[LeoWindhorse]

ya think there's maybe a reason why there's a lot of AKs floating around

Yep , it's because the absolutely unconscionable profligate
former Soviet arms purveyors sought to flood every area they thought they could profit by destabilizing . The 'elements' using them have less than zero concern for ballistics , when in a pinch pangas will do for them nicely. You see less M-16's because on the other hand the US maintains fairly tight controls on who becomes the end users of our hardware . The exception in that case is the Palestinians who somehow get them out of the Israeli supply chain . That should be a treasonable offense punishable by hanging.
Anyway, you could not pay me to own one of those damn things ,just on principle.

[tcostell]

Well principles or not, it's a stunningly well designed tool. I maintain that the tool itself is morally neutral, and this one could be wielded by someone virtuous or evil equally.

The thing it has going for it is that it's simple, and can function perfectly in the worst possible conditions. "Designed so that even a fistful of sand dumped into the chamber won't keep it from firing." spoke the designer in a recent interview for Field and Stream.

You may not want to enrich a Romanian for other reasons, but if you would buy a hammer from him there is no reason you shouldn't buy this as well.