Haley Strategic Kalashnikov: The Basics of Shooting an AK

Most sources concur that over 100 million particular person AK-pattern rifles have been produced worldwide. At time of writing, the world’s inhabitants is estimated at 8 billion. Meaning there may very well be roughly one AK for each 80 individuals on your entire planet; counting out these which were misplaced or destroyed in fight, let’s name it one Kalashnikov for each 100 individuals on earth. There’s a statistically vital probability that, in case you haven’t already seen, touched, or fired an AK, you’ll sooner or later. Hopefully it’s since you purchase one or shoot a buddy’s on the vary. However, with the commonality, low price, and recognition of this rifle — notably amongst radical actors world wide who’ve imported their extremism to American shores — there’s an sadly actual chance chances are you’ll come throughout one within the “actual world” beneath much less pleasant circumstances.

Whatever the context, understanding the Kalashnikov’s distinctive manual-of-arms is a invaluable ability to have in your library of preparedness data. Whereas many of the RECOIL OFFGRID group has earlier expertise with AKs from personally owned weapons or deployments abroad, it by no means hurts to refresh a skillset beneath the steerage of specialists. On this case, we attended the three-day D5 Kalashnikov course placed on by Haley Strategic Companions (HSP). Former Power Recon Marine and HSP proprietor Travis Haley has intensive data of this platform via a number of deployments world wide as a Marine and unbiased contractor. Extra not too long ago, HSP teamed up with famed AK gunsmith Jim Fuller and his new firm, Fuller Phoenix. We had the privilege of studying straight from these two AK specialists throughout our time within the course. On the finish of the day, correct sight alignment and set off press are universally relevant, however the accompanying manipulations are considerably totally different for these used to AR-pattern black rifles.

AK Setup & Tools Notes

In preparation for this class, we took the possibility to strain take a look at an AK we had available from a earlier evaluate in RECOIL, and the accent configurations we thought have been supreme for working these weapons laborious within the desert mud.

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Above: Our full load-out for this course, together with OTTE Gear LVZ OVT Plate Provider with G-Code Scorpion magazine pouches, which flex to accommodate the odd form of 5.45x39mm magazines.

The bottom gun is a Petronov Armament AK-74 in 5.45x39mm. The smaller 5.45mm cartridge has higher long-range ballistics than its greater, heavier 7.62mm progenitor, and has an extremely gentle, fast recoil impulse that’ll give anybody the giggles after a couple of quick strings of fireside. I dressed this rifle out with a Mk1 handguard system from Sureshot Armament, which incorporates an M-LOK handguard in addition to a railed gasoline tube. The 2 items are machined to hyperlink collectively and reinforce one another for a safe match. A TangoDown M-LOK vertical grip, SureFire Scout Mild Professional, and Definitive Arms muzzle brake rounded out the front-end setup. For optics, I mounted a Holosun 512 crimson dot to a Strike Industries rear sight riser rail. This resulted in a minimalist optic mount that sits good and tall for a heads-up place whereas taking pictures and facilitates passive aiming beneath evening imaginative and prescient. The rear finish was dressed out with an identical TangoDown Battle Grip and a Mounted Triangle Inventory from CRH Customs. Because the title implies, this inventory replicates the appear and feel of a conventional triangle folder for fixed-rear-trunnion receivers. Whereas there’s no folding mechanism, it’s a light-weight, low-bulk inventory with a lovely aesthetic.

Above: The enterprise finish of our Petronov Armament AK-74, together with a number of containers of Century Arms’ Pink Military Normal 5.45x39mm ammo.

Lastly, we connected an Arbor Arms adjustable sling and dropped in an ambidextrous Lightning Bolt from Colorado Capturing Sports activities. This equipment features a bolt service and prime cowl that may be had in both left-side or ambi-charging deal with configurations. Slab-sided Bulgarian mags courtesy of GunMag Warehouse stored this rig well-fed all through the course. It ought to be famous that many people shied away from AK-74s as soon as a ban on the importation of low-cost Russian 7N6 surplus ammo was applied in 2014. However Pink Military Normal, Century Arms’ ammo imprint, sells non-Russian 5.45mm ammo that functioned flawlessly for us. On the time of writing, a 1,000-round case may very well be had for proper at $400, which places the value at or simply beneath comparable .223/5.56mm ammo.

