I am an AK guy, and my gf is a new (I've trained her on handguns pretty well) shooter. She's from Up North and had never handled guns before she came here. She's complained that my AKs are heavy and she even had trouble shouldering an SKS. She's consequently never fired a rifle. I'm building an AMD-65 that she'll hopefully like, and that's about as light as AKs get.

I've showed her pictures of African child soldiers and Kurdish women with AKs but it hasn't sunk in that she's capable of wielding one. She's not extremely small- 125 lb. or so.

My question to you is this: Are AKs too heavy for a lady to enjoy or does my cupcake need to toughen up?

Why do you want her to enjoy the AK so bad? There is a different between shooting a gun and enjoying the gun you are shooting. It could be many things. I hate shooting my hub's glock. But I love my m&p 9 full size to death.

 

She's not comfortable enough yet that she's bought her own gun, and all I have is a bunch of AKs.

Honestly, I don't have much else in the way of long guns for her to shoot. A couple C&R bolt guns and shotguns with stout recoil. I'm wondering if I should buy or borrow a small, maybe even .22lr, rifle to introduce her to long guns and have it be fun for her, or if she can adapt to the AK.

The goal isn't necessarily to get her hooked on AKs, but for her to have fun with a long gun.

Doesn't the AMD-65 have a wire stock?  IMO that would be a poor choice.  If your gf doesn't enjoy shooting the AK let her play with a .22 rifle for awhile.  Maybe later she will want to try an AR or AK.



If the weight is really bothering her you could build a pretty light AR ~5lb is pretty achievable.  My wifes first AR is probably about as heavy as most AK's, it was a bit on the heavy side for her so on her second AR we went lighter.  She seems to have more fun shooting the 6.8 though.  She enjoys the bigger bang and a little more push.  



In the end, every person is different, some will want a lightweight rifle and others will want a piggy with very low recoil.

Definitely pick up a .22.  

Is this a serious question?





I assuming you want to keep the girl friend and hopefully you got her into shooting for self defense. If that is the case the more she is comfortable with a gun to be used for self defense the more likely she will be to want


USE the gun when it matters the most and keep training.


Listen to her. Its like a SUPER POWER OF SEXY MAN... Listening.. so few have this.





She is perfectly fine the way she is. If you push her she will lose interest and feel like she has failed and eventually she will walk away completely.





And you damn well better have an eight pack with  plastic rings to go along with that over zealous southern charm son....





 

Eh, I'd start her off smaller, but that's just me.

.22 AR or 10/22 or something.  If you can find the ammo that is.

The AK isn't terrible, but you know her better than us.  Is she enthusiastic?  Does she like shooting bigger guns?  If so then go for it.

Obvious answer is obvious.  Don't make her shoot a commie trashcan gun, buy America's rifle - an AR-15.

My 125 # ten year old daughter can shoot one good enough to change mags and charge it and hit steel at 200 m

pretty sure the average vietcong trooper was lighter than your wife.


Start her out on a ruger 10/22, or AR15 carbine with a 22LR conversion.

if you must do AK, give her a 5.45x39

EVERYONE should own a Ruger 10/22 for fun plinking!

Start there.

Then how about having her try the AK bench-rested so she doesn't have to heft it??

Pushing her to start out on an AK is a huge mistake and you will likely turn her totally off guns for good like that.  If you want to teach her to shoot, and she wants to learn, start her with something light and light recoiling.  The AK can come later after she works her way up to that.  It'll take time for her to build up the muscle strength to operate a heavy rifle anyway.

I would recommend one of the M&P15-22's.  It's very light and obviously no recoil, plus it has that look to get her used to shooting that style rifle.  There are several colors such as black, green, desert tan, pink camo, purple camo and probably some I can't remember.  They are inexpensive, accurate and aren't ammo picky so it's a perfect choice for a first rifle.  I grew up shooting but even I LOVE my M&P15-22! She's bound to love one of the color choices and she will love that you listened to her and bought her her first gun, especially since it's something she can shoot her entire life.

Don't push her to start on an AK unless you want to risk turning her off guns altogether.

This is mine, it's great for teaching new shooters or for experienced shooters too.

you are getting good answers--be sure you read them

she will shoot, what she wants, when shes ready

the more you nag or push, the less she will be interested, but i think you should always politely offer the opportunity

can you get together with other arfcommers or shooters?  i started going to arfcom gatherings for the social aspect and was amused by all the boys wanting me to try to shoot their guns--this may help her, if multiple guys are tripping over themselves to "help" or "teach" her

I'm sure she can handle an AK with some practice but it sounds like she isn't that interested. If your goal is to get her into long guns I would do as the others have said and start with a .22 of some sort. If she likes that then maybe both of you can venture into larger caliber ARs then AKs.

Don't try to force her to like the same things you like. She may not, and as others have said, if you try to make it happen, she will likely walk away.

Every time I bring rifles to a family gathering, the women seem drawn to the M1 Carbine. Lightweight, soft recoil, and more useful than a 22. Pricey but a nice addition to the collection.

My Wife's 2nd favorite CF rifle! Her favorite is really my pre-ban Galil (.223) and that is a heavy beast.

Of course she can handle it.  Let her learn.  My kids (under 14y.o.) all can haul around 40# bags of dog food...Is your wife unable to carry in the groceries by herself?

You've never worked with new shooters, it's obvious

Yes, a woman can handle an AK. I've handled one many times.

The only rifle I've ever had a weight issue with is my husband's Garand.

And listen to what the others are saying. Take it slow with her. Start off small and work your way up

You liked it

And the SP1 carbine!

Garands are heavy--yet another thing to admire about WWII vets, lugging those things all around the European countryside

Obvious answer is obvious. Don't make her shoot a commie trashcan gun, buy America's rifle - an AR-15.

"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong." - Voltaire


^^what he said.
AR was my first rifle shoot and I fell in love. An AK wasn't any more difficult in my opinion.  I'm not a giant girl either. I'm sure she will be fine.