Who likes AK type rifles?

[kimberkid]

I’m not a huge AK fan, but I do believe that no collection is complete without at least one!
I’ve been shooting & collecting (playing) for about 45 years. I’ve always been fond of all the Hungarian AKM’s and especially the AMD-65. After the ‘89 Bush import ban the SA 85M was (IMHO) the nicest fit & finished AK on the new post-ban market. Of course I bought one regardless of the staggering $325 introductory price tag. … as I was young and my kids, along with my gun and car habit kept me broke a lot of the time.
Unfortunately the Hungarian SA85M was traded off for something that made me itch.
Times being what they are, I found another unfired SA85M, in a beat-up box, but the seller was kind enough to include an AMD-65 mag pouch, but it wasn’t the same $325 price.

 

[cfullgraf]

At one time, 30-40 years ago, I was interested in getting an AK, but they just do not live up to any accuracy standards.

I have a couple $100 SKS's from the 1989's and that is close enough to a 7.62x39 rifle I care to own.

As Col. Whelen said, "only accurate rifles are interesting".

 

[jdsingleshot]

Not me.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I do. Had a bunch over the years, Maadi, Norinco, Zastava. Still keep a brace of Chicoms. Mine were all reliable, soft shooting, and acceptably accurate.

Nice AK, Kid.

 

[Old Dog]

While I appreciate the durability and reliability of this weapon, I am not a fan and have never desired to own one. Guess it's just principle; I don't need to shoot or own the preferred battle rifle of my enemy, since the nagging incidents of getting shot at with these things. Even were it not that, I find them crude and ugly without the appeal of even being capable of excellent accuracy.

 

[Ignition Override]

Hitting a 12 oz or 1-quart plastic bottle at 30-50 yards never requires a gun tuned to the needs of a Chris Kyle (the late).

If you are into basic fun, then the rest is academic. Never owned a scope-just my Steiner binoculars.

My "targets" are what I would want to use for fun as If I had only two months to live. This is the perspective, and nobody knows how much time they have left.
However, a really tight group is fine, watching that reactive hole in the paper, if impressing other people is important. Many of us mostly shoot alone.

The "other 7.62x39 rifle" , the VZ-58 also is lots of fun.

 

[jmorris]

I’m not a huge AK fan, but I do believe that no collection is complete without at least one!

Count me in, they are inferior to many in some respects, superior to others in some as well. No matter what, you can’t have one of everything without one…

If you do not have your oppositions arms and understand their utility, you will be weaker than you should be, in defense of them.

 

[.38 Special]

Commies. That's who.

 

[westernrover]

Commies, or rebels? Obviously, it was originally a product of the communist Soviet Union, but it became much more than that. In Vietnam and countless other places, it was both a tool for communist revolutionaries as well as insurgent rebels. It is, after all, just a tool. It would be unfair to characterize the AR-15 by associating it with school shooters. While the Soviets didn't just use the AK, they also invented it -- sort of, maybe they just adapted it from the concepts of the Stg 44 and M1 -- the Soviet Union is gone, and there is nothing communist about a PSAK. It's just a piece of metal and possesses no ideology. Similarly, we wouldn't be rational in denouncing all DA/SA pistols for having derived from the P-38 of Nazi Germany.

 

[Bwana John]

I would like a R-5, but a run of the mill AKM doesn't really excite me.

 

[Old Dog]

Similarly, we wouldn't be rational in denouncing all DA/SA pistols for having derived from the P-38 of Nazi Germany.

The question was, "how many are fans of the AK?"

I didn't denounce the AK; I acknowledged it for its durability and reliability, and I merely stated that I am not a fan and I don't want to own a firearm commonly used by my enemies against me. It's just a personal thing for me. Plus, as I said, the AK is ugly and crude.

And as to whether all DA/SA pistols are indeed derived from the P-38 (arguable), that has zero to do with detesting or disliking a particular firearm for its country of origin or which countries used it in war.

