Kalashnikov says Iraq shows his gun is still best

Reuters ^ | 4/17/06

[Paddlefish]

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Mikhail Kalashnikov, designer of the world's most popular assault rifle, says that U.S. soldiers in Iraq are using his invention in preference to their own weapons, proving that his gun is still the best.

"Even after lying in a swamp you can pick up this rifle, aim it and shoot. That's the best job description there is for a gun. Real soldiers know that and understand it," the 86-year-old gunmaker told a weekend news conference in Moscow.

"In Vietnam, American soldiers threw away their M-16 rifles and used (Kalashnikov) AK-47s from dead Vietnamese soldiers, with bullets they captured. That was because the climate is different to America, where M-16s may work properly," he said.

"Look what's happening now: every day on television we see that the Americans in Iraq have my machine guns and assault rifles in their armored vehicles. Even there American rifles don't work properly."

Some U.S. troops in Iraq have reportedly taken to using AK-47s in preference to the standard-issue M-16. The Cold War-era gun, renowned for its durability and easy handling, is plentiful in Iraq.

[KarinG1]

AK's are good, dependable weapons which fire a considerably larger caliber round than the M-16. The original M-16 was quite buggy, but I've cycled thousands of rounds through my Colt M-16 A-1 and it has never jammed once. I keep it very clean and don't live in a swamp or a desert, which probably makes a difference. Still, I have no complaints.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

"Even the Russians switched to .22 caliber (I think 5.45mm) more than 20 years ago. Given the restriction to FMJ, this caliber has much to commend for general purpose, high volume of accurate fire."

Was adopted in 1974, in the AK-74 variant.

[Cyber Liberty]

He's correct. It is a better gun.

[SJSAMPLE]

Agreed, but all bullets will "tumble" or yaw, actually, to some extent.

The myth is that the M-16 round tumbles "in flight", which couldn't be more wrong. The 5.56mm round can actually be over-stabilized, causing the round to descent over its trajectory without a downward pitch.

The beauty of the Russian 5.45mm is that the tip holds a pocket of air, which dramatically increases fragmentation.

What most people fail to realize is that 99% (my very loose, but very supportable stat) of M-16/AR failures (usually FTFs)are caused by magazine problems. For a rifle what was designed around a relatively expensive and tight manufacturing process, why did they skimp on the mags? Cheap aluminum GI mags are no match against some of the modern steel mags. Check out the CProducts new Stainless Steel mag (around $25). From what I hear, it's equal to the $50+ HK steel mag. Myself, I've had great luck with the Singapore contract British steel mags.

[I got the rope]

I just have one thing to say Mr. AK...why does your design look like the German "Sturmgewehr"?

[SJSAMPLE]

Check out the MythBusters episode on water stopping bullets.
Every round, including the .50cal, fragmented immediately upon penetrating the water. That's the main reason none of the rounds penetrated 6' under water. If those same rounds had been going slower, they might not have fragmented and might have penetrated 6' of water intact.

I was specifically speaking about 5.56mm (M193 and M855), which I've never seen fail to fragment in water or ballistic gelatin. Combat surgeons are retrieving fragments of 5.56mm, never whole.

[SJSAMPLE]

Also, you can't really compare pistol rounds to rifle rounds. Pistol rounds are designed to retain as much of the original mass as possible. Since the target is 12" of penetration, fragmentation would remove the mass necessary to achieve suchy.

Modern "combat" ammunition is designed to fragment, lest they zip in and out without significant damage. Fragmentation is the key for military small arms (after shot placment, of course).

[tortoise]

But nobody can shoot through walls with M16A2/M855 ball, either.

With M193, no. With M855, it will penetrate cover better than conventional 7.62mm. Look it up, it has been done to death.

[Conservative Firster]

FN SCAR-H

[TomasUSMC]

And then they took the full auto from the M16 too.

[SJSAMPLE]

Yep.
The SCAR-H can change everything.
The SCAR-L is no slouch, either.

However, I'm dismayed by the constant desire to use the weakest link in the AR system - the MAGAZINES.

[King Prout]

last time I checked, newly manufactured civvie versions of the Stoner 63 are available

[King Prout]

I saw that episode. I recall something different: rifle rounds penetrated the target all the way at the bottom of the water column, and a shotgun slug shattered the tank through transmitted shock.

[Oztrich Boy]

That was because the climate is different to America - so true, whereas the weather in Siberia and Iraq are very comparable

So? The Kalashnikov works in both Siberia and Iraq. It's a working weapon, not a target range rifle.

[King Prout]

yeah, I know... but at least someone has most of the needed tooling to make the military version

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Spelling is no one of my strong points. (:>(

[colderwater]

SJSample,

My experience with magazines for the AR is as you say, failures to feed. I had a short learning curve: learned to use US general issue magazines (Sanchez Enterprises or Adventure-line), and don't insert a magazine with the bolt forward (too easy to not fully insert). I had nothing but misery with aftermarket magazines and old GI 20 rounders. GI magazines with the green follower, I cannot complain about them.

Since then I've lost count of the rounds fired through my AR, (maybe ~2000). The only failure I had was a failure to eject, the rim of the cartridge torn off. It was Portugese surplus Nato spec ammo. IMI M855 and handloads all perform well.
I'll have look at the CProducts new Stainless Steel mag. Thanks for the tip.

C.W.

[canalabamian]

Bear in mind that Kalashnikov is kind of ticked, cuz he never really made money off his design --it was basically stolen and copied by EVERYONE.

Wasn't "his" design a knock off of the German Sturmgewehr 44?