AK favorite woods gun?

[chiggersngrits]

I'd take a .30 carbine over an AK for a woods gun. Less than a yard long, 5.5 lbs., 15 round mag. and enough energy at 50 yrds. to take down deer. I would also take an SKS over an AK. They just "feel" better.

[Wildthang]

For us old purists those models might be ideal if criterion is based on philosophy of the 1950/1960 era; wood, steel, straight pull or semi-pistol grip stock.

I am now old enough to have grandchildren that hunt and roam the woods on their own. Their ideas about the size, shape and materials that make up an acceptable tool for woods use are vastly different from mine when I was that age.

I am now meeting many 20-something folks that, if asked the famous "only one gun" question, immediately reply not with caliber, model number or year of design dating to the 19th century, but with alphabet designation of either AK or AR.

Times are changing, but it seems that the older shooters do share one thing in common with politicians; a uniform view of what a "sporting gun" looks like.

I just don't think the younger crowd understands what a well suited gun is. They are raised on video games and movies that show nothing but the cool assult rifles, and they naturally think that the AK's and AR's is a do it all weapon. If it ain't cool to them then it is obviously not worth owning. I think for the most part that ballistics and practicality are out the window, and cool is in with the younger generation.

[natertot]

I just don't think the younger crowd understands what a well suited gun is. They are raised on video games and movies that show nothing but the cool assult rifles, and they naturally think that the AK's and AR's is a do it all weapon. If it ain't cool to them then it is obviously not worth owning. I think for the most part that ballistics and practicality are out the window, and cool is in with the younger generation.

Gee..... thanks. I am either young and dumb and influenced by games to determine "cool" or I am now an old guy in the same class as many fine gents here.

I don't even know how I should take it......

[point man]

Well you shouldn't worry about it much.
"A well suited woods gun" well to me well suited means many things. Versatility being one, well the AR certainly meets that category. Reliability would be another value and the AR also fits that too. Vietnam has been over for a very long time and the AR platform has come a very long way, people really should stop beating that horse. Any decent rifleman will have a good rifle cleaning/maintenance practices,. weather or not it's a shoot full of mud AK or a lever action 30-30.
I have my grandfathers Springfield 1898 30-40 krag 22" bar. That is a wonderful woods gun but it's a safe queen. It's taken 3 moose, 2 bears and tens of deer. It had its place.
However, Guns like that don't like to get wet or dropped or talked dirty too. They don't like to be field repaired and other than large game they certainly aren't versatile.
Now, the T/C's or handi's they are versatile. You can have a 22lr, 30cal something and a heavy game 45cal plus barrels, in a convenient little back pack. That set up will take you a long way, but it's only a single shot and not a very good force multiplier, God forbid if needed.
Well why can't that be done in an AR platform? Well you can. I do. The AR doesn't have to be a "poodle shooter". With the AR15 lower you can have over a dozen different caliber uppers from 22lr, 9mm, 40s&w, 45acp on up through short action center fire calibers maxing out in the 6.8spc my fav. The 6.5 Grendel which would be allot better if Mr alexander weren't so stingy with his patent, the 300aac, 458 socom, 450 bushmaster and 50 Beowulf.
Then you've got the AR10 lower you can do all the long action stuff. 260 rem, 270, 308, 338 federal etc.... Not to mention the ability change grips, stocks and hand guards galore, All while taking a beating, bringing home the bacon and defending the homestead with force.
I don't know of any wood stocked "well suited woods gun" clunker that is capable of that type of versatility and certainly no AK.
Don't be offended guys. Like I said before, I love all guns. Tall ones, short ones, skinny ones and fat ones





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[Wildthang]

Gee..... thanks. I am either young and dumb and influenced by games to determine "cool" or I am now an old guy in the same class as many fine gents here.

I don't even know how I should take it......

Nater my comment was not aimed at you because you seem to be wise beyond your years.There are always exceptions! But almost all of the younger guys I know seem to think that the AK is the gun to have, and the only reason I can think of why they think that is television and video games. I keep telling them that at 500 yards, my bolt action 7mm mag would take an AK out almost without fail and they think I am crazy. They don't seem to understand that the AK for the most part is a spray and pray gun and is not very accurate compared to a lot of other rifles. They say, " but it has a 30 shot clip ", and I say yeah, but at 500 yards it may take all 30 to hit a target 2 times if you are lucky. Mean while I shoot once and your head is gone!
Of course the AR is much more accurate and can easily be deadly at 500 yards, but most of the kids I know still like the AK! I do think that a large majority of them are influenced by movies, television and video games. not for sure but it's what I think!
I love my AR which is just an open sight plain Jane with no fancy lazer sights or folding stocks, and for home defense it is a wonderful weapon but I think there are a lot more practical rifles for hunting larger game, but then again, I'm an old fart

[point man]

Hehehe. I suppose we all get stuck in our ways eventually. If ain't broke don't fix it


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[SARKY]

If I'm going into the woods with a 7.62x39 chambered rifle, it will be my SKS. It's way more accurate and with the trigger job I gave it, it is a real sweet shooter.

