Is the ak47 an accurate gun?

Question

ak47 shoots 7.62x39mm, it is thicker than the m16 bullet so it is pretty strong in terms of stop power but...does it shoot far? i also heard that the ak47 is the most inaccurate assault rifle, even on semi-automatic mode the bullet doesnt shoot straight. is this true? what are pros and cons about ak47?

Answer 1

no it isn't

Answer 2

I have noticed that on the battle field, there are many more dead bodies, with AK's next to them, than M-16's.  What does that tell you?

Answer 3

My AK doesn't group nearly as tight as my AR.

I can shoot an 8 inch group off hand (not resting on the bench or my knee or anything) at about 50 yards pretty easily with my AK. In the world of rifle shooting this isn't really fantastic.

When I shoot at the same target with my AR I get about a 3 inch group. The AR could shoot much tighter but is limited by me as the operator rather than the limits of the rifle.

My AK is accurate enough for me but it's by no means a precision rifle. This doesn't mean it's not fun as h**l to shoot though.

Answer 4

The ak47 certainly isn't a 1 moa gun.. but it's minute of bad guy accurate out to 200-300 yards or so.

Pros of AK47

Fairly powerful round(when compared to 5.56mm)

Outstanding reliability due to simplicity and loose tolerances

Accurate enough to get the job done

Cons:

It's not incredibly accurate.. but it wasn't designed to be.

Isn't good at long range

Answer 5

It would depend on the model of AK-47 and the quality of the manufacturer. I have known and it is proven that the AK-47's made in Bulgaria are the best quality out there, my friend John owns one, and it shoots very tight groups even with iron sights, and he has equipped his with a red dot sight.

The AK-47's from Bulgaria, I have learned to respect them, I am sure that they can compete with my Bushmaster AR-15 at the gun range.

The AK-47 or Avtomat Kalashnikova is legendary for its reliability, whether it is covered with sand, mud, dirt, water, gunk, as long as there is a round inside that chamber, it will keep shooting. I owe my respects and admiration to the AK-47. I do not own one, but I respect that weapon. This weapon is effective up to 300-350 yards.

Answer 6

I build match AR's for 600 yard competition - and have years of experience at 600 and 1000 yard shooting.

I have never, ever seen anyone with an AK enven attempt these distances.  Tin cans at 100 yards and maybe a 4 foot wide target at 200 yards.  Used as a defensive firearm - not much need for great distance shooting.

I am sure somone out there has the knowledge to do a long range shot with a sks or ak.......... but in my experience the people who own these, along with Ruger Mini-14 and M1 carbine owners do not challenge themselves much beyond 100 yards - this is a common tactical range for personal protection.  

AR-15's in as issued condition are legal to use in all military, state and national championships - AK's, SKS, and Mini-14's are not allowed  This is a major reason why you see more info on the long range aspect of the AR's.  There just isn't the need to push these rifles to the limits - they do what they were intended to do out of the box.

Hope this helps

Answer 7

If its enything like the sks than one out of three are useless as ****  on a bore hog , you can't hit a refidgerater  at 100 yds.

Answer 8

They are just cheap junk that is designed for a 'SPRAY AND PRAY" fire fight.  When you consider that most combat situations are at 100 to 200 yards, then the spray and pray type of shooting works quite well... but I have a NATIONAL MATCH AR-15 with which I could easily pick off any AK47 armed street punks at 500 yards and they would never hear the shot.

Answer 9

The AK-47 generally produces shot groups measuring 3 to 6 inches in diameter at 100 yards (and sometimes larger depending upon the rifle).

This performance is a result of the rifle's design.  The performance was acceptable and fulfilled the Soviet Military Doctrine's requirements (for large volumes of fire by masses of troops) when the AK-47 was introduced.

By comparison, the M-16 generally shoots more precise groups, with diameters measuring 1 to 2 inches at 100 yards.

The 7.62x39mm cartridge is comparable with the .30-30 cartridge in terms of muzzle energy.

Pro's:

The AK-47's strength is its' ability to function in harsh conditions.  The AK-47 is reputed to have been sucessfully fired after being exposed to sand, mud, snow and even after being run over by a tank or armored vehicle (though, not all at once).

The 7.62x39mm cartrige provides good penetration of soft barriers (trees or wooden walls).

Con's:

Although the rifle is likely to fire in many conditions, the downside is that the shooter may not be able to hit a target precisely.  Again, this is a function of the design (large dispersal of fired shots) and is considered "normal" or acceptable.

The selector lever of the AK-47 makes a "clack" noise which may be considered loud in some situations.  

Bottom line?

The AK-47 rifle is a good rifle for a number of short-range combat situations (under 100 yards), but it is not the first choice when trying to win a target shooting competition.

Answer 10

not even close to being accurate.watch the military channel as they often do shows about the military weapons of the past.earlier this year they did a very informative show on the ak-47.they talked with the guy that actually designed and made the gun. all people in the military agreed the ak-47 had no accuracy.it worked so well the accuracy was over looked in lieu of preformance.if someone tells you they are accurate then you know right off the bat who id full of c**p.