The variations in manual-of-arms between AKs and ARs primarily boils right down to variations within the three fireplace management interfaces: the security selector, the charging deal with, and the journal launch.

Charging an AK

Above: Haley Strategic teacher Jared Segraves demonstrated a number of totally different strategies of charging AK sample rifles.

Charging your weapon (chambering a spherical) will be both an administrative or preventing perform, relying on the context. You could be loading your weapon after which inserting it on secure for prepared storage — in your automobile or beneath your mattress, for instance. You could be conducting an administrative “load and make prepared” at a course or competitors. Or chances are you’ll be in the midst of a firefight and conducting an emergency reload.

All of these conditions have one factor in widespread: They require you to cycle the bolt. AR shooters are spoiled by the addition of a devoted mechanism to lock the bolt in an open place and to launch it on the literal push of a button. Mr. Kalashnikov, it appears, would’ve dubbed such a factor extraneous. As an alternative, the bolt deal with is connected to the service itself and pokes out the ejection port facet of the rifle by about an inch. For right-handed shooters, there are a few totally different strategies to run this deal with.

The preferred methodology might be working your assist hand beneath the rifle, in entrance of the journal and racking the bolt that manner. Alternately, you’ll be able to attain excessive of the receiver and run the bolt along with your assist hand. In case you’re working a basic iron-sighted AK, or one with a forward-set optic (rear sight rail, as seen right here, or on a railed gasoline tube), then whether or not you attain beneath or over the receiver is essentially private choice. However in case you use the side-rail optic mount or a railed prime cowl to mount your optic additional again on the rifle, that placement might intrude along with your means to succeed in excessive.

Left: Segraves rolls the rifle left to run the charging deal with from above. Proper: Reaching beneath is without doubt one of the most typical methods to run the charging deal with, particularly on AKs geared up with optics.

There are variations on each of those strategies that contain rolling your entire rifle 90 levels left or proper. This orients the charging deal with straight up or straight down. Whereas this may make the charging deal with extra accessible, because you’re not wrapping your assist arm utterly over or beneath the receiver, you’ve got now launched extra movement that requires shifting each palms concurrently (roll the rifle with sturdy hand, run the bolt with assist hand) with out decreasing the quantity of labor your assist hand already needed to do. The cadre at Haley Strategic makes some extent to emphasise biomechanical effectivity, as “going sooner” is straight associated to financial system of movement. Subsequently, rolling the rifle — whereas demonstrated — wasn’t prioritized in coaching. In truth, reaching beneath the rifle was our methodology of alternative; it appeared to work persistently for the widest array of rifle setups with out adapting or modifying the approach itself.

Above: Some customers favor to maintain the assist hand on the rifle and transfer the dominant hand to the charging deal with. This presents the benefit of sustaining a relentless sight image.

Lastly, there’s a 3rd methodology: eradicating your sturdy hand off the pistol grip to rack the bolt whereas holding the rifle up along with your assist arm. Most Western colleges of thought on working any sort of defensive carbine suggest you reduce the variety of instances you take away your hand from the grasp grip. Nevertheless it’s an possibility price contemplating, and one which’s reportedly extra widespread amongst Russian and Japanese European customers. The upside to this system is that it permits the shooter to keep up a steady sight image and shouldered place whereas charging the AK, very similar to one would whereas working a bolt-action rifle.

Reloading an AK

Between ARs and AKs, there are two major variations in reload administration: You can’t attain the journal launch along with your set off finger, and you can not insert journal straight into the receiver – mags have to be rocked out and in.

Above: Reloading the AK whereas retaining the (partially) spent journal. 

Reloads WITH Journal Retention

If you wish to maintain your journal, say within the case of a tactical reload, the normal V- or L-shaped reloads you’ll have realized on an AR is not going to work right here. You’ve received two fundamental choices. The primary is to utterly take away the journal from the gun by itself. Seize the magazine excessive and, in a beer-can grip, press the journal launch tab along with your thumb, rock the magazine ahead and down. Stow it in a dump pouch, magazine pouch, or pocket. Seize a recent magazine, rock it in front-to-back. If consistency throughout a number of weapon platforms is your jam, or in case you already use a “grip-and-strip” methodology in your AR, that is the best way to go. The adjustments are minimal, and solely to accommodate the mechanics of the rifle itself.

