Mikhail Kalashnikov Dies At 94

Kalashnikov sure knocked one out of the park with the 47, but is he really known for many other designs?
 
Amazing that we celebrate a legacy that has wrought so much death and destruction world wide. We really are a ****ed up species. "A gun so cheap and reliable you can arm every 12 year old with one."
 
Henning said:
Amazing that we celebrate a legacy that has wrought so much death and destruction world wide. We really are a ****ed up species. "A gun so cheap and reliable you can arm every 12 year old with one."
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One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. ;)


I do agree with you, but to ignore the passing of the inventor such an incredible series of world changing and significant automatic small arms (with no formal education) would be to ignore history.
 
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Henning said:
Amazing that we celebrate a legacy that has wrought so much death and destruction world wide. We really are a ****ed up species. "A gun so cheap and reliable you can arm every 12 year old with one."
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Look on the brightside he lived to 94, so it is safe to ignore all that karma crap.:lol:
 
Firearms are tools, no different than cars or hammers. They just get a bad rap because " bad" people use them to promote ideas contradictory to ours.
 
N2124v said:
Firearms are tools, no different than cars or hammers. They just get a bad rap because " bad" people use them to promote ideas contradictory to ours.
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Outside of causing death, what 'tool' function does it have?
 
Henning said:
So, we are celebrating a tool that makes it so simple and effective to blow away the 6th commandment... Ok.
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No one here is celebrating. ;)

Do you demonize the Chinese for inventing gun powder? :nono:

Shouldn't you be drinking a little rum? It's Christmas eve! ;)
 
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I know they are supposed to be cheap, I would love to have one but could not afford it even if they were legal in California. You can actually own one in California if it has a ten round magazine that can only be installed or removed with a tool and can not be switched to automatic fire. It also can not be equipped with a pistol type grip.

You can not carry it anywhere in public without it being in a locked case, the magazine removed, and a chamber lock installed as well.

If a neighbor sees you carrying it or say cleaning it on your patio, and calls the cops saying that she might have felt threatened, you will be arrested and your weapon will be confiscated.

California insists that these laws in no way infringe on our right to keep and bear arms.

-John
 
John Baker said:
I know they are supposed to be cheap, I would love to have one but could not afford it even if they were legal in California. You can actually own one in California if it has a ten round magazine that can only be installed or removed with a tool and can not be switched to automatic fire. It also can not be equipped with a pistol type grip.

You can not carry it anywhere in public without it being in a locked case, the magazine removed, and a chamber lock installed as well.

If a neighbor sees you carrying it or say cleaning it on your patio, and calls the cops saying that she might have felt threatened, you will be arrested and your weapon will be confiscated.

California insists that these laws in no way infringe on our right to keep and bear arms.

-John
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You could book yourself a round trip ticket to Nigeria, buy one (full auto) and send/bring it back cheaper than you can buy one in CA most likely.
 
Henning said:
Amazing that we celebrate a legacy that has wrought so much death and destruction world wide.
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It's as if the inventor of a powerful explosive starting handing out prizes to peacemongers. Oh, wait....

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
It's as if the inventor of a powerful explosive starting handing out prizes to peacemongers. Oh, wait....

Ron Wanttaja
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Yep, lol, a great dichotomy in mankind, let's not forget Drs Guillotine or Gatling either. So why was Hitler considered evil and these men not? :dunno:
 
Henning said:
Yep, lol, a great dichotomy in mankind, let's not forget Drs Guillotine or Gatling either. So why was Hitler considered evil and these men not? :dunno:
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Hitler wasn't on 'our' side.
 
John Baker said:
I know they are supposed to be cheap, I would love to have one but could not afford it even if they were legal in California. You can actually own one in California if it has a ten round magazine that can only be installed or removed with a tool and can not be switched to automatic fire. It also can not be equipped with a pistol type grip.

You can not carry it anywhere in public without it being in a locked case, the magazine removed, and a chamber lock installed as well.

If a neighbor sees you carrying it or say cleaning it on your patio, and calls the cops saying that she might have felt threatened, you will be arrested and your weapon will be confiscated.

California insists that these laws in no way infringe on our right to keep and bear arms.

-John
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It's those Greek lawyers in the California assembly. Direct descendents from Draco. :rolleyes:
 
What about military aircraft? We pay homage to WWII aircraft like the P-51 all the time. The A-10 was great at killing but you can believe they'll be plenty of people that are sad to see it go in 2015.

I don't like death and destruction either but I can respect the brilliance and beauty of some military hardware and the close ties that sometimes develope with their operators.
 
You have to consider more about Kalashnikov, than he just created a machine gun. The success of any weapon has to do with how effective it is in the field AND how well suited it is to the manufacturing techniques of the day.

Take a modern Glock for example, it was designed from the start to be produced on CNC equipment out of modern materials and that is a big part of its success. The AK was designed to be built using simple machine tools, rows of horizontal mills, sheet metal brakes, etc. knocking out one part after another with a non-skilled operator. Kalashnikov was able to work out things like error stacking, tolerances, production methods, etc. so that the weapon could be cheaply produced in 1950's Soviet factory conditions. Contrast that to the Browning 1911 of a similar vintage, a gun that requires a lot of hand fitting and is very subject to things like error stacking. All of the above are legends, but for different reasons, suited for different times, and different levels of technology.

We should never forget the manufacturing lessons that the success of the AK can teach. I believe this is as much of his legacy as anything else.
 
Hmmm, how many people of 'legend' status can we name that weren't involved in death and mayhem?
 
Here in Texas you can go to any gun show and pick up AKs all day long. Actual Russian ones are harder to find but you can find Romanian, Czech and numerous others fairly easy.
 
Ray F said:
Here in Texas you can go to any gun show and pick up AKs all day long. Actual Russian ones are harder to find but you can find Romanian, Czech and numerous others fairly easy.
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Not full autos for $20 though, or trade for some food, gotta go to Africa for that.;)
 
Just a small clarification, it's the AK series assault rifle that has been most successful, not the 47 itself. The most single common rifle is the AKM, which uses a rimless case, which was a major improvement over the AK47.
 
I have to agree with a friend who said he appreciated Klashnikov's attitude.

"I created it to defend the homeland. What the politicians did with it after that is not my concern."
 
SoloEqs said:
Wow, if guns are supposed to cause death, all of mine are defective -- especially the one that saved lives.
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You carry around a Kalashnikov? How many lives has it saved? It's a horrible rifle as far as accuracy goes.
 
The mission of any fully automatic weapon is to fill the air with lead hoping someone will run into it. :D
 
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