Is the ak-47 the worlds greatest assault rifle?

Question

i heard this gun can really kick some butt. is it true?

Answer 1

So on the positive side, its cheap, its a bigger round, ammo is fairly cheap, it performs well when dirty also the recoil is not bad at all.  The down side is that it's less accurate and it doesn't shoot as far and its a heavier weapon.  Personally I would rather have an AR-15.  Lighter gun, more accurate, the trajectory is flatter and you can shoot farther. So I would take the gun where you don't need to fire as many times because you hit your target before they can get into range

Answer 2

I don't think I would classify it as the worlds greatest, but it definatley deserves credit for its role as an assault rifle. Some people who have fired the ak don't it, why? They probably don't like it cause it has heavy bullet drop (i.e. it dosn't fire like a m16 or ar 15). However, I don't believe that this makes the ak inferior in any way. The weapon is accurate enough to do its job as an assault rifle. With a muzzle brake it can be accurate out to 400m possibly 450m. Does it hold shot groups as tight as a 16, no it doesn't. The clincher is you don't need tight shot groups to be a great combat weapon. The reason the ak is great is it will work though anything you can put it though. The reason for its critizim is that those who use the ak thoughout the world don't use it with reason i.e. they mostly spray an area. The ak is much better when used as a semi-auto rifle and keeping the auto for when your enemy is less than 100m from your postion and advancing.  

Answer 3

most american's would say m16 or m4a1. but the rest of the world thinks it is the ak47. it's more powerful then the m16,m4. but less accurate. and the ak is heavier. but the ak is alot more powerful. that's why the world chooses it over the m4, 16

Answer 4

No. It's very good at what it's designed to do but there are others that perform as well or better.  

Answer 5

It deserves great praise but worlds greatest?  Its in the top 5 in my opinion.

Answer 6

Wow, Richard E. Top five? You must know so much about guns... To have a ranked list of your favourite assault rifles... I bet you PWN n00bs at COD4, don't you?

I personally like the AUSteyr, the Australian Armys version of the Steyr F88 assault rifle. It's so light weight, and easy-handling. It's like carrying a submachine gun, not a full-sized assault rifle - only when you need to shoot someone more than 100 metres away, you actually have a chance of hitting them center mass!

The AK47 is the most popular assault rifle in the world because it is cheap, commonly available, and has good stopping power. Just because it is popular does not mean it is the best, primarily because everyone will have a different opinion depending on what they value the most out of an assault rifle. Some prefer stopping power, some prefer extreme long distance accuracy (why not use a semi-auto sniper rifle? H&K PSG1?), some prefer handling and light weight.

Answer 7

The original AK was a good design. "Kick some butt" is relative, the Russian round has the ballistic equivalency to the .30-30. Newer ones match the .223. In terms of inexpensive, easy to maintain, cheap to manufacture, and operator's ease, it's ok for the low tech peoples that use it.

I would suggest the HK G3 in .308. It's the centerpiece of a complete weapons family from 9MM submachine guns to heavy barrel squad automatic. G3's are made in many countries, will take heavy duty abuse, repair easily, are relatively easy to make, have no dirty gas system at all, and are much more accurate in the field. I've owned the semi auto version. It will fire with handfuls of gravel poured into the chamber, can use cheap surplus ammo (even from Pakistan,) and professionally, is the #1 choice when free M16's and AK's aren't laying around. It's also a direct descendant of the original.

Having trained on the M16 variants for 22 years, owned the HK91, and used a AK variant, the Valmet from Finland, I prefer the German version. It doesn't have nearly the amount of problems when you use and compare them side by side. It just isn't recognized much in English speaking nations.  

Answer 8

I like it, fun to shoot and cheap.

Answer 9

no it is not the greatest

Answer 10

It's cheap and it goes boom when you pull the trigger, that's why it is so popular around the world. It doesn't win popularity contests because it's the best at what it does; it's just very available and it is hard to make it stop doing what it is supposed to do.

Answer 11

Compared to the AR-10 that shoots .308 the AK47 is a wimp.

Its just another war rifle hyped up by the media.

Answer 12

You must have seen the 'Top Ten Combat Rifles' episode on the Military Channel. . . .