The opposite approach is to take away your new magazine off your equipment first. Then, once you deliver your recent magazine as much as the rifle, pin it to the left facet of the receiver and get your digits round each the reload and the journal at the moment within the gun. Pop the discharge tab along with your thumb. Rock the magazine out of your gun, transfer your hand to place the brand new magazine beneath the gun, and click on it into place. Slide the partial (or empty) magazine you simply eliminated off the recent reload, maintaining it in your grip the entire time, and stow it. This can be sooner if educated sufficiently, however requires a baseline of hand dimension and guide dexterity to execute successfully.

Reloads WITHOUT Journal Retention

In case you’re not involved with retaining the journal, each of the above-listed strategies work nearly the identical. The one distinction on the second methodology can be to deliver the journal alongside the receiver and, once you hit the discharge tab along with your thumb, simply comply with via one other inch or so to knock that magazine out so it falls free. Then, insert your new magazine.

Above: When it isn’t essential to retain {a magazine} (i.e. an emergency reload), merely lengthen the thumb to press the journal launch and knock the empty magazine misplaced.

There’s, after all, the tactic made widespread by social media and tacticool AK operator web movies: drawing a recent magazine off your equipment, turning it sideways, and utilizing the entrance fringe of the journal itself to hit the discharge tab and fling the empty magazine out of the gun. We admit, it’s received fashion factors. However these factors are gained totally out of context. Based on the cadre at Haley Strategic, this methodology was truly developed for Russian troops preventing in excessive chilly climate circumstances — usually whereas carrying “half mitts” with unbiased thumb and set off fingers, and the remaining digits certain up in true mitten fashion. With this decreased dexterity, utilizing the journal as a reload instrument made sense. Nevertheless it’s not notably environment friendly from a biomechanics standpoint. Additionally, the effectiveness of this transfer may very well be influenced by the dimensions, form, or high quality of building of your magazines or your journal launch tab. As cool as it would look, executing a easy and environment friendly reload to get again on track rapidly will at all times be cooler.

Above: The now-famous methodology of utilizing your full magazine to eject your empty one got here from Soviet troops in chilly climate carrying arctic mittens.

AK Malfunctions

Regardless of what you’ll have heard wherever ever, the Kalashnikov is, the truth is, able to malfunctioning (gasp). However, if constructed to correct specs, it’s a reasonably uncommon prevalence.

Along with the rugged simplicity and comparatively free tolerances of the system itself, the 7.62x39mm’s full-taper case geometry aids in reliability by minimizing the opportunity of a caught case — whether or not via swelling or particles within the motion. A lot of the widespread malfunctions we’ve run throughout are usually journal associated. Typically the difficulty is the journal itself, particularly in case you’re taking pictures from the inclined place in a dusty atmosphere as we did. Muzzle brakes kick up lots of mud, and it will get in all places. Different instances, the journal nicely or journal locking latch isn’t correctly sized. Within the latter case, the journal hangs so loosely contained in the nicely that rounds might not be lined up correctly with the chamber. In case you lock {a magazine} into your AK and it wobbles side-to-side a bit, that’s normally acceptable. But when it wobbles front-to-back, maintain a detailed eye out for feeding points. When it comes to remedial motion for malfunctions, the method — like all issues AK — is easy. Versus AR malfunction procedures, which are usually taught in a “if this, do this” format, there may be precisely one malfunction process for the AK platform:

1. Run the charging deal with
2. Press the set off

If that doesn’t repair it …

1. Take away journal
2. Run charging deal with
3. Reinsert journal
4. Run charging deal with
5. Press set off

The method is even additional simplified by Haley Strategic teacher Jared Segraves, who reminded us that, when all else fails: “Simply unload the gun, then reload the gun.”
With roughly 20 college students over three days working 1,000 rounds every, we didn’t see any malfunction that wasn’t remedied by this process.

