12-08-2015, 09:18 PM
(12-08-2015, 08:16 PM)Vas Deferens Wrote: Enough about your mother...
Sorry.
It always subliminally creeps into conversation.
I suppose it's because she gushes about/from you so often.
Thanks for keeping a 65 year old happy.
(12-08-2015, 08:16 PM)Vas Deferens Wrote: Don't free market principles play into the availability and cost of the ammo though? Extending this out, wouldn't other cheap, durable, versatile 'platforms' (like that term btw) appear if more stringent restrictions of high capacity automatic weapons were put in place?
I'm all for people owning guns for personal protection, AK's, etc seem like overkill. You want to protect your home and family from invasion and one-off psycho's, more power to you. But anyone who thinks they're going to stand up to the gov in the constitutional sense in today's age is bat shit insane if you ask me.
The ammo (7.62x39) is one of the most abundant on the planet (along with 9mm, 22 lr, and 12 ga).
It has been manufactured and exported by many countries.
I call it a platform as there are many legal modifications that can be made to make it user friendly (odd choice of words, I know).
The platform has also been altered to use as a shotgun.
As far as use for personal protection.....
A responsible gun owner would use frangible ammo, which would decrease the likelihood of penetrating through walls and harming anything other than the immediate target.
That being said, I'm not using a long-gun in home defense.
Quarters are far to close and an intruder would only have to wait around the corner, grab the barrel of the gun, thrust it into the air, and drop your sorry ass.
I prefer a 9mm handgun with a large capacity.
Oh, forgot some things on the AK.....
The tolerances are so loose on the bugger that you can bury it in the bottom of a flowing streambed, leave it for 2 weeks, come back, dig it up, and fire it without issue. (it's been done as a test by special forces)
I also want to add that the vast majority of AKs that come into the country are NOT automatic.
As a matter of fact, there are even a large amount that only accept 10 round magazines. (although not difficult to alter)
So, yeah....
I hope that helps some people understand the appeal.
I understand the stigma with the weapon, as it has probably killed more people on the planet than any other weapon.
If it helps anyone, Mikhail Kalashnikov (the weapons creator) regretted ever conceiving the firearm.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-13/ak-47-rifle-inventor-mikhail-kalashnikov-regrets-creating-weapon/5198396
