[Pan_Yan]

'Cause the world can never have too many Kalashnikovs.

[donozark]

Dr. Kalashnikov was actually opposed to the introduction of the smaller AK-74 (5.45x39mm). He didn't like his original weapon changed so radically.

The Muj in 'Stan referred to this round as the "poison bullet" during the Soviet occupation. Ostensibly because of it's deeper penetration and yawing.

Later, in Grozny, this round was found to be inferior for urban fighting. Most Russian units then went back to the AK-47 (7.63x39mm).

I have both. Which one do I prefer? The one in my hands at any given moment.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

I think they picked the wrong weapon to produce.

The original was brilliant in its simplicity. It was generally reliable, and had only three field serviceable parts to clean. Even an untrained peasant could figure one out, and fairly quickly, which was what was needed at the time.

However, things change. What they should have done is read some analysis of the years worth of heartburn the US went through to get a new rifle. Hundreds of designs came and went, victims of the natural selection competition, which was downright brutal.

Then the acid test is issuing it to soldiers with combat experience. They are the toughest crowd imaginable, and they will find any and all flaws, mercilessly tearing the proposed weapon apart. As a saying goes, “They would argue features of a 20lb steel ball. And somebody would figure out how to break it.”

But if you can get a rifle grudging acceptance from such men, it is almost guaranteed to be a success.

[deoetdoctrinae]

And with approximately 14 million in existence, the world can never have too many Mosin Nagants.

The Russians definitely know a thing or two about building rifles, don't they?

[CrazyIvan]

Of all the weapons in the vast Soviet arsenal nothing was more profitable
than the Avtomat Kalashnikova model of 1947 more commonly known as the
AK-47 or Kalashnilov. It’s the world’s most popular assault rifle. A weapon
all fighters love. An elegantly simple 9-lb. amalgamation of forged steel
and plywood. It doesn’t break, jam, or overheat. It will shoot whether it’s
covered in mud or filled with sand. It’s so easy even a child can use it,
and they do. The Soviets put the gun on a coin. Mozambique put it on their
flag. Since the end of the Cold War the Kalashnikov has become the Russion
people’s greatest export. After that comes vodka, caviar and suicidal
novelists. One thing’s for sure, no one was lining up to buy their cars.