Posted on 12/16/2020 10:12:01 AM PST by PROCON
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
Like the M16 and many other rifle arms since the early 1900s (and a few pistols, most notably Israel’s Desert Eagle), the AK-47 is gas operated.
Here's What You Need to Remember: There is a relevant cultural and historical legacy at work here. American arms are informed by a history and a legacy in which a colonial farmer could shoot down a squirrel or a British officer with a rifled musket from a hundred yards. Russian arms, meanwhile, are informed by a history of a lot of peasant soldiers slogging through the mud to engage. No wonder, then, that the two have evolved such distinct comparative advantages.
Recently, Blake Franko of the National Interest published an article about the ubiquity of the Kalashnikov AK-47 and its variants. He focused on how its popularity is the result of its reliability in the hands of all kinds of shooters, in the toughest and dirtiest environments. This reliability made the AK-47 a formidable adversary and a valuable acquisition for American troops in Vietnam, when their M16s were jamming from shooting and local conditions.
But there is more to the story that is worth exploring. It might have been useful to go on for a few lines to explain why the AK-47 was so reliable in those conditions. The Kalashnikov’s success has to do with its gas operating system.
Like the M16 and many other rifle arms since the early 1900s (and a few pistols, most notably Israel’s Desert Eagle), the AK-47 is gas operated. That means that the recycling of the action after a round is fired is not the product of the blowback of the fired round, as in most pistols and a few submachine guns like the old Thompson, but by the pressure of the hot, highly pressurized gas in the barrel of the newly expended round. Through a little port in the barrel, this highly pressurized gas can push back to operate the action and reload another round for fire, whether automatic or semiautomatic.
But there is a big difference between the Kalashnikovs and the M16 types. The former use a plunger-type action, essentially a rod whose front end captures the pressure of the round ignition, pushing the rod back to recycle the action. This is called a long-stroke gas piston. The latter use a hollow tube to return the gas pressure to the action to be recycled, which is called direct gas impingement. The AK-47 is more reliable in dirty conditions than the M16 variants, while the latter is more accurate in combat situations. Here’s why: the AK-47 design protects the action from contaminating powder debris. That way, it doesn’t foul up so quickly—but it has a long metal rod bobbing back and forth that interferes with accurate shooting. The gas action design of the M16s doesn’t have that long rod bouncing in the way, so it is more accurate in automatic or rapid-fire semiautomatic action. But it brings the polluted gas back to the action, and therefore fouls more easily than the AK-47. We’ve dealt with this problem for decades now, and we are still struggling with it.
There is a relevant cultural and historical legacy at work here. American arms are informed by a history and a legacy in which a colonial farmer could shoot down a squirrel or a British officer with a rifled musket from a hundred yards. Russian arms, meanwhile, are informed by a history of a lot of peasant soldiers slogging through the mud to engage. No wonder, then, that the two have evolved such distinct comparative advantages.
This is M16 versus AK47
Not fancy schmamcy AR15 versus AK47
But poster said M16 not your Armalite
My brother was 3rd Marine Division. Infantry. Hell of a job.
He was definitely a fan of the 7.62 NATO round.
I would love an M14 - but they are pricey and ammo is ridiculous.
I chuckled reading a earlier post of yours upthread regarding the spray and pray mentality haji’s had - just hold that damn trigger down and close those eyes while you do it.
My bro always told me semi-auto was always better than auto due to ammo waste and fools who don’t know how to shoot. Pretty much the same thing you said. He does like 7.62x39 AK’s though.
Thank you for your service!
May God Bless You this Christmas and beyond!
Not much different between an M16-A2 or M16-A4 and a commercial AR-15 other than full auto. Of course, fit and finish varies, but higher quality than an M-16 is available.
I don’t have an Armalite. Few people do.
He probably was getting paid by some other participants.
They’ve done a nice job of shortening it. Also have a ten round magazine on that model. Mine, acquired in 1986 for about $650, is the full GI size and even came with a GI stock and a well used GI sling.
Of course, “underside” should be “underslide”.
Underslide is the distance the bolt carrier moves rearward before beginning to cam the bolt out of engagement with the receiver, barrel extension or trunnion.
Anti-pre-engagement keeps the bolt from rotating _before_ the bolt carrier has nearly completed its forward motion.
A larger bolt carrier/bolt mass ratio means the bolt carrier has more momentum to overcome resistance to pushing the bolt into and rotating the bolt into battery. IIRC, the AK47 ratio is 5, and the m16/ar15 is 4.
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