From a young age I was aware of the contention between advocates of Ginger vs. Mary Ann, and the M16 vs. the AK-47. While thoroughly conversant in the minutiae of the former, I didn’t know the finer points of the latter debate until I read this article:
World’s Best Rifle? Russian AK-47 vs. U.S. M-16
nationalinterest.org | Dec. 11, 2020 | Fritz W. Ermarth…
Like the M16 and many other rifle arms since the early 1900s (and a few pistols, most notably Israel’s Desert Eagle), the AK-47 is gas operated. That means that the recycling of the action after a round is fired is not the product of the blowback of the fired round, as in most pistols and a few submachine guns like the old Thompson, but by the pressure of the hot, highly pressurized gas in the barrel of the newly expended round. Through a little port in the barrel, this highly pressurized gas can push back to operate the action and reload another round for fire, whether automatic or semiautomatic.
But there is a big difference between the Kalashnikovs and the M16 types. The former use a plunger-type action, essentially a rod whose front end captures the pressure of the round ignition, pushing the rod back to recycle the action. This is called a long-stroke gas piston. The latter use a hollow tube to return the gas pressure to the action to be recycled, which is called direct gas impingement. The AK-47 is more reliable in dirty conditions than the M16 variants, while the latter is more accurate in combat situations. Here’s why: the AK-47 design protects the action from contaminating powder debris. That way, it doesn’t foul up so quickly—but it has a long metal rod bobbing back and forth that interferes with accurate shooting. The gas action design of the M16s doesn’t have that long rod bouncing in the way, so it is more accurate in automatic or rapid-fire semiautomatic action. But it brings the polluted gas back to the action, and therefore fouls more easily than the AK-47. We’ve dealt with this problem for decades now, and we are still struggling with it.
Please excuse the fact that this is filed under the category “One-Shots.”
Long term combat, the AK is an easier rifle to keep clean. Long term meaning months of not cleaning the rifle. Short term, the AR is a more accurate weapon, causing more direct fire on the enemy to be devastatingly accurate resulting in more enemy casualties than the AK. This comes from First Hand Experience… drop the mag!
My experience with both rifles found me in the jungles of South America, the Panama Canal, and certain parts of Alaska. I was playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 but never you mind that little detail.
I found the M16 to be much more accurate, higher magazine capacity, but less powerful than the AK 47. I haven’t fired either in real life but never you mind that little detail.
love m series (AR) rifles! love, so accurate!!! shot them in the Philippines, amazing, being a civilian it was my first experience with one and I still remember it well! not a deer rifle
https://youtu.be/DX73uXs3xGU AK mud test
https://youtu.be/LyXndCxn9K4 M16 mud test
https://youtu.be/S5phNgZsaRg AK dust test
https://youtu.be/htE91fMUA-s M16 dust test
https://youtu.be/s5VeRsouKCU Shooting both under time pressure
I remember seeing a documentary once comparing the M16 and the AK47. The M16 parts were so precise that it constantly needed cleaning. The AK47 you could pretty much put it the mud, run over it with a truck and it would still work, but when firing the barrel would flex up and down.
I guess it was a trade off. Reliability vs accuracy.