Kalashnikov assault rifle designer dead at 94

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Russ Walling

Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 23, 2013 - 12:25pm PT
RIP bro!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-23/mikhail-kalashnikov-whose-ak-47-fuels-war-worldwide-dies-at-94.html
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Dec 23, 2013 - 12:29pm PT
They are scarry things to stare down the barrel of, as opposed to all those
less scarry guns. Word on the street in the Panjshir Valley is that the
going rate is now $1400-1500, up from $1000 only a couple of years ago. The
Chicago Merc is missing out on a great futures market.
Gary

Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
Dec 23, 2013 - 01:07pm PT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Mozambique
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Dec 23, 2013 - 01:21pm PT
Kalashnikov's name is assured for the rifle, but this is what I like him for.
http://www.medstrains.com/strains/ak-47/
apogee

climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
Dec 23, 2013 - 01:29pm PT
What was that noise?

Sounded like an intruder!!!!???? (Or was it a tube of biscuit dough?)

Get yer AK, Ron...there's work to be done!
Eclipze

Trad climber
Morris Plains / Givat Haim Ichud Israel
Dec 23, 2013 - 01:39pm PT
Too erratic for my tastes. I prefer a Tavor or M4 Short. But definitely the most influential firearm since the colt.
Toker Villain

Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
Dec 23, 2013 - 01:51pm PT
Yeah, cartridge not very accurate at medium range and useless at a distance, but the most reliable battle rifle ever made.

MK didn't make money on the gun because he worked for the State as a designer, but he enjoyed many perks and great status as a hero of the Soviet Union.
I think he even got to meet Garand once.

Amazing he lived so long, probably pickled in vodka.
Toker Villain

Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
Dec 23, 2013 - 03:23pm PT
Very interesting program on the military channel about the AK47.

Hitler initially forbade the mass production of the sturmgewer, but changed his mind after shooting one.

It wasn't long before a Russian designer took its principles, along with the idea of loose fitting parts for reliability, to create the single weapon with the highest body count of any firearm.
Gary

Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
Dec 23, 2013 - 03:28pm PT
to create the single weapon with the highest body count of any firearm.

How admirable.
Toker Villain

Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
Dec 23, 2013 - 03:38pm PT
Don't blame the player, blame the game.
c_vultaggio

Trad climber
new york
Dec 23, 2013 - 03:47pm PT
I remember reading somewhere a while back that Kalishnikov said he deeply regretted inventing AK57. Can't imagine the weight something like that bears, knowing that your creation, when used correctly, has taken an uncountable number of lives.
Toker Villain

Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
Dec 23, 2013 - 04:10pm PT
I don't think that is correct.

I know that Garand and Browning saw themselves as helping the good guys.
And we couldn't have beaten the Nazis without Russia.
It was that experience that Kalashnikov worked from.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Dec 23, 2013 - 04:34pm PT
Toker is correct, naturally, concerning the K-man's status in the Evil Empire.
Cash did one little good, to a point, in the Soviet Union. 'Blat', aka clout,
was where it was at. I'm sure he lived well.
Toker Villain

Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
Dec 23, 2013 - 05:32pm PT
Our current battle rifle had a start that paralleled the Sturgewer.

Eugene Stoner used his background in aviation design using composites and light alloys to produce a design that looked to many soldiers like a toy.
But when an Air Force officer was given a prototype to try out he liked it so much that they went into production for over 60K rifles for Air Force security personnel and the M16 was off and running.

With more than a half century of service it is now the longest serving rifle in American history.

More accurate, and more versatile than the AK47.


But still not as reliable.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Dec 23, 2013 - 05:45pm PT
Will you still need me,
Will you still FEED me,
When I'm ninety-four?
--A.K. Forty-Seven
little Z

Trad climber
un cafetal en Naranjo
Dec 23, 2013 - 05:57pm PT
Yeah, cartridge not very accurate at medium range and useless at a distance, but the most reliable battle rifle ever made.

so, that makes the scene in "The Hurt Locker" where the Iraqui sniper is shooting from like 400 yards with an AK-47 using steel sights and is picking off people left and right sort of bogus, correct?

EDIT: oops, I obviously don't know what I'm talking about. Saw a website devoted to "weapons depicted in Hurt Locker" (isn't the internet wonderful?) which set me straight. The following screne shot was what stuck in my mind...


and yeah, 1 to 1.5 miles is a bit more than 400 yards
pud

climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
Dec 23, 2013 - 06:32pm PT
His is definitely my weapon of choice should the SHTF.
Kalashnikov's original designs continue to provide quality firepower.
RIP !

pud

climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
Dec 23, 2013 - 06:47pm PT
so, that makes the scene in "The Hurt Locker" where the Iraqui sniper is shooting from like 400 yards with an AK-47 using steel sights and is picking off people left and right sort of bogus, correct?

The sniper you refer to in the film Hurt Locker uses a Romanian built FPK / PSL Sniper Rifle chambered in 7.62x54mm.
While this weapon is capable of doing the actions portrayed in the film it would take an incredible marksman and a lot of luck.

The house the sniper shoots from is suppose to be 1 to 1.5 miles away. The Barret .50 cal BMG the soilders are using would still put a hole in a wall from that distance. The FPK/PSL would not.
WBraun

climber
Dec 23, 2013 - 07:07pm PT
What makes this AK-47 such a reliable rifle?

It never jams with dirt and mud all over it?

It's rust proof?

What else?
pud

climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
Dec 23, 2013 - 07:17pm PT
The reliability actually comes from the fact that the tolerances are loose and the parts that make up the weapon are not as precision as say a high quality hunting rifle.
The downside is, when and if it does jam it is less likely it can be cleared quickly in the field.

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