You can easily tell why the AK-47 is acknowledged as a weapon of choice for a lot of freedom fighters, soldiers, and hired guns – because of its ease of use, reliability, ruggedness, and how easy it is to operate under trying conditions. This shoulder weapon was created around a 7.62-mm round alongside a muzzle velocity of 700m per second. It came with a cyclic firing rate of 600 rounds in one minute and it can perform automatic and semiautomatic fire.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
It also features a long curved box magazine that contains 30 rounds, and a separate gas-return tube on top of the barrel that holds a piston that is forced back on firing to set the mechanisms that ejected the spent cartridge in motion, cocking the hammer of the rifle for the next round.
The Design of AK-47 Kalashnikov
The AK-47 Kalashnikov was built in two basic designs: that of the wooden stock and the other design, designated with a folding metal stock. The AKM is the modernized version fitted with cheaper mass-produced parts, and longer-range sights such as a forward grip, plywood buttstock, and stamped sheet-metal receiver.
In spite of their evident benefits, the Soviet Military considered both the AKM and AK-47 to have issues with accuracy owing to the recoil forces produced by the dominant 7.62-mm round and blowback that were produced by the heavy internal mechanisms of the weapons.
However, during the 1970s, those problems were partly solved as the AKM was substituted for AK-74, which modified the fundamental Kalashnikov design to a lesser 5.45-mm round with an elevated muzzle velocity of 900 meters per second. Today, the main infantry weapon of the Russian army is AK-74M, the most recent version of the AK-74.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Why the AK-47 Kalashnikov Is A Reliable Rifle
The AK-47 Kalashnikov is an invention that really changed the world because this assault rifle is among the most dangerous and widely used weapons of the world owing to its aesthetic design. Soldiers, gangsters, rebels, and nations have wielded this gun for more than 60 years.
The AK-47 Kalashnikov is a reliable rifle due to the following reasons:
1. The Chamber and Ammunition Design
The chamber and ammunition of AK-47 discussion would not be complete without making mention that the Kalashnikov was an all-chromed rifle from the beginning, having barrel, chrome-lined chamber, oprod, and piston, as well as the entire bolt carrier in some models. In areas with high moisture levels like Indochina or Russia, chroming is crucial.
The most important parts of Kalashnikovs were hard-chromed from the outset and this contributed to its reputation and reliability tremendously.
2. The Humble Spring Design
Perhaps the humble springs are the most ignored essential element of firearms engineering. For modern firearms driven by the power of the round, the springs make the whole weapon function effectively. The AK-47 features solid springs that make the rifle effective.
The springs of AK -47 Kalashnikovs rifles are made to give more than enough, constant power all through their strokes. This is accomplished by making sure that the springs are never fully extended or full compressed in the course of usual operation of the firearm. For instance, the action spring of the AK-47 doesn’t compress totally, but the bolt group bottoms out against the back of the receiver instead.
3. The Fire Control Group Design
AK-47 Kalashnikov makes use of Browning double-hook trigger system dated back to the ancient Auto-5 shotgun. This undemanding, dependable trigger design is the automatic sear and rate reducer of Kalashnikov, which lets different modes of fire control happen from a single lever, and decreases the automatic fire rate to around 700 rounds per minute.
The Recoil of AK-47
AK-47 Kalashnikov rifle fires 7.62 x 39 rounds, with recoil of 6.9 ft lbs. The recoil for.223 is about 3ft lbs while .243 has recoil of around 7.2 ft lbs. Soldiers armed with the AK-47 are very deadly, if they have the right mind-set; practice, and training. Under automatic or rapid fire, the AK-47 moves around and seems to pull up and a bit right. With this rifle, it will take 20 to 30 shots before you will start feeling it on your shoulder. It begins to sting a bit after a while, even though there is not too much recoil.
Article by: Josh Montgomery
Josh Montgomery comes from Davenport in Iowa, where you can find him doing target practice on a specialized gun course he helped put together, tinkering around the workshop and taking care of his labradors Charles and Nancy along with his exceptional wife. Currently runs a blog at http://www.minutemanreview.com/.
