#Ak47

Few firearms platforms inspire the kind of lifelong devotion (or call it obsession) and global lore as the AK. Today, we’ve brought together three guys who live and breathe the platform every day. Emmanuel Barron of American Steppe, builder of tough, field-proven American-made gear designed with real hunters in mind, Kyle (@molasses_marmot), and Kalen of Rotating Bolt Industries, the Colorado-based FFL and boutique AK shop responsible for custom builds like the RB-01, which I reviewed here on TFB just a few years ago. Each of them shares their unfiltered thoughts on how the AK stacks up against its contemporaries, real-world reliability lessons from gunsmithing and competitive shooting, and helpful platform quirks worth knowing if you’re planning on adopting one yourself.

In 1959, two completely different events defined the history of modern small arms. In the US, Fairchild Corporation, the parent company of ArmaLite, licensed the manufacturing of the AR-15 to Colt, essentially starting the proliferation of this rifle.