[sim97fan3]

I noticed most people seem to think that AKs are chambered in 7.62x39mm. You have lots of flavors to choose from in reality; 5.56x45mm, 5.45x39mm, 7.62x39mm. Even more so when you include the VEPR, built on the RPK receiver, with the same cartridges as I stated earlier plus .308 WIN, 7.62x54mmR and 30-06. The AK is a lot more accurate than people think, MAC from Youtube had a 7.62x39mm VEPR w/ scope hitting targets at 500 yards consistently. The 5.45x39mm cartridge is on level footing with the 5.56x45mm, especially when used in an AR. Now, I'm not saying an AK is as accurate as an AR but they get a bad rap from being seen as the weapon of the enemy and having insurgents/terrorist spraying and praying with old AKs that haven't been maintained.

[Winter]

Spray and pray? The mini-14 is much more accurate and less troublesome than your standard AR at the same price. The only reason AR's excelled as a favorite is the fact you can customize it with everything under the sun. An accurate and reliable semi auto .223 under $650 whereas you'd have to spend another $400-500 to get the same results out of an AR. Plus, AR's have too many parts which means more to go wrong. So if one could get all the goodness of a mini-14 and have the punch of a .30cal, why pass it up? As far as what could you hunt for with it, I was thinking deer, coyote, boar, bear.

No on all counts. Read this. "The Mini-14 is NOT known to be “DURABLE” (When I was active we trained some Bahamanian Marines. They were all armed with pretty much brand new Mini-14's. We ran lots of patrols with them through swamps and over hill and dale - and did lots of dry and live fire exercises. Before two weeks were up - NOT ONE Mini-14 survived. They were ALL down - and I mean "down" as in would not work because of parts failure/breakage. They were all using "loaner" AR's for the rest of the time as their Mini's went down. Not surprisingly - they/we had no problems or issues with our AR's. Before this I had some 'range time' with a Mini-14 and it was a fun gun to shoot. I felt bad too – as I really liked the Mini-14 when shooting them on a range. Pat Rogers - an instructor at Gunsite - has stated that he has NEVER seen a "Mini" make it through the demanding 4-5 day carbine course. NEVER. They always go "down" and the person uses a loaner AR to finish the course with. (We had no problems with our M4’s doing all of the same stuff that we put the Mini's through. Granted – the abuse that our rifles saw was WAY beyond what any “civilian” rifle sees – but the scope of this post is way beyond what civilian rifles are designed for!)"

From- http://www.everycitizenasoldier.org/id32.html

I've owned 2 Mini's over the years. I have learned my lesson and won't own another.

A good friend of mine hunted for years with an AR in 6.5 Grendel. He dropped deer and black bear in their tracks. He just finished building an AR in .458 socom.

He now has the same ballistics as a .45-70 in a lighter, less recoiling, and more accurate platform than my Marlin Guide gun.

[Rick]

Glad to see both Sarky and Winter. You guys have been AWOL. We talked about a F.A.R.T. response. In fact we talked about it a couple of meetings ago. Crash was taking the minutes but forget a pencil and we couldn't remember who one to look for first. Anywhoooo. Glad to see you guys back.

[Winter]

Thanks Rick. I left for a while because right about the time a serious discussion started it was derailed by hongs and farts. Keeping on topic is a good thing.

[Rick]

In that case, this buds for you. One must maintain a sense of humor.

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[Phaedrus]

I guess it depends on what I'm doing in the woods. If I'm hunting big game it will likely be a bolt action .308 rifle. But if I'm not hunting I'm not going to traipse around with a rifle, I'll have a sidearm instead. Generally that will be an HK USP45 Tactical or HK P30S. Lately I haven't had the time to do any long trips, mostly overnighter or two-day outings. If I was going take a rifle in that scenario I'd probably be toting my Beretta Storm carbine in 9mm.