic, whatever? Sure, but instead he met the requirements of the time and place exactly.

It has certainly proven itself to be suitable for the intended purpose. It is not the ultra-reliable super-weapon that many now claim it to be - it certainly needs cleaning and maintenance just like any weapon, but it is simple and cheap and sufficiently accurate and reliable.

[MrMurphy]

Yup. I've had to 'kickstart' an AK when the bolt froze shut.

The eyes of the idiots who think they're utterly reliable no matter what just about bulged. AK's can take a lot of abuse, but once in a while even they choke.


If I couldn't get my hands on an M4/M16 or an FAL, I'd take an AK any day.

[7.62 Precision]

I see more malfunctions with AKs than ARs/M4s/M16s, both in the US and overseas. Some are neglect, some are ammo, some are poor construction, but overall the AK does not impress me as being substantially more reliable than the AR platform. Both are very reliable when built right and maintained.

I never cared much for AKs until I shot a couple Krebs rifles. He fixed some of the worst issues and slicked the things up as smooth as an old Winchester lever gun. I'd take a Krebs AK any day.

Hard to beat the little Sa. vz.58s, too.

[Buck Elliott]

Well, if Sam Colt had been right handed he would have put the loading gate on the other side.

If you cared to learn the proper way to run a Colt SAA, you'd find that the loading gate is exactly where it belongs for a right-handed shooter...

[Grizzly Adams]

If Sam Colt made men equal

Mikhail Kalashnikov made men......

What do you think guys and gals?

truly equal!

The AK47 is the finest battle rifle CURRENTLY in use around the world. Like it or not, it is the tip of the spear in wars of ________......fill in the blank!

[7.62 Precision]

truly equal!

The AK47 is the finest battle rifle CURRENTLY in use around the world. Like it or not, it is the tip of the spear in wars of ________......fill in the blank!

I would argue that the Sa vz.58 is a better carbine in the 7.62x39 caliber than the AK, and that the current M16/M4 is a better overall weapon system than the AK, hands down.

Almost every military that uses the AK is attempting to find ways to update and improve the AK, and many are looking to switch. Even the Russians are looking for a better system.

It is what it is, where it comes from, and what it costs that cause the use to be so prolific; it is not because it is superior.

[MrMurphy]

Agreed. The Soviets literally gave them away free, and gave away the rights and means to produce it. I remember Kalashnikov being ticked off at the Chinese because as he put it, they gave them AKs and the plans to make them and the machinery out of communist brotherhood, to defend their country.

Then the Chinese went and made money selling them to the rest of the world.....


The Vz58 is a fine design from what I've seen, the Czechs I've known love it. Haven't shot one, only handled them.

The Russians have been trying to upgrade the AK for over 20 years and most of the old WP countries have as well. Poland being the most successful, most of the Russian AK-12 'upgrades' were borrowed from either our M4 or the Polish upgrades to their Beryls to do the same.

[Grizzly Adams]

truly equal!

The AK47 is the finest battle rifle CURRENTLY in use around the world. Like it or not, it is the tip of the spear in wars of ________......fill in the blank!

I would argue that the Sa vz.58 is a better carbine in the 7.62x39 caliber than the AK, and that the current M16/M4 is a better overall weapon system than the AK, hands down.

Almost every military that uses the AK is attempting to find ways to update and improve the AK, and many are looking to switch. Even the Russians are looking for a better system.

It is what it is, where it comes from, and what it costs that cause the use to be so prolific; it is not because it is superior.

No argument from me, but the final arbiter of this question will be history, and I suspect history is going to fall out on the side of the AK47.

[KiwiKev]

Going back to the images

"A well regulated militia"

Crack and AK47s seem to go well together.

[7.62 Precision]

No argument from me, but the final arbiter of this question will be history, and I suspect history is going to fall out on the side of the AK47.

Well, the use of a rifle in historic events does not necessarily prove anything about the rifle's superiority or lack of superiority over other rifles. For instance, the Germans, using Mausers, lost to the Soviets, using Mosin Nagants. This proves nothing about the rifles themselves.

On the other hand, history can prove whether a rifle is effective for its intended purpose or not; consider the Ross rifle - with all the hype about the rifle, it proved in real world use to be a poor design.

I would say that history has proven the M16/M4 to be a superior weapon in many ways to the AK.

I would also say that history has proven the AK to be very effective for its intended role and exactly what many poorer countries needed to outfit their armies, as well as being obtainable for revolutionaries, while more expensive rifles, whatever advantages they may offer, were not.

[MrMurphy]

Agreed.

Kind of like the Sten Gun. As a design, it was a piece of junk. Had quite a few problems.

But it fulfilled it's design requirement, something cheap and fast to make, that threw a lot of lead in a short range in a hurry, to rearm troops who lost all their heavy weapons. For urban warfare and close quarters work, it did fine. It wasn't a Thompson or even a MP40, but it armed a whole lot of guys who didn't have anything else, and dropped (or the plans dropped) to resistance groups, armed a lot of guys giving the Germans problems. So while it's not the world's best SMG, it did very well in the intended role.