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Old July 26, 2012, 09:05 PM   #1
horatioo
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ak47 question

Is an ak47 fully automatic by definition? I have what I thought was an ak47, but it is (of course) not fully automatic. What do you call an ak47 that is semi-automatic if it is not an ak? I read an article that got me confused.

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Old July 26, 2012, 09:11 PM   #2
muskrat110
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wht country make
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Old July 26, 2012, 09:32 PM   #3
FrosSsT
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An AK-47 is a select fire rifle that was made in the Soviet Union. Very few people have them in the US - the majority of us (including myself) have what is called an AK 'Clone'. These clones include WASR, Arsenal, CZ, and many others. They look the same on the outside, but they are different internally.
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Old July 26, 2012, 09:58 PM   #4
Auto426
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Basically this all boils down to semantics.

Technically, the AK-47 was a select fire assault rifle used by the Soviets from 1947-1959. It featured a milled steel receiver, and was replaced with a slightly updated version called the AKM that featured a stamped steel receiver at the end of the 1950's. In the 1970's, it was further modernized and chambered for the new 5.45x39mm cartridge and given the designation AK-74.

However, in today's terminology, AK-47 usually refers to any AK pattern rifle chambered in the original 7.62x39mm cartridge. Likewise, AK-74 typically refers to AK variants in 5.45x39mm. There are transferable select fire versions out there, but the vast majority are semi auto.
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Old July 26, 2012, 10:07 PM   #5
JohnKSa
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It's regrettable that the semi-auto AK-47 clones that are commonly sold in the U.S. are often referred to as AK-47s.

They are no more AK-47s than AR-15s are M-16s or M1As are M14s.

An AK-47 is a select fire weapon capable of full-auto or semi-auto fire. The guns sold in the U.S. and often referred to as AK-47s are semi-automatic rifles based on the AK design but not capable of full-auto fire.
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Old July 27, 2012, 08:35 AM   #6
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just depends on who made for different names ...
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