This same program had the Stoner AR at #2, which most REAL experts consider completely bogus!

All-in-all, this is right up there with ALL opinions, which are like that part you sit on, EVERYBODY has one, and most of 'em stink.

Most combat veterans, given the choice, will always choose a heavier caliber weapon, at least in the .30 cal. range, especially over the Stoner .22-class 'poodle shooters'.

Answer 13

I've owned a ak-47 for years. Cheap ammo, reliable, easy to find magazines/ammo, and is really fun to shoot. This rifle was built to last world war 3 then some.

I'm planning on buying a bushmaster m4 soon. The m16 family is very easy to customize. You can go from a Sniper set to a close quarter combat rifle in minutes. The ak47 hasn't seen alot of improvements.

Answer 14

The thing which brings it to the top of most lists is the prevalence of its use over the past 60+ years.  It is an inexpensive weapon which is easy to mass produce.  It is a weapon which is simple to operate and is relatively reliable.  

It is both the real and perceived reliability which puts it ahead of the M16 on most lists which attempt to rate weapons.      The accuracy and better ergonomics of the M16 put it ahead for me.  I fell in love with the M16 in boot camp and my M16 never let me down.  I currently own semiauto versions of both and shoot thousands of rounds through my AR per year.  

Answer 15

It has been used to kill the most people. The m16 though is a superior weapon even though it had it's rocky start. It's accuracy is much better. The size of the bullet though, to me, leaves something to be desired.

Answer 16

**** Yeah!

Answer 17

I sure love mine, but worlds greatest? ehhhh no.

Answer 18

no I think an m-16 is one  

Answer 19

Yes and no.  Yes because being constructed of mostly stamped and riveted parts it is realativly cheap and easy to construct.  It's also easy for uneducated troops to operate and maintane.  

No because it lacks the accuracy potential of many other combat rifles, i.e. M16, Galil, FAL, Styer to name a few.

Answer 20

Aaron-

There are a few things that I think you might want to understand about your question and its implications.

I was a former machinist in a Gunsmith Shop.  So lets take a moment to answer this question completely and correctly without making just a blanket statement that is neither untrue nor inaccurate.

The AK-47 and its relative the SKS are quite possibly some of the most reliable rifles ever made.  Kalishnikov wanted to design a rifle that would fire reliably and fairly accurately under any type of battle condition.  Basically this meant building a rifle that could fire after being contaminated with mud, sand or any other dusty type of debris.

So from a reliability standpoint this rifle is very well designed.  

But more than that.  Its also a very simple rifle.  Its design is so simple that in about 15 minutes of training, the user can disassemble, clean and re-assemble it, then make it ready for use.  The same can be said for the SKS.  In my own collection I have several Soviet Arms, and this can be said for all of them.  Including the Moisin-Nagant Rifle.  

But there are some sacrifices that are made for simplicity.  The largest sacrafice that is made for simplicity is long range accuracy.  The 7.62x39 cartridge is a fine cartridge, and accurate in a higher quality rifle such as a Ruger Mini-30.  However, in the SKS and the AK-47 the accuracy is a factor at 150 Yards.  In most cases, you will be able to hit your target, just not where you want to hit it.

The AK-47 with its 600 Rounds Per Minute Full Auto Feature, can definately get the lead out there.  There is no doubt about that.  But for all of its simplicity, this rifle is better suited to bursts of fire, rather than a single shot placement at range.  

Now having said this, anything under the 100 Yard Mark is a fairly accurate score.  And... this is actually where the rifle was intended to be used, was in this very close range of fire.  

The same is to be said for the SKS.  I have used my SKS several times pig hunting.  It makes an excellent rifle for that purpose, but when I have needed to get out a little further for the occasional Coyote, I have switched to my Ruger Mini-30.  Yes the Ruger Mini-30 uses the same cartridge as the SKS and the AK-47.

But the story of the AK-47 does not stop there either.  The Finnish version called the Valmet is a highly accurate weapon.  They took many of the shortcomings of the AK-47 and have refined it into a very first classs weapon.  I happen to have one of these.  The 7.62x39 Cartridge really shows its capabilities out at the 200 Yard Mark when I take this to the range, (mine are the semi-automatic versions as I live in the People's Demokratik Republik of Kalifornia).

