See here. (I don't own an AK, but I might need to borrow one so I become familiar with one before I encounter it on the line)
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/2/10/tips-best-way-to-reload-an-ak/ There are some comments at the bottoms that may be of interest also
msc
There are a few other peculiarities of the AK platform that merit consideration.
When slung up with a loop sling on the support arm, a shooter is almost certainly going to change magazines with the shooting hand. There is no last round bolt hold open feature on the AK. A left handed shooter who swaps out an empty magazine with the left hand will then need to reach over, reach under, or cant the rifle 90 degrees to get at the charging handle and chamber a round. The same is true for a Ruger 10/22 but the recoil spring on the AK is much stronger than that of a 22LR rifle so the charging handle requires a good bit more force to cycle it.
The bolt on the AK can not be locked back unless one either modifies the safety/selector lever, or installs a modified lever. A closed bolt cannot be pulled fully open with the safety on. So during reloading after completely emptying a magazine, it is not possible to chamber the next round with the safety on.
It is possible to manually pull the bolt back, insert a chamber flag, let the bolt close on the chamber flag, and then put the safety on in order to show clear. To then load the rifle and chamber a round, the safety flag must be removed and the bolt released, the loaded magazine inserted, the safety selector lever moved to the "fire" position, and the charging handle cycled. The rifle could then be put on "safe" with a round chambered.
With a standard safety selector lever, many right handed shooters will not be able to reach the lever while maintaining a properly aligned shooting grip on the pistol grip. Some might be able to do so with their middle finger, and there are extended safety levers available to facilitate this.
Thoughts on the AK:
You can tell if the person has zeroed the rifle if there are silver circles on the front sight windage block which is themselves are circular. If those are still undisturbed then it's anybody's guess where it will hit.
Having an AK sight tool is cheap insurance on a good time and mine didn't cost me much at all. The easiest advice to give is the 300m or cyrillic P setting and zero it POA POI at 25m. It works well enough.
The amount of sharp edges on the AK is substantial. I recognized this when I got mine and smoothed it out so it won't cut me with use. Suggest wearing a glove on the firing hand or the application of athletic tape to the thumb and forefinger. Otherwise, don't be surprised if there's a bandaid request on that firing point.
Pretty much the world over runs the AK loaded magazine empty chamber due to the less than ergonomic selector switch. Unless it has some after market selector switch with a bolt hold open, the active manipulation of this lever will be an afterthought with the user bringing the gun into battery by cycling the bolt handle. They do not normally hold open without a modified selector switch. If it is, the gun is probably new and it is a finger eater waiting to happen.
If a sling is being used the magazine changes will be done by the firing hand. In the interest of time saving suggest the tactical reload method of stripping away the empty magazine with a new one, hook, rock, and lock. I would also suggest firing one round and then changing the magazine to prevent the need to cycle the bolt unnecessarily.
If you really want to learn how to run an AK look at Travis Haley or Sonny Puzikas for videos of competent efficient operation.
"Tactical reloads" aren't allowed at Project Appleseed events. It is a safety issue. At rifle events, fire 2, drop/remove mag, fire 8. At pistol events, fire 6, drop/remove mag, fire 4.
Quote from: Tennessee Beast on October 29, 2020, 01:05:42 PM
"Tactical reloads" aren't allowed at Project Appleseed events. It is a safety issue. At rifle events, fire 2, drop/remove mag, fire 8. At pistol events, fire 6, drop/remove mag, fire 4.
Yep. Using the loaded mag to strip the empty mag out in an AK is fine but gaming the reload by leaving a round chambered is not.
Quote from: Just 2B Difficult on October 29, 2020, 12:07:16 PM
Thoughts on the AK:
You can tell if the person has zeroed the rifle if there are silver circles on the front sight windage block which is themselves are circular. If those are still undisturbed then it's anybody's guess where it will hit.
Having an AK sight tool is cheap insurance on a good time and mine didn't cost me much at all. The easiest advice to give is the 100m setting and zero it POA POI at 25m. It works well enough.
