Let me just come right out in the beginning and say these two things, then we can all move on with it.
- I have never been an AK guy, but if my Glock opinion can be changed, may as well give the AK another go.
- Until I met Owen from AllAK47.com, I had shot approximately 1 AK and held about 3.
Now we can move on.
I was at the range, firing my totally badass .308, which was my equivalent to my first car in excitement level, but comical when you look back 16-20 years later. A friend of mine had asked to check out the range I was a member of and so I invited him along with promises of being able to shoot his AK-47. So here I was, a proud, green, gun owner that knew everything about to fire my first semi automatic rifle and it was like losing your v-card. A lot of hype with lots of disappointment, some injuries and shame. It kicked like a mule, I couldn’t get the sights lined up, it was nothing like the movies…I was stunned. Oh, and FORGET MOA, I couldn’t get Minute of BARN DOOR! Garbage, all the critics were right, yada yada yada. I swore the AK was not for me and brushed it aside to never be seen again.
Fast forward several years to 2012. I am more humble and open and wish to revisit some things cast aside in my youth, and a new friend known only in the beginning as AllAK47.com is dying to change my mind on the AK. I welcome the opportunity.
Now, I am not the technical sort, I am the touchy feely sort. I have no specs, no statistics, no basis on how this is supposed to feel, shoot, weigh, etc. Owen took care of that and came prepared. My enjoyment of his firearms is pretty clear in the video and I think he has changed my mind on the AK. Keep in mind, I still love my AR, my proficiency with that weapon grows every time I touch it. However, I will no longer cast the AK aside as junk, or inaccurate crappy hardware. Owen has proven that with enough knowledge and know-how, even the AK-47 can be a tack driver, be super customizable, and be a mean rifle that fires a mean round.
If you haven’t already skipped the wordy parts and gone straight to the video, pay attention to the black and gray camo AK as it is all stock vs. every other one Owen had brought for testing. Pay attention to recoil mitigation, pay attention to muzzle rise and pay attention to the fact that he had to show me how to operate the rifle and by the end of the video I was doing pretty good. Not great, just good. Do anything enough, and repetition builds proficiency. Someday, I will have Owen make me my own, but until then hopefully our buddy over at HausofGuns.com will do a better write up than us, with all the specifics gun AK fans really want to know about. After all, we are just humble old noobs over here.
Enjoy the Video!