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AK-47 is the simplest automatic weapon that I've seen. When I was in high-school I could take it apart in 7-8 seconds. It's simplicity and reliability are remar

by TY 16y ago

AK-47 is the simplest automatic weapon that I've seen. When I was in high-school I could take it apart in 7-8 seconds. It's simplicity and reliability are remarkably astounding.

philwelch 16y ago
You took apart AK-47's in high school?
- tfh 16y ago
  I think he meant Al Qaeda High School.
- iuytguyhj 16y ago
  Los Angeles public school ?
- TY 16y ago
  When Soviet Union still existed, we had weekly "civil defence" classes where we were taught a number of interesting things such as what to do in case of a nuclear attack, why we will win the war and what to do with the weapons (boys) or how to cater for the wounded (girls). Disassembly/assembly of AK47 was one of routine exercises, we even had competitions on who could do it the fastest. Those were mandatory classes, just like regular subjects (math, physics and etc) with the exams and grades counting towards your equivalent of GPA. Some schools had after hours clubs where those who were interested could learn more. I liked those classes a lot, because we got to shoot some weapons (mostly air guns, but sometimes small caliber rifles) for free. The teacher was a retired sergeant who taught us sharpshooting even though his eyesight was so poor that he had to wear two pairs of glasses, one on top of another. True story...
  - philwelch 16y ago
    This is pretty interesting. Where was this? The teacher was a retired sergeant who taught us sharpshooting even though his eyesight was so poor that he had to wear two pairs of glasses, one on top of another. True story... Ha, sounds like my dad. He used to coach the local junior rifle team. Retired Marine and old enough his eyes got tired after taking one or two shots, but a very good coach.
    - rimantas 16y ago
      This is pretty interesting. Where was this? Across the USSR. Lithuania was a part of it during my school years (except for the last couple of months, Lithuania proclaimed renewed independence in March 1990, I graduated in June) and we had this course too. We even had two-weeks of kind of military camp after the 10th grade.
- VladRussian 16y ago
  Like TY said it was standard practice. It is 21 or 22 seconds total to take apart and build it back to get a "pass" grade.
varjag 16y ago
There are numerous simpler automatic weapons. British Stan, Soivet ППШ/ППС, Israel Uzi etc.
- gchpaco 16y ago
  Simpler, yes, but of the ones you cite I think only the Uzi has comparable reliability. It has been said to me that an unlettered village blacksmith could manufacture most replacement parts for an AK, and it is certainly true that bits that would be carefully machined in any other gun (such as the receiver) were stamped metal on the AK. The gun is even fairly accurate per se, although the sights are primitive and probably the source of the "AKs are horribly inaccurate" meme.
  - varjag 16y ago
    A lot of that is exaggerated lore of course. Blacksmith would not be able to make any substantial replacement part for AK.. maybe fix a rivet or two, replace a spring, but that's about it. Stamped receiver is not really an issue if you can attain stamping with required precision - which most manufacturers can't do economically, at least not when batches are in ballpark of mere tens of thousands. The earliest attempt at stamping it for original AK failed, so they had to do with milled part for a few years, until the engineers managed to set up reliable stamping. Anyway, the receiver is not that critical part in the weapon, compared to the quality of chamber, barrel and other gas-operated parts. The tolerances there are unattainable by an average machinist shop. The bad rep for accuracy you mention is probably a mix of many factors. The vast majority of it's operators are incompetent shooters. The accuracy gets much worse as the weapon wears through: it might still function perfect after 50 years of use, but it is long past its prime and could have been never properly serviced. Add to that that majority of AKs out there are not really AKs but Chinese-produced Type-56, or Bulgarian, or Iranian etc. clones, and it's no wonder.
    - ajays 16y ago
      In the Pakistani northwest, there are towns which specialize in making knockoffs of guns. See, for example, Dera Adam Khel. There blacksmiths, using very primitive techniques, make duplicates of AK47s all the time. I think you underestimate the resourcefulness of a village blacksmith.

