What's the Deal with AK-47s in America?

Recently I have gotten involved in discussions with a few people about the AK-47 and it's derivatives and whether or not this weapon in the United States is something that is especially dangerous or useful and whether it would be 'unsporting' to use an AK as a hunting rifle. In this process it has been clear to me that 99% of the people who feel compelled to write something about the AK know absolutely nothing about it. Even those who do look it up on the Wikipedia or something don't understand the distinctions between those available in the US and those seen abroad. And certainly they tend to know too little about firearms generally to put any of the information in a useful context.

The primary thing to understand is that every single AK-47 (or derivative) legally in private hands in the US is not a real AK. Sure, it looks like the AKs you see in the hands of foreign armies. But importing or manufacturing fully automatic weapons for civilians has been essentially illegal in the US since the 1930's. Well before the AK was even invented.

These so-called AKs are actually a bunch of AK parts which have been assembled on a semi-automatic receiver. The barrel, trigger, stock and other small parts. The most basic definition of an assault rifle is an intermediate caliber rifle capable of selective fire. Which is to say that it can be fired as a full auto. These things are not capable of doing that. The AKs on the American market don't fire any faster than most hunting rifles. And in fact the cartridge fired by a standard AK (the 7.62x39) is the ballistic equal of the weakest rifle cartridge typically used for deer (30-30).

Your run-of-the-mill 30-06 semi-automatic hunting rifle is more powerful and is a more potent weapon than the American AKs.

Let's look at the other characteristics of these surplus military AKs in the US. They can mount bayonets. So? It's not like you can't cross the street without being mugged at bayonet point. I must be missing the stories in the news where armed gangs are charging each other with bayonets. In practical terms, they don't appear to be a public danger. AKs often have pistol grips. Well, that's just good ergonomics for a lot of people. I don't see how good ergonomics are a public hazard. And then they can accept high-capacity magazines. So can any semi with detachable magazines. You can get 5 round magazines for the AK as well. The magazine is a detachable thing. Not a permanant part of the rifle. It's like being mad at the Honda Civic because you saw one with a retarded-looking aftermarket spoiler on the back.

Here is the attraction of the American AK. It is a very, very dependable rifle. You can throw it in a safe or in your trunk for a couple of years and knock it around some and forget to clean it and it will go bang when you need it to. This isn't true of most firearms. The tolerances between parts are very loose such that mud or grit can get in there but not interfere with function. The AK is the Jeep Wrangler of the rifle world. You can take it anywhere and put it through the worst kind of abuse and it won't let you down.

Regarding the common assertation that there would not be much sport involved in hunting with an AK, I really don't think that people have thought this through. As only a semi-auto it's not as if one could spray the deer or other prey with dozens of bullets. Whether you hunt with a semi-auto or a lever action or whatever, the issue is shot placement. Not rate of fire. Placing, say, 2 bullets in the heart/lungs region of the deer (a target about 8 inches across) takes just as long with a semi as it does with a bolt action or a lever gun. Most of the job there is getting your aim right and remembering exactly what part of the animal to aim at. Cycling the action only takes a split second.

High magazine capacity would be no advantage at all. I have enough deer hunting that I can tell you that if you have not brought the deer down with the first one or two shots then there is no way that any more will do the trick as the deer will be long gone.

If anything, hunting with an AK would offer a bit of a unique challenge because it's accuracy beyond a couple hundred yards leaves something to be desired and the cartridge that it fires is on the weaker side, similarly restricting the useful range. You could successfully hunt deer with it (and people certainly have) but you would have to restrict your shots to within 100 yards or maybe as far as 150. This would necessitate getting closer to the animal before shooting, meaning that you will test your abilities to 'work the wind', stalk silently and patiently or perhaps develop some skill in calling the animal closer by mimicking the bleat of a doe in heat or the grunt of a buck.

In summary, the AKs that are encountered in the US are tough, hardy tools which are less deadly than most civilian hunting rifles and are certainly less precise tools. But they have their applications. In the tool box of my truck I keep some tools in the event of a break-down. Not my best tools because they are getting wet sometimes and getting knocked around and generally beat up. But anything I keep in there has to work in an emergency after I have pretty well ignored it and failed to clean or oil it for months. Such is the AK. For someone who lives in a rural area with a lot of bears or coyotes or where odds of hitting a deer on any given night are pretty good (and thus needing to finish it off), an AK in the trunk is not such an absurd thing.