Question by Marc: What is the most accurate version of the AK 47?
What is the most accurate version of the AK-47? What is the best one for sport. Don’t tell me to buy an AR Varient.
Answers and Views:
Answer by Cosmonaut
How about the Dragunov sniper rifle variant.
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Tiger74 says
Like most of the repsonses on here, finding a AK-47 that is accurate as a AR is rare if not impossible to find. BUT! If you want an AK variant that has better accuracy then the 7.62×39 cartridge, I suggest you look into the AK-74 variants. AK-74s use the 5.45×39 cartridge. What I like to call the Soviet .223. Still not as accurate as the .223, but ALOT better than the 7.62×39.
I own both variants. A Romanian AIM(7.62) and a Polish WZ-88 Tantal(5.45). I must admit I like the Tantal more. Lighter recoil, lighter mags, lighter bullets. And definitely cheaper than .223 and 7.62×39.
Charlie says
if you wan a high precision AK you should buy a dragonov sniper rifle. but if you are talking about just the AK47 assault riffle. then you should go with the classic Russian version. or of course there is the AK-74 which is the updated version of it firing a smaller round that results in higher precision.
Michael G says
I shoot a Bulgaria Arsenal SLR96, excellent weapon. For the good stuff get a Valmet, or a Polytech.
Mr. P says
The only way you’re going to get any accuracy out of a AK is to throw money at it just like the guys with their AR’s. A milled receiver to start with not one stamped out of sheet metal and bent into shape but one milled from a solid piece of high quality steel. Replace the barrel with a higher quality one and have a qualified gunsmith do the installation with proper crowning and head spacing. Replace trigger assembly and fire control group. Now you’re looking at a $ 1000.00 rifle but it will be more accurate then a parts gun from Romania. The beauty of the AK-47 is it’s a simple design and can be made very cheaply with good reliability and battle proven endurance. That’s where the AK shines there is nothing in it’s price range that does it better.( SKS is a close second) Here’s a link to some well made AK’s don’t let the prices scare you.
http://www.lancasterarms.com/STANDARD%20AK%20PAGE%201.html
DJ says
I have fired a lot of AKs, owned several and currently have two.
The MAK-90 I have was customized by a previous owner who was an armorer at a nearby military facility. One great thing about being near a large base, when the guys ship out for overseas duty, they sell off some nice toys in the local paper!
The upgrades on this piece were well worth more than the original rifle itself. He changed the barrel (don’t know the details) and did some other things to it, and as soon as I shot it, I bought it, as it is the most accurate AK I have shot.
Now, what does that mean? It means I can hit a paper plate at 100 yards fairly consistently offhand and can create 6-7 inch groups at 100 yards from sandbags on a concrete bench. Not exactly “tack driver” material.
An SKS, if it has a good barrel, will do better than that. If you move the distance to 200 yards, the SKS will beat the pants off the AK in getting on target. I use this comparison as it’s the same ammo.
I also have a Bulgarian AK, which is not as accurate but superior to most other AKs. I have fired the Yugos and Saigas and Romaks and to me they feel very junky and sloppy, but I’m comparing them to a nicely upgraded and well-tuned milled receiver MAK, so that’s a spoiled perspective.
They will all “spray and pray” pretty well, but none will ever get you close to accuracy without a lot of work.
Now, I do know people that hunt deer with AKs. I know more that use an SKS, but there’s a few that will use the AK, particularly if they have a point to make. It seems like way too much of a risk to me, I like to be productive in my hunts and bringing along a rifle that just may not get the job done is stupid, but to each his own.
Li says
“AK-47” and “accurate” do not belong in the same sentence. If you have an AK-47, you probably won’t shoot at anything past 200 yards with an AK-47.
Not all AKs are the same, however. The tolerances vary a lot and some are better than others, even if they were manufactured in the same factory in the same year. Most AKs have tolerable groups at 50 yards and some are just outright horrible.
For the most part, it’s going to involve of a lot of trial and error in obtaining and shooting AK-47s.
ntolerant says
OK, it has been established the is no such thing as an accurate AK. I have been beating that drum to death with downward thumbed ratings every time someone asks the AK vs. M16 question! It is great how everyone turns on what they favored previously because the question is asked in a style that would not warrant an argument if answered the same.
That being said, of all the crooked shootin AK’s, I believe the Yugo is less crooked than the rest bub…Have a good ‘un.
Chris _from_LA says
I don’t know which one is the “most accurate” version of the AK-47. It’s Built in Russia though.**cough** Saiga **cough**
But I do know that the original AK-47 was not designed for close quarters combat. It’s maximum effective range was about 400 meters, that is over 430 yards. The rear sight elevation goes up to 800 meters.
I didn’t have extensive training on the AK-47 in the Army but the intro course did have us firing on the same 300 meter pop up target range as the M16A2.
JD says
The AK was never designed to be a highly accurate weapon, so your question is moot to begin with. The AK-47 was designed as an intermediate range
weapon with an increased cyclic rate of fire for frontal assault type combat..It will never be known as a weapon of high “accuracy” or for “sport” as you described. You have also painted yourself into a corner by qualifying your question not to suggest that you buy a “variant”. There are nothing BUT.. VARIANTS out there in semi-automatic, unless you have a BATFE Class III Permit to buy a fully automatic version/variant…..
So I will not bother to tell you what you don’t want to hear…lol
*Note. A bit or research and most will find the the maximum effective range is 300 yards for an AK-47*