Customer Reviews

The AK-47 and AK-74 Kalashnikov Rifles and Their Variations

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a collector, I honestly didn't think this was all that good of a book. While some of the information is useful, much of it is either half-right, generalized, or outdated.

The pictures are very poor in general - on page 4 and 5 for example all of the weapons are semi-auto variants, most with US-made receivers. Some of them are obviously the same rifle with different furniture put on to make them look like various countries' rifles. The same sort of thing happens pretty often (for detail pictures of the AK-74 for example, he only uses pictures of a Bulgarian example instead of a Russian example, even though he is talking about features that the Russians designed and used first).

These might be OK to get a general idea of what a rifle from a country looks like, but it is of no help to a collector who wants to look at mold markings or something. One problem I found was that he does not include close-ups of design and stamping differences between different countries, or variations in production in each country as time went on.

He over-simplifies too many things for a collector. He mentions the wire folding stock used by Romania and E. Germany but makes no mention of the differences between the two (push-button versus lever style, etc). He mentions the AK-74 muzzle break, but only mentions 2 of the 5 variations that the Russians have, and then uses a picture of a Bulgarian example. Couldn't he at least have gotten a picture of an actual soviet brake, since they are pretty widely available, even in the US? He makes no mention of the design and production differences between Bulgarian and Russian and DDR brakes, or even Romanian 22mm and Russian 24mm which are not interchangeable, etc. He talks about the triangular folding stocks, but does not mention the differences in design of the stocks made for the AKS-74U and the AKS-74, or the major differences between the Russian and Bulgarian AKS-74 stocks. He does not talk about some of the major design differences that appeared in Russian AKMs as production went on from 1960-77 (top cover and selector switch stuff, front sight base changes, etc).

There are good things about this book. His production figures charts are helpful, and he has some good drawings which could be of use to gunsmiths and builders. He has good info about the different countries that use the AK and it's variants as well.

Overall, I would say that it is a good book if you are looking for general overviews and information, or as a very, very general entry point into collecting. The book falls way short in the details however, so I would definitely not recommend this for someone who is looking for a true guide. There are better resources out there on the web and in print. The books by Masami Tokoi or Edward Clinton Ezell are far better, and a number of websites and forums out there have better info.

This is an excellent book for the collector, shooter and historian. It covers all aspects of these Russian rifles and goes into great technical detail. The book explains the disassembly, cleaning, care and reassembly of the rifles. Of additional interest is the sections on ammunition, acessories such as slings, magazines, cartridge boxes and cleaning implements.

Its a great book , it provide you with information about the AK s and their variation to a point that you can sometime argue an expert, this book is very helpfull ecpecially if your studying CSI and want to be specialised in Ballistics, because it is very Important to know about the weapon beforehand

Unlike the other AK47 by Chris McNab, this is full of picts to show how others had copied characteristics from the original AK. It is the ultimate complement when other gun manufacturers borrow (steal) from Mikhail Kalashnikov's designs.

This is a must have book for anyone who enjoy reading about firearms! Alot of good info. about the Kalashnikov rifles.

The most complete guide I have found for the AK family of rifles. Instresting and informatvie.

Not bad but not a "Bible"

Good pictures

Much more could have been written as book is now out of date