Above: Travis Haley demonstrates AK malfunction clearance.

Classes Realized

After three days and 1,000 rounds via my take a look at rifle, I additionally got here away with some classes about how my particular rifle was configured and made some adjustments to combine stated classes.

The most important concern I had was with the handguard. The Sureshot Armament system labored nice, however the model I ran was their shorter “4-slot” Mk1 handguard which is designed to work with a typical AK handguard retainer. The handguard itself held up high-quality, even via back-to-back runs of rapid-fire drills. However the handguard retainer heated as much as the purpose the place, even with gloves on, it grew to become too scorching to maintain a hand on that portion of the entrance finish. Luckily, the answer was pretty simple. The Sureshot Mk1 can be obtainable in an extended “5-slot” mannequin that gives one other row of usable M-LOK slots on the so-called price of reducing off the handguard retainer. A Dremel instrument and reducing wheel made fast work of the retainer, and swapping the four-slot for a five-slot decrease handguard was a matter of a pair screws and locking tabs.

Switching to the marginally longer Sureshot USA Mk1 handguard (pictured beneath) gave us extra usable rail area and allowed us to ditch the handguard retainer, which acted as a warmth sink.

The one different “concern” we bumped into was with the CRH inventory. Once more, we need to make clear that it functioned high-quality. There was no rattle or flexing within the inventory throughout our vary time. However the excessive quantity of fireside made the all-metal inventory with machined-in tread sample on the butt pad considerably uncomfortable to shoot, even with the light-recoiling 5.45mm spherical. That is, after all, a matter of private choice. We’d nonetheless suggest the CRH Mounted Triangle for anybody who’s occupied with it, however be aware that it received’t child your shoulder in case you run your AK laborious and accomplish that usually.

Above: The CRH inventory incorporates a deep-cut tread sample.

For these occupied with extra adjustability or flexibility on the again finish, we additionally experimented with a VLTOR RE-5 tube extension, capped with a BCM Gunfighter butt inventory. Whereas not as svelte because the CRH, the thick recoil pad on the tip of the BCM inventory was a bit comfier to shoulder throughout prolonged vary classes. This combo provides some size and bulk to the tip of the gun in comparison with the CRH possibility, however particular person wants and choice will aid you make your inventory choice.

Above: An AR-style inventory adapter presents further adjustment if most popular.

Lastly, we eliminated the prolonged charging handles on our ambi Lightning Bolt. Whereas the knurled, screw-on sleeves did give us some further buy throughout quick reloads, we discovered that our slow-fire teams have been considerably bigger than we thought they need to be — about 4 to five inches throughout at 50 yards. Even for an AK, that’s an issue. Particularly when our “teams” have been basically lateral strings with no vertical dispersion. Luckily, Jim Fuller occurred to be on the vary and ran down some fundamental diagnostics with us. The top outcome was realizing that our explicit 74 has some fairly free tolerance between the bolt service and receiver rails. So, the additional weight of the outsized charging deal with knobs was creating a major quantity of left-right play within the BCG because it cycled. As quickly as we eliminated these, our teams shrunk to a way more respectable 1.5 to 2 inches throughout at 50 yards.

Above: Strike Industries’ rear sight rail permits a extra head-up taking pictures stance.

Every little thing else withstood the crucible of Haley’s D5 Kalashnikov course, and the rifle stays in any other case unchanged apart from these two plug-and-play elements swaps. Not solely was I extraordinarily glad with this rifle construct, however I additionally got here away from the Haley Strategic class with a deeper, extra nuanced understanding of the peculiarities of working an AK-style rifle as a major responsibility weapon. Whether or not you propose to run an AK as your major survival rifle or simply need to learn to deal with the rifle most typical to America’s enemies, we extremely counsel investing in some particular coaching, and the Haley D5 AK course is without doubt one of the greatest choices we all know of on the market. The Kalashnikov platform is rugged, dependable, simple to function, and generally discovered all world wide. In case you don’t have one in your armory, contemplate getting one and studying learn how to function it correctly. As at all times, forewarned is forearmed.

Sources

Written by Tom Marshall