What is up with all the dressed up AK's?

How about instead of making broad general statments to hide thinly veiled insults, you give some insight as to why a person would be better served with another type of rifle.
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OK here goes:

AKM: nice to have if you are in a bad, nasty place and surrounded by hostile targets who are dead set on killing you but because it is manufactured to work 100% of the time in the worst possible conditions accuracy is limited at best. 6MOA isn't atypical. Good enough in a firefight at close range but of very limited use otherwise. Weigh it down with another 8 or 10 pounds of useless Mall Ninja accessories including a flashlight so the midnight creeper can see exactly where you are and it isn't even any good for home defense.

M-4gery: nice to have if you are clearing mud huts in buttf*ckistan and the command won't give you a decent large caliber high capacity pistol. Accuracy is squat without fragile optics and the short barrel limits the combat effectiveness of the round it fires. Not designed to operate in sustained operations in real world conditions where wars are typically fought. Hang the Mall Ninja basic load on the handguards and now not only is it the wrong tool for the job but it is slow on target. Whip on your laser sight and watch a green tracer hit you center mass.

Are they both fun to shoot? You bet. Are either one of them a decent choice for anything other than dancing beer cans at 50 yards and dressing up like Barbie Dolls? Maybe not so much. If you want to hunt game animals you'll do a lot better for a lot less money with a bolt action rifle. If you want to defend yourself at home a shotgun and a large caliber revolver are both better choices.

And that Father Time is the reason I only have 5 AKMs. I fully support the right of every man to dress up his pretend assault rifle with all the lights, wobbly folding stocks, steam whistles, and iPods he feels he needs but it doesn't alter the basic fact that none of that stuff serves any useful purpose related to the purpose of having the rifle in the first place.
 
Funny thing about Jeff Cooper. He also went the tacticool route of his own, defining what attributes he thought needed to be on a rifle with is scout rifle. He just more narrowly defined his parameters is all.

I find it amusing that people want options on so many things in their lives, but then when it comes to firearms, reject the notion of being able to have options with near religious fervor. That is why they are called "options" and not called "mandatories."
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I don't think anyone is "rejecting [options] with religious fervor", or even saying that "options" are a bad thing. I think a lot of folks, myself included, just simply think that sometimes a KISS approach can be the best policy. If there is a legitimate need for something on a rifle, I don't think anyone here would "nay-say" it one bit, but when you see guys show up at the range with a barbecue grill and margarita blender hanging off of a quad rail, it makes you ponder. All I am saying, and the only point that I am using Cooper's words (or paraphrased words) to illustrate, is that it is a bad idea to try to make up for a lack of shooting fundamentals with more gadgets. And I know that a lot of guys don't fall into that category, and those are not the folks I am talking about, but some do. Personally, if I don't have a need for something, it doesn't go on my rifles. Not any rifles that may see anything other than range use anyway. I guess I'm boring and practical, but I'm okay with that. What I do cringe at is the guys that show up at the range, can't shoot their way out of a wet paper bag, and instead of learning the rifle, they talk about how they need to go buy a better optic, or another gadget that is supposed to help their accuracy, or do "x", "y", or "z".

Nothing wrong with options, but there are good options and bad options. Make the tool fit the job. That's all I'm saying.


Jason
 
I like the original look my self...

Here are the before and after photos...
 

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AKM: nice to have if you are in a bad, nasty place and surrounded by hostile targets who are dead set on killing you but because it is manufactured to work 100% of the time in the worst possible conditions accuracy is limited at best. 6MOA isn't atypical. Good enough in a firefight at close range but of very limited use otherwise. Weigh it down with another 8 or 10 pounds of useless Mall Ninja accessories including a flashlight so the midnight creeper can see exactly where you are and it isn't even any good for home defense.

M-4gery: nice to have if you are clearing mud huts in buttf*ckistan and the command won't give you a decent large caliber high capacity pistol. Accuracy is squat without fragile optics and the short barrel limits the combat effectiveness of the round it fires. Not designed to operate in sustained operations in real world conditions where wars are typically fought. Hang the Mall Ninja basic load on the handguards and now not only is it the wrong tool for the job but it is slow on target. Whip on your laser sight and watch a green tracer hit you center mass.

Are they both fun to shoot? You bet. Are either one of them a decent choice for anything other than dancing beer cans at 50 yards and dressing up like Barbie Dolls? Maybe not so much. If you want to hunt game animals you'll do a lot better for a lot less money with a bolt action rifle. If you want to defend yourself at home a shotgun and a large caliber revolver are both better choices.
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So what I see here is you don't have a use for a "gadgets" for "fragile optics" on a rifle. Fine no problems with that....
But, I wouldn't call a Eotech or an ACOG "fragile" I could pull either of these off one of my AR-15 rifles and throw it down the street and it would continue to function.
So what do these "barbie" acessories do for me? They let me make humane kills on feral hogs (not a game animal) when shooting at dusk. Maybe you live somewhere where lighting is perfect all the time, but my eye's are starting to suck and sometimes the iron's don't stand out too well against the animal. Thats just one example out of a thousand legitimant uses for modern optics. Now do I need an Eotech or an ACOG to do this? Not really, there are cheaper reflex sights and illuminated scopes to be had that are also designed for the AR-15. But I prefer to own quality gear that will still be worth having after I'm nothing but worm s**t.

I dont' have any problem with people prefering other rifles or "kiss" setups(I have several of my own). But acting like everyone that has a "gaget" is playing "Barbie Rifle" is just wrong.

And as for defending yourself at home with a shotgun or large caliber revolver. Those are both very effective and viable choices. (I have a Ruger GP100 for that purpose BTW). Keep in mind though that it is much easier to shoot a long arm than any pistol let alone a "large caliber revolver".
And for many people shooting a Mini 14/AK/AR15 is a lot easier than a shotgun. Lots people don't do well with high recoil. These people are better served by their "mall ninja" setup because the lowere recoil dosen't spoil them for a follow up shot.

