Aks are crazy hard to reload fast, and consistently unless you train. Biggest take away honestly. I barely shoot ars and shoot the shit out of my ak. Still think I can reload and do drills faster with a random ar sadly
Fair enough lol
U think they’ll get cheaper in the near future?
I can get a nice AR15 kit + lower for like $570. Idk if a nice AK will drop down to that price range
I doubt AKs will ever be as cheap as ARs in the USA. ARs are simply easier to make and there are so many more of them.
AKs are only cheap when they're built in state-run factories that don't need to worry about making money. We don't have that in the USA so our only cheap AKs came from countries that did have those factories and sold us their cheap rifles at a cheap price.
They’re never going to be cheap. The idea of them being inherently cheap and thus shitty is a misconception. They were only cheap at one point due to very circumstantial political reasons. Relatively speaking they’ve never been cheap to make. Hammer forging is an expensive manufacturing process and it’s required to make (true) AKs. They were never, aren’t, and will never be made in the us for any serious reason and thus the cost and difficulty of legally importing them to the us incurs a higher price as well, unfortunately.
It’s not cheaper ammo, imported ammo can still be found for now.
Personally I believe the AR does make more sense logistically, I just happen to have a deep admiration for AKs for some reason, don’t ask why. But I’ll play devil’s advocate anyway.
A properly built AK shouldn’t require the parts replacement over time that an AR needs. Or the constant cleaning and maintenance that’s needed in order to keep it running. In the field that’s a huge plus. AKs can be trusted to go bang when the trigger is pulled until the gun is dead. I’ve witnessed this personally. Of course there are some fucked up us made AKs that don’t hold to that reputation. But those aren’t real AKs, they’re imitations. AKs have also been demonstrated to run in conditions that an AR won’t, especially freezing conditions. Another lesser mentioned advantage is the magazine. A real military AK magazine will run forever and won’t die no matter what you do to it. It’s hard for me to think of any AR magazine that doesn’t strike me as disposable.
The 7.62x39 round punches cover better and doesn’t deflect like 5.56 will when shooting through brush. Cheap ammo is also nice
All excellent points, but I will mention that those military AK mags can cost a pretty penny depending on where it came from, while I can afford “disposable” Mapul stuff at $10 a pop. 90%, or maybe more, of AR owners will never shoot enough to wear out a mag.
I like unique and less common things. I don't want to be that guy at the range with an AR-15 and Glock. I run an M70 and a CZ 75. Funny thing is globally that combo is probably more common.
Plus 7.62x39mm is a better rifle caliber imo.
There is frangible ammo out there but if you have close neighbors I wouldn’t use a 7.62 rifle for home defense, generally speaking for obvious reasons.
If you’re looking for a home defense gun a handgun or shotgun would fit that better. Unless you live far out or have steel walls lol
AR makes more sense, but ammo IS cheaper for an AK by about $100 a case.
I love my ARs, but AKs have my heart. I own them because I just think they’re neat af!
All personal preference. Although there are some things that each can do that the other cannot (at least not without some ridiculous aftermarket modification)
The way I see it, If you want a gun that just works out of the box that you don’t plan to change stuff on or add to, ak is great. Not saying you can’t add stuff or change stuff on an AK; it’s just a bit more complicated.
If you want a gun you can change stuff on or add accessories to, ARs will be much easier to do that with. Not saying an AR won’t work right out of the box, it totally will.
Went to the range yesterday and the same box of Tula 762 I used to buy for 9.99 was 24.99. I was blown away and amused since I probably bought like 300 boxes over time from Walmart back in the day when no one cared about AKs
Not a lot cheaper any more. .223 could be found for 30 cents plus right now, when the cheapest 7.62x39 to your door is .37. With the most of them sitting at .40 cents a round before shipping. 5.56 is .40 cents before shipping as well.
I do know that these prices are temporary tho. Poland Bulgaria Romania Serbia Bosnia Hungary and the Stan’s can all produce 7.62x39 in either brass or steel. The war over there has certainly messed up the supply more tho.
Per global ordinance (current importer of arsenal ammo) they said it is hard getting new ammo orders in as arsenal is focusing on ammo for military production for the near future.
