Weapons Comparison “AK vs M4”
M4 Carbine Vs. AK47 Dillon Drews Compare/Contrast 11/1/2012 1 In the battlefield your weapon in your hand is the most important asset the will decide if you are sharing beers with your buddies or dirt with worms. Over the test of time and the history of battles, both the M4 carbine and the AK47 have been scrutinized on which weapon system is the better assault rifle for American troops to use. These dealers of death both have the same result, but in terms of size/weight, ammunition, firepower/ accuracy, reliability and service life.
One can argue, that one assault rifle id better than the other. The M4 carbine entered the military in 1997, which was a more compact version of its predecessor the M16a2. The American made assault rifle was introduced in the Vietnam War and had all kinds of problems, but has been tweaked to the ever-changing battlefield. The M4 carbine enables a soldier operating in close quarters to engaging targets at extended ranges with accurate, lethal fire. The AK47 entered the Russian military in 1947. Russia and many other countries adopted the AK47 as their main military service rifle.
The Kalashnikov has a cheap cost and the ability to fire under any condition; these are the main reasons for its popularity. The M4 carbine has a strong agile body. The stock is retractable and extendable; this is ideally suited for use in close quarters and by soldiers who operate in small rooms or vehicles with limited storage space. The M4 favors are versatility and modularity. The M4 assault rifle has a rail that allows the operator to mount optics and lighting components. The M4 with a fully loaded magazine of 30 2 rounds carries a small weight at 7. 5lbs. This will allow the soldier to carry more ammo for the assault.
The current issue M4 is 33 inches long with the stock extended and 29. 8 with the stock retracted. The AK47 was designed to be cost effective, and manufactured quickly. The AK has variants with collapsible stocks, but mainly has a solid wooden stock. This makes the weapon longer than its American rival at 37 inches. Unlike the M4 carbine, the AK 47 does not have a rail system that allows for optics to be mounted, this limits the additions to the weapon, but helps keep the weight down. The AK47 with a fully loaded 30 round magazine has a heavier weight than the M4 at 10. 5lbs.
The length of the AK47 is only slightly longer than the M4 at 34. 3 inches, which makes it a viable automatic weapon for its size. The M4 Carbine caliber is a 5. 56mm round, which has a weight of 3. 6 grams. Being such a small round compared to the larger round of the AK47, it has a reputation for excellent accuracy, a flat trajectory and a high velocity. This allows shooters to take headshots out to 300 meters. The effective range on this round and M4 is 500 yards and has a lethal range of 900 meters. The high velocity cartridge has longer-range accuracy than the AK47.
AK47 rifles use a 7. 62mm round. With a larger round than the M4 it comes in heavier at 7. 9 grams, but this gives it more penetration power when having to shoot through walls, body armor, or objects being used for cover. However the heavier round has an arched trajectory, where as the M4 was flat. With the arched trajectory 3 add to a less effective range at 380 yards. This makes longer-range targets out of range for the shooter of the AK47. Designed to fire fast, accurate and far the M4 have a straight line recoil design. The recoil spring is located directly behind the bolt.
This significally allows the shooter to shift points of aim and have faster follow up shots with less recoil, leaving the shooter with less fatigue. The smaller round the M4 uses causes less muzzle rise, a limiting factor when firing during fully automatic. The AK47 uses a larger bullet as previously discussed, the larger bullet leads to more kick back and recoil upon firing the weapon. The AK has only two select firing positions, semi automatic and fully automatic. Without a single round firing mode, the weapon fires multiple rounds at a time, which makes it less accurate.
Although the weapon is less accurate, the gun is heavier and has a slower rate of fire. This function helps mitigating the recoil from firing it. The original issue AK47 was not designed with vertical fore grips, some variants have made fore grips to improve characteristics to counter the effects of the recoil. Making a rifle that will be in the hands of the service men that protect your country, the most important factor is reliability. The M4 carbine has gone through trials and tribulations of testing to make it in the hands of our armed forces.
On average the M4 fires 5000 rounds between stoppages, if properly cleaned, lubricated, and maintained. If the chamber is dirty with carbon from fired rounds or dirt, the M4 has the tendency to have rounds jam in the chamber. The 4 manufacturing companies of the M4 carbines have added a forward assist button to the weapon to drive the round in the chamber during a malfunction. The service life of the M4 is between 20,000 to 50,000 rounds depending on how the weapon is fired before the barrel needs to be changed. A over fired barrel will cause the bullets to tumble during flight.
The upper receiver on the M4 can be changed out without using any tools, which makes the rifle efficient for the user. Russia made the AK47 to be a cheap, cost effective weapon. The parts that were used all to make the weapon were made not to last. Reliability of the AK47 is what the weapon is known for, and is why the weapon is used all over the world. The rifle can function properly in a dirty environment with little maintenance. The weapon can function after being submersed in mud, water or sand. The simple large parts that make the weapon allow this to happen.
When dirty this weapon is less accurate. The AK47 barrel lasts between 6,000 to 15,000 rounds, which is much less than the M4. After all the consideration of all the facts based on the characteristics of the weapon systems, the M4 carbine has more proficiency marks than the AK47. Knowing that America is the greatest nation in the world, and has the strongest military. I am glad to see that an American made weapon in my eyes is an all around better weapon system for our troops to be using, protecting the country, and fighting the evils that threaten my freedom.