So really what all this means is, just be less freaking judgemental. Not everyone with a reflex sight is out playing GI Joe in their backyard. And even if that is all they want to do, then f-k it who cares? Its not like that is hurting anyone anyway.
 
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I have an AK with a Ultimak rail, and it has been great way to mount an optic in my experiance. I used to have a Eotech mounted on one and it never had a problem with the heat. Currently I have a Trijicon Reflex II on it and has also never had a problem with the heat.
 
For me the answer is simple I added a fore-grip with a rail on my Saiga so I could attach a vertical grip which is how I am used to holding a rifle. I added a pistol grip style stock because of comfort. I also threw a flashlight on it for fun. Some people may just add some items because its more ergonomic and sometimes its just fun to personalize YOUR own property. I don't question why my neighbor has a lawn gnome and if its functional.
 
Well, what is considered frivolous accessories is wholly relative. I believe a compactly mounted red dot sight offers a vast improvement over the stock irons. I don't think I'd get many arguments over that, especially in low-light conditions.
I feel a weapon light is a useful accessory under certain conditions and like the option. I have already thought about which situations where I'd use it and situations where I'd not want it at all.

For example, returning from the deer stand after dark, a gaggle of snarling coyotes sounded like they were mere feet from me and I couldn't see them. Now trying to hold a light in one hand and point a rifle in that direction with the other was a trick. A weapon mounted light would have been the ticket.

Being able to see the stock sights in the dark wouldn't have happened, this is where the red dot sight would've made a difference between spray n' pray and aimed fire.

If I were running for my life or trying to evade capture or otherwise, I'd take the weapon light off completely. You wouldn't want it to come on unintentionally.

I've decided to go with 20-round magazines, I know this isn't really considered an accessory, but I find them to be lighter and makes the overall bulk of the carbine much handier.

These are the only real changes I feel I want for my AK, but obviously ymmv.
 
I think if someone wants to pimp out their rifle then they can. Everyone has different needs and uses for their guns and I personally dont care what you do with your gun.
 
dressed v. (gasp) undressed

An AK looks "right" to me, w/o all the bells and whistles. Similarly, an AR/M4/M16 does not look "wrong" with all the hardware of the day.

Taking a light portable design like the M4 and hanging enough gear on it so that it weighs as much as a M14 seems a bit "wrong".

As much as I hate to admit it, there is likely a place for a white light used properly, on a weapon that will be used in clearing buildings and similar duty.

Much of what drives the gadget craze is looks. Most folks don't clear buildings. (me included )

No light on my AK.
 
So a question for you guys with scopes, and red dots on your AK's. Do you see any considerable amount of accuracy improvement?
 
In my book a AK is a Ak. I cant see investing money in a so called product improved model that just looks nicer but shoots the same as the ugly 300 buck AK. Its kind of like the pictures you see on that "people of wall-mart" web site with the 500 pound women dressed up in outfits like they are super models.
 
With red dots, firstly your sighting ability is vastly improved, you don't have to line up the sights anymore and we all know that even getting a perfectly lined up sight picture with the AK will only get you mediocre accuracy potential.
The second huge benefit is being able to be much more accurate in low to very-low lighting conditions.
To me, the red dot sight has been the single most important development in firearms in a very long while, it just takes firearms into the next level. I can eventually see iron sights disappearing altogether in the not to near future.
Think about it, how hard is it to find a bolt-action hunting rifle nowadays with iron sights on it. You have to special order them.
 
exactly..

with a red dot optic I dont have to worry about my vison problems caused by getting older.
 
There is nothing wrong with your having an AK in one of it's traditional forms - have at it, but don't be an idiot and tell someone it's wrong to enhance and modernize their AK.
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Agreed. Help me out here. Back in ancient times when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Zincwarrior was a lad, the few guys who had AK's treated them like your average NVA. They bought them for plinkers (or an emergency) and liked that you could beat the snot out of them and didn't worry a whit if it looked like it went ten rounds with a javalina.

Has that changed?
 
amprecon
With red dots, firstly your sighting ability is vastly improved, you don't have to line up the sights anymore and we all know that even getting a perfectly lined up sight picture with the AK will only get you mediocre accuracy potential.
The second huge benefit is being able to be much more accurate in low to very-low lighting conditions.
To me, the red dot sight has been the single most important development in firearms in a very long while, it just takes firearms into the next level. I can eventually see iron sights disappearing altogether in the not to near future.
Think about it, how hard is it to find a bolt-action hunting rifle nowadays with iron sights on it. You have to special order them.
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Yeah, but what happens when there's an EMP or direct hit from a Class-X solar flare? :D
 
So a question for you guys with scopes, and red dots on your AK's. Do you see any considerable amount of accuracy improvement?
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Yes I do. The triangle shaped reticule of the Trijicon Reflex sight I use is much more precise than the standard iron sights.

My average groups went from 4-5 MOA to 3-3.5 MOA. The rifle still isn't a tackdriver but there was a significant gain in accuracy. The reflex sight is also significantly faster than the iron sights.

(and with the tritium/fiber optic illumination on trijicon reflex there are no EMP worries either:p)
 
Why not dress up an AK? Believe me, it's not going to hurt it any. These are rugged rifles - they won't break or become unreliable if you dress them up a little. Wasting money??? Isn't any gun you own, other than 1 sidearm, and 1 rifle a waste of money?

It's a hobby. If I was still in my 20's, I'd be all over all of the do-dads they have for AK's. Shoot, I still think some of those tacticool AK's look like fun.
 
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