AK Sponsor
Posted: 1/12/2005 5:10:39 PM EDT
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I want to hear what you've put your AK through and what were the results. My story begins with the little SAR-2 that could. My friend owns a bunch of land that we shoot on from time to time. We decided that this AK needed a torture test to see if the legend was true. First off, it was a downpour, which is a perfect starting place for a test. Without a round in the chamber, the safety on, and a fully loaded mag in the well, we started on our 2 mile trek to a creek. On the way, we would throw the rifle into whatever puddles were big enough to submerge it, which turned into a lot of puddles. In between puddles, we dragged the rifle by the stock, barrel down into the ground. When we got to the creek the real fun began. Across the creek, which had risen quite a bit due to the rain, was an entire bank of chunky, gritty, nasty mud. After crossing the creek with the rifle submerged, we buried the rifle wholly in the mud for a bit and pulled it out. Then we opened the receiver cover and filled the innards with the mud. After dunking it in the water to clean off the mud, we popped the cover back on and proceeded to chamber a round. To fire, we ran a string through the trigger and retreated over a small hill in case of the worst. We pulled the trigger and it fired about three rounds before the string fell off. We then jammed the barrel into the mud and repeated our test. With a barrel full of solid mud, past the gas chamber opening, it fired again until the string fell off. After being satisfied that this weapon would not die, we headed back. We still had half a mag worth of ammo and decided it was safe enough to fire by hand. When we got back from the creek, I witnessed my first malfunction in an AK I've ever seen. The mud had dried on the way back and was chunky enough to prove too strong to allow the recoil spring to return the bolt carrier when chambering a round. I could use the charging handle as a forward assist, but by the last few rounds, it was too hard to do it safely. So there you have it, whenever anyone tells you that the M-16 is just as reliable as any AK, tell them this story. I don't want to try the same thing with my AR-15 because I'm afraid this same treatment would damage my rifle to the point of having to be completely broken down and cleaned by a gunsmith, so if someone has enough money to try it, please do. Next time we do something like this, I'll make sure to take pictures so people can believe it. |
That's the good part; I don't think we ruined the rifle. We're going to clean it as best we can and do it all over again if we can. And as for Red and Ark, we did this purely to see if it could be done. I don't think we were in any danger at any point during the whole test. I posted this hoping people would be interested in what their rifles could take. When most people think of an AK, they think about the reliability first. We were just trying to confirm it, assuming most people would not want to put their personal rifles through this kind of punishment. This post is for you, not me. I already did it. |
That being said I salute your research and I really hope you don’t ruin a fine weapon. And ak4784: I read the whole story and I still think it's a fucking stupid thing to do. But that's just my 2 cents. |
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. Do you just like to throw money away? Really it's none of my buisness but it just seems crazy to me. But to each there own. And ak4784: I read the whole story and I still think it's a fucking stupid thing to do. But that's just my 2 cents. Can you tell me where any money was thrown away? Does the rifle still work? Yes. Did it sustain irreparable damage? No. Please tell me where we wasted our money. I'd really like to know. |
This way of thinking is like taking a brand new car and crashing it. Just to see if you survive, because its said to be the safest car in the world. |
Thanks! Will do. Again, I hope to have pictures next time. P.S.- I apologize for starting any flame against you, but I wasn't expecting anyone to respond negatively to my just-for-fun test. |
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So you fired a rifle (AK) with " solid mud past the gas chamber/block" and it survived and kept on firing? I call total fucking BS on that. I don't care what the hell you do with your AK, but that is a Paul Bunyan story if I've ever heard one. 
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jquillen1985, I for one appreciate your original post and as I mentioned earlier, pics would be great next time around. Sorry to hear about all the flame against you. Afterall, it's your rifle, you can do with it as you wish. Even if you had destroyed it, it's your rifle to destroy and no one elses. Some people act like you stole their rifle to do your testing with! Sheesh! |
Well I can't make you believe something, but it did happen. That's one of the reasons I want to do it again with pictures and hopefully video; to leave no question unanswered. |
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BTW, I found another AK torture test on the internet.... Another torture test |
| Forgot to mention that back in the mid-80's I read about a cold weather torture test in some survival guide magazine. It consisted of a AR-15, a Galil (esentially an AK in all respects), a FAL, an M14 and maybe a few others. It was done by pouring water throughout the weapon in sub-zero temps and letting the guns freeze into a block of ice overnight. The result? The Galil (AK) design was the only one to pass with flying colors! |
Neat! Althought this test was a bit too scientific for me. |
Never heard of that test, but the results aren't surprising. |
I appreciate your report as I enjoy reading real life tests such as these. But I have a hard time believing that just because something is an AK (or any gas operated firearm) that it can shoot out 1/3 a barrel of mud and keep on going. It's really kind of hard to believe though I may be wrong which would be nothing new. |
I have that article in 2 different forms. If you would like to see it, let me know, and I'll try to get it to you. |
Well it seems that this aspect of my story is what is getting the most criticism than anything else. Now I really want to get down there and do it all again! And as for the sand, I too would like to do a dry dirt/dust/sand/grass/salt test to see how it stands up. It might actually perform worse because the water and mud helped keep the action slick. I admit that it started to have problems only after the mud had dried and the water had evaporated. I can't wait! |
The real question would be is how quickly were you able to get your weapon back into action after you experienced a failure. All weapons will fail, some will be worse than others. I would still be interested in knowing how far an AR15 would have gone in the same experiment. Who knows, it might suprise you. |
Yeah, I'd love to see that article again! It's been years! Do you have it in PDF? Could you post it for all to read? |
Yes, PDF format, as well as 6 .jpg files, I pic taken of each page. I'm afraid I don't have a host, though it was once hosted online, which is how I got the PDF version. |
| I want to do a torture test but after I get a Sar-1 I want to hook it up to a truck and drag it through the mud unloaded and then try firing. I don't see what the big deal was with the harm to his rifle considering mud cleans off and it still fires. I believe the part about the mud in the gun because if I didn't why would I own an ak. thanks for the post and next time post pics. |
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