Coffee is necessary.
So let’s start the strips that will get argument going.
I am a lifelong shooter. Fired my first .22 on my 5th birthday, grew up Mormon and went shooting often, hunted on a regular basis in my teens. Name a gun that’s on the American market, there’s a good chance I’ve put some lead downrange with it, including the .50 Desert Eagle, the Steyr Aug, the .50 BMG, and (once) an illegally converted Glock 17 Full Auto. (This was, btw, one of the worst firearms I’ve ever put my trigger finger to.)
So understand that I don’t come to this opinion lightly: I’ve fired MANY of both, and dangit, I prefer the AK to the AR.
Long story short: Yes, the AR-15 is good to 300, or even 600 meters, with iron sights. Yes, it has dick for recoil. Yes, it’s “the top of the line,” the assault weapon that the American Military still uses. Yes, it’s proven hard and cold as a battle-ready rifle.
Now, here’s why I prefer the AK:
– It almost never jams, and if it does, you’re using shitty ammo. On the other hand, I can’t count how many times I’ve had to S.P.O.R.T.S. an AR. Seriously. I’ve fired an AK that hadn’t been cleaned since the owner purchased it, 6 years prior, and after thousands of rounds downrange, it still went bang. Every time. My experience has been that an AR requires thorough cleaning – once they get dirty, they start jamming like the Parliament of Funk on a Friday night.
– Sure, it’s not as accurate to 300 yards, but… so what? When am I going to need to use an AK at that distance? I’m a middle class gun enthusiast. I’m not going to be using an AK to hunt deer at 1000 meters. I’m not going to be sniping Afghan insurgents from two football fields away. The AK-47 works great at 100 yards or closer, and that’s fine by me.
– Caliber. 5.56 is nothing to sneer at. I wouldn’t want to take one to my chest, arm, leg, or, uh, anywhere. But it is NOT a proven one-shot stopper in combat. JHP 7.62×39 mm is a proven one-shot stopper. If you get hit with that anywhere even close to center mass, you’re buzzard food. Also, I regularly buy Soviet surplus ammo at a fraction of the cost of .223.
I see, with my psychic brain, since I’m writing this hours before it goes live, that a bunch of you are already firing up your email to send me scathing messages about how many dicks I suck, what a stupid shithead I am, and how my mother (who is reading this) fucks dead dogs. I say: Take a breath and read this next bit.
Mel disagrees. She loves her AR-15. She is ridiculously accurate with it, far moreso than I am. It just fits her. She dislikes the AK, for similar reasons to what I just noted. She hasn’t had as many FTE or FTF problems with her Bushmaster as I have. We’re in opposing camps on this one.
Just like the characters in this comic. Mick is pro-AK. Omar is pro-AR. And the other characters will also fall on both sides.
So just remember: As always, especially with specific weapons, YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY. There will be strips badmouthing the Glock. There will be comics badmouthing the 1911. The Mossberg 500, the Springfield XD, the Hi-Point, the Sigma, the Winchester 1200, the Luger, all of them. There will be debate, in-comic about all of these and more. And in the end?
Shoot what you like. Shoot what fits you. And understand that some people like the guns you do, and some hate them.
The only exception will be the Taurus .357 magnum wheelgun, because if you dislike their revolvers, you’re batshit fucking stupid.
I don’t remember the brand name, but my grandfather used to let me shoot his 30/30 long rifle when I was younger. Got a doe in the chest when I was 13. It had one hell of a kick, but I haven’t fired a gun in about 8 years, so what would I know? *shrugs*
Hi there!
I had a crazy ex-Vietnam vet English teacher once who got into a discussion with one student who was in the army reserves. I remember his saying that all the guys in his unit would fight over the AK-47s that they’d steal from dead VC. Apparently you could just throw those things down into a mud puddle, pick them up again and keep firing like it was nothing. [nods]
The AK-47s, that is, not the dead VC … [blush]
I dunno, I kinda find the latter mental image much funnier.
“because if you dislike their revolvers, you’re batshit fucking stupid.”
I love you so much right now.
“There will be comics badmouthing the 1911.”
THE DEVIL YOU SAY, SIR.
There’s something satisfying about putting all the holes in your target under a Quarter, which, so far, I haven’t done with my AK, tho my dad has bragged about doing that with his AR. He *was* impressed by how quickly the AK field-strips, tho, and he’s owned guns all his life.
BTW, followed the link from Two Lumps, looks like I’ve found another regular read.
