Posted on 08/15/2012 10:48:31 AM PDT by blam
Americans Are Snatching Up Russian AK-47s In record Numbers
Geoffrey Ingersoll
Aug. 15, 2012, 1:17 PM
I'll never forget the first thing my ex-wife's father said to me: "Wanna go shoot an AK?"
I obliged.
It turns out Americans are turning to AK 's in droves to fill their home armories.
Russia doesn't mind, and neither do it's arms companies, like Izhmash, which are quickly shifting from military to civilian fabrication in order to fill all the orders.
Overall it's been a good deal for American enthusiasts, and for Russian investors, since existing laws banning Chinese imports essentially subsidizes Russian businesses.
Andrew E. Kramer of New York Times reports "And in the United States, Izhmash cannot be underpriced by Chinese competitors. The federal government has banned most imports of Chinese handguns and rifles since 1994.
Selling Saigas in the United States is integral to the enterprise’s evolving business model of making single-shot civilian guns to occupy workers and equipment in between government orders for fully automatic assault rifles. About 70 percent of the factory’s output is now civilian rifles, up from 50 percent two years ago. Of the civilian arms, about 40 percent are exported to the United States."
To be clear, we're talking about perfectly legal to import, and to own in some states, civilian versions of the AK-47. One shot, semi-automatic. These companies have cut back on their fully automatic, military versions in order to supply the U.S. market.
Due to the Second Amendment and America's widespread culture of gun ownership, the US market for civilian weaponry is among the largest on the globe. The AK has not only a violent history, .
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Got mine! Unbelievable weapon.
I used to own one in 5.56mm.
Lost it in a tragic boating accident on a a deep river.
The feel-good story of the day ...
The AK is as “American” as wood oven pizza and the French Bikini. It’s ours now, a part of American.
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I had the exact same rifle and the same thing happened.....weird.
If either of us still had them, what do you think they are worth.
“Selling Saigas in the United States is integral to the enterprise’s evolving business model of making single-shot civilian guns to occupy workers and equipment in between government orders for fully automatic assault rifles.”
The imported Russian weapons are ‘semi-auto’ not full auto. The writer knows nothing about guns. “Single shot” is different from “semi-auto”, whether the presstitute knows it or not.
While I wouldn’t mind having one, I wouldn’t have traded it for my AR (which by a weird fluke was ALSO lost overboard in a tragic boat sinking).
Lot of that happening these days...
AK-47 accuracy is nonexistent IMHO.
The Saiga-12 on the other hand....
Mucho Funo.
One of the most cowardly things I’ve ever read.
It really is a shame about Chinese weapons and ammo not being allowed in. They were very high quality AKs, Not bad at all M14 clones, and very decent basic 1911s all for less than anywhere else, and the ammo was inexpensive too.
I do not expect anything to change with Romney, since they didn’t change with Bush either.
Waaaaaay over priced.
I’d love to have a 12ga, but not for that kind of money.
The Romanian version isn’t bad at all. We have two.
Rock River has a hybrid. One quibble it looks like direct impingement therefor bringing back the gunpowder back into the bolt area, but then again my AR shoots Wolf ammo well enough so maybe it is not a problem.
http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=558
I want an AN-94 in 5.45mm.
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