Thread: Personal Firearms

The AK is as accurate as an AR in semi auto. The difference is seen with full auto guns where the recoil and designs make the AR easier to control and with that better accuracy.
As for bolt action guns they are generally considered more accurate. The Marine Corps M40A5 has outstanding accuracy capabilities

Originally Posted by Flatire67

The AK is as accurate as an AR in semi auto. The difference is seen with full auto guns where the recoil and designs make the AR easier to control and with that better accuracy.
As for bolt action guns they are generally considered more accurate. The Marine Corps M40A5 has outstanding accuracy capabilities

Out of curiosity, have you compared the AK74 with it's 5.45x39 round to M16 in full auto for accuracy and control-ability?

Bob

I was at a demo where they did a sxs comparison with the two but no I have not shot the AK in full auto.

I looked at the link....fascinating....I handloaded my .270 and felt pretty good about putting 5 shots in a pie plate at 300 yards......no training, figured out on my own to keep both eyes open.....I've been out of the gun world for so long it would take me some time to get my head around the optics necessary for these shots.....the caliber of the rounds I can grasp pretty easily.

Originally Posted by BobH

Haven't seen the movie but I'd bet dollars to donuts the opponent's rifle was a Dragunov SVD rifle which is probably no slouch in the accuracy department when used with the special sniping round made for it.

Rapid fire is not really a requirement for the "fantasy distances" that specialty 50 cal and 338 Lapua rifles are employed at. Bolt action rifles are probably still viewed as more reliable then an auto loader.

WRT "fantasy distances" Longest recorded sniper kills - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . These distances are mind boggling especially having shot 1000 yard matches but they are quite real.

Bob

In stock form, I do not think an AK is as accurate as most AR15's in semi auto. The AK has MUCH looser tolerances than the AR does. I had an AK-74 in 5.56NATO with a 1:7 twist chrome lined barrel and my Colt M4 was MUCH more accurate at all distances than the AK was. Yes, some versions were better than others accuracy wise and the newer AK's like the ones made in the US are tighter dimensionally. So an old AK, no. A newer, better fit AK, possibly to yes. But the run of the mil import AK's aren't going to be as accurate as most AR's, which also vary in accuracy, but on average from the ones I have seen/shot, are a bit more accurate than the average AK. The ammo will also make a difference, too. 7.62x39 isn't usually offered in match loadings and stuff like 5.56/.223 often is.

Originally Posted by BobH

Out of curiosity, have you compared the AK74 with it's 5.45x39 round to M16 in full auto for accuracy and control-ability?

Bob

On both counts I go M16, it just felt better than either the AK47 or AK74. IMHO the AR action is naturally more accurate than the Ak because of the tighter tolerances and the ballistics of the 5.56 round. That being said I've seen and owned a couple very accurate AK's (and I still kick myself every time I think about how I sold them). For a SHTF / Truck gun I vote AK47 every time. For a tack driver, or hunting I'll take the AR action.

Originally Posted by Flatire67

I was at a demo where they did a sxs comparison with the two but no I have not shot the AK in full auto.

There are two versions of the AK chambered in two different calibers. The classic AK47 which everyone knows and uses the 7.62X39 round and the newer AK74 which uses the 5.45X39 round. I was just wondering how the smaller round in the AK 74 compared to the 5.56 M16 round in full auto use. I don't doubt the AK47 with it's larger round woud not be as controllable as an M16 with the smaller 5.56 round.

Bob

Originally Posted by WW243

And why are sniper rifles still generally seen in a bolt action configuration?

As far as I understood the argument, bolt action is superior simply because there are less parts moving when the gun is fired.

The dragunov style rifle in the American Sniper movie was accurate for when it was developed...for a semi-automatic. That was in the late 60's and early 70's. The ballistics of the 7.62x54r are pretty close to the 30-06 or .308. Will it outshoot a modern ar-10 like my armalite? Not hardly, but it's still a 1.5 moa rifle all day long with the good ammo. I forget the nomenclature the match ammo is called. Would it be a viable weapon for urban warfare like it was being used, dang skippy. If I were over there I would take a dragunov over a m-4 in a heartbeat.

Originally Posted by GrimClippers

On both counts I go M16, it just felt better than either the AK47 or AK74. IMHO the AR action is naturally more accurate than the Ak because of the tighter tolerances and the ballistics of the 5.56 round. That being said I've seen and owned a couple very accurate AK's (and I still kick myself every time I think about how I sold them). For a SHTF / Truck gun I vote AK47 every time. For a tack driver, or hunting I'll take the AR action.

Thanks. I think I would vote for a more reliable easy to clean less finicky rifle over a slight edge in accuracy for most normal uses these rifles were designed for.

Bob