AR or AK ???? **** it after taxes are back Im getting both. I shot an WASR ak47 this weekend and I am in love. Makes my sks feel very crappy and heavy. I havent shot an AR yet but Im the guy that wants rails,lights, and lasers. Unless its an AK because the wood look is very nice. I think if you have both you cant go wrong.
If the AR platform was as unreliable as people make it out to be, I highly doubt it would be issued as it is. I would think the military would take another look or possibly even have ditched it after Vietnam War. But, I am not military and only know a handful of people that are in or ex-military. So I cannot comment on its reliablity from personal experience. I would really enjoy the AK 74 but the ammunition is just not as available as I would like it to be.
I agree, I have no issues with AR as a target rifle.
Things just aren't not that simple. Politics are everywhere and Defensive contracts are more complex than most people can even begin to comprehend. Best is not always picked and there are just some many variables that play a role in a contract selection. By 2013 a new battle rifle will be chosen. It's hard to say which rifle will be the ultimate winner, and what type of politics will come into play. But IMO its safe to say that the next rifle will not be a direct impingement action. If that happens a lot of folks will move on from there DI ARs, to the new rifle.
I would really much prefer to have a FN SCAR, but those are so expensive. I would expect a new battle rifle to have a gas piston drive system. Who knows, I owned both an AK and an AR and I cannot say that I had either of them for HD, SD or SHTF. They were both very nice range toys though. I sure wish I could convert a Saiga on my own other than that CAI seems to dominate the AK market.
I have two AKs, and two ARs. This will cause me to get another AR, so when I get this AK, the two ARs I already have won't get mad. So now I need TWO new rifles. Thanks a lot.
Thats awsome. Makes no sense, and I love it.
I switched from AK to AR fan...
I own and enjoy both and think they both have merit. With that said, when they talk about "improving the AR" they generally always try to make it function as an AK not to mention all of the new wonder calibers they keep coming up with "Mimic 7.62x39" ballistics. The AK is simply a dirt eating, abuse taking, cheap to build weapon, simple as that. If I needed to shoot something at several hundred yards the AR would be what I reached for. If masked marauders were storming my neighborhood (sorry I may be the worst speller in recorded history) I would grab the AK.
Anyone who thinks that an AR cannot be ridden hard has never ridden one hard. A quality AR (not one built out of cheap POS parts) will run and run and run without much cleaning, just a little lube. Here are some pics of an AR after 15,000 rounds of Wolf ammo (which is some pretty dirty stuff) with NO CLEANING, just some lube shot in it every 1000rds.
I am not bashing the AK as I think it is an excellent gun as well, but please don't give reasons for the AR's "inferiority" that are not true.
Also, go read the article about the BCM AR that they called "Filthy 14" if you want to see how well a good AR will run with minimum maintenance.
http://www.slip2000.com/art-swat2.html
Here as an excert from the article:
As of this writing, EAG students have 31,165 rounds downrange through Filthy 14. During this evaluation period, it was cleaned once (as in one time), at 26,245 rounds. The end result is that Rack #14 was-and remains-filthy. It is filthy because it has been shot at class. Only at class. Every round that has gone down that barrel has been fired at class, with an average of approximately 1,300 rounds every three days. It has been lubed generously with Slip 2000 Enhanced Weapons Lube (EWL).
The combination of carbon and lube create (wait for it)…filth. It is so dirty that, while sitting in the rifle rack, it is almost a biohazard. The filth oozes out and contaminates other carbines adjacent to it.
But it is still shooting-and shooting well.
