Americans are snapping up Russian guns.
It’s an old story — a legend since it opened its doors in 1917, principal employer for its home town, suddenly drifting into sinking sales and facing bankruptcy — until export markets opened up, and now the Izhevsk Machine Works is shipping its famously deadly old Kalashnikov rifles as fast as they can turn them out.
Not to the military anymore. The people that snap them up now are the insatiable American civilian gun owners.
So we’re bankrolling one more new growth industry, even if it isn’t on our own shores.
Sevesteen says:
I don’t know why so many people get upset about the AK variants available in the US. These aren’t machine guns, they work just like a hunting rifle with one bullet per trigger pull (except AK bullets are weaker than most hunting rifles, since they were meant to be controllable in the full-auto machine gun version). The stock magazine holds more ammo-but you can get higher capacity magazines for most hunting rifles, or low-capacity for an AK.
But they are scary-looking. Seems to be emotions rather than facts.
November 17, 2012, 11:53 pmSM says:
As a foreigner, the rush on the gun stores in the US whenever Douglas Adams’ “wrong lizard” wins an election looks very strange. As far as I can tell, effective gun control is politically and practically dead there, and Obama doesn’t seem to have a serious interest in reviving it. He has made casual comments in favour of a lot of things which he has not felt politically capable of doing!
November 18, 2012, 1:41 pmWilliam Kone says:
I wish there was a good US maker of the AK variants. But then I own Brazilian pistols (Taurus), Austrian pistols (Glock), German rifles (Heckler and Koch, Mauser), and a Romanian AK-47 semi auto.
I like US companies, with a Colt 1911, and a Browning .40 cal. Not to forget my Ithaca 12ga, Remington .22 lr.
The problem is that it cost so much to make a quality weapon in the US that you’re not seeing the growth like the pre-60′s. I like to shoot my AK, it is a low cost (compared to my M1 Grand or Winchester 700). Is not a bad varmint weapon (coyote, wood chuck, two legged rat) and simply having it bothers the daylights out of people who think they know how I should live my life better than me.
My AR-15 is better designed than my AK, from a human factors view. But it is fun to shoot either way. Well, all are fun to shoot.
November 19, 2012, 10:20 amKen says:
I think for each ridiculous gun a moron (i.e. anyone who thinks they need one) wants to buy they should give up a toe before being allowed the purchase. Allright sir, I’m going to need you to place your right foot on the butcher block please. It’s really just a formality since they will shoot the toe off sooner or later anyway.
November 19, 2012, 8:00 pmSevesteen says:
SM: At least part of this is because of the way new federal-level bans are almost always done–rather than confiscation the ban only covers new manufacture or import. If you’ve got one (of whatever it is) you can keep it–or later sell it at a huge profit.
November 20, 2012, 9:01 amDana Gabbard says:
SM, part of this is various folks in the media etc. inflaming fear to their own financial benefit. The net, snail mail etc. is full of dire warnings that solicit donations to allegedly fight the good fight. Many folks make a tidy sum playing to this stuff (Fox News etc.)
November 20, 2012, 12:53 pm