Many thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Roberts from RSA who made the 120 mile drive to show their supports for AK-SKS-SVT enthusiasts who made the stand against those charging the B-27 silhouette targets from 200 yds.
The match consisted of three positions: off-hand (10 rds, single load, in 10 min), sustained fire prone (30 rds with minimum 2 reloads in 4 min), and slow fire prone (20 rds, single load, in 20 min). Sling support only for prone.
The first place shooter shot a 458-3X out of 600 possible, with 7 rounds off the black (received zero point). Second place finished with 423 shooting a brand new milled receiver Arsenal AK (Ken may remember the model) fitted with ... (ehm) K-Var trigger set. The second place shooter used better ammo (Norinco, FMJ) compared to those used by the top shooter (unmarked Russian white boxes, HP). The match winner believed his RSA trigger installed on his old MAK-90 gave him the edge to win the match against a better quality AK and better quality ammo.
The conclusion from this match:
YES, the AK is an excellent combat rifle capable of good accuracy at 200 yards against man-silhouette size target using run of the mill com-bloc ammo. Out to 300 yards? I think in the hand of a capable shooter, an AK will still pose a deadly threat against enemy personnel. The AK accuracy can be improved by feeding it better quality ammo.
OZ
The top shooter's MAK-90 is the only AK in his collection. Since it has an RSA trigger already, the top shooter opted to let the 2nd place winner to have the most sought after prize .... the 7th generation RSA adjustable trigger set. This decision by the first place winner was motivated by his intention to share the wonderful experience he has with the RSA trigger set with as many fellow AK shooters as possible. Ken Roberts then installed the prize RSA trigger on the Arsenal AK. You gotta see the expression of the owner when he tried his newly installed RSA trigger for the first time .... he is a long time high power shooter, so he knows what a good military trigger feels like based on his experience with numerous M1, M1A and AR15.