AK47 accuracy

[Seaweed02]

What is the best group that I should expect out of an AK47 rifle? Of course I know that the shooter is the main problem in accuracy, but barring operator error.

Has anyone out there put some measurements to paper targets at 100yds with an AK47?

 

[iChokePeople]

What is the best group that I should expect out of an AK47 rifle? Of course I know that the shooter is the main problem in accuracy, but barring operator error.

Has anyone out there put some measurements to paper targets at 100yds with an AK47?

You're aware of the term "minutes of angle"? With AKs, you'll probably need to modify a little and use the term "minutes of latitude".

 

[Seaweed02]

Latitude huh?

You're aware of the term "minutes of angle"? With AKs, you'll probably need to modify a little and use the term "minutes of latitude".

So by that do you mean there is a lot of side to side movement in the rounds impact area?

 

[PTinbound]

With a cheap Romanian WASR I got an 18" group at 100 yards. 5 minutes later, with my friends Polish milled AK, I got a 4" group at 100 yards, both iron sights. You can count on hitting man sized targets all the time at 100 yards with any AK, but that's about it. And they go bang every time with any ammo.

 

[iChokePeople]

So by that do you mean there is a lot of side to side movement in the rounds impact area?

I may have been exaggerating just a tiny bit. "Accurate" in the AK world means it will group better than a drunk Russian throwing darts. How much better is insignificant.

 

[vitamink]

Depends on the Ak, the round it shoots, who made it, or what country it's from. Norincos have heavier barrels and may be less likely to drift POI. A Krebs or Rifle Dynamics custom Ak will probably shoot better than a WASR...some WASRs will surprise you though, some won't surprise you at all.

Here is a picture of a 5.45 after consistent hits on steel at 500yrds away.

 

[teddy12b]

What is the best group that I should expect out of an AK47 rifle? Of course I know that the shooter is the main problem in accuracy, but barring operator error.

Has anyone out there put some measurements to paper targets at 100yds with an AK47?

Not too many months ago I got the AK itch after reading all kinds of glowing reports about Arsenal AK's and how they were plenty accurate for man sized targets out to 300 yards. I came across a deal on an Arsenal SLR-95 and yes I could hit man sized steel plates at 300 yards, but it was about 1 out of 4 or 5 shots fired. I tried 4 or 5 common 7.62x39mm types of ammo and I was never satisfide. In all fairness it's not like I could find any factory ak ammo loaded with sierra matchkings either, and I wasn't using a scope.

For my purposes, the Arsenal AK wasn't accurate enough for what I wanted. I've read good things about other AK's too, but if at the end of the day if you're wanting to shoot better than 1 1/2" - 2" groups at 100 yards and hold that out farther I just don't think you're going to be happy with an AK.

 

[bobzilla]

Clean or dirty? With the old CAI AK we had it was absolutely HORRIBLE clean. Put 3-400 rounds through it and let the carbon build up on the piston and it got more and more accurate. by the time you got 600 rds through it you could consistently keep 3-4" groups at 50 yards. You'd have been lucky to hit the paper clean.

 

[teddy12b]

Here is a picture of a 5.45 after consistent hits on steel at 500yrds away.

How big of a piece of steel? The devil is in the details.

 

[K_W]

If you want a reasonably accurate 7.62x39, get an SKS.

 

[Seaweed02]

Nice

Depends on the Ak, the round it shoots, who made it, or what country it's from. Norincos have heavier barrels and may be less likely to drift POI. A Krebs or Rifle Dynamics custom Ak will probably shoot better than a WASR...some WASRs will surprise you though, some won't surprise you at all.

Here is a picture of a 5.45 after consistent hits on steel at 500yrds away.

So the 5.45 round is very accurate then. I would be very happy to get hits on a steel plate that big at 500 yds. Not to offend, but why not just get an AK in 5.56 instead of the 5.45? Cleaner, non-corrosive, and not too much more expensive.

 

[teddy12b]

Not to offend, but why not just get an AK in 5.56 instead of the 5.45? Cleaner, non-corrosive, and not too much more expensive.

It doesn't exist if you want to be able to buy all the cheap surplus mags and cheap surplus ammo. If you can't get the mags and ammo dirt cheap then the AK ability to reliably fire and miss it's target isn't quite as appealing.

 

[Seaweed02]

How about swapping barrels

Not too many months ago I got the AK itch after reading all kinds of glowing reports about Arsenal AK's and how they were plenty accurate for man sized targets out to 300 yards. I came across a deal on an Arsenal SLR-95 and yes I could hit man sized steel plates at 300 yards, but it was about 1 out of 4 or 5 shots fired. I tried 4 or 5 common 7.62x39mm types of ammo and I was never satisfide. In all fairness it's not like I could find any factory ak ammo loaded with sierra matchkings either, and I wasn't using a scope.