by TY 16y ago

AK-47 is the simplest automatic weapon that I've seen. When I was in high-school I could take it apart in 7-8 seconds. It's simplicity and reliability are remarkably astounding.

philwelch 16y ago

You took apart AK-47's in high school?

tfh 16y ago
I think he meant Al Qaeda High School.
iuytguyhj 16y ago
Los Angeles public school ?
TY 16y ago
When Soviet Union still existed, we had weekly "civil defence" classes where we were taught a number of interesting things such as what to do in case of a nuclear attack, why we will win the war and what to do with the weapons (boys) or how to cater for the wounded (girls). Disassembly/assembly of AK47 was one of routine exercises, we even had competitions on who could do it the fastest. Those were mandatory classes, just like regular subjects (math, physics and etc) with the exams and grades counting towards your equivalent of GPA. Some schools had after hours clubs where those who were interested could learn more. I liked those classes a lot, because we got to shoot some weapons (mostly air guns, but sometimes small caliber rifles) for free. The teacher was a retired sergeant who taught us sharpshooting even though his eyesight was so poor that he had to wear two pairs of glasses, one on top of another. True story...
- philwelch 16y ago
  This is pretty interesting. Where was this? The teacher was a retired sergeant who taught us sharpshooting even though his eyesight was so poor that he had to wear two pairs of glasses, one on top of another. True story... Ha, sounds like my dad. He used to coach the local junior rifle team. Retired Marine and old enough his eyes got tired after taking one or two shots, but a very good coach.
  - rimantas 16y ago
    This is pretty interesting. Where was this? Across the USSR. Lithuania was a part of it during my school years (except for the last couple of months, Lithuania proclaimed renewed independence in March 1990, I graduated in June) and we had this course too. We even had two-weeks of kind of military camp after the 10th grade.
VladRussian 16y ago
Like TY said it was standard practice. It is 21 or 22 seconds total to take apart and build it back to get a "pass" grade.

varjag 16y ago

There are numerous simpler automatic weapons. British Stan, Soivet ППШ/ППС, Israel Uzi etc.

gchpaco 16y ago
Simpler, yes, but of the ones you cite I think only the Uzi has comparable reliability. It has been said to me that an unlettered village blacksmith could manufacture most replacement parts for an AK, and it is certainly true that bits that would be carefully machined in any other gun (such as the receiver) were stamped metal on the AK. The gun is even fairly accurate per se, although the sights are primitive and probably the source of the "AKs are horribly inaccurate" meme.
- varjag 16y ago
  A lot of that is exaggerated lore of course. Blacksmith would not be able to make any substantial replacement part for AK.. maybe fix a rivet or two, replace a spring, but that's about it. Stamped receiver is not really an issue if you can attain stamping with required precision - which most manufacturers can't do economically, at least not when batches are in ballpark of mere tens of thousands. The earliest attempt at stamping it for original AK failed, so they had to do with milled part for a few years, until the engineers managed to set up reliable stamping. Anyway, the receiver is not that critical part in the weapon, compared to the quality of chamber, barrel and other gas-operated parts. The tolerances there are unattainable by an average machinist shop. The bad rep for accuracy you mention is probably a mix of many factors. The vast majority of it's operators are incompetent shooters. The accuracy gets much worse as the weapon wears through: it might still function perfect after 50 years of use, but it is long past its prime and could have been never properly serviced. Add to that that majority of AKs out there are not really AKs but Chinese-produced Type-56, or Bulgarian, or Iranian etc. clones, and it's no wonder.
  - ajays 16y ago
    In the Pakistani northwest, there are towns which specialize in making knockoffs of guns. See, for example, Dera Adam Khel. There blacksmiths, using very primitive techniques, make duplicates of AK47s all the time. I think you underestimate the resourcefulness of a village blacksmith.