Kalashnikov hospitalized
Defense News reports that Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of the Kalashnikov rifle, known popularly as the AK-47, is in the hospital;
The 93-year-old father of the AK-47 has been having heart problems and feeling poorly since March, when he stopped showing up for work, his aide told the RIA Novosti news agency.
“When I visited him at home last week, he told me that nothing seemed to hurt, but that he simply had no strength left,” his assistant, Nikolai Shklyayev, was quoted as saying.
“It seems that this is just his age showing,” Shklyayev said.
Really? He’s a little bit tired after working all of his life, outliving the Soviet Union.
I’ve never been a big fan of the AK-series. They’re dependable and I guess that’s all you need when you’re arming some third world shithole to kill each other. I’m sure there are some fans out there, but I’m not one, being an American who appreciates marksmanship over spray and pray.
Category: Guns
2 great myths: AK’s are not accurate and AR’s are not reliable. The AK was the perfect rifle for Soviet infantry tactics, especially when supported by a designated marksman. But don’t for a second think that the AK can’t provide minute of man accuracy within it’s effective range with a trained user exercising the basics.
Not a big fan of them either, you know after having been on the receiving end. Big fan of spray and pray though.
“outliving the Soviet Union.” Good line.
I used one only rarely, so I can’t say much about accuracy. But that is a rifle that can take a lickin and keep on tickin. What’s more, it is a design that is even better when adapted into other rifles. I started my infantry service with the Galil, which is essentially a Kalash adapted in improved into a 5.56 infantry weapon. Like the Kalash, it may have been heavy – but it was indestructible. Also, field stripping and cleaning or repairing a Kalash or Galil is really simple. All large parts, so nothing gets lost in the sand. The AK-47 is a durable, reliable design.
It’s a volume of fire weapon by design. You can get about 300 yards out of the standard model, 400 if you know what you’re doing with it. It’s only effective accuracy wise based on the belief that most firefights take place at distances of 300 yards or less.
A good mind, but in reality the AK47 is just a rip off of the Sturmgeweher44 (however the hell it’s spelled).
In a weird way I respect the man, but I despise the weapon. I always joke with people that I won’t sully my hands by firing one.
Actually, he only took the gas system of the Sturmgewehr, mated it up with the bolt of a Garand, a Tokarev-inspired magazine, and his own trigger group to produce the AK. The SKS was the direct mechanical copy of the MP/StG44 (just dumbed down a bit with the fixed magazine and lack of select-fire capability. The AK only looks superficially more like it.
As a great big What If, just think in an alternate timeline, if Kalashnikov had been able to work with Ruger, the weapons that they could have produced. . . . . .
or Browning…. God love ‘im
My father was born in Berlin. He got married on Karl Doenitz’ 60th birthday. But he named me Michael Timothy just like Kalashnikov.