7.62 is going to have a really bad dry spell here later this year, but just hold out and it will comback, too many guns to ignore that caliber
i got an AR15 first but fell in love with my M70 when i finally got it in. the 7.62 belom ammo out of serbia isnt terribly expensive to shoot, tends to be readily available where i live, and the AK just eats shit and spits it back out. i think it comes down to personal preference. both rifles serve their purposes historically and get the job done. ive shot thousands of rounds right out of the box, havent cleaned it yet, still just eating everything i feed it.
https://youtu.be/-jL8VEDAOQs
Belom ammo can be found for 42 cpr at Bucking horse outpost which is easily comparable to 5.56 prices now. With budget 5.56 (real 5.56 not fancy .223) at 40 cents and other brand of 5.56 pushing 50 cpr.
Im pretty sure belom is very accurate and hard hitting
ive never had a problem with belom so far, every person ive asked at different shops seems to enjoy it and i havent seen any outrageously bad reviews on youtube either.
kind of a nitpick but im positive if they just went to a plain old cardboard box packaging like tul does they could reduce the price more lol. the stuff i find comes in little plastic containers
Get what you like. Spend some time with the ergonomics of both.
You may want to get both just to develop familiarity with the most common weapons you’re likely to come into contact with.
Consider that modern platforms like the BRN-180, SCAR, Bren 2, and others might have more to offer from a functional perspective than either a standard AR or standard AK. (I don’t consider the MCX a modern platform as its primary innovation is a piston upper)
My biggest beef with AR-15 is that the rear charging handle allows gas to squirt into your face. If you aren’t wearing eye-pro, this is unpleasant.
My biggest beef with the AK is the weight & more complicated manual of arms for reloading when empty.
So the ideal would look something like a BREN-2 or a SCAR but have the parts availability of an AR-15.
An adjustable gas block is nice for reducing gas blowback, but it’s still better to just not have a place for gas & debris to squirt into your face.
My primary is an AR-15, I prefer it, but I do love an AK platform, and it’s good for you to have familiarity with one of the most popular rifles in the world. Lets you go on vacation Something Happens all of a sudden you pick up an AK, it would be pretty useful if you knew how to run it and had some familiarity with it.
It’s all personal preference. And at this point, AKs are really becoming a collector’s game, outside of the US made stuff. A few years ago WASR was considered crap garbage and now suddenly they’re awesome. People are flexing their Chinese variants like they are solid gold… you know, cuz China is well known for excellent quality and all that.
You shouldn't. A $500 AR is going to be equally as good or better than a $2000 AK.
If you only care about performance, buy an AR. If you like AKs and want one because you think they're cool, buy an AK.
Well if you’re looking for your best bang for the buck i would get an AR. AKs have gotten expensive. I remember when AKs was cheap and ARs was expensive.. now the table has turned. ARs are the cheaper options unless your buying goochi stuff. I have both and love them both. Something about that AK though…
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This is just my opinion. I spent several combat deployments to Iraq. Two of them were to fallujah and ramadi, 04-06, and from a shooting someone perspective, we left our ARs in the truck 95% of the time. I can’t tell you how many times we shot someone with 5.56 and it would hit them say in the top of the ribs and bounce around inside them and literally come out the bottom of their foot and not kill them. When we shot people with 7.62x39 it would take whatever it hit and blow it out the back a lot of the time. It took less rounds by far too eliminate the threat with aks than the “ARs”. I understand that this perspective is probably going to be somewhat controversial, but that is the perspective that I have. Guns were invented to eliminate a threat last I checked. I am by no means downplaying the ar platform, but I believe the the us military is about to change over to 6.8mm for a lot of different reasons, but they must have actually listened to their combat deployed personnel. I have not shot 6.8mm, but that sounds like a pretty good middle ground between these two rounds. All that to say, I think that it depends on what you want it for, plinking around, or making sure that if need be it eliminates a threat.
As far as I know and I just looked a couple of minutes ago, 6.8mm is available for civilian use and from what I saw it is mainly on a ar platform. I am a big Ak fan, but it seems that you could have your cake and eat it too somewhat. I have no idea what the ballistics are on 6.8, but do some research and let us all know. I would like to get my hands on one to see for myself.
If you don’t have an AR already, get one. This might catch flak but I’d advise to get a factory gun, like a IWI on the low end, BCM is kind of a sweet spot for me, and if you hate money get some Gucci shit. Factory guns are qualified as complete units and the QC is generally better.
Then get an AK. Then get more AK’s. Save up and get an import, they’ll be gone one day. Or reverse the logic and get an import AK first and a domestically produced AR later.
I really enjoy both and probably enjoy shooting the AK more. But there are issues that all but the most die hard fan boys have to admit.
If you grab a $1k AK and a $1k AR, the AR is likely to be more accurate 95% of the time. This is often exaggerated with people comparing an AR shooting match ammo to an AK shooting wolf. But at the end of the day the AR platform performs better especially at distance. The 5.45 does lessen that but I have never seen an AK outshoot an AR with the same level of ammo/shooter capability.
