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Just how reliable is the AK?

2K views 20 replies 17 participants last post by  C hawk Glock 
#1 ·
 
#4 ·
Hey MAC is there any chance you can get together some of the guns that the Army is still currently testing as candidates for the Individual Carbine Competition and do one big torture test/shoot-off with them? I've seen you with quite a few already, the SCAR, ACR, HK MR556 (416), and of course the M4. Any chance you can get your hand's on a Beretta ARX-160 or a BEAR elite?
 
#6 ·
Well.
That pretty much should shut the naysayers up.
I alway was on board with the tales of how they would work in the most horrible conditions.
Mikhail knew what he was doing back in 1945-46
 
#10 ·
Wish I could shoot 7.62 at the range I go to or that I coud afford some land in the country. Sure would save a couple hundred vs an AR.
 
#12 ·
Once again. A memorable VIDEO. :yup:

One reason why I have been sold on the AK for SHTF for many years now.
The GALIL has been my "go to" rifle since they were first imported into the U.S. by Magnum Research.

It's an all "PROS" rifle with the only "CON" being the weight of the rifle w/ its "machined from barstock" receiver & the heavy duty HEAVY Steel mags.

I'm shaving some "hump weight" by going with the ORLITE magazines...ditching the Steel bi-pod and I am now having a new custom optics mount machined from aircraft Aluminum rather than an I.M.I. 1st issue original Steel mount which weighs almost a pound.
 
#13 ·
The Galil is the only 5.56 AK I love. I foolishly sold my Galil years ago and have been kicking myself since. I've done torture tests to the Galil that were simply unbelievable, and it kept on ticking. I thought I wanted something else more and traded it... I can be such an idiot sometimes.

The AK in the video is an Arsenal SGL31-94 in 5.45x39. It's a Russian made AK that comes from the original home of the AK, the Izhmash plant.
 
#14 ·
Kalashnikov, while red as hell, was a brilliant arms designer. The AK platform is amongst the most trusted and widely manufactured long guns in the world....highly reliable and trusted by many.
 
#15 ·
When it comes to a SHTF rifle I value the qualities of the AK. Here's why.

The AK needs precious little maintenance. It requires absolutely no lube. It can be cleaned in a creek without solvents or modern lubes and it will still work flawlessly. Special cleaning kits aren't required to keep it running. It has large, simple parts that aren't easily lost in the field (unlike the ARs firing pin retaining pin).

If I'm alone in the woods worried about my well being, the LAST thing I want to worry about is the state of my rifle. I have other things I'll need to focus on besides making sure the precise amount of lube is applied to various parts. Hopefully fights will be few and far between so my rifle will mostly be a silent companion. But if I need it, I want to know it will be ready.

People say the com-bloc calibers aren't ideal because you won't be able to find them. My view is, if you're looking for ammo after the S hit the F, you weren't prepared. Since avoiding gun fights is paramount to your survival, having 500-1000 rounds tucked away is all you should need for months if not years of survival. If your plan is to get I too fight after fight and burn through thousands of rounds, you should probably rethink things. If you think ammo will be lying on the streets post SHTF, you're probably mistaken. How many cases of ammo do you think folks found abandoned in the streets after Katrina or during the LA riots?

Some folks think ARs make sense because they share parts commonality with the US service rifle. They think they will be able to easily repair their semiauto rifles with parts they find in abandoned M4s left lying about by dead soldiers. Question; if you have a broken semiauto AR and you see a M4 laying in the street, won't you simply pick up the M4 and use it?

These are a few of the things I think about at 12:30 in the morning while laying in bed with my iPad. LOL
 
#19 ·
I have had this same conversation here on DC and the vast majority sounded off about the AR being superior. While I think they (AR's) are more reliable then they get credit for, it's not AK reliable. A good friend of mine told me a story about them finding caches of AK's in the Gulf War (1st time) and were told to burn them and bury them in large pits. He said on several occasions that he would dig one up after being burnt and they would function flawlessly.
 
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