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Assault rifle inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov dies at 94
BBC ^

Posted on 12/23/2013 8:41:52 AM PST by kronos77

he inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has died aged 94, Russian TV reports.

The automatic rifle he designed became one of the world's most familiar and widely used weapons.

Its comparative simplicity made it cheap to manufacture, as well as reliable and easy to maintain.

Although honoured by the state, Kalashnikov made little money from his gun. He once said he would have been better off designing a lawn mower.

Mikhail Kalashnikov was admitted to hospital with internal bleeding in November.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: ak47; banglist; kalashnikhov; obituary; russia
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar
I had a gun shop owner tell me that some M-16s were made by Matell. I tried not to laugh in his face.

Some of the stocks actually were. Mattel has the capability to mold large parts when we needed to rapidly ramp up production at the beginning of the Vietnam unpleasantries.

As any company would have done in those days, Mattel proudly stepped up to the plate when the country needed them.

61 posted on 12/23/2013 9:32:34 AM PST by null and void (I'm betting on an Obama Trifecta: A Nobel Peace Prize, an Impeachment, AND a War Crimes Trial...)
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To: henkster; mad_as_he$$

The only similarities between the Stg-44 and AK-47 are external cosmetics and the fact that they are gas operated. Kalashnikov used the rotating 2 lug bolt design from the M-1 Garand along with a tweaked version of the Garand trigger group. The Stg-44 used a falling block bolt lock system similar to the FN-FAL.

I saw an interview somewhere where he was talking about how brilliant the design of the M-1 was and how it affected his work.


62 posted on 12/23/2013 9:32:50 AM PST by Tailback
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To: freedomlover

Yep. That is the one on the cover of the magazine.


63 posted on 12/23/2013 9:33:03 AM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar (Sometimes you need 7+ more ammo. LOTS MORE.)
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To: dfwgator
They had their Germans, we had our Germans.

Ice Station Zebra reference?

64 posted on 12/23/2013 9:33:42 AM PST by null and void (I'm betting on an Obama Trifecta: A Nobel Peace Prize, an Impeachment, AND a War Crimes Trial...)
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar; freedomlover

That graphic is great and thanks freedomlover because I wouldn’t have understood what the white stuff was without your explanation. Thanks.


65 posted on 12/23/2013 9:34:05 AM PST by bramps (Mark Levin: Would Christie, McConnell, and Boehner repeal obamacare? Not a chance!)
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To: CPO retired
It's hard to beat a 'Bulgie' AK74 for dependability and cost. You can actually afford to take it to the range often.

66 posted on 12/23/2013 9:35:32 AM PST by Kartographer ("We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.")
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To: Sherman Logan
IOW, weapons and tools. An effective tool is one that works well at what it is intended to do. The AK-47 was never intended to be a precision weapon or a sniper rifle. It worked supremely well at what it was intended for. Nobody can ask more from any tool or weapon. Combining this high functionality with inexpensive construction makes it a work of true genius.

IO,OW, it was perfectly designed to fill its need.

67 posted on 12/23/2013 9:36:28 AM PST by null and void (I'm betting on an Obama Trifecta: A Nobel Peace Prize, an Impeachment, AND a War Crimes Trial...)
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To: kronos77
It may not be the best but it will go down in history as one of the iconic weapons of all time.
68 posted on 12/23/2013 9:38:15 AM PST by McGruff (How's that Hopey Changey thingy workin out for ya?)
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Comment #69 Removed by Moderator

To: freedomlover

Way back I had one of those, a toy Mattel M-16, it was the best!

Now selling on eBay for $4,500

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toy-Mattel-M-16-Marauder-MIB-/321279099654?pt=Vintage_Antique_Toys_US&hash=item4acdba0306


70 posted on 12/23/2013 9:39:38 AM PST by Java4Jay (The evils of government are directly proportional to the tolerance of the people.)
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To: yarddog

The M1 Carbine fires a pistol cartridge. You would never assualt with it. It is designed for CQB support of the M1 Garand, the same as the German MP40.


71 posted on 12/23/2013 9:40:37 AM PST by Azeem (There are four boxes to be used in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury and ammo.)
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To: CrazyIvan

Think of where Russia would be today if they made cars as good as they made AKs? ;-)


72 posted on 12/23/2013 9:41:09 AM PST by Kartographer ("We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.")
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To: dfwgator

“Actually he ripped off the basic design from the Germans.
They had their Germans, we had our Germans. “

“Our German scientists are better than their German scientists!”

The Right Stuff


73 posted on 12/23/2013 9:42:33 AM PST by headstamp 2 (What would Scooby do?)
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar

LOL...I don’t know enough about that, but...I will give the designer, whoever people say it was, his due.

It is a wildly successful design, in my eyes. I presume when you confront someone banging down a door ten paces away, something that can spray a larger caliber projectile without jamming and little training is probably a good thing!

I know it is also true that the M16 was problematic from a reliability perspective when it first came out, but...being in production for such a long time can go a good ways toward fixing those things.


74 posted on 12/23/2013 9:43:04 AM PST by rlmorel ("A nation, despicable by its weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral." A. Hamilton)
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To: Azeem

No the M1 Carbine does not fire a pistol cartridge. I did once have a Ruger Single action which was chambered for the Carbine round. It had so much blast that I traded it off fair;y soon.

The M1 carbine round is in the same class as the original German 8mm Kurts as well as the AK and M16.


75 posted on 12/23/2013 9:46:18 AM PST by yarddog (Romans 8: verses 38 and 39. "For I am persuaded".)
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To: Tailback

Let’s see. Stg/AK:

Top gas tube - check.
Pistol grip - check.
Detachable mag - check.

Garand:

Top gas tube - No.
Pistol grip - No.
Detachable mag - No.

Sorry no sale. the AK’s basic design was ripped off with German help.

http://transsylvaniaphoenix.blogspot.com/2009/02/michail-kalashnikov-admits-german-help.html


76 posted on 12/23/2013 9:47:07 AM PST by mad_as_he$$
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar

“I had a gun shop owner tell me that some M-16s were made by Matell.”

I had thought the stocks and forends were made by them at first.


77 posted on 12/23/2013 9:49:42 AM PST by headstamp 2 (What would Scooby do?)
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar

“Charles Atkins Jr”

Askins?


78 posted on 12/23/2013 9:50:27 AM PST by headstamp 2 (What would Scooby do?)
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To: Jeff Chandler
Reliability, durability, and low production cost.

Well said.

"An engineer can do for a dollar what any fool can do for two."

Arthur M. Wellington

79 posted on 12/23/2013 9:50:48 AM PST by nascarnation (Wish everyone see a "Gay Kwanzaa")
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To: M Kehoe

I’m so old I never got past my M-14...rookie.


80 posted on 12/23/2013 9:50:56 AM PST by ErnBatavia (The 0baMao Experiment: Abject Failure)
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