Because of this, I am sure the information contained in thois work will never be totlaly complete or accurate, from the moment it is published, and therefore I wish to apologize for any errors or ommitions you might find in the following text. However, this document will never be complete since it's purpose is to continuously gather information as it is discovered, for the purpose of sharing with others who share our mutual interest and respect for the firearm, the history and the men behind them. Much of the earliest information was gathered through years of multiple conversations in the early 1990's among a great many early Kalashnikov collectors and enthusiasts, to which we owe a huge debt of thanks. At the time the project was started, there were no books to be found on the subject that covered this area of firearms research in such great detail. For the most part, it is solely based on original research and painstaking comparative study. Also, the weapon's selector - the switch that allows its user to shift it from safety to automatic to semiautomatic - is located in a less-than-ideal spot for quick action.īut Rosvooruzheniye, Russia's arms export agency, says that its AKs will remain "second to none" for at least the next quarter-century.This research paper is an ongoing project and is based on an original draft compiled and developed by Ekie. While it shoots a more powerful bullet - a 30-caliber compared with the M-16's 22-caliber - it has a harder recoil on the shoulder. The AK is also heavier, 9.5 pounds, compared with 8-8.5 pounds for the M-16, an important consideration for soldiers on the march. To change the AK's sights, a tool is necessary, while adjustments to the M-16 can be made by finger. The Kalashnikov is accurate to about 300 meters, compared to 550 meters for the M-16. "It's better than theirs, and it's one-fourth the price."įor all its trustworthiness and popularity, the AK has its flaws. "Get the American forces to adopt my rifle," Cummings quotes Kalashnikov as saying. Two years ago, Kalashnikov tried to get the Pentagon interested in his rifle, according to Samuel Cummings, president of InterArms, an importer-wholesaler of sporting firearms. But he was lucky the bullet spun around his body, nicking a rib and burning across his back. As he was patrolling in Vietnam's Que Son mountains in August 1970, an AK round struck his flak jacket.
"Having been shot with one, I know," he says. Most states have additional fees or limitations.Ītwater can testify to the AK's ubiquitous and sturdy nature. Kalashnikovs and other automatic weapons can be legally sold only if they were first registered before 1986, and only after an FBI background check and a $200 fee to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. In the United States, it's difficult to buy one legally. Part of the way you prove your manhood over there is the weapon you carry."Īn AK can be purchased in many countries for less than the FTC price of a good meal. "User-friendly," says Ted Bliss, a retired Marine major who saw many AKs in the hands of the Kurds north of Baghdad during patrols in 1991. He has an AK-47 that was presented to him by the Afghan mujahedeen who routed the Soviets at the battle of Kandahar.
"It's a very low-tech, high-impact weapon," says Richard Armitage, a Vietnam combat veteran and former assistant secretary of defense. "If I were dropped in a jungle with no warning," Wicklund says, "I'd want a Kalashnikov." In Mozambique, the national flag has fields of yellow, black, red and green and a crest with the silhouette of an AK-47. Muammar el Kadafi, the Libyan leader, urged each of his countrymen to buy a Kalashnikov as a defense against a possible U.S. Over time, the AK-47 rose above its use as a weapon to become a symbol of defiance and liberation.
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