Posted on 12/23/2013 8:41:52 AM PST by kronos77
he inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has died aged 94, Russian TV reports.
The automatic rifle he designed became one of the world's most familiar and widely used weapons.
Its comparative simplicity made it cheap to manufacture, as well as reliable and easy to maintain.
Although honoured by the state, Kalashnikov made little money from his gun. He once said he would have been better off designing a lawn mower.
Mikhail Kalashnikov was admitted to hospital with internal bleeding in November.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
” I did once have a Ruger Single action which was chambered for the Carbine round. It had so much blast that I traded it off fair;y soon.”
I had one when I was young and too stupid to wear hearing protection. I credit it with most of my 40% hearing loss.
If for copyright issues the full text of a story can’t be posted for the main thread, posting the full text as a comment doesn’t magically make the copyright issue go away, and exposes FR to copyright violation complaints by the owner...
Was it really him, or a Chinese knock off.
Heads are bowed in South Central L.A. tonight....
No lawsuits needed, nuthin’ wrong with bein’ old!
IIRC, Hackworth stated the term was a derogatory nickname applied to the early models due to the faults he described.
An intermediate cartridge is a military assault rifle cartridge that is less powerful than typical full power battle rifle cartridges such as the United Kingdom .303 British, Russian 7.62×54mmR, German 7.92×57mm Mauser or United States .30-06 Springfield, but still significantly more powerful than pistol cartridges.
The .30 cal has very similar stats to the .357 Mag (a pistol cartridge). I grew up shooting the M1 Carbine and Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Cal. It is not even close to the 5.45x39, 5.56, or 7.62x39.
Yeah, just the thought of firing that thing without hearing protection makes me cringe.
The .357 was never a military round. It is quite powerful when fired from a single shot rifle of a model 92 lever action. I have had both and they are excellent in .357 mag.
The standard military rounds such as .45 auto, 9mm, 32 auto, .380 British revolver round, 30 Tokarev, 9mm Makarov are none even in the same ball park as the .30 Carbine.
The 8mm Kurz, the 5.56 and the AK round are in the same class as the .30 carbine.
I took the Hungarian princess (that’s what I called her behind her back) to the local city festival in which the theme was the Mongolian culture. First thing happened, we sat in a group watching Mongolian wrestlers (apparently national champions in their class) and the spokesman announces the champions get to pick their opponents. These guys had on nothing but speedos and cowboy boots and one of them comes over looking at me so I get up and start taking my shirt off, the crowd was in an uproar. This is how I got my FR moniker. Later I had some of the best Vodkie I’ve ever tasted, Mongolian of course.
“Are black flags flying in Russia?”
The question is, are the flags at half-mast here?
Ha, I got your "rookie" swingin'. I'm also proficient with the M14. Although I'm partial to the AR15 platform.
8^)
5.56mm
He may have been a commie, but he made THE rifle, second only to the M1 Garand, in my eyes.
Love BOTH of mine, and will take them over AR/M16/M4 series carbines any day of the week.. (got that too).
RIP, Mikhail.
They say more people have died by AK’s than any other weapon known to man. I don’t. I would think swords would be up there but it might be true.
“what set it apart...”
Simple, easy to build, easy to maintain, quick to mass-produce, and brutally effective when used within its intended envelope.
It ALWAYS goes bang when you pull the trigger. Mud, dust, snow, rain, - you name it, it works.
In it’s select-fire (full auto) configuration, it puts out a LOT of lead. It’s probably THE single most produced firearm in the world (I said Probably for all the purists out here who will come jumping in).
It’s easy to use, and was designed with the peasant militiaman/conscript in mind.
7.62x39mm round hits hard, and knocks down. The AK74 came out in 1974 and uses a 5.45x39mm round, and that’s a nasty little mother too.
All in all, IMHO, it’s THE carbine of all time.
I’ve always just said in times of war, companies will call it whatever the government says it want. The US Army wanted a carbine to fight in the cities of Europe, the .30 cal is a carbine.
The Germans did the same thing. The SturmGewehr (getting back on topic) is hardly a machine pistol but that’s what Hitler wanted and the MP44 was born.
I’ve been drooling over the Henry lever-action .357 mag. I would still take an AK47/74 over anything less than .308 or 54R.
I'm no expert on the subject, but I think I remember reading that the plastic parts were molded by Mattel. Mattel probably wouldn't have been able to make the metal parts very well.
So what you’re saying is that no firearm before the Stg-44 had a detachable magazine, or a pistol grip, or a gas tube above the barrel?
By your logic then, the M-16 is a copy of the AK-47.
Top gas tube - check
Pistol grip - check
Detachable mag -check
The fact that the M-16 is direct impingement and has a rotating bolt mean nothing apparently.
Look at the way the AK bolt locks to the front trunnion. Compare that to the way the M1 Garand bolt locks. I have one of each right here in my den. Well actually a Polish PMKMS but the same thing.
And yes, I was aware that Schmeisser assisted Kalashnikov after WWII. It doesn’t change the fact that the AK-47 is NOT a copy of the Stg-44. Externally they look similar, but the mechanics inside are totally different.
So simple even a chimp can run one!
The piston system, with very reliable action, simple bolt and ease of use. It does however lack in accuracy. Nowadays I think if you buy some of the better knockoffs they can be more accurate.
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