MG34 said:
To add what the others who have actually picked a real AK up and fired it more than once or twice,the AK has some of the worst ergonomics going,poor cheek weld,piss poor designed cocking handle and mag release,and the fact that it spits gas into your face when you actually bother to take up a sight picture. The AK is just junk regardless of what "Tour of Duty" or Chuck Norris may state.
Uhm...OK. If you're a right handed shooter I'll concede the bulk of the ergonomic difficulties. The safety sucks arse. The cocking handle is in a poor position for the right handed shooter. But misery loves company, you can find this feature on the SIG 54X and 55X series, the FNC, AR-18, Beretta AR-70, Daewoo K-1 and K-2, M-14 and derivatives, Valmet's and Galil's (which are AK's anyway) and even the brand new FN SCAR, though to be fair on this it is reversable. In fact I think the the FAL remains the only commonly issued modern rifle with the cocking handle in the correct location for right handed shooters. The HK G-3, HK53, MP-5 series have it located to far forward IMHO, though given the short length of an MP-5 it's not really an issue on that weapon.
As for the mag release, well the paddle type mag release is found on virtually every western military rifle that doesn't use AR-15/STANAG compatible magazines. Including rifles as newly designed as the G-36 and the abortive XM-8 project. Notwithstanding that those rifles are crap.
Also the FAL, SIG 55X series are in this club. I don't really think of this as a major handicap, if you structure your mag change drills accordingly. But then again I shoot rifles left handed so the AR-15/C-7 system isn't as quick for me as it is for a right handed firer.
If when you're talking about cheekweld, you're referring to the underfolder stocks I'll agree with you 120%, but if you're talking about the regular fixed stocks or the side folding stocks I've never had an issued with proper cheek weld. Now I'm only 5'7" so if you're taller, I guess you could have length of pull issues which may compromise a proper cheek weld.
I've never had an AK blow gas into my face, so perhaps the ones you've fired have issues. Also if the bulk of your experience is with Yugo AKs, they don't have vent holes in the gas tube, like most of the others, so that is sure to result in more gas at the back of the rifle. But this issue would be unique to these rifles and their derivatives like the Iraqi Tabuk. Also it appears that some of the Bulgarian rifles don't have vent holes as well.
I don't mean to sound like an AK apologist. Believe me there are a number of rifles I'd rather be carrying, M-4 or SIG 55X series among them. I'm only trying to give a fair assessment of the rifle, both positive and negative based on my experience with them, which I think is more extensive than most, but by no means all, people on this forum. Calling it junk, I think, is unfair. It's the peasants rifle for sure, and as such it is peasant-proof. But it is a rifle that can usually be counted on to work. Look at the pics from Kevin's post. He didn't say that those rifles didn't work, just that they were in bad shape. Even if they had to make 15 rifles out of every 20 that they bought, I'd like to see somebody do the same with some Viet Nam era M-16s that had been through what those had.
It's not perfect. It's not indestructible. It's not even that nice to shoot, but it works. And I think that's what counts.