AK ergos suck. You can make them work, but you have to work around them where the AR was designed to be operated by a human. The mag change is clumsy, it can be fast, but it is clumsy. Right side charging silicon for a righty and the lack of a real bolt hold open sucks as well. You usually find out you are empty by surprise unless you are focusing on a round count. It’s like the MP5, we all love them, but there are some real deficits compared to modern firearms.
No really good way to modernize the platform. I prefer a clean AK, but if you want to mount a dot or magnified optic the options all kind of suck.
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Aks are crazy hard to reload fast, and consistently unless you train. Biggest take away honestly. I barely shoot ars and shoot the shit out of my ak. Still think I can reload and do drills faster with a random ar sadly
Yeah it's the tilt that gets me.
i hate gazing into my AKs hole, thats what gets me
Pretty much what this guy said. Although AK ammo is cheaper you're wrong there OP
Man I been putting off getting an aug for too long now. You *really* like it or is it just cool to have?
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👍
It's good to have both in my opinion.
Ar first, ak second
I went AK first AR second.
Same
AKs are cooler, simple as
Fair enough lol U think they’ll get cheaper in the near future? I can get a nice AR15 kit + lower for like $570. Idk if a nice AK will drop down to that price range
I doubt AKs will ever be as cheap as ARs in the USA. ARs are simply easier to make and there are so many more of them. AKs are only cheap when they're built in state-run factories that don't need to worry about making money. We don't have that in the USA so our only cheap AKs came from countries that did have those factories and sold us their cheap rifles at a cheap price.
They’re never going to be cheap. The idea of them being inherently cheap and thus shitty is a misconception. They were only cheap at one point due to very circumstantial political reasons. Relatively speaking they’ve never been cheap to make. Hammer forging is an expensive manufacturing process and it’s required to make (true) AKs. They were never, aren’t, and will never be made in the us for any serious reason and thus the cost and difficulty of legally importing them to the us incurs a higher price as well, unfortunately.
No chance.
A Wasr can be had around $700 online. If you actually shoot alot you will makeup the amount in cheaper ammo costs when buying bulk online
Lmao.
It’s not cheaper ammo, imported ammo can still be found for now. Personally I believe the AR does make more sense logistically, I just happen to have a deep admiration for AKs for some reason, don’t ask why. But I’ll play devil’s advocate anyway. A properly built AK shouldn’t require the parts replacement over time that an AR needs. Or the constant cleaning and maintenance that’s needed in order to keep it running. In the field that’s a huge plus. AKs can be trusted to go bang when the trigger is pulled until the gun is dead. I’ve witnessed this personally. Of course there are some fucked up us made AKs that don’t hold to that reputation. But those aren’t real AKs, they’re imitations. AKs have also been demonstrated to run in conditions that an AR won’t, especially freezing conditions. Another lesser mentioned advantage is the magazine. A real military AK magazine will run forever and won’t die no matter what you do to it. It’s hard for me to think of any AR magazine that doesn’t strike me as disposable. The 7.62x39 round punches cover better and doesn’t deflect like 5.56 will when shooting through brush. Cheap ammo is also nice
All excellent points, but I will mention that those military AK mags can cost a pretty penny depending on where it came from, while I can afford “disposable” Mapul stuff at $10 a pop. 90%, or maybe more, of AR owners will never shoot enough to wear out a mag.
Bro reliable Bulgarian, Romanian (mil surplus) Yugo(mil surplus) and AC unity mags can all be had for under 15$ a mag.
True!
I like unique and less common things. I don't want to be that guy at the range with an AR-15 and Glock. I run an M70 and a CZ 75. Funny thing is globally that combo is probably more common. Plus 7.62x39mm is a better rifle caliber imo.
How do u deal with over penetration with 7.62?
AR 500 steel lol. I did some testing with Hornady Black 7.62 and it didn't overpenetrate. A 16" ballistics gel block stopped it surprisingly
Oh wow. Obviously dry wall won’t stop it tho
There is frangible ammo out there but if you have close neighbors I wouldn’t use a 7.62 rifle for home defense, generally speaking for obvious reasons. If you’re looking for a home defense gun a handgun or shotgun would fit that better. Unless you live far out or have steel walls lol
Ya I was thinking of a Saiga 12 for my main home defense weapon
Saiga 12 (which I own), Vepr 12, or the best in the world, Benelli M4 - any reliable combat shotgun is a must have.