An even easier way to adjust the AK sights for 25 meter shooting is to set the rear sight at the 200, 300 or 400 meter setting. One of those will roughly correspond to a 25 meter zero so you won't have to make such a radical adjustment (or any adjustment) to the front sight. It's been a few years so I don't remember which range setting is best for 25. Doing it this way will leave the elevation settings on the rear sight valid whereas zeroing the front sight at 25 will throw the rear sight settings off.
This is also true of M16A2 and M4 rear sights. Depending on the BSZ somewhere between the 300-400 setting clicks will be the correct elevation setting to put you dead on at 25. I set my A2 for the RIBSZ 50/200 so that the numeric elevation values on the rear drum still are correct. If I remember right I spin the drum on my 20" A2 to 3+1 click for 25 meters.
I'd much rather do a quick elevation adjustment on the rear sight than change a zero for a temporary occasion.
Quote from: Tennessee Beast on October 29, 2020, 01:05:42 PM
"Tactical reloads" aren't allowed at Project Appleseed events. It is a safety issue. At rifle events, fire 2, drop/remove mag, fire 8. At pistol events, fire 6, drop/remove mag, fire 4.
Could you please direct me to where all the rules of the Appleseed are written down so I can review them? I don't like to give bad advice that is against clearly written rules.
Quote from: Lomshek on October 30, 2020, 01:34:19 AM
Quote from: Just 2B Difficult on October 29, 2020, 12:07:16 PM
Thoughts on the AK:
You can tell if the person has zeroed the rifle if there are silver circles on the front sight windage block which is themselves are circular. If those are still undisturbed then it's anybody's guess where it will hit.
Having an AK sight tool is cheap insurance on a good time and mine didn't cost me much at all. The easiest advice to give is the 100m setting and zero it POA POI at 25m. It works well enough.
An even easier way to adjust the AK sights for 25 meter shooting is to set the rear sight at the 200, 300 or 400 meter setting. One of those will roughly correspond to a 25 meter zero so you won't have to make such a radical adjustment (or any adjustment) to the front sight. It's been a few years so I don't remember which range setting is best for 25. Doing it this way will leave the elevation settings on the rear sight valid whereas zeroing the front sight at 25 will throw the rear sight settings off.
This is also true of M16A2 and M4 rear sights. Depending on the BSZ somewhere between the 300-400 setting clicks will be the correct elevation setting to put you dead on at 25. I set my A2 for the RIBSZ 50/200 so that the numeric elevation values on the rear drum still are correct. If I remember right I spin the drum on my 20" A2 to 3+1 click for 25 meters.
I'd much rather do a quick elevation adjustment on the rear sight than change a zero for a temporary occasion.
Thank you for pointing out this mistake. I was researching both the P setting and 100 yard setting and got my wires crossed. I have amended my incorrect post. What you said makes absolute sense and I have successfully used my rifle zeroed in this manner out to 300 yards by sliding the ramp without any issues not attributable to the shooter.
Hah! A man after my own heart - "show me".
J2BD - I say that cause not everyone likes a question . . . But I do. :)
See Appleseed Instructor Manual v 8.2. It's on page 33, bottom two paragraphs. It's a couple other places also in the manual (COF) but I believe it also printed on the latest version of the AQT itself.
So . . . No tactical reloads. Basically, it just removes one "manipulation" with one in the chamber.
Quote from: Captain on October 30, 2020, 06:18:17 PM
Hah! A man after my own heart - "show me".
J2BD - I say that cause not everyone likes a question . . . But I do. :)
See Appleseed Instructor Manual v 8.2. It's on page 33, bottom two paragraphs. It's a couple other places also in the manual (COF) but I believe it also printed on the latest version of the AQT itself.
So . . . No tactical reloads. Basically, it just removes one "manipulation" with one in the chamber.