Rock on.
Again, yeah, I’ve gotten some retarded tight groupings out of AR variants. That said, ehn. The AK ain’t sloppy at 50 yards either, and the SKS is comparable to the AR-15 once you get used to it.
And welcome to your new addiction!
I’ve never fired either- guns being a hobby too expensive and hassle-prone for me to do more than own my pistol plus my dad’s shotgun and squirrel rifles- but I prefer AK over AR.
Two reasons: (1) AR was designed by a committee with negligible field experience; and (2) if a gun is prone AT ALL to fail to fire when needed, it’s an inferior gun.
woo! have linked to the gunbloggers.
Yay!
That twinkie link made my day. It has given me another reason to prefer the AK platform.
Also, was that a joke about the Taurus? I’ve only had one Taurus revolver, and it was excellent, but seems like everywhere I go, people trash them…I never hear about anyone that LIKES Taurus revolvers.
Full disclosure: I’ve fired a few, but only owned one Taurus wheelgun. Mine is AWESOME. Model 669 .357 Magnum. 6″ barrel, I’m nearly as accurate with it long-range as I am with a long gun. Any idiot who disses Taurus revolvers is batshit fucking STUPID.
I, on the other claw, have owned and smithed many many Taurus wheelies and I fucking love them. My Ti .357 was a work of art.
Taurus REVOLVERS are alright. Taurus semiautos are…not.
A suggestion: can we get a glossary of terms for the things you talk about in your notes/in the comics? What’s S.P.O.R.T.S., what’s FTE and FTF? Would make it easier for those of us who don’t know as much about guns as you do.
Also, I have read/am reading all your other comics, and this one has been added to my reading list. Keep up the good work.
FTE = failure to eject. can relate to a bad ejector, bad ammo, or a mag issue.
FTF = failure to fire. usually means the round is bad, could mean the magazine is bad, could also mean the ammunition is wrong.
it’s early for my brain and i’m still waking up, so i most likely missed detail. Mr. Grant undoubtedly will be more thorough in his response.
While Revolvers are often seen as obsolete weapons. Many people forget that they have several functions when combined with long arms like .41 Long Colt cartridge or it’s successor of the 44. The thing is that many urban and rural law enforcement types are starting to go back to these older rounds for distance and shear force firepower. That they can get repeater rifles that can carry the same ammo as their revolver counter parts. Makes it much easier to have 1 ammo type to use and reload without having to switch out. Especially in remote areas.
These guns are carried as alternatives to the 9mm pistols and SMGs (aka pray and spray) that are common in the suburban and city environments. That they can reach out and nail someone with pretty good distances vs. the SMGs that can literally spray out and miss targets completely over a 400+ distance. Only professionals who’ve trained usually get those spot on hits. Where as a repeater rifle can fire and nail a target like a surgeon with a scalpel. That’s why snipers prefer long arms that designed to remove a single threat.
Im confused by this comment. Cops are going back to revolvers are repeaters? since when? and the .41 lc? it had nothing to do with any of the .44 variants. It was for one gun. I think you got .41 magnum confused with .41 lc. Remington did indeed make both the .41 mag and the .44, so that would actually make sense. But repeaters? repeaters are really “capture the west” style guns, they are great and i love them, but they arent updated. I live in arizona so everyone loves a good henry, and hell henry is still around, makin henrys. They dont have updated optics, they are made to be antique styled guns. and you are saying cops ditched thier ARs for old henrys? Furthermore, smgs such as the mp5 (the ones cops use) are actually rather accurate at the ranges you need em for (you dont need a shortened weapon for long range unless you are breaching a room and it turns out to be a football field). Snipers wouldnt really consider a repeater that “long range” since they typically fire pistol or small rifle rounds and have iron sights. Now ive seen some accurate shooters at cowboy action shooting events, but c’mon, im sure cops will still just use a rem 700 with a nice scope (which they have, and are considered actual sniper/hunting rifles). I looked over the net for any evidence of police departments turning in thier polymer for woodgrain and steel, and didnt find any, though many still offer the person choice to buy whatever sidearm you want. If i start seeing cops around arizona ditching glocks for old smith and wessons, and getting rid of thier .223s for an old rolling block, and thier mossberg 500s for a coach double, ill come back here and call you a fucking genius. but dont hold your breath.
Well, you didn’t trash the Gurand (as it’s the greatest battle rifle EVEH!) so I’m good. This should be a good comic!