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Since I see many rifle aficionados here, I am going to sieze this opportunity and ask a question which has been vexing me since long. Is Kalashnikova the first

Since I see many rifle aficionados here, I am going to sieze this opportunity and ask a question which has been vexing me since long. Is Kalashnikova the first open source rifle in the world? Just like we have open source software where anyone can grab the code and start further enhancements on his own, it appears AK47 and other rifles of the Kalashnikova are open sourced, with many militias around the world able to either procure them or manufacture them on their own. Am I right in my proposed theory?

azernik 8y ago
It was not open sourced. It was produced and stockpiled in enormous quantities by state militaries, the Soviet Union tended to license the blueprints instead of shipping examples to its satellites, and then when all the assorted states using it collapsed they lost control of their stockpiles. A good book for the history of it is The Gun (https://www.amazon.com/Gun-C-J-Chivers/dp/0743271734 https://www.amazon.com/Gun-C-J-Chivers/dp/0743271734). Its essential point is that weapons of war are usually very durable goods, and outlive the geopolitical purposes for which they are produced and originally distributed. Kalashnikov-family rifles happen to have arrived in particularly unstable places. EDIT: Weapons built by local forces tend to be more... idiosyncratic. Though compatibility with AK ammunition is a desirable feature. https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/taliban-gun-locker-the-frankengun-of-wardak-province/ https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/taliban-gun-locke... Also, another example of this durability is the Humvees that have ended up in Syrian government hands after going through three different owners - US, Iraq, ISIS, Syria.
- NickNameNick 8y ago
  I highly recommend the C J Chivers book. The section near the middle that discusses the issues with early m-16 usage is particularly good, and relevant here.
  - azernik 8y ago
    Interestingly, he just wrote an article-length piece going into the same topics, but keying off of recent mass shootings instead: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/world/ak-47-mass-shootings.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/world/ak-47-mass-sh...
- openasocket 8y ago
  It is kind of crazy how weapons can long outlive the war they were made for, and sometimes even outlive the country that created them. My favorite example of this is that Syria was fighting Israel in the 1950s and 1960s with Panzer IV tanks and StuG III assault guns. And Israel at the time was using some (heavily modified) M4 Sherman tanks. It's a rather odd image, Shermans and Panzers still dueling on the battlefield 20 years after WWII.
  - azernik 8y ago
    Even crazier? The prevalence of British Lee-Enfields from the 30s and 40s in Taliban hands: https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/a-firsthand-look-at-firefights-in-marja/ https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/a-firsthand-look-... And Syrian rebels found and used a cache of mint-condition StG 44 rifles in 2012.
darkpuma 8y ago
The first open source rifles were doubtlessly the flintlocks (or perhaps matchlocks, but probably not wheel locks.) There were a few lock designs throughout history, but it was near enough to an industrial standard that could be produced by anybody who had the skill and startup funds. Locks were typically made by specialists, then bought in bulk by other gunsmiths who built the rest of the rifle to go with the lock.
dsfyu404ed 8y ago
>Is Kalashnikova the first open source rifle in the world? Eh. Kinda. The USSR spread that thing around the world. The platform isn't as friendly to modularity as the AR platform is. The AR was also specifically designed to be manufactured at scale by Soviet industry circa 1947. This resulted in a lot of design aspects that favor systems that do the job without requiring precision over precision manufacturing. Look up "shovel AK" and read the thread if you want to see how little the AK design cares about precision. So yes, it's "open source" but it doesn't embrace the modular philosophy that most open source software does. The AR platform was not originally open source but the patents have long since expired so it basically is. That's the difference with physical things, if they don't change they can only stay closed source so long.
- godelmachine 8y ago
  By AR, do you mean Assault Rifle?
philwelch 8y ago
It's not hard to take apart a rifle, see how it works, and build a replica. The Japanese did that with the M1 Garand, actually. So it's hard to see how "open source" is a very meaningful concept.

azernik 8y ago

It was not open sourced. It was produced and stockpiled in enormous quantities by state militaries, the Soviet Union tended to license the blueprints instead of shipping examples to its satellites, and then when all the assorted states using it collapsed they lost control of their stockpiles. A good book for the history of it is The Gun (https://www.amazon.com/Gun-C-J-Chivers/dp/0743271734 https://www.amazon.com/Gun-C-J-Chivers/dp/0743271734). Its essential point is that weapons of war are usually very durable goods, and outlive the geopolitical purposes for which they are produced and originally distributed. Kalashnikov-family rifles happen to have arrived in particularly unstable places. EDIT: Weapons built by local forces tend to be more... idiosyncratic. Though compatibility with AK ammunition is a desirable feature. https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/taliban-gun-locker-the-frankengun-of-wardak-province/ https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/taliban-gun-locke... Also, another example of this durability is the Humvees that have ended up in Syrian government hands after going through three different owners - US, Iraq, ISIS, Syria.

NickNameNick 8y ago
I highly recommend the C J Chivers book. The section near the middle that discusses the issues with early m-16 usage is particularly good, and relevant here.
- azernik 8y ago
  Interestingly, he just wrote an article-length piece going into the same topics, but keying off of recent mass shootings instead: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/world/ak-47-mass-shootings.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/world/ak-47-mass-sh...
openasocket 8y ago
It is kind of crazy how weapons can long outlive the war they were made for, and sometimes even outlive the country that created them. My favorite example of this is that Syria was fighting Israel in the 1950s and 1960s with Panzer IV tanks and StuG III assault guns. And Israel at the time was using some (heavily modified) M4 Sherman tanks. It's a rather odd image, Shermans and Panzers still dueling on the battlefield 20 years after WWII.
- azernik 8y ago
  Even crazier? The prevalence of British Lee-Enfields from the 30s and 40s in Taliban hands: https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/a-firsthand-look-at-firefights-in-marja/ https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/a-firsthand-look-... And Syrian rebels found and used a cache of mint-condition StG 44 rifles in 2012.

darkpuma 8y ago

The first open source rifles were doubtlessly the flintlocks (or perhaps matchlocks, but probably not wheel locks.) There were a few lock designs throughout history, but it was near enough to an industrial standard that could be produced by anybody who had the skill and startup funds. Locks were typically made by specialists, then bought in bulk by other gunsmiths who built the rest of the rifle to go with the lock.

dsfyu404ed 8y ago

>Is Kalashnikova the first open source rifle in the world? Eh. Kinda. The USSR spread that thing around the world. The platform isn't as friendly to modularity as the AR platform is. The AR was also specifically designed to be manufactured at scale by Soviet industry circa 1947. This resulted in a lot of design aspects that favor systems that do the job without requiring precision over precision manufacturing. Look up "shovel AK" and read the thread if you want to see how little the AK design cares about precision. So yes, it's "open source" but it doesn't embrace the modular philosophy that most open source software does. The AR platform was not originally open source but the patents have long since expired so it basically is. That's the difference with physical things, if they don't change they can only stay closed source so long.

godelmachine 8y ago
By AR, do you mean Assault Rifle?

philwelch 8y ago

It's not hard to take apart a rifle, see how it works, and build a replica. The Japanese did that with the M1 Garand, actually. So it's hard to see how "open source" is a very meaningful concept.