For my purposes, the Arsenal AK wasn't accurate enough for what I wanted. I've read good things about other AK's too, but if at the end of the day if you're wanting to shoot better than 1 1/2" - 2" groups at 100 yards and hold that out farther I just don't think you're going to be happy with an AK.

How about swapping out barrels? Putting in a good stainless steel barrel along with the milled receiver? Would that help the accuracy? Or are there any U.S. made quality barrels for the AK?

 

[jason867]

Here's my AK-47 and the results I get from it.

Yugoslavian M70AB2 underfolder imported/assembled by CAI (a new US made non-chrome-lined Green Mountain heavy barrel, thicker stamped receiver)
Rear sight replaced with a Krebs Peep Sight (did noticably shrink my groups after I installed it)
The usual Tapco G2 2-stage trigger (you can feel the end of the trigger pull, which lets you have a nice crisp trigger for target shooting)

At 50 yards I get about 3" groups on average with all ammo.
Almost 3-1/2" with factory ammo.
With reduced velocity, 150gr cast bullet reloads using 2400 powder, the average group size shrinks to about 2-3/4"

I've shot a lot at 100 yards, but I'm never very proud of the results. I can stay on a torso sized silloutte, but groups are hard to measure, because they look like a shotgun spray pattern, lol.

All of this shooting is done from a bench, with the rifle resting on a bag.

I'm still working on wringing some accuracy from this gun, as I hear often that a good ak should be capable of 3" groups at 100 yards. I want to be able to do that, using these iron sights only, no scope. It's a long shot but I think it's possible. The underfolder stock may be interfering with things...

I've got some Lapua ammo stashed away that I'm going to use sooner or later, and see if that helps the group size at all. Afterward, I'll load up the brass with some matchkings and a better choice of powder. We'll see what I get then.

 

[teddy12b]

How about swapping out barrels? Putting in a good stainless steel barrel along with the milled receiver? Would that help the accuracy? Or are there any U.S. made quality barrels for the AK?

Why? The AK appeals to people because of two things; either dirt cheap ammo & mags, or amazing reliability for a dirt cheap price(relatively speaking).

You could get all kinds of custom work done and maybe you'd squeeze out some more accuracy, but the cost would prohibit most people from thinking it's a worth while investment. There's a lot of AK's out there that people already consider to be the quality rifles, but at the end of the day you don't buy an AK because you emphasize accuracy, you buy an AK because you want to hear a bang every time you pull the trigger. There's a reason why AK's bought the 30rd magazine into the world, and AR's were born with 20rd mags.

 

[Seaweed02]

Jason867

How many grooves in your barrel? Is it a 6 groove barrel or 4? Maybe that is the case. Just like when you shoot an AR, if you have a 1/9 will shoot different weight/velocity bullets than a 1/7 barrel. Right? Maybe you just have to get the right one.

I know people say the bullet is not an accurate bullet. But 7.62 is the same as the 308 round, which is very accurate. So it must be the barrel or something else that makes it not accurate.

Is there a source for better quality barrels for the AK?

 

[Seaweed02]

Not me Teddy12B

Why? The AK appeals to people because of two things; either dirt cheap ammo & mags, or amazing reliability for a dirt cheap price(relatively speaking).

You could get all kinds of custom work done and maybe you'd squeeze out some more accuracy, but the cost would prohibit most people from thinking it's a worth while investment. There's a lot of AK's out there that people already consider to be the quality rifles, but at the end of the day you don't buy an AK because you emphasize accuracy, you buy an AK because you want to hear a bang every time you pull the trigger. There's a reason why AK's bought the 30rd magazine into the world, and AR's were born with 20rd mags.

That is not the reason that I am interested in the AK Teddy. I would rather pay a price close to what I would pay for an M1A1, or a quality AR, and have an accurate rifle. What appeals to me is the AK look.

I never thought I would even like the AK, until a couple of weeks ago. I went to visit a friend in Arizona and we went shooting. He had a Norinco MAK-90 and it shot really great. Very accurate and he had not done anything to it to beef it up either. It just came that way.

 

[MilitaryArms]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n98LszJAlTE[/ame]

 

[teddy12b]

If you're happy with a mak-90 then that's what you should buy since you already know you'd be happy with its accuracy. You'll have all the look you want with it. Let us know how you like it when you buy it.

 

[bobzilla]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n98LszJAlTE

I was just lookingfor that vid! You beat me to it!