----------retired texas deputy sheriff----------

Answer 11

Lets separate your question.... The 7.62X39MM is an accurate cartridge to a limited point..... Forget the gun question for a moment... The 7.62X39MM is fairly flat shooting bullet to 150 yards but drops about 4 to 6 inches at 200 yards and as much as 15 inches at 300 yards... It is not a long range rifle cartridge... Its good at what it does to about 200 yards and thats about it... See the below ballistics chart...

http://www.handgunsmag.com/ballistics/76...

The 7.62X39MM cartridge is used in the CZ 527 bolt action carbine and it is quite accurate in that rifle to 200 yards.....

http://www.cz-usa.com/product_detail.php...

The AK47 is a short range semi and fully automatic rifle.... It is quite ruggedly built and has a solid reputation for reliability. Its downfall is its accuracy. The AK does not have fine machining tolerances which may contribute to its reliabilty but it detracts from its accuracy.......

I should point out that accuracy can mean different things to different people. A guy with lots of experience with bolt action target rifles will think the AK47 has horrible accuracy..... Comparered to a bolt action sub MOA rifle he would be right....... On the other hand that wasnt what the AK47 was designed for... I own and have owned several AK47 rifles over the last 2 decades and feel my opinion is qualified here.... I can hit a 15 inch steel plate at 100 yards with no problems using the iron sights......  Its not hard and every guy I have trained on the procedures on how to use this rifle have gotten the same results with a couple of hundred rounds of ammo on a couple of weekends......... In practicing using this rifle I have seen many guys get frustrated with bad results..... Heres how to get good results..... Forget the paper targets. they are not reactive and you cant see if your even hitting them unless you have a spotting scope.... Start with a 12 inch steel target thats hung up at 50 yards.... 3/16ths or 1/4 inch mild steel would be fine.... When you fire the rifle and hit the target you will here a pling through your earplugs (the bullet with sail right thru the metal)... Thats how you know you hit it... After a couple of weekends you will easily hit the target consistently at 100 yards -- Bang - Plink, Bang - Plink, Bang - Plink...... With paper targets you will do a lot of walking back and forth at your target range and not be sure if your hitting the darn paper... Moving plinking metal immediately will let you know if your getting it right.......

Answer 12

It is as accurate as it needs to be. It's not a target rifle but it will get the job done if used within its limitations

Answer 13

It's about as accurate as a scattergun with bird shot the way the "freedom fighters" shoot them at our range.

Answer 14

Well must respectfully disagree with a majority of the answers you have received as of this time. I own a shoot a wide variety of firearms of which three are AK 47's.

They are very accurate up to two hundred yards and are OK at three hundred yards. It is a fact that they do not produce the extreme accuracy of the M-16/AR-15 but make no mistake they are accurate.

To be more factual with one of my AR 15 I can shoot a group of three inches or less a one hundred yard and the best I can get out of an AK is five inches at the same distance. Not accurate; not true.

Answer 15

The AK-47 is strong but not accurate whatsoever. It is a gun that you just rush in and spray people with. Its pros is its strenght and its cons are its accuracy due to its sights as well as the gun itself. This video will help a ton for you to understand it.                             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6BpI3xD6...

Answer 16

No it is not ab accurate gun

It is a machine gun with semi auto capability as opposed to the M16'd semi with full auto capability design

The American army has always stressed accurate fire over massive fire power

This is evident in their refusal to adopt the Winchester repeating rifles in favor of the old single shot Trapdoor and also in the decision to eliminate full auto from the soldiers list of options

The AK was designed to put a bunch of bullets in the general direction of the enemy until they started falling

And Tom

5 inches at 100 yards is the definition of inaccurate

Especially when you consider that you only have a bout a six inch target under perfect conditions

Even less now that the military has discovered the usefulness of useful body armor

If a rifle will not consistently hit a pie plate at 200 or 300 yards it or the user is inaccurate

If it will not consistently hit a man size target at those distances it is woefully inaccurate

Answer 17

The AK-47 is a great combat weapon because of the rough fitting.  This rough fitting allows it to function even though it may have trash (dirt,burnt powder, mud, the occasional rat's tail) in it's action.  Tighter actions are less tolerant of debris.

As for accuracy, loose fitting actions do not equate to fine accuracy.  That's where some of the accuracy problems are found.  The other primary problem with long range accuracy is that the weapon has a very short (for a rifle) sight radius.  The Israelis took a look at the AK-47 and saw that the weapon was sound, but not as accurate as it possibly could be.  The made a few alterations to the action ( a little tighter fit, but not much) and then lengthened the sight radius.  the weapon they came up with was named the Galil.  They have used it for years, but they may be in the process of phasing it out in favor of a shorter weapon.

Answer 18

AKM is effective up to around 300 mtrs.

Not as accurate as m-16 because of the way it is built.

There is this video that shows the AK being fired in slow motion and the gun is moved off target due to the massive bolt carrier cycling back and forth between shots.

Answer 19

they are inaccuate, but are well capable of hitting a man sized target at 200 yards, which is what they are designed to do.

The bullet shoots straight, it's just the second bullet doesn't fly to exactly the same point as the first bullet, because maybe the cartridge isn't sitting in exactly the same spot because the chamber is somewhat loose, or the barrel isn't perfectly rifled, etc etc

of course, it is this same looseness that allows the gun to get such a beating, be so full of mud and gunk, and still fire.