Actually, he said, "When you positively, absolutely, have to kill every [expletive deleted] in the room. The very best there is...accept no [expletive deleted] substitutes."
Posted on 12/05/2005 12:25:15 PM PST by 1066AD
AK-47: Iconic weapon All this week, BBC World Service's The World Today programme is looking at the stories behind one of the world's most iconic weapons, the AK-47, and talking to the people who trade in it, the people who carry it, and the people whose lives have been destroyed by it. The global trade in small arms is big business - it involves almost 1,250 companies operating in at least 92 countries producing weapons, parts or ammunition.
The most popular, and perhaps the most iconic, of all these weapons is the AK-47 assault rifle. Its distinctive shape and widespread use made it an icon of violence in the 20th Century.
In the film Jackie Brown, gunrunner Ordell Robbie calls the the AK-47 "the very best there is... accept no substitutes".
AK-47 STORIES MONDAY
But away from the glamour of the big screen, NGOs lament the deadly toll exacted by small arms. The Small Arms Survey 2005 suggested small arms - meaning personal weapons also including pistols, machine guns, grenades, portable anti-tank systems and mortars - were responsible for some 60-90% of direct war deaths, estimated at 100,000 for 2003.
And estimates suggest small arms are implicated in more than 1,000 deaths every day.
"Small arms cause big losses," Louise Frechette, the UN deputy director-general, has said.
Illicit exports
The AK-47 assault rifle is durable, simple to use, and, with only nine parts, easy to dismantle and maintain. It can fire 600 rounds a minute, with each bullet still potentially lethal at distances of more than a kilometre (2/3 mile).
THE AK-47 Stands for Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947 Designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov while wounded in hospital - though he has said he wished he invented the lawnmower instead Produced in greater numbers than any other 20th-Century assault rifle Fires 600 rounds a minute Estimated 70-100m in the world The AK47 has spawned many derivatives, such as the Chinese-manufactured Type 56
It is estimated that 70-100 million Kalashnikov rifles - comprising the AK-47 and AK-74 - have been made worldwide, dwarfing the US-made M-16 at seven million.
The US, UK, France, Russia, and China are responsible for 88% of reported conventional arms exports. In the US alone, the small arms trade accounts for a huge $14bn (£8bn) of exports. The figure in the UK is $4.6bn.
But this trade often ends up being illegally exploited.
These lethal weapons are relatively cheap, highly portable, and easily concealable - characteristics that make small arms particularly susceptible to illicit trafficking. They are often sold illegally in exchange for hard currency or goods such as diamonds, drugs, or other contraband.
In all, estimates of the black market trade in small arms range from $2bn to $10bn a year. The charity Oxfam estimates that between 80% and 90% of all illegal small arms start in the sanctioned trade.
In 2001 the UN launched a Programme of Action to combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms. The programme sets out a series of measures that governments should take internationally, nationally and regionally to control small arms, but it is not legally binding.
In a World Today discussion, defence export consultant Elizabeth Carter commented that there was a lack of awareness about the new measures, and that even weapons manufacturers are confused about the new export controls.
Meanwhile, Paul Eavin, director of the arms-control NGO Saferworld, said one of the biggest sources for the illicit arms trade was theft from state and police armeries.
Developed nations also need to recognise their central role in the trade, he said.
"We would certainly argue that from countries like Britain, there are still too many exports to countries like Colombia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia - and those exports shouldn't be taking place."
AK-47 is broadcast on BBC World Service's World Today programme every day until 8 December at 2300 GMT.
Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4380348.stm
What does the "AR" in AR-15 stand for? Are those made by Colt here in the States?
ROFL.
SIG 550-series, boys ;)
"It is a peasant's weapon with poor accuracy good only for close in fighting" which is what it was designed for as first the Germans then everyone else realised that 200yd+ accuracy was of less importance in a mobile war like that at the end of WW2. It's a great example of the "KISS" principle as well.
Arnold Arms [now out of business] used to make beautiful precision bolt rifles. Expensive, too - 6-7K.
Yeah ... the definitive authority on military hardware is a fictitious character concocted by a movie director noted primarily for his profuse use of profanity and sadism.
Can't remember exactly = Assault Rifle or Automatic Rifle.
Armalite (a division of Fairchild industries, maker of the wonderful A-10 Warthog) had the design from Stoner and later sold it to Colt.
Colt originally made the weapon for the US military, as did divisions of GM (my first M-16 was a Hydramatic). But, patents run out.
Now, the design is a "pattern gun" made by nearly everybody.
But, the top three are ABC:
Armalite
Bushmaster (highest civilian sales)
Colt
Many others (Rock River Arms, Wilson, Knights, et al) are also making the same rifle, but with much lower sales. Knights makes the high-end, specialized versions costing big $$$. Parts are very standardized and interchangeable.
FN currently makes the M-16 (M-16A2 and M-16A4) series under contract.
Colt makes the M-4 under contract, because they exclusively own the TDP (Technical Data Package) for the M-4.
AR stands for Armalite - the original firm that designed the AR-15. Armalite sold the manufacturing rights to Colt.
The "AR" stands for Armalite, the company that invented the AR-15. The inventor was the late Eugene Stoner, a man who was simply a genius.
How do you get one of those Valmets?
And as the Iraqis found out, when the enemy can see you from 2 miles away, accuracy IS important.
That's right, how could I forget - ARmalite.
Duh.
Oh my god, 1,000 a day! That's horrible! That's a 0.006% mortality rate per year worldwide, and probably includes wars. That's nowhere near the deaths from, say, heart disease.
"The best there is" would be the Finnish Valmet copy. AK is a paint sprayer, and the Finns somehow managed to tighten it up without sacrificing reliability.
I agree, I love my select-fire Valmet M-76 in 5.56 NATO.
Select-fire? Meaning, you can go auto?
My cousin, a Marine, "took care of his business" on one of Saddamned's toilets. He said it was pretty cool.
Man, this article is full of tripe... Only 9 parts in an AK-47? Let's see... we have the receiver, barrel, barrel trunnion, rear trunnion, hammer, trigger, disconnector, disconnector spring, auto sear, appropriate pins for all (total 3), bolt carrier and gas piston assembly, bolt, firing pin, extractor, retention pin and spring... then we have the front sight, with the two pins holding it, the muzzle brake, the accessory retention pin and spring, the gas tube and upper handguard, the lower handguard and the rear sight. Let's also not forget the stock and stock components as well as the trigger guard, the magazine catch and the pistol grip. I think we've established the BBC's credibility if they claim the AK-47 has 9 parts.
Also, Kalishnakov never felt bad about the design. He was honored to have been able to assist his homeland in such a great way.
I think I'll skip the obviously misleading and unresearched program on the BBC...
Mike
Actually, he said, "When you positively, absolutely, have to kill every [expletive deleted] in the room. The very best there is...accept no [expletive deleted] substitutes."
Of the manufacturers of AR 15, how do they rank in quality?
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