I know next to nothing about guns and would like to know what set this gun apart from others. Thank you.
Reliability.
To put it simple:
If you want to win a war, you need to have either AK-47 either nukes. And when those nukes go off, you need AK-47 to stay alive.
Ubiquity and fault tolerance.
The weapon is everywhere in the world and can fire under conditions that many rifles would not operate under.
It is not terribly accurate, but lots of people have died from them.
/johnny
I know next to nothing about guns and would like to know what set this gun apart from others. Thank you.
That basic concept isn’t new, but the way he did it made for a VERY simple and relatively inexpensive design that is remarkably reliable and abuse tolerant. The design can be used in a wide variety of situations from rifle rounds to shotgun shells.
It’s not the most accurate design, but it works for a lot of situations.
I will wait for the later posts positing that he wasn’t the original designer.
Russian engineering.
The AK was best described by Col Hackworth in “About Face”. In comparison with what was then dubbed the “Matty Matell” and is now calkled the AR-15, the AK-47 is far more reliable, works when the trigger is pulled pretty much regardless of cleaning, mud, sand, ice, whatever.
The AK-47 ansl originally came chambered in the 7.62X39, not the .223 the AR-15 fired. The 7.62X39 gave the ability to penitrate cover far better than the .223 which was originally a varmint gun caliber(think woodchuck), or as Hackworth put it “if only America’s enemies were all about three feet tall.”
With the return of the skilled rifleman/sniper to teh military planning room, it is interesting to note that the battle rifle cartridge(.308, and larger) may return due to the range/penetration it offers.
PS The AK-47 was derived from an earlier German weapon, but that is another story.
The fact you could stamp it out of sheet metal for less than $3 and that 100 million+ of them are floating around comes to mind...
“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.
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.
It shoots EVERY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just go to the range and see some one shoot it. It is ugly, but it needs to. Its sinister lines and fire spitting flash deflector make it very intimidating. Get shot at by one and even your trusted 1911 gives you little confidence of winning the fight. It makes people quake. It is the perfect thug and tyrant weapon.
However it was inherently designed with range and accuracy limitations because the spetznaz were using long range Dragunov to shoot at deserters.
The robustness and reliability of the AK are palpable, you can feel it.