[inchrisin]

I recently bought a AK47. I like it a lot. I've never shot an AK74. I'm just looking for a pros and cons of both thread. Why do you like or dislike either?

The AK47 seems to be a brute muscle gun. It tears through walls.
The AK74 seems to be a touch more accurate at range and tumbles on contact.

What else is there?

 

[JoshTF]

There is a ton of information on google about this. Really a lot of it boils down to the actual caliber.

 

[Kalashnikov47]

I recently bought a AK47. I like it a lot. I've never shot an AK74. I'm just looking for a pros and cons of both thread. Why do you like or dislike either?

The AK47 seems to be a brute muscle gun. It tears through walls.
The AK74 seems to be a touch more accurate at range and tumbles on contact.

What else is there?

I like the AKM (AK47). I just like the round, mags and ammo are plentiful and inexpensive as well.

Accuracy depends largely on the person shooting any firearm.

 

[Alaskajohn]

I have and love both. Both rifles function alike. The biggest difference of significance is availability of ammo, magazines, etc. For the AK74, ammo, magazines and in some cases parts may be harder to come by. There is an abundance of stuff and ammo for the AK47. When I purchased the AK74 years ago everything was plentiful and cheap. Some idiot president changed this for us.

There are bolistic differences in the rounds, and there is a lot of good (and bad) information about the differences on this forum and the Internet. But both rounds are very effective for their intended purpose.

 

[D2wing]

Brute muscle gun is a gross overstatement.it will out penetrate a .223 but neither is very powerful. You are talking about a souped up pistol cartridge vs a souped up varmit cartridge in 7.62x39 vs .223. The 5.45 came about because of the obvious advantage of the 5.56 NATO over the 7.62x39 as a combat cartridge.
The 5.45 will be more effective on flesh but ammo could be a problem. I would suggest you keep the AK, and get an AR. The AR gives you superior accuracy and a more popular and available cartridge. At today's prices and the difference in accuracy I think an AR is a better buy. Still if you prefer the AK platform go for it.

 

[cab5392]

7.62x39 penetrates a bit better, has the ballistics of an artillery shell past 200 yards.


5.45 shoots flatter, tumbles earlier in tissue, save for a few select 7.62 rounds that performed similarly. Can't find massive cases of ridiculously cheap surplus ammo anymore which was an original point of purchase. Days of 12 cents a round surplus ammo are forever gone. Hard to find quality bullets for hunting/self defense as the majority is steel cased imports.

With cost and availability at it's current state, I'd recommend the age old duo of AK47 or AR. Mid-level Ar's currently cost about the same as mid grade AK's, and the only difference from a low-mid grade ak and a 2000 dollar one are fit and finish really. If you want a flatter shooting accurate cartridge, 5.56 will outperform 5.45 in the given cost range of rifles and ammunition with easier acquisition.

If Tula still manufactures 122-124 grain Hollowpoints with Uly scored bullets, these are fantastic. I grabbed a case or 2 when I sourced it a few years back.