The first thing I want to say is it was great to meet everyone and it was nice to put faces (and real names) with screen names. We had a great group of guys that made the class all that much better. We had everything from LEOs to Military to newbies to knowledgeable AK experts. Clearly a diverse group but there was one thing everyone could agree on; AKs have character, history, and are able to perform far better than some internet celebrities give them credit for.
The majority of us ran 7.62 variants but a few 5.45 and a 5.56 were there as well. I saw everything from Bulgarians, Polish, Yugos, Romys, and some Russian stuff. I think a majority of the major AK builders were represented as well; Chris Bulter (my SLR-107CR), Ted Marshall, Krebs, Mario from Piece of History and I’m sure a few more that I’m forgetting. The bottom line is we were able to see and share bunch of different AKs including two very slick VZ-58s! This AK class was different from all the AR classes that I’ve taken in that there was a lot of history being shared in addition to the shooting that was being taught. We didn’t just learn about how to operator or care for the AK we learned about the origins and the different designs and how they came about. These things have a lot of character and make my AR-15s seem kinds of sterile.
As far as drills go we covered everything from trigger control 101 (which I apparently failed) to malfunction drills (yes even AKs malfunction) to shooting on the move and transitions. We did most of our work between 15-50 yards and too be honest I don’t think I did any worse than I’ve done in other carbine classes running my AR with optics and all the bells and whistles. Larry’s emphasis on accuracy is the reason why.
I did okay on the drills for not having much AK trigger time and for not getting much range time over the past couple years. I would benefit greatly from taking Larry’s Pistol I class and I plan to do just that in September. I sucked ass shooting as a lefty so I’ll have to practice that and I definitely need a boat load of shooting while moving practice. I did manage to win one of the drills and as such won 20 rounds with the MP43 (see below).
I ran my new SLR-107CR than just returned from Chris Bulter at ak-103.com the day before. This is considered a modern AK and sports a 12.5” barrel, a mid-length gas system and a side folding butt stock. I ran iron sights but after seeing several AKs with the Aimpoint T1 I think I’ll give one a try. TheKatar was kind enough to let me test drive his AK-102 which is the same thing as my 107CR but in 5.45 and it’s a slick setup. Using an Ultimak rail, a T1 and a Surefire in one of the new VLTOR light mounts I’d have a modern AK that would be perfectly suited for a primary defense weapon. And I think that’s what it will become! You can run these things hard and do everything with them that you can an AR. They do some things better and they do some things worse but they fast becoming my favorite long gun.
One of the big highlights of the class was when we all got to test drive a Sturmgewehr (MP43). I think everyone enjoyed it and a big thank you goes out to Larry for letting everyone try it. It’s a piece of history and given the fact that it’s 60+ years old it runs like a champ.
The only thing I wasn’t too happy about at the start of the class was the two-stage trigger in my 107. But by lunch time I was used to it and it wasn’t an issue for the rest of the course.
I learned that the AK platform is a very capable platform provided the shooter does his job. It has a ton of history that made me appreciate it even more than before I took the class. I’ll be taking the next AK class but between now and then I’ll be practicing what I learned.
Thanks to Larry, the AI, va_dinger, Templar and all the guys in the class. I had a great time and learned a ton!
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Originally Posted by m4fun
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