I believe I sent you a PM, but am new to this forum engine and cannot see for sure. Basically from the outside looking in there is a lot of quotation about this rule and that rule and it appears impossible to reference for the average Joe. Starting out in NRA 3P rimfire where there was a rulebook and then moving to the idpa world where everything was an interpretation that only the select few had access to, it's difficult to follow and understand what you cannot read. I finally found a link to the instructors manual after much searching and was denied access. Thank you for your time in your previous message.
Best,
J2BD
AKs are under rated.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/savannaharsenal.com/2016/04/23/how-to-zero-the-kalashnikov-ak-47-ak-74/amp/
This page is a good resource for understanding the AK zero.
200m setting and 24yds is a close near coincidence. For AS purposes zeroing at 25m will get you pretty close all the way out so the settings work.
Quote from: Just 2B Difficult on October 31, 2020, 11:54:13 AM
Quote from: Captain on October 30, 2020, 06:18:17 PM
Hah! A man after my own heart - "show me".
J2BD - I say that cause not everyone likes a question . . . But I do. :)
See Appleseed Instructor Manual v 8.2. It's on page 33, bottom two paragraphs. It's a couple other places also in the manual (COF) but I believe it also printed on the latest version of the AQT itself.
So . . . No tactical reloads. Basically, it just removes one "manipulation" with one in the chamber.
I believe I sent you a PM, but am new to this forum engine and cannot see for sure. Basically from the outside looking in there is a lot of quotation about this rule and that rule and it appears impossible to reference for the average Joe. Starting out in NRA 3P rimfire where there was a rulebook and then moving to the idpa world where everything was an interpretation that only the select few had access to, it's difficult to follow and understand what you cannot read. I finally found a link to the instructors manual after much searching and was denied access. Thank you for your time in your previous message.
Best,
J2BD
The instructor's manual can only be accessed by instructors. There's a lot of stuff in the almost 200 pages that took years to be developed and refined and (my opinion not an official statement) Project Appleseed understandably wants to protect that intellectual property.
You're looking at this like a competitor wanting every possible advantage, which I respect, but that isn't what Project Appleseed is. There's no rule book for participants simply because the instructors are there to teach the students to be better shooters and citizens not competitors.
The FAQ on the Project Appleseed website has some basic info on what's permitted like this...QuoteYou can use any safe rifle permitted by the range which can be accurately shot from the shoulder, from a .22 to a .32 (8mm). We're semi-auto and bolt-gun friendly.
The "How to prepare" page of the website includes this info.Quote1. Legal fully automatic rifles are welcome at our events so long as they are only used in semi-automatic mode.
2. Legal suppressors (also known as silencers) are welcome on our lines.
3. Legal short barrelled rifles (SBRs) may be permitted on our lines at the discretion of the event Shoot Boss.
4. Pistol Caliber Carbines chambered in 9mm and 45ACP are permitted at our 25m events. No adjustments for the ".30 caliber rule" are needed as the rounds are already so large.
5. Pistol Caliber Carbines are not authorized at any Known Distance Event.
6. AR15-type pistols (with or without stabilizing brace) are NOT permitted on our rifle lines.
Shooters are expected to comply with all applicable Federal, State, and local laws. We ensure our events are conducted in accordance with host range policies.
The event information page for all events includes this info.QuoteBoth Centerfire and 22 Rimfire rifles are normally allowed at this location. Please check each particular event for details though since some events have different requirements.
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY THE USE OF SMITH AND WESSON M&P 15/22'S AT AN APPLESEED ARE HEREBY TEMPORARILY PROHIBITED DUE TO RECENT SAFETY ISSUES.
The minutiae of Project Appleseed approved procedures for loading, reloading, firing and transitions is part of the instruction given by the instructors on site.
While the loaded chamber reload saves a little time part of the Project Appleseed goal is to create competent riflemen who can manipulate their rifle through the entire manual of arms efficiently. Doing the loaded chamber reload "cheats" that goal by eliminating the bolt manipulation part of the reload. The empty chamber reload also better tests the shooter's ability to re-establish NPOA after the reload.