A couple weeks ago a friend invited me to come out and shoot his AK's. I'm almost wishing now he'd left me alone and happy with my little handguns, cuz now I've got the bug pretty bad, and at probably the worst possible time ever.
While we were shooting, my buddy talked about the good ol' days when parts kits were $100 and Wolf ammo was $60 a case. With prices like those, I can see where a not-too-precise, but anvil-reliable gun like the AK can become extremely popular. But nowadays parts kits are all but gone, and a quality builder such as Arsenal or Krebs is charging as much for their standard AK as it would cost to put together a nice AR from RRA, or even better. On top of that is the current ammo shortage ... but even if stock does come back to the shelves, 7.62x39 isn't that much cheaper anymore. In fact, I believe if you wanted to invest in some reloadable ammo, the .223 might even be cheaper. (?)
I've never been into the CQB rifle thing (until now), but I have always had the perception that the AR was the more sophisticated, versatile, and accurate weapon. That appeals to me, since 99.999999999999% of my enemies so far have been cardboard and/or paper. I can appreciate the merits of the AK's utter reliability, but I'd be happier more frequently with 1 MOA performance. I like accurate firearms.
I know there is debate over the effectiveness of the 7.62x39 vs. the .223. I like both calibers, and think both have their pro's and con's, so I'm not really interested in that debate. But I guess it's inevitable that it will come up.
I really enjoyed shooting my friend's AK's. Really, really enjoyed it. If there were good, finished rifles on the market for under $500 and ammo was available and cheap like the good old days, there's no doubt this would be my next purchase. But when the costs are roughly equal to owning and shooting the AR ... well I just can't get my head wrapped around paying over $1000 for an AK, let alone $250-$300 for a case of Wolf. Every AR vs. AK thread I've ever read eventually included a recommendation of the AK platform because it was more bang for the buck. These days, not so much as before.
What do you think? I've got plenty of time to research and think this out (unless someone wants to buy my like-new Fender Custom Shop strat, which would put the needed cash in my hands).
While we were shooting, my buddy talked about the good ol' days when parts kits were $100 and Wolf ammo was $60 a case. With prices like those, I can see where a not-too-precise, but anvil-reliable gun like the AK can become extremely popular. But nowadays parts kits are all but gone, and a quality builder such as Arsenal or Krebs is charging as much for their standard AK as it would cost to put together a nice AR from RRA, or even better. On top of that is the current ammo shortage ... but even if stock does come back to the shelves, 7.62x39 isn't that much cheaper anymore. In fact, I believe if you wanted to invest in some reloadable ammo, the .223 might even be cheaper. (?)
I've never been into the CQB rifle thing (until now), but I have always had the perception that the AR was the more sophisticated, versatile, and accurate weapon. That appeals to me, since 99.999999999999% of my enemies so far have been cardboard and/or paper. I can appreciate the merits of the AK's utter reliability, but I'd be happier more frequently with 1 MOA performance. I like accurate firearms.
I know there is debate over the effectiveness of the 7.62x39 vs. the .223. I like both calibers, and think both have their pro's and con's, so I'm not really interested in that debate. But I guess it's inevitable that it will come up.
I really enjoyed shooting my friend's AK's. Really, really enjoyed it. If there were good, finished rifles on the market for under $500 and ammo was available and cheap like the good old days, there's no doubt this would be my next purchase. But when the costs are roughly equal to owning and shooting the AR ... well I just can't get my head wrapped around paying over $1000 for an AK, let alone $250-$300 for a case of Wolf. Every AR vs. AK thread I've ever read eventually included a recommendation of the AK platform because it was more bang for the buck. These days, not so much as before.
What do you think? I've got plenty of time to research and think this out (unless someone wants to buy my like-new Fender Custom Shop strat, which would put the needed cash in my hands).