I understand and agree with a large part of what you said.
However I wouldn't want to be dragging a M14 and its ammo through the Vietnamese jungles.

__________________
Regards, Ron
USASA 1965/69

M14, FAL, HK91, CETME, they are all boat anchors. The only ones that are possibly worse are the FN-49 that balances where you cannot hold it and the Egyptian Hakim that should come on a trail with a Jeep to tow it.

That is a young male Desert Collared Lizard. I did the Ranger crawl to get really close and use the close-up lens on a Panasonic FZ15. He started gaping after a bit, either to warn me off or because he could see his own reflection in the lens.

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Amen! Germans always overcomplicate their machines.

I remember reading that during World War II, the Messerschmitt 109's engine was not repairable in the field. So, Luftwaffe mechanics at forward operating bases in France or Eastern Europe would have to remove a bad 109 engine and ship it back to Germany for repair.

My BMW motorcycle uses an engine and suspension design that is unique in all of motorcycling. The suspension is especially complex, using far more parts than any other manufacturer would to get the job done.

The sunroof control on my VW Golf R is another example of German over-engineering at its wackiest. The roof is opened by turning a knob, which has about 10 different detents to either tilt the roof or slide it back to varying degrees.

Having said all that, Germans build their machines to very high standards, and the uniqueness of, for example, the BMW boxer-twin engine is part of its charm.

That phrase 'German engineering' is not just an advertising gimmick...

Some German gun designs like the Walthers and Lugers might be a
little overcomplicated but for simplicity and elegance it's hard to fault
the Mauser 98.

The AK lineage is pretty clear and it owes more to the PPSH and the PPS43 and the Garand.. It's evolutionary design steps predate the STG. THE STG and the AK have nothing in common mechanically and are clearly 2 different and nearly simultaneous approaches to the same problem. ....Select fire intermediate cal. The Russians were basically trying to make a huge SMG. The STG owes it design to a blend of MG42 and the Bren. The rifle itself is a hybrid. The trigger mechanism and double locking lugs and unlocking rails are from the Garand/M1 carbine family. The safety is Browning designed Remington model 8 rifle. And the gas system can be argued to some degree that it came from the STG although other rifles at the time were experimenting with similar. The rifle is about as close to an STG as the VZ58 is to an AK....almost none

It's like a whale shark. Looks like one, the size of one, same purpose as a whale but it's a shark and from a fish lineage no matter how whale like it looks.

The Soviet development of the intermediate cartridge also predates their encounter with the STG. If anything the Soviet 7.62x39 (originally 7.62x41) Is a closer copy of the Vollmer M35, developed in 1940. But it so different from either that it's more likely to have just been developed at around the same time.

Anyway the guy also invented other stuff like lawnmowers but we all know that that's not from where his name is going to live on

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The Mauser 98 is a sleek looking beast, but the design of its bolt is quite complicated. Mauser needed seven parts to achieve what the Japanese did with five on the Arisaka Type 38 and Type 99.

Except for the airhead boxers, robust, simple, and user-serviceable.

__________________
Not in jail.

General Adolf Ferdinand Galland who was a Messerschmidt Ace:
[IMG][/IMG]
The ultimate Messerschmidt Ace--signed by Colonel Erich Alfred Hartmann who has 352 kills-6 were Americans which happened in one day. Those six, were all Mustang "riders." Ive got two from him as well.
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Victory markings being painted onto some Knights Cross Recipients fighter,
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Rearming a Messerschmidt:
[IMG][/IMG]
One of my top favorite of my Messerschmidt photos. A lonely Messer sitting all by its lonesome on an Airfield thawing out--somewhere on the Eastern Front in early 1943:
[IMG][/IMG]

sorry--back on topic.

Unlike the others you mention, the FAL is not a boat anchor. Although it is heavier than an AK, the balance is so good that it doesn't matter. I have a Galil, which is probably a little heavier than an AK because it machined rather than a collection of stampings, but it is no handier than an FAL. The main advantage of the Galil over my FN is that it folds. The FN doesn't even kick any more than my .223 Galil.

BTW, if you look up that new-fangled word "ergonomic" in my dictionary, there is a picture of an FAL.

You've never had an Israeli FAL have you?

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No. Mine is a Belgian 50.00, which they also call an LAR .308 Comp. I think that the Israelis had more than one FAL, including the heavy "sniper" version. The Galil ARM, btw, the one with the bipod, is not only heavy, but quite unbalanced (muzzle-heavy).

Yes but that bipod also had a built in beer bottle opener! Can't go without that. Israeli FALs are heavy. Heavier than a standard FAL.

Also, I've owned FALs and own AKs. The AK is lighter and more manageable. I can shoulder and shoot it one handed, can't do it with a FAL

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True, but that's why JMB put a lanyard loop on the mainspring housing of the 1911. Just partially drop the mag, position the back of the mag over the bottletop, and hook the cap off with the lanyard loop. If you don't carry a 1911, you can use your SAK.

The Russian way is still better



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Looks OK for the first few. Not so sure that I would endorse it for the seventh or eighth.

The FAL is ergonomic to shoot, but its weight has to make it a pain to drag around when it is 90°F with 90% humidity in the jungle.

MOSCOW — Russia has announced funeral arrangements for Lt. Gen. Mikhail T. Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle.

“Comrade Kalashnikov will be buried in a pit of mud with full military honors,” said General-Major Saiga Molot, a spokesman for the Russian army. “After a week, we will exhume his body, clean it off, and put him back to work. We expect that there shall be no issue with his functions.”

Yeah and the Japanese had the advantage of having the 98
to copy and try to improve in any way they could think of.
Actually I do admire the Arisaka and think that it may be the
best of all the bolt action milsurps to turn into a iron sighted
woods deer rifle. But it remains generally unappreciated in
the US where so many hunters-shooters seem to value
"smooth" above all else. The awkward safety, high effort cock
on closing bolt and strap iron triggerguard do not win favor
with American shooters.

i agree with your comments .
the designer of the ak was one sharp cookie, education or no.

went to buy my own copy a good while back , but each & every time i shouldered one i couldn't bring my self to say " it feels right ! "

got a friend who had a buddy who was in nam ( i knew the guy a little but my friend hung out with him a good bit ) this guy he knew gave him some good stories about his combat duty in vn and how his m16 played its part very well. he passed a while back.
from what he has told me , he liked the black rifle fine and said it was very reliable and sure saved his bacon more than once !
own an ar myself and DO like it also ...its my choice of all the mini's , ak or sk's .
BUT the ak was & is a real force and will remain so even with the inventor gone !