Probably the best made version of this rifle belongs to the Israelis, called the Galil.  They used better steel for every part on the weapon.  Its even more accurate than the Valmet, and even better made.  The parts are even more reliable, and has a slightly heavier barrel which improves accuracy.  Their Galil has been able to compete with our M-16/AR-15 out to the 300 Yard Mark.  Yes I also have one of these.  They are a very nice version of the AK-47.

Ok, now that we have praised the AK-47, its time for a reality check.  For all of its rugged glory, the AK-47, as good as it is is not as accurate as the AR-15 or the M-16.  The biggest reason for this is because the steel and barrel are held to closer tolerances than the AK-47.  Its just the way the rifle is made.

However, the M-16/AR-15 are also a significantly more complex rifle to disassemble and maintain.  This is their biggest drawback.  In order to become fully trained, the troop training on the M-16 is nearly a full day almost two days on just the disassembly/re-assembly and make ready for battle.  This includes all of the proper cleaning procedures that need to be followed to keep the rifle operational in hostile conditions.

We did an experiment to prove the point at the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department Range a few years ago.

Both Rifles were subjected to sand and dirt, as if they had been dropped.  In the case of the AK-47, this thing never jammed.  Even when the bolt was held open, and a handfull of sand was purposely thrown into the action with a fully loaded 30 round magazine.  The other magazines were loaded and filled with sand.  No jams period.

The M-16 did not fare so well.  We did things to these rifles that would make your spine tingle and your teeth cringe in their sockets.  This was a sales presentation for H&K's version of the M-16, which the H&K version performed as well as the AK-47, but the standard Stoner/Colt type rifle showed its flaws almost immediately.

So is the AK-47 quite possibly the worlds greatest assault rifle?  Well, as the other folks said, it would definately make the top 5.  However, its accuracy at range is a serious drawback.  But, in the reliability department, and the simplicity department, I would have to agree this rifle is a solid number 1 in my book.  So I would have to give it a split and make it at the top 3.  

I hope that is a good enough answer for you.  In any case, happy shooting!

Answer 21

That depends are what your looking for dude.  The ak-47 is one of the best assault rifles ever crafted but its not made for every situation.  

Answer 22

Greatest????  That all depends on how you look at it.... Dont get me wrong -- I own a couple of AK variants and as a gun there ok.... But greatest isn't what comes to mind.... This rifle probably has the largest history of killing the most people... I wouldn't call that a great history.......  As a rifle they are cheaply built, not particularly accurate.... On the other hand the AK47's reliability is unquestionable.......  "kick some but"? ---- Believe me these rifles have no mystical magical powers..... Some people love to shoot them, others collect them and others dont like them at all..... When I take mine to the gun club some old Fudds give me dirty looks and others walk up and look it over....  The AK47 means different things to different people..... "greatest" --- Not in my book.... For me its a historical item that's fun and cheap to shoot....

Check out

http://www.ak-47.net/

AK47 at Wikipedia...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-47

AK47 ammo -- Real interesting ammo info here.....

http://home.comcast.net/~jfreeman16/ak_r...

Answer 23

Assault rifle?  No such thing.  "Assault rifle" is a term coined by the media and anti-gunners to ban a sporting rifle with a certain 'look.'  Don't mimic those who would destroy your 2nd. Amendment Rights.

The military version of the AK-47 (selective fire capability) is a:  Combat weapon.  These kinds of rifles are not normally available to the general public.  And no, the AK-47 is not the greatest combat rifle.  The honor would automatically default to something chambered for a much hotter round like the M-14 or FN FAL in 7.62x51 NATO.  Some would say that the US Garand (.30-06 Springfield) is the greatest combat rifle.  It depends.  I like the FAL myself.

H

Answer 24

I agree with Hruth, except for the thing about the AUG steyr, which is what I think you ment, which is pretty similar to the M16 but the M-16 is still superior because the M-16 can shoot at 900 rounds/min and the Steyr at 850. and they Steyr is only deemed effective at 300meters as the M16 is good at 550 meters both chambered in the 5.56 nato. But the Steyr is about half the weight.

Either way the ak is nice and loud but I prefer my Ar-15 over it any day