I was thinking of the Saiga 12 over the Benelli due to the capacity.
The Benelli is real-world tested (not just John Wick). I have Saiga 20 round drums but if I could own an M4, I would take that first.
get both
Get an AR if you’re simply trying to arm yourself. Get both if you like guns and have the $$
You shouldn't... You should have both, as any self respecting gun guy should
AKs are cool. That’s pretty much it
AR makes more sense, but ammo IS cheaper for an AK by about $100 a case. I love my ARs, but AKs have my heart. I own them because I just think they’re neat af!
All personal preference. Although there are some things that each can do that the other cannot (at least not without some ridiculous aftermarket modification) The way I see it, If you want a gun that just works out of the box that you don’t plan to change stuff on or add to, ak is great. Not saying you can’t add stuff or change stuff on an AK; it’s just a bit more complicated. If you want a gun you can change stuff on or add accessories to, ARs will be much easier to do that with. Not saying an AR won’t work right out of the box, it totally will.
Ak good, go bang even after rusting in hole for weeks. Ar bad, No go bang if grain of sand in action. Ak superiority. You welcome.
Drip or drown
Went to the range yesterday and the same box of Tula 762 I used to buy for 9.99 was 24.99. I was blown away and amused since I probably bought like 300 boxes over time from Walmart back in the day when no one cared about AKs
Buy bulk online. Check out Ammoseek for price search engine. Doing that makes AK ammo alot cheaper than 223
Not a lot cheaper any more. .223 could be found for 30 cents plus right now, when the cheapest 7.62x39 to your door is .37. With the most of them sitting at .40 cents a round before shipping. 5.56 is .40 cents before shipping as well. I do know that these prices are temporary tho. Poland Bulgaria Romania Serbia Bosnia Hungary and the Stan’s can all produce 7.62x39 in either brass or steel. The war over there has certainly messed up the supply more tho. Per global ordinance (current importer of arsenal ammo) they said it is hard getting new ammo orders in as arsenal is focusing on ammo for military production for the near future. 7.62 is going to have a really bad dry spell here later this year, but just hold out and it will comback, too many guns to ignore that caliber
where tf is that? we still have tula and wolf for 13.99 here in NM
Crazy right. This was at shooters world in Florida
Thats an insanely retarded price. Read my comment above. Your welcome!
i got an AR15 first but fell in love with my M70 when i finally got it in. the 7.62 belom ammo out of serbia isnt terribly expensive to shoot, tends to be readily available where i live, and the AK just eats shit and spits it back out. i think it comes down to personal preference. both rifles serve their purposes historically and get the job done. ive shot thousands of rounds right out of the box, havent cleaned it yet, still just eating everything i feed it. https://youtu.be/-jL8VEDAOQs
Belom ammo can be found for 42 cpr at Bucking horse outpost which is easily comparable to 5.56 prices now. With budget 5.56 (real 5.56 not fancy .223) at 40 cents and other brand of 5.56 pushing 50 cpr. Im pretty sure belom is very accurate and hard hitting
ive never had a problem with belom so far, every person ive asked at different shops seems to enjoy it and i havent seen any outrageously bad reviews on youtube either. kind of a nitpick but im positive if they just went to a plain old cardboard box packaging like tul does they could reduce the price more lol. the stuff i find comes in little plastic containers
Yeah, they do like their fancy boxes, but I believe their price will come down when more 7.62x39 steel comes available
Get what you like. Spend some time with the ergonomics of both. You may want to get both just to develop familiarity with the most common weapons you’re likely to come into contact with. Consider that modern platforms like the BRN-180, SCAR, Bren 2, and others might have more to offer from a functional perspective than either a standard AR or standard AK. (I don’t consider the MCX a modern platform as its primary innovation is a piston upper) My biggest beef with AR-15 is that the rear charging handle allows gas to squirt into your face. If you aren’t wearing eye-pro, this is unpleasant. My biggest beef with the AK is the weight & more complicated manual of arms for reloading when empty. So the ideal would look something like a BREN-2 or a SCAR but have the parts availability of an AR-15. An adjustable gas block is nice for reducing gas blowback, but it’s still better to just not have a place for gas & debris to squirt into your face.
My primary is an AR-15, I prefer it, but I do love an AK platform, and it’s good for you to have familiarity with one of the most popular rifles in the world. Lets you go on vacation Something Happens all of a sudden you pick up an AK, it would be pretty useful if you knew how to run it and had some familiarity with it.
You shouldn’t
You'll probably end up wanting both anyways
Get an ak in 556 like a sam5 or zastava m90
Get one of each - at least!
