Back to the Future: The M21 (M14) and the AK103 (AK47)

FS2K · September 1, 2007, 04:58 AM

1965. That's the year the Unitied States Military deemed the M1A aka M14 battle rifle obsolete. Its job was to be taken over my the M16 a rifle that utlized a .22 caliber high velocity round instead of the well established standard .30 caliber round of the time.

Almost a decade later the Soviets long standing assault rifle the AKM otherwise known as the AK47 or simply the "Kalashnikov" would undergo a caliber makeover itself going from it's well established 7.62 X 39mm round to the much smaller .22 sized 5.45 X 39mm much to the disapproval of many including the AKM's original designer Mikail Kalashnikov who went on record as to say that the caliber change was a mistake, and that the AK was always designed to be a .30 caliber rifle. Thus the AK74-M was born, going into mass production in 1976.

The Soviets new gun/round combination proved to perform exactly as predicted: it was a faster round with a flatter tragectory with a much milder recoil pulse than the 7.62mm round it replaced. (Making full-auto fire far more controllable and accurate) And like it's direct competitor the NATO 5.56mm, the 5.45mm has a tendancy to yaw after hitting soft tissue causing large wound cavities in its wake, and under the right circumstaces fragment like the NATO rounds it was developed to go against.

At the start of the Russin invasion of Afganistan the Afgans would refer to the 5.45mm rounds as "the Poison Bullet" * "because of the severity of the wound in proportion to its relative size and energy."

But .22 calibered high velocity rounds do have their shortcomings, and it wasn't long before those shortcomings became aparent with both, the main one it seems, was all out stopping power.

Size and power it seems, does matter. While more than adequate for the jungle and urban warefare arena's of South East Asia the M16's 5.56mm rounds began to show their weakneses in the open hillsides of Afganistan and the wide deserts of Iraq. The solution? The resurection of the vernerable M1A Battle Rifle chambered in 7.62 NATO (.308 cal.)

The M21 version of the M14 was never officially retired until 1988, and remained in active service till then officially as a Sniper Rifle. Unofficially, though not widely used by regular military personel, the M21 remained available to Special Forces operators like the courageous Delta Sniper Randy Shugart who selflessly gave his life protecting a downed Blackhawk Helicopter in the now infamous incident in Somalia. The M14 would once again shine in the first Iraq war proving itself without a doubt to be an excellent desert weapon, and equipt with magnified optics it continues to prove itself invaluable in the hands of American riflemen.

Under similar circumstances the AK47 enjoyed a resurection of its own. The 5.45mm round had its fair share of critics too and had gained a reputation as a round in need of a little more power. Like their American counterparts the AK designers looked to the past for solutions, and since the 7.62 X 39mm round was still being produced to fill in the world markets demand for ammunition, what better caliber was there to fall back on? Thus heralding in the 2nd coming of the AK47; the Russian AK103. In a nutshell the AK103 is simply a modernized version of the original boasting updated furiature (complete with folding rear stock) and a new, revised AK74 type muzzle break.
The 103 remains a select-fire assault rifle, but unlike it's M14/M21 counterpart it was never intended to be used as a sniper type weapon. The Yugoslavian copy is known as the AK47-M70.

So while for different reasons, both the American Military and Russian weapons designers have both looked into the past for answers to questions the future of fundemental conventional warfare has risen. Both have resorted to using .30 caliber Ammunition as a solution to the underpowered though higher velocity .22 calibered assault rifles both sides have adopted as their standard troop weapons, and I for one find that really interesting.

Sort'a puts a new twist to the term "Oldies but Goodies" don't it?

*quote taken from Wikipedia

September 1, 2007, 04:58 AM	#1
FS2K Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2006 Posts: 1,853	Back to the Future: The M21 (M14) and the AK103 (AK47) 1965. That's the year the Unitied States Military deemed the M1A aka M14 battle rifle obsolete. Its job was to be taken over my the M16 a rifle that utlized a .22 caliber high velocity round instead of the well established standard .30 caliber round of the time. Almost a decade later the Soviets long standing assault rifle the AKM otherwise known as the AK47 or simply the "Kalashnikov" would undergo a caliber makeover itself going from it's well established 7.62 X 39mm round to the much smaller .22 sized 5.45 X 39mm much to the disapproval of many including the AKM's original designer Mikail Kalashnikov who went on record as to say that the caliber change was a mistake, and that the AK was always designed to be a .30 caliber rifle. Thus the AK74-M was born, going into mass production in 1976. The Soviets new gun/round combination proved to perform exactly as predicted: it was a faster round with a flatter tragectory with a much milder recoil pulse than the 7.62mm round it replaced. (Making full-auto fire far more controllable and accurate) And like it's direct competitor the NATO 5.56mm, the 5.45mm has a tendancy to yaw after hitting soft tissue causing large wound cavities in its wake, and under the right circumstaces fragment like the NATO rounds it was developed to go against. At the start of the Russin invasion of Afganistan the Afgans would refer to the 5.45mm rounds as "the Poison Bullet" * "because of the severity of the wound in proportion to its relative size and energy." But .22 calibered high velocity rounds do have their shortcomings, and it wasn't long before those shortcomings became aparent with both, the main one it seems, was all out stopping power. Size and power it seems, does matter. While more than adequate for the jungle and urban warefare arena's of South East Asia the M16's 5.56mm rounds began to show their weakneses in the open hillsides of Afganistan and the wide deserts of Iraq. The solution? The resurection of the vernerable M1A Battle Rifle chambered in 7.62 NATO (.308 cal.) The M21 version of the M14 was never officially retired until 1988, and remained in active service till then officially as a Sniper Rifle. Unofficially, though not widely used by regular military personel, the M21 remained available to Special Forces operators like the courageous Delta Sniper Randy Shugart who selflessly gave his life protecting a downed Blackhawk Helicopter in the now infamous incident in Somalia. The M14 would once again shine in the first Iraq war proving itself without a doubt to be an excellent desert weapon, and equipt with magnified optics it continues to prove itself invaluable in the hands of American riflemen. Under similar circumstances the AK47 enjoyed a resurection of its own. The 5.45mm round had its fair share of critics too and had gained a reputation as a round in need of a little more power. Like their American counterparts the AK designers looked to the past for solutions, and since the 7.62 X 39mm round was still being produced to fill in the world markets demand for ammunition, what better caliber was there to fall back on? Thus heralding in the 2nd coming of the AK47; the Russian AK103. In a nutshell the AK103 is simply a modernized version of the original boasting updated furiature (complete with folding rear stock) and a new, revised AK74 type muzzle break. The 103 remains a select-fire assault rifle, but unlike it's M14/M21 counterpart it was never intended to be used as a sniper type weapon. The Yugoslavian copy is known as the AK47-M70. So while for different reasons, both the American Military and Russian weapons designers have both looked into the past for answers to questions the future of fundemental conventional warfare has risen. Both have resorted to using .30 caliber Ammunition as a solution to the underpowered though higher velocity .22 calibered assault rifles both sides have adopted as their standard troop weapons, and I for one find that really interesting. Sort'a puts a new twist to the term "Oldies but Goodies" don't it? *quote taken from Wikipedia __________________ Just a big fan of guns.