” ... There are some variants made by higher end manufacturers that are very accurate.
The reliability of the AK is undeniable - especially in comparison with the AR platform (it’s main rival). ...”
Higher-end gunmakers can indeed produce a more accurate Kalashnikov, but they cannot do it for less money (most such “special” items cost more than most ARs).
And they are accurate only when firing higher-end ammunition ... so another advantage of the Kalashnikov is thus negated. Use any old stray rounds picked up from battlefields around the globe, and you won’t get much of a result to be happy with.
Reliability degrades also in the costlier versions ... the Kalashnikov’s reputation for reliability of function is based almost entirely on evaluations of average to low-end factory specimens, which are fitted with such loose tolerances that their accuracy is very poor (four to five times the CEA of an AR).
You can have reliability, or you can have accuracy. Not both. That’s just the way a tradeoff works.
Additionally, 7.62x39 ammunition has a shorter effective range than 5.56x45 NATO.
Once again, it is shown Americans yearn for defense on the cheap. They yearn in vain.
The velocities developed by 7.62x39 cartridges work fine with unjacketed hardened cast bullets. This is an important consideration for someone who casts their own bullets. You can easily heat treat cast lead alloy using a normal oven, then add a homemade gas check made from aluminum or copper sheet metal and depending on the care used when making up your own cartridges they are as accurate as copper jacketed bullets.
This might be an important consideration one day if the government starts trying to regulate commercial ammunition. With 7.62x39 you have a much larger and heavier projectile traveling at a slower speed than 5.62x45. The molds I use produce a 155 grain bullet as compared to the typical 5.62x45 bullet which weighs only 55 to 65 grains. The high velocities of 5.62x45 bullets basically means that they must be jacketed which makes them difficult to produce without special equipment.