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.
Usually. Sometimes it’s a matter of finding one or the other. I hear stories of 5.56 unavailability in parts of the country. Saw some steel-cased 7.62x39 for .50 a round, in bulk.
“It was short and handy enough to allow Kyle to maintain full control of his weapon when one subhuman tried to grab it and after he was knocked down when two others tried to kill him.”
Excellent point. The fully-loaded M4 is light with very low recoil which makes putting it on target and keeping it there easier than other options -as Rittenhouse illustrated.
Then the trick shoulda been to design a gun that used that ammo. Gigantic Duhh factor.
Hate to say it but AK. Something with a forged receiver preferably. It is a destructive weapon if you don’t have to reach out too far.
Right?
Don’t know where you’ve served, but killing effectively, first shot, is what I cared about. From 0 meters to 600, when they were behind walls or heavy vegetation or gravestones.
“Deterrence”? What the heck is that? Noisemaking?
I’m still here, so it must have worked.
M14.
.
The ways of the US military are a mystical universe.
Neither.
Ordered an SGL21-61 . Bad @$$ Rifle.
I actually care very much about penetration (over penetration specifically) in any non military, self defense application because ensuring that non involved, innocent bystanders are not hit is job one. In my defense, ballistic penetration has been a focus of what I do , so I'm biased :-)
Words for the ages
I’ll agree especially in the case of the beret as a hat/cap. Those things are not cool even if standard issue for certain personnel.
You haven’t actually faced an AK have you? In the wild, they’re always set on the first selector position - so if the first shot misses you, the rest go above you.
Second, the sights are coarse and the sight radius is short - your chance of getting hit at 300m (or even 200m) is close to zero, unless you’re just having a really bad day.
No, the point is to kill the opposition.
Semper Fi!
If necessary, military or law enforcement can give me 556 mm ammo. M-16 wins on that alone.
Not anymore.
Can’t recall ever beating a gun on the turf of the green after missing a putt so maybe guns are a bit less like golf clubs than you might think.
Yea, I'm unlikely to wrap a gun around a tree :)
I’ve had my hands on several AK-47 rifles. They were all junk and inaccurate compared to the M16/AR15 platform. Actually, the SKS carbines were more accurate than the AKs.
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