What was Kalishnikov smoking.....?

[too many choices!?]

What was he on when he designed the magazine release on his rifle? With all of its reliability and ease of maintanence the magazine release is the one major flaw(and the sights of course)of the Kalish design. What are some of the reasons for it being so wierd/awkward?

 

[WillBrayjr]

The mag release on the AK-47 is excellent.

 

[Destructo6]

M14, FAL, G3 and many others use a similar style magazine release.

 

[Lonestar.45]

It may not be the most "ergonomic", but.....you have to remember, it was designed with the harsh Russian winters in mind, where troops wore thick gloves. I think that had something to do with the design.

 

[2002gti]

he was smoking the good stuff

 

[too many choices!?]

I will say it is simple to drop a mag......

but it takes two hands and could be next to impossible if you can't see where the little "shelf" that the mag's notch sits in....(ie at night)....And the gloves thing is what I have been suspecting but having to tilt the mag to insert it is just a hassle and could be magnified under combat stress even if it is trained daily(just my opinion). Okay I will give you guys the mag release. How about the safety which is a two hand operation and the sights? I still own one but man it is next to impossible to hit a soda can at 25yds with the crappy sights....My ar on the other hand I can hit them consistently out to 100yds or so...How about an American company making some serious upgrades to the ak(sights, mag release, and safety) and manufacturing it here? I would by one if they kept it reasonable....or is that an FAL?

 

[IronLance]

The same crappy sights you see on nearly every hunting rifle you buy at your local store? Blade front notched leaf rear? Those crappy sights?

No, they are not target sights by far, but then the AK was never designed to be a target rifle. The AR peep sight is a hold over from every US military rifle sight since the model 1903, when accuracy was paramount over high volume of fire.

Even the M-14 was meant to be an accurate medium range shooter, the 20 round mag was there so you wouldn't have to change after every eight or ten rounds. The full auto feature was deemed important in the event forces came under mass wave attacks as in Korea, not as the default means of emptying the magazine.

The AK was designed in the late forties in a country where simplicity of manufacture was the name of the game. If you look at the mag release on your AK and compare to the mag release on your AR you'll note the AK has fewer overall parts to it. It's a piece of stamped sheet metal riveted to the trigger guard and a spring behind it. How many small, milled or cast parts does the AR use in it's mag release? Even the Western MBR's that came out had the same type of release.

 

[Crosshair]

I can't shoot worth crap with those *@#&$%* peep sights. I alway's hated them. Paint the front blade a visible color and go. From personal preferance, the AK has far superior erganomics than the AR. (Safety, charging handle, mag release, field stripping.)

Sure it takes 2 hands to reload, so what??? You should be behind cover when you are reloading, attacking while reloading is a bad idea. You should at least be behind someone who has ammo in the magazine. (BTW, I can reload my SKS with one hand faster than you can change a magazine in an AR. Yes it's 10 rounds vs 30, just wated to point that out)

The charging handle at the rear is flimsy compared to the AK. I alway's feel like I am going to slap myself in the face when I pull back the charging handle.(When I have the weapon shouldered) AK/SKS, depending on the malfunction, you slap the charging handle forewards or backwards. There is only one place your hand needs to go.

Mag release, far easier to do than AR with gloves on. Same with the safety. I prefer the normal leaf sights. I learned to shoot "Pumpkin on a post" and I can't seem to shoot as well as with the peep sights. Target acquisition is also more difficult with the peep IMO. People will disagree with me, but this is my opinion from my shooting experience. An AK built to AR standards will give the AR a run for the money. Take the VEPR for example.

 

[Destructo6]

Two hands for a mag change?

Grab the mag with one hand and your thumb should about fall on the mag release paddle. Takes one hand.

The sights on a poorly assembled AK might be complete crap, but a well assembled AK should be fine at ranges you would engage with the 7.62x39 round.

 

[smince]

The AR15/Ar180 (maybe AUG?) are the only mil-style rifles where you don't have to rock the mag into place. It takes the same two hands to change mags on either weapon. Hold the mag with one hand and the rifle with the other while inserting the mag into the well. The AR may be faster in dropping the mag, as you can hit the mag release with the trigger finger while reaching for the spare with the other hand.

If you can't hit a soda can at 25, it is trigger weight/creep/squeeze and follow-through that is more of a problem than the sights.

 

[too many choices!?]

Smince

I have pulled the trigger all the way to its breaking point and sighted in from a knee and after shooting 5 shots at no more than 25yds, the can was still sitting there laughing at me......So I go back to the car grab the M4gery and promptly give it two to the coke symbol and one to the rim at the same distance in 3 shots(without my red dot).....Imho Kalish sights suck, to far from the eye to be accurate.....Even with all my gripes about it I still love to miss with the ak

Hey do you guys change mags on an ak with the trigger hand or with the forward gripping hand? I think I do both sometimes leaning more towards sraight trigger finger while using my forward gripping(left) hand to drop and load another mag.

 

[smince]

Well, I don't own one, but the ones I've shot weren't that bad. Around 4-5" at 100, but minute of soda can at 25-30 yards for sure. No doubt that the AR is more accurate.

My SKS "D" model uses AK mags and the same catch. I always grasp the mag with the support hand and use that thumb to pull the release in, the rock the mag out, then rock the new in, reach over and work the bolt, maintaining a proper firing grip with the other hand.

 

[Ozzieman]

I have a cheep chineese copy

And if a coke bottle is within 100 yards its dead.
I find the the best way to reload one is with the off hand (left) using the thumb just like another person said earler. I find it as easy as a M16 and also feel the mags are built stronger than a m16. Sheet metal VS heavy cast for the AK.
Once the mag has been replaced rotate the entire gun counter clock wise untill its sideways and with the left pull the loading lever and release and bring it back to the sholder and your going again.
The thing is that you dont have to change hands and dont have to take your hands off the grips.
The AK was built in numbers that makes the M16 look like a custom gunshops output. Does that make it a better gun? In some aspects but over all having shot both Chineese and Russan and full auto, and having a good AR15 and shot full auto M16. I like the M16 better, but (and this is only a guess) the M16 was built at 2 or 3 times the cost, and for a millitary weapon that makes the AK the best of the bunch.

 

[Adam Firestone]

You mean, you want your AK to do something like. ..

. . .this?

The rear sight is an AR windage adjustable two position ("flip") aperture sight.

The front sight is an AR A2 style post that is elevation adjustable with a bullet tip.

The funny little thing you see behind the trigger but ahead of the two dots on the pistol grip is a thumb safety that actuates the standard AK safety.

Match grade two stage trigger.

It's 5.56mm, and as accuarate as any out of the box, service grade, AR I've fired.

M1913 rail above the receiver.

Made by Krebs Custom, Inc. in good old Illinois, USA, and they even make a rail interface to replace the standard fore-end.

Krebs Custom, Inc.

 

[Handy]

Virtually all service rifle designs require you to grab the mag with the release, as in the G3, AK, M-14, etc.

The reason Armalite rifles departed from this is because they were supposed to charged with disposable pre-loaded magazines. That's right, disposable. With something disposable it makes sense to have a release that allows ejection with the mag under positive control.

As it turns out, AR mags only get dropped on the ground at IPSC matches, so it is a misplaced design feature for a soldier trying to keep his mags clean in the desert. Given that, it is a questionable feature.

 

[AK103K]

If you practice, just a little bit, you'd be amazed at how the AK's so called "deficiencies" disappear.