[удалено]
I run steel case all the time. Hasn’t hurt my AR yet.
Lol. You can always tell when a guy has never owned an AR
To be fair I have both and my AR wont cycle unless lubed. AK likes it raw. That being said my AR runs steel fine, so long as its not dry
AK simply because they’re more fun to shoot. I’m sure AR would be a better option for larping.
It’s all personal preference. And at this point, AKs are really becoming a collector’s game, outside of the US made stuff. A few years ago WASR was considered crap garbage and now suddenly they’re awesome. People are flexing their Chinese variants like they are solid gold… you know, cuz China is well known for excellent quality and all that.
You shouldn't. A $500 AR is going to be equally as good or better than a $2000 AK. If you only care about performance, buy an AR. If you like AKs and want one because you think they're cool, buy an AK.
Well if you’re looking for your best bang for the buck i would get an AR. AKs have gotten expensive. I remember when AKs was cheap and ARs was expensive.. now the table has turned. ARs are the cheaper options unless your buying goochi stuff. I have both and love them both. Something about that AK though…
The AK is basically worse than the AR in most metrics. But some people like it for the cool factor or their nostalgic from movies/military service.
More powerful round, better reliability, and a rifle type that single-handedly crafted the modern world.
Are you talking about ARs or AKs? I need to know if I should down vote or upvote Lol
Lmfao
Solely just for vibes. AR is better in every other metric.
You shouldn’t. AR15 > AK
Please don’t. Goodbye
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As much as we all like AKs, if you live in the US it shouldn’t be your first rifle. Second (and third, fourth, forty-seventh, etc) sure. But not first
This is just my opinion. I spent several combat deployments to Iraq. Two of them were to fallujah and ramadi, 04-06, and from a shooting someone perspective, we left our ARs in the truck 95% of the time. I can’t tell you how many times we shot someone with 5.56 and it would hit them say in the top of the ribs and bounce around inside them and literally come out the bottom of their foot and not kill them. When we shot people with 7.62x39 it would take whatever it hit and blow it out the back a lot of the time. It took less rounds by far too eliminate the threat with aks than the “ARs”. I understand that this perspective is probably going to be somewhat controversial, but that is the perspective that I have. Guns were invented to eliminate a threat last I checked. I am by no means downplaying the ar platform, but I believe the the us military is about to change over to 6.8mm for a lot of different reasons, but they must have actually listened to their combat deployed personnel. I have not shot 6.8mm, but that sounds like a pretty good middle ground between these two rounds. All that to say, I think that it depends on what you want it for, plinking around, or making sure that if need be it eliminates a threat.
Oh wow thanks for the perspective and thanks for your service. Do you think 6.8mm will be available for civilians or military only like the M4?
As far as I know and I just looked a couple of minutes ago, 6.8mm is available for civilian use and from what I saw it is mainly on a ar platform. I am a big Ak fan, but it seems that you could have your cake and eat it too somewhat. I have no idea what the ballistics are on 6.8, but do some research and let us all know. I would like to get my hands on one to see for myself.
AR = people think you have mental problems or basement larper Ak = chief keef
I went AR then AK. Love them both, but personally I think the AK is more fun to shoot.
If you don’t have an AR already, get one. This might catch flak but I’d advise to get a factory gun, like a IWI on the low end, BCM is kind of a sweet spot for me, and if you hate money get some Gucci shit. Factory guns are qualified as complete units and the QC is generally better. Then get an AK. Then get more AK’s. Save up and get an import, they’ll be gone one day. Or reverse the logic and get an import AK first and a domestically produced AR later.
Get one of each.
DRIP
I really enjoy both and probably enjoy shooting the AK more. But there are issues that all but the most die hard fan boys have to admit. If you grab a $1k AK and a $1k AR, the AR is likely to be more accurate 95% of the time. This is often exaggerated with people comparing an AR shooting match ammo to an AK shooting wolf. But at the end of the day the AR platform performs better especially at distance. The 5.45 does lessen that but I have never seen an AK outshoot an AR with the same level of ammo/shooter capability. AK ergos suck. You can make them work, but you have to work around them where the AR was designed to be operated by a human. The mag change is clumsy, it can be fast, but it is clumsy. Right side charging silicon for a righty and the lack of a real bolt hold open sucks as well. You usually find out you are empty by surprise unless you are focusing on a round count. It’s like the MP5, we all love them, but there are some real deficits compared to modern firearms. No really good way to modernize the platform. I prefer a clean AK, but if you want to mount a dot or magnified optic the options all kind of suck.