Member RetreatHell took this vid at a Vickers Tactical class he attended.
Only one AK guy in the class, performing a walk back drill.
I think a lot of the AK’s reputation for inaccuracy comes from the crappy iron sights. Toss a red dot on it, and it works just fine. The Russians made reasonably accurate stuff for years. When “Enemy at the Gates” hit theaters, a lot of people at my local club had a ‘WWII day’ at the range. LAV brought a '91/30 Mosin with a 4x PU optic on it, just like what was used in the film. It consistently shot 2MOA or so with crappy Chinese surplus ball. Documentation has turned up where the Germans in WWII consistently complained that their Mausers weren’t as accurate as the Mosins.
I think the student’s observation was right on the money: M4s are more reliable than people think, and AKs are more accurate than people think.
Thanks for the link!!!
Lack of training, poor maintenence, and not having a tool to adjust the zero on the AK helps contribute to the realities of poor accuracy.
Zero your sights, maintain the bore, and train, and you won’t have any issue hitting your target with a Kalashnikov.
The one time I shot an AK, I was impressed with its accuracy at 100 yards. It was easy to ring a 12X12 gong offhand.
My problem with AKs isn’t exactly the accuracy, it’s the the crappy sights and uncomfortable grip.
I don’t like the short length of pull. The gun gives you the sensation that the receiver cover is going to smack you in the face.
Longer stocks help some on fixed stock models, but I still flinch occasionally.
I’ll keep my two sidefolders for the end of the world, but they are not fun to shoot.
Also, isn’t it true that another reason why people here think the AK is shitty and inaccurate because they most often encounter CAI grade cheap stuff made from used parts kits?
It has a lot to do with the Kalashnikov being primarily “the enemy’s weapon” since the Cold War and Vietnam. Again, lack of training has a lot to do with inaccuracy. When some indig runs the rear sight of his AKM all the way up to 1000 because, obviously, it makes the bullet hit harder, you get poor marksmanship.
Maintenance, or the lack there of, in the Middle East and other Third World areas also means that when US troops encounter most AK’s, they’re already beat to shit.
There are obviously exceptions. KevinB, among others, posted about finding crates of unissued Russian and Bulgarian AK’s in Iraq, which were then put to good use.
There’s more than a little chauvinism shown to the weapons and tactics of the enemy vs. the tools we use, and for good reason but people sometimes confuse the quality of the tools with the quality of the users.
Many people who don’t have any first hand experience with a quality AK tend to repeat what they’ve been told over the years, or what they’ve read on the 'net. Hell, I guarantee you that you could find some Vietnam era vets, who believe that the VC could use 7.62 NATO that they stole from us out of their AK’s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-noya_t-7R0
Different grips have come out for the AK, just like the AR.
The sights are no more “crappy” than the ones on your handgun or on any number of iron sighted rifles. Though sights are a personal preference to some degree, there’s always the options of optics.
It’s perfectly fine to prefer one rifle over another, but I assure you, the AK design is not crappy at all.
Eh, maybe I should have said the sights are poorly positioned for my taste. I’ve not tried any after-market grips so I can’t speak to the comfort of those.
I think its the poorly made ak’s all around, not just CAI. The first AK I ever fired was a wasr10. I was comparing it to sks’s before I purchased either one. I shot it and swore off ak’s. Luckly a week or two later a friend convinced me to try again with his home built yugo. Im glad he did because it was a night and day difference. Whoever thinks ak’s are all the same thing is crazy.
I replace all my AK rifle grips with either the Hogue or the US Palm/Tango Down grips. As for sights, there are a lot of options to bring them up to satisfy most anyone. I keep mine stock.
A lot of folks prefer the shorter Warsaw length stock because they can square up on the rifle better. Recent trends with “stubby” A2 stocks and telescoping stock on the AR. Even on shotguns Hogue and Speedfeed make “youth/ladies” LOP stocks that are prefered to acheive better handling of the long arm.
This is true. I have an SGL21 that I just got and it’s almost easy to get hits on 8x8 steel at 100 yds with it. With slow, patient shots it’s a 100% hit rate, standing off hand. With more rapid shots the hit rate drops off obviously. Still, this is with a completely stock Russian AK shooting Wolf 7.62x39.
Towards the bottom end of the spectrum I still have an old WASR-2 that shoots just as accurately. I think the 5.45 cartridge is generally more accurate for me, but this is a bottom-of-the-barrel gun and the practical accuracy is just fine.
The common theme here is they have the original barrels on them. For me the US made barrels on some of the AK’s I’ve owned haven’t been nearly as accurate.
My most accurate AK is my CAI Yugo with GM barrel. 10 rounds into 1.5" at 50 with my old eyes, and regular sights. But, My SA85 is no slouch, and it will last a lifetime or two.
I LIKE the AK grip and hand position better than an AR. Sights vary. My old eyes do better with my SA85 than my SAR-1. Amazing what a tiny bit of attention to detail does to sight surfaces.
Further, the peep close to the face on the AR is better and the trigger is better. this makes a difference.
I’ve grown more comfortable with the practical accuracy of 7.62 AK now. 5.56 would be nice.
I think the average guy at SHTF distances is well served by the AK.
I’m shocked by all of this.
Great video. I was in that class, and more impressive to me, than the walkback drill was the guys shot pattern on the box drill. Tight groups and controlled pairs from a 7.62…made me feel like a puthyboy with my comp’d / midlength’d, A5’d 5.56. Just goes to reinforce that software is the most important factor; which is what this forum pushes and why I like it so much.
Vickers also said in that class that Hackathorn has said the more he understands about a fighting rifle, the more he favors the AK.
I find the sights on an AK to be pretty fast and accurate.
Anyone can shoot an AK… Just not well…
