AK or M-14 in harsh conditions?

B

bullfrog99

New member
What would you choose for a "in the Mud down and dirty" survival rifle. Conditions like sand mud snow ice dust and rust. I'm thinking the AK would outshine the M-14 in such conditions, what's your opinion.
 
I agree with the exact opposite to what Q-Man said.
Yet this is just a simple opinion based on my personal experiances.

[Edited by Ewok_Guy on 06-05-2001 at 10:28 PM]
 
Since you won't let me pick my first choice the M-16A1 My pick would be the 14. I did train with the 14 Basic Training Fort Benning and Advance Infantry Training Fort Lewis but to be quite frank I can't really say how the 14 will hold in bad conditions since my goal was to keep my rifle as clean a possible you know the longer it took to clean it at the end of the day meant less time at the Beer Hall.

My personal opinion is the AK doesn't compare to the M-14 but then I never did like the AK except incountry where the wounds weren't as bad as M-193 ball or the 7.62 NATO ball so if you were going to take hit I'd prefer the 7.62x39.

Turk
 
I'd take the M14 any day of the week and twice on Sunday. It's a well battle tested rifle, allows for good accurate shooting at long distances and can be set up for full or semi auto fire.
 
If there's one thing the AK is renowned for, it's utter and complete reliability under any humanly conceivable condition. The M14 is a fine battle rifle, the epitome of the Garand design, but the tolerances are quite a bit tighter than on the AK (the M14 is capable of National Match accuracy, remember?), and therefore a bit more susceptible to gumming up. The AK will never be as accurate as the M14 design, but it sure is immune to everything short of a tank rolling over it.

I'd prefer the M14 myself, but you have to give credit where it's due.
 
basically i'm stuck on this, I've run into a bit of capital, and am unsure weather on not i should invest in a middle of the road M-14 or get a top of the line AK-47 and spend the extra cash on some accessories and ammo, or should I buy a SAR-1 and buy lots of ammo and accessories. What would you do?
 
I'd get the SAR-1 and "toys". Ammo is a LOT cheaper, and the only way to make an AK not go "bang" is to not pull the trigger. You're talking about a rifle that was designed to lay in a rice paddy waiting to be picked up and fired.

I am a huge fan of the M14, but if you're asking which one will spit lead under the worst conditions, it's the AK by a WIDE margin.
 
Opinions are like noses everyone has one.

Anyone know of any tests that have ever been done by the US Military as to the reliability of weapons in different enviroments?

I have a saying I use at work. In God we trust all others bring data.

Turk
 
The M14 is every bit as reliable as an AK. As a matter of fact, I'd say its MORE reliable for the fact that it has an exposed bolt which the AK does not. When the bolt gets excessivly fouled on an M14, all you do is drop the mag and cycle the action, the crap falls out the bottom. Worse case you can wipe out the muck from all around, over and under the bolt, even flush it out with water. Can't do that with an AK. You have to remove the dust cover and bolt carrier.

In a pure survival rifle, you will not be engaging the enemy in an offensive action. You will be using your rifle primarily for hunting, secondary as a defensive weapon, and then only to break contact to escape or for a scout/sniper role, in either case the M14 with better sights and more powerful round beats the AK hands down.
 
Don't forget the Garand. However, I think the main point is deciding what the rifle will be for. If you spend any time going toe to toe with hoards of bad guys as an individual, you are dead. They will pin you down, then flank you. You die. As the last person said, you will want to shoot and run. In a SHTF scenario, you will want to not draw attention to yourself.

A key thing people forget about the role of a rifle is that when the shooting starts, people hide behind things. Chose a round that will penetrate cover and concealment. In love and war, penetration is everything.

The AK will work. The M1A will work. The M1A will penetrate cover better and is reliable enough. I still like my Garand though. Much faster to reload, easier to carry ammo for.

Dave
 
My first pick would be the M16 for any conditions, followed by the FAL. But if I am forced to choose between the AK and the M14, I would probably go with the M14 simply because I don't think much of the 7.62x39 caliber.
 
AK is near infallible in harsh conditions.

It would take a lot of dirt to fill that big receiver - and everything's loose in there.

I have an inlaw who served in an army that used AKs. He never saw one jam or fail; although (from how he describes it) it seems they were pretty neglected.

At one point they were out in VERY deep snow, and had to fullauto a few mags as part of the exercise. Eager to get it over with, they did it very quickly - members of the group (him included) dunked their AKs in the snow to cool them off between mags.


Battler.
 
That's funny, I just had a jam in a Norinco AK last Sunday morning. And it wasn't even in snow or mud or dirt...just shooting from the bench at the range.
 
AK design is far superior to any known service weapon in terms of reliabily, particularly in harsh enviroment. It was proven so many times during so long period of time that I just don't know what else to say.

Rikwriter, you're a nice guy, but you're also somebody special - your M16s are always 100% reliable, but your AK is jamming. How did you manage to do that? You lucky dog...
 
Oris said:
Rikwriter, you're a nice guy, but you're also somebody special - your M16s are always 100% reliable, but your AK is jamming. How did you manage to do that? You lucky dog...


Actually I know many others who have the same "luck" with ARs. I haven't had a LOT of jams with AKs but I have had jams...they aren't 100% reliable, despite the hype. Actually the M14/M1A isn't 100% reliable: I've had a couple jams with my M1A.
I've had jams with ARs too...as I have said, if you'd paid attention. What I haven't had is a jam with a factory-assembled AR using anything except Russian Barnaul ammo.
The point isn't that the AR is 100% reliable under any circumstances, it's that NO GUN IS.
 
Oris,

I must be special too because my SP1 has never jammed with the 1000's of rounds put through it. One of my AK types likes to jam.

My M-16A1 I used in actual firefights in SEA never jammed and never heard of any jamming in my platoon either. I'm not against a AK's but believe the 16's, 14's FAL's etc are a better combat rifle.

Turk
The Herd 68-69
 
I'd like to also point out that an M1A is NOT and M14. M14's are held to looser tolerences, and M1As commonly have NM parts and chambers, which do affect reliability.
 
Well, my M1A is an early preban, with all TRW parts except the barrel, which is a Springfield standard barrel. It doesn't have NM anything.
 
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