Mythbustin AK-47 Inaccuracies

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 6/6/2017 | J Reeves

[umgud]

I’ve fired, but never owned an AK.

[Big Red Badger]

Sounds Good...
Thanks.

[The KG9 Kid]

Alright, big wall of text incoming:

I have one of the most collectible pre-ban Chinese AKS semi-clones, it being one of the rarest and most desirable models Polytech imported to the US back in the late ‘80s. It shoots 6” groups at 100m no matter what 7.62x39 ammo you run through it. Best results I ever got was with expensive brass cased Norma ammo and it shrunk groups to maybe 3” with one wild flier doing its own thing. It stays in the safe looking pretty.

But I also have a 5.56 Valmet M76 which is an AKM design and it has shot sub-MOA at 100m with match ammo from a rest and regularly prints 1.5” groups with ordinary M193 ball. It requires 55gr ammo only. Problem with the Valmet is that the very heavy and violent bolt carrier assembly likes to rip the case head right off of soft brass cartridge cases. Even if it doesn’t act up during a range outing by separating brass case heads, I always come home to clean out zillions of little brass dust fragments from the action that makes it look like I was using the rifle to pan for gold flakes in a stream.

5.56 Galils AR/ARMs like to do the same thing, which sort of explains why the few nations to adopt an AK design chambered in 5.56 NATO didn’t keep them in service very long... the IDF made a broken shell extractor a basic component of their soldier’s equipment, after all. Israel never adopted steel case ammunition. Finland never adopted 5.56 in their Valmet service rifles. Even when Russia moved to 5.45x39, they kept it based on the rugged M43 cartridge case to mitigate the problems discovered by everyone who tried to integrate a 5.56 small diameter case in the AK design.

Years ago I sold my Galil AR but kept the Valmet. Knowing today how Galil parts kits and mags were cheaply imported in big numbers I wish I’d done the opposite, but whatever. Because of this, I almost never take my Valmet to the range. Repair parts are practically unobtanium and mag prices are absurd even though I’ve modified other .223 AK mags to function in it.

[tumblindice]

I own 3 older WASRs. They might be most maligned of a maligned carbine.
Mine all feed reliably and they do what they should do.
The Russians zeroed them by shooting at rocks. Mine hit quart milk jugs at a hundred yards.
The latest edition of Blue Press has a red dot mount (for you optimists) that replaces the adjustable iron sight but my eyes still work well enough for an AK.

Why didn’t any of you gun gurus tell me about the Apex spring set for the S&W Sigma when I was bitching about its gas pump-like handle? Great gun but for the trigger.