The weapon is so simple that even a child can use it. Alas, many do. Pick it up, with its distinctive short barrel and curved magazine, and it feels compact, robust and not too heavy. The controls are easy. One lever swivels through three settings from safety to single shot to automatic fire. Changing the large magazine takes a few seconds. Although it is not that accurate, with a kick on the recoil, a competent user can fire around 100 bullets a minute. Best of all, it works fine in any conditions—wet, sand, jungle. Even when dirty, it almost never jams. It is cheap and quick both to make and to copy—of the 100m Kalashnikovs in circulation in 2009, about half were counterfeit. No wonder that, for 50 years, this has been the weapon of choice for guerrillas everywhere, from Vietnam to the Congo and from Nicaragua to Iraq. econ.st/1advzZY
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 13:00:01 +0000
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