So, tell us something we don't already know.
Posted on 01/19/2011 2:17:17 PM PST by Pan_Yan
“compete with the Russian weapon in one or all categories...’.
How ‘bout accuracy?
Translation problem or bluster. Your choice.
“As for foreign small arms, let’s take, for instance, American and Israeli arms. They are high precision weapons, but they are designed for very accurate and responsible soldiers, who do not forget to clean them. I believe that it is unrealistic and unnecessary for Russia to purchase small arms from other countries,” the expert said.”
There is a lot of information in this statement.
There sure is.
that is exactly what I was thinking, the Russian small arms are better than Western arms for the untrained conscripts but not for a professional fighting force.
AK’s weren’t made for sharpshooters. They were easy to mass produce and cheap. The break down was simple and over all it was rugged enough for the members of the third world to handle. Load the magazine give it to a revolutionary and let him spray away.
Yup... and Russian military thinking is outdated and does not correspond to the requirements of a professional volunteer army. Russia is moving in this direction to replace the old Soviet conscript force with one that is better paid, better equipped and better trained. The criticism of Serdyukov is simply unfair. Russia should buy arms abroad when they are of better quality and do the job at less cost. The old Soviet thinking will take time to change.
I guess moving toward a more accurate rifle is an attempt to show that Russia is becoming more modern. But the AK-47 is, in its own way, a Russian icon. I don’t think they can just scrap it. I suspect they’ll come up with some kind of upgraded version that allows them to retain the AK-47 image.
Let me help you with your reading comprehension:
The German K98 Mauser is not a Russian rifle.
Yeah, that "expert" is saying that even if Russia goes to a smaller professional army, they will continue to be equipped as if they were expendable peasants. A professional soldier would no more purposely mistreat his most important piece of equipment (rifle) than a cavalry trooper would mistreat his horse. Both are their primary means of survival.
The legendary reliability of the AK series comes from the large amount of combustion gas it bleeds off to really "kick" the action hard, in case it's dirty, muddy, etc. This tends to eventually crack milled receivers, and loosen rivets on the stamped versions. Add in lousy ergonomics (miserable sights, sharp, clumsy, and noisy safety), and western battle rifles look positively luxurious, especially with good optics on them.
The only exception is the Swiss Sig 550-series of 5.56mm rifles. It uses the Kalashnikov bolt and gas system, but otherwise it was redesigned and built like a Rolex.
I was introduced to the M16A1 in 1970, when our training cycle in Basic used the M16 for the entire course. It was fun and easy to shoot, preventing flinching and other bad habits. I had no trouble hitting targets at 300m, which is over twice the average range that the Army has engaged the enemy in all battles since 1776.
Once you convince yourself that you and your rifle have the ability to overcome the enemy at any reasonable (and a few unreasonable) ranges, then concern and uncertainty vanishes, letting you concentrate on other skills.
It's one thing when the commies flooded the third world with 40-50 million AKs, but that market is pretty much saturated now. You can buy as many as you want at $5-10 in any hellhole in the world. But if you're a pro, you need and demand something much better.
You started by you post with “Wrong” then refuted a claim that neither the article nor any poster made. I’m happy that you like German sniper rifles, but they weren’t being discussed. We can talk about them if you’d like.
Sorry for the poor brain/thumbs/BlackBerry interface.
The AK-47 is one of the best assault rifles available; but, like any other tool, it isn’t perfectly suitable for every job. The good carpenter keeps more than one tool in his tool bag. I generally prefer the M16A2 because the M16A2 is capable of extreme accuracy. The only thing that holds it back is the M855 ball round which is a high quality round but not match grade. I have shot AR15s (using match grade ammo) that will empty their 30 round magazine into a dime at 100 meters. There’s something to be said for that.
Fact: The K98 and Col. Koenig Lost to Vasily with his Moisin on the Eastern Front and to the American GIs with their 03’s and Garands on the Western Front.
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