[PeteZaHut]

If reliability and ruggedness is important to you, is an AK always going to be the better option?

[purehavoc]

reliability is #1 in my book , if its accurate to .10 moa but isnt reliable then it doesnt matter how accurate it is . As far as ruggedness ? they will take a beating but you also dont want to try to pry a door open with the barrel of either wether its a AR or AK . I myself am a AR fan , Im just not a fan of stamped steel and I prefer the accuracy of the AR over my buddies AK

[bigrock44]

AR's have come a really long way in terms of reliability. For me I would always choose the AR over the AK. And for the argument of the AK having more stopping power, I say that say that great shot placement with an AR would always solve that.

[Sniper03]

I have both and have never had an issue with either! But due to accuracy and ease of operation as well as component availability, I would choose the AR hands down. A good quality AR is very reliable and they have came a long way.
In the past I was involved with a government testing program where the AR was involved. They literally threw them against walls, dropped them on concrete on all sides, sprayed they with salt water solution, heated them, froze them, and buried them in sand and the rifles still worked. The rifles that passed the testing was the Rock River. Which says a lot for them. It resulted in a 25,000 rifle government contract. I have several ARs including an older Colt, a few Rock Rivers and Sabre Defense 6.5 Grendel and 5.56s, And ARs are very reliable and durable. The AK is also very reliable as mentioned since I have had zero problems with them as well. Of course a many a good rifle has been tagged as unreliable simply due to bad magazines. Magazines are the *Number 1 cause of AR and AK rifle malfunctions! I guess I would say it comes down to personal preference! I would not be hesitant about either for defense or a combative situation. If SHTF I would choose the AR since more parts would be available throughout the country that you could acquire if traveling about as well as 223 or 5.56 ammunition.
03

[MikeJK]

Not only that but an AK requires heavier shop tools to repair. Whens the last time you had to press off an AR barrel or gas block? I can carry all the tools required to assemble an AR including the parts for an entire AR in my range bag. I don't think a floor mounted press would fit.

This topic needs to be a sticky or not allowed as it seems to come up every week or 2.

[locutus]

I doubt you'll see any practical difference in reliability between the two.

The modern AR platform is reliable in the extreme.

[Shoobee]

Originally Posted by PeteZaHut

If reliability and ruggedness is important to you, is an AK always going to be the better option?

That was also the conclusion of the military channel, which rated the AK-47 (and subsequent AK-74) the #1 all time "combat rifle."

The other guns that made their list below the AK-47 are interesting to compare, because they fall into certain design catogories:

Bolt-action clip-loaded: 1898 Mauser 98, 1891 Mosin Nagant, 1903 Springfield.

Semi-auto clip-loaded: 1895 Enfield 303, 1933 M-1 Garand.

Semi-auto magazine fed: Sturmgewehr 44, AK-47, M-14, M-16

Modern bull-up battle rifles: Steuer AUG, FN FAL, M-4.

My own personal all time favorite is the M-14 however, rather than any of the above. Primarily because the M-14 is everything that the AK-17 is, only the M-14 is much more accurate at longer ranges.

The AK-47 is a spray and pray weapon, so it requires more ammo than the one shot one kill M-14.

[locutus]

Originally Posted by Shoobee

That was also the conclusion of the military channel, which rated the AK-47 (and subsequent AK-74) the #1 all time "combat rifle."

And that's one man's opinion. Remember, the "top ten" lists are made up by the opinions of a few like minded folks. They're not based on scientific testing. While I find them very interesting to watch, I take their conclusions with a large grain of salt.

[CHLChris]

Originally Posted by MikeJK

This topic needs to be a sticky or not allowed as it seems to come up every week or 2.

I like repeating my opinion over and over. AR AR AR AR. I forget now, what was the question? Oh yeah, it doesn't matter...AR is the answer.

[MikeJK]

Originally Posted by CHLChris

I like repeating my opinion over and over. AR AR AR AR. I forget now, what was the question? Oh yeah, it doesn't matter...AR is the answer.

There's no fault in fact. I saw a cool bumper sticker today. It read,Truth Has No Agenda.

Shoobee, you're probably the guy who reads gun magazines reviews and believes they're unbiased.