AR vs AK

[jerrymrc]

Buy a Dodge and a FAL!

Have both but my Dodge is a diesel.

Buy both. In my case I am down to one AK in 7.62 but I have 2 in .223. I went AK in .223 when there was no 5.54 ammo to be had. The .223 mags were cheap back then Vs the 74 mags that were $$$ until Ohio Ordnance had there used buy 12 in pouches for $35.

My AR's are nothing special and both them and the .223 AK's are about the same accuracy wise. The wife has shot hers (AK) out to 600 yards. The ideal situation would have been to buy a 74 when they were giving them away and then all the ammo you could about 5 years ago.

My good handloads in my FEG got my best 762X39 AK to about 3 moa using V-max bullets. I do have to say that any soft target would not want to be hit with one of those at 300 yards.

In all honesty it is what one likes. Kind of like the FAL/M14/G3 debate

Once again, Buy both and enjoy both.there may come a time when one does not have a choice.

[ray1970]

One thing to add you always get what you pay for.

So by that logic an AR should be about twice as good as an AK since they usually cost twice as much.

Both are awesome weapons that do what they are intended to do quite well.

[MED]

I have both. I found the AK extremely fun when I was buying ammo for $60-$75 per 1000 15 years ago. At $3.50-$5 per 20, I find it a lot less fun. I rarely take it out now.


What I like about the AK: It is simplistic and it works. When ammo was cheap, the 75 round drum was way too much fun!

What I don’t like about the AK: I am not a fan of the 7.62x39 cartridge. Although effective on human targets in relatively short distances, it is slow and it drops like a brick making the firearm difficult to shoot at distance. The ammunition is heavy to carry in quantity. I don’t like the trigger and the overall weight…the design is overly simple and crude in some ways. I would never set up an AK as a small caliber precision rifle.

What I like about the AR: I really like the caliber selection as well as the accuracy. I love the modular construction that allows the user to carry multiple uppers. With the 308 platform, a person can carry a 20” upper for precision shooting while quickly changing (less than a minute) to a 16” upper for close quarters tactical.

What I don’t like about the AR: The bolt carrier requires maintenance. My personal torture test included 2000 rounds over four months. At the 2000 round count, the bolt carrier was full of carbon and the bolt wouldn’t lock up correctly. Cleaning the bolt carrier is a PIA if the carbon collects on the bolt. If you keep the bolt carrier clean, the gun runs great. In the field, I always have a spare bolt carrier group with me.

[BPTactical]

Two entirely different weapons with entirely different philosophies behind them.

AK - medium range battle weapon designed to be used and maintained by an average Comm Bloc conscripted farm kid straight from the backwoods of the Ukraine or the rice fields of China. Emphasis is placed on sheer numbers and volume of fire. Simple, reliable and robust. While most rifles are built to MOA standards the Kalishnakov based weapons are built to "Minute of Man" standards. Pie plate at 100 meters is considered acceptable accuracy.

AR-Precision weapon system. The US has always placed emphasis on its soldiers being riflemen and well aimed fire. Highly trained on the maintenance and operation of the weapons. Technologically superior to the AK and built to MOA standards.

[68Charger]

What I don’t like about the AK: I am not a fan of the 7.62x39 cartridge. Although effective on human targets in relatively short distances, it is slow and it drops like a brick making the firearm difficult to shoot at distance. The ammunition is heavy to carry in quantity. I don’t like the trigger and the overall weight…the design is overly simple and crude in some ways. I would never set up an AK as a small caliber precision rifle.

The 5.45x39 round (AK74) fixes the majority of these issues- It's similar in ballistics to 5.56x45, and just as small and light.

When I read the above post, I immediately thought of a real interesting build documented on Gunco (by 1biggun) that was an AK built as a .223 (he started with a savage Bull barrel) he tuned the trigger, welded a scope rail to the rear sight block, free-floated the bbl, set a precision headspace & lapped the lugs (as best he could), put on a stock where he could get a great cheek weld, reloaded for the rifle specifically, and he was getting 1/2 MOA accuracy- he used it as a p-dog rig, and fired 1000's of rounds through it.

so light reading: http://www.gunco.net/forums/f3/accur...11/#post503985

It was a very interesting build, and showed what the platform COULD be capable of, if you address the issues with the original design that affect accuracy. I'd like to do a similar build, but right now my 5.56 build I'm doing is based on a 16" weiger barrel, and will get an AR mag adapter from day one (that way all my 5.56 mags will be AR, all my 7.62x39 or 5.45x39 mags will be AK) I'll also install an AR stock adapter, so I can choose from AR stock selections... going to build it similar to a Polish Beryl.

in short, while I agree with BPTactical's comments on what the original AK's purpose was, it's remarkable what can be done with the platform if building with accuracy in mind... it has limits- but if you're going for ultimate accuracy, you're really looking at a bolt gun anyway. (and I'll always keep my Romy G around, in case I need to hand an easy-to-use rifle to an amateur in a SHTF scenario)