 

[caribou]

5.56 AK's rock.

 

[ID-shooting]

It's all relative. I am a big AK fan, have a shoot a few. Accuracy? Well, most all of that comes from the cheap ammo. Use good ammo, an AK will be just as "accuracte" as any out of the box basic AR. It's like getting a nice bolt action .308 then shooting surplus M80 through it. Accuracy will suck. Same thing. It is thier crudeness and simplicity that i like. Romanian guns are my favorite com-block guns. AR's are for professionals, AK's are for everyone else. They are the modern day, above the fire place, use in emergencies, type of gun you can rely on. Pick any western movie or show. When the "indians" show up on your homestead, the AK would be modern equivalent to the lever gun they pulled off the mantle to defend the farm.

 

[JB111]

I like AK's. Fun to shoot, durable and long lived. The accuracy of them varies greatly from brand to brand, gun to gun in some instances and the ammo also has a bit to do with it as well. To each their own, I personally have nothing against the gun, or any gun for that matter. It's just a chunk of steel molded into a tool.

 

[DeepSouth]

I’m a fan, they remedy most of my complaints about AR’s, I much prefer an AK to an AR for several reasons.

However I do find both the “Jack of all, master of none” at least in my safe. The only time I grab an AK is when I simply want have some range fun, I only grab an AR when someone else want to shoot it.

I’ll also say one of my favorite things about an AK is that you can absolutely abuse them and not loose any sleep about them, however at current (and likely future) prices that aspect has been diminished. My last AK cost me about $350 after taxes and some ammo.

 

[drobs]

I still have the 3 Romanian AK's I built 15 years ago.Plus my Romanian Sar-1. I added a Zastava M92 folding braced pistol back 2015 and removed the folding brace a few weeks ago. It kind of sucks without the brace and I will probably trade it off, eventually. My latest AK is an Israeli Galil which I've been enjoying lately.

I got handed a full auto Zastava M85 for one of my trips to the airport in Basrah, Iraq while riding in an armored F250. I drank with Triple Canopy guys that provided security for us as they knew I was a gun nut.

 

[Coyote3855]

I have one. Just an interesting range toy for me.

 

[kje54]

It's funny in a way, eons ago when I had no disposable income I would have traded my right arm for an AK. I even had the opportunity to shoot one in full auto, now I have absolutely no interest.

 

[Choctaw]

I like AKs despite the myths espoused by smug internet gurus (who have zero to little experience with them) that they are inaccurate. They kill deer and pigs as well as most rifles I know of...at least in my 40 years of experience hunting with them. I have also noticed that my rifles sit in the safe and have yet to convert an American-made gun to Communism.

 

[FL-NC]

Not me. Way too many disadvantages weighing against the 1 advantage of reliability as a reward for being lazy and not doing weapons maintenance.

 

[citizenconn]

Not interested in the AK but I do like the 7.62x39 round. I've put together a dozen or so ARs in the chambering and they cycle and feed well for me. I just do not use 20+ round mags in a 7.62x39 AR. I also have a couple bolt action chassis rifles in 7.62x39 that I really enjoy.
Handloading is really where the round shines for me especially with heavier than 123 grain projectiles.
I know that probably defeats the reason why many people historically have chosen the 7.62x39 AKs - the cheap steel cased ammo. But I am only interested in building and keeping precise rifles.
As far as those who say every collection needs one: I guess that is fine if you are a collector. I am a shooter and buy and build all the guns I have for their shooting capabilities. If its not an excellent shooter in my estimation, I rebuild it or send it on down the road.

 

[RWBlue01]

I think they belong in any collection. The spec. for accuracy is 4 MOA. So far they are that or better with iron sights.
With Primary arms 1-8 scope with drops, I think I can do much better, but not sure how much better.
I have never had a FTF, FTE, light primer hit or .... They just run.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

50 yards:



Accurate enough for me.

 

[Ignition Override]

The Czechs, Poles, Bulgarians and Romanians left Communism behind in the early 90’s.

They now are NATO, and their modern AKs support such democracies.

But call the guns whatever is fashionable .

 

[kwb377]

My first AK was a Mak90 I picked up circa 1992 when the LGS's had crates of them stacked for $159/ea. Later I picked up a Romanian SAR-1 @ 2001 when they came out, and hit the height of my AK kick @ 12 years ago or so.











For some reason I grew tired of them and sold/traded all but one off, which I eventually sold about a year ago. I decided to consolidate my magazine-fed "battle rifles" into 5.56 and 7.62x51.

I did recently pick up another "AK Type" rifle...SIG 556 (AK-type if you count the gas piston and bolt).