Editing AK-47 (section)

===US military method===
The AK-47's accuracy is generally sufficient to hit an adult male torso out to about {{convert|300|m|yd|0|abbr=on}},<ref name="defenseindustrydaily1" /><ref name="alpharubicon2" /> though even experts firing from prone or bench rest positions at this range were observed to have difficulty placing ten consecutive rounds on target.<ref name="chivers" /> Later designs did not significantly improve the rifle's accuracy.<ref name=chivers/> An AK can fire a 10-shot group of {{convert|5.9|in|cm|abbr=on}} at {{convert|100|m|yd|0|abbr=on}},<ref name="krtraining1" /> and {{convert|17.5|in|cm|abbr=on}} at {{convert|300|m|yd|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="chivers" /> The newer stamped-steel receiver AKM models, while more rugged and less prone to metal fatigue, are less accurate than the forged/milled receivers of their predecessors: the milled AK-47s are capable of shooting {{convert|3|to|5|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} groups at {{convert|100|yd|m|0|abbr=on}}, whereas the stamped AKMs are capable of shooting {{convert|4|to|6|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} groups at {{convert|100|yd|m|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="alpharubicon2" />

The best shooters can hit a man-sized target at {{convert|800|m|yd|0|abbr=on}} within five shots (firing from a prone or bench rest position) or ten shots (standing).<ref>{{harvnb|НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АКМ (АКМС)|1983|p=155}}:&nbsp;(under the default conditions of no wind and sea level atmospheric pressure, {{convert|15|C|F|0}}).</ref>

The single-shot hit-probability on the NATO E-type Silhouette Target (a human upper body half and head silhouette) of the AK-47 and the later developed AK-74, M16A1, and M16A2 rifles were measured by the US military under ideal proving ground conditions in the 1980s as follows:

[[File:NATO E-type Silhouette Target.PNG|thumb|75 px|NATO E-type Silhouette Target]]

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-valign="top"
|+Single-shot hit-probability on Crouching Man (NATO E-type Silhouette) Target<ref name=no461>{{Cite web |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a228398.pdf |id=Technical Report No. 461 |title=System Error Budgets, Target Distributions and Hitting Performance Estimates for General-Purpose Rifles and Sniper Rifles of 7.62 × 51 mm and Larger Calibers | first=Jonathan M. Jr. | last=Weaver |date=May 1990 |publisher=U.S. Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity |location=Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland |page=87 |access-date=28 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123093816/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a228398.pdf |archive-date=23 November 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan=2|Rifle
! rowspan=2|Chambering
! colspan=9|Hit-probability (With no range estimation or aiming errors)
|-
! 50 m
! 100 m
! 200 m
! 300 m
! 400 m
! 500 m
! 600 m
! 700 m
! 800 m
|-
|AK-47 (1949)
|[[7.62×39mm]]
|100%
|100%
|99%
|94%
|82%
|67%
|54%
|42%
|31%
|-
|[[AK-74]] (1974)
|[[5.45×39mm]]
|100%
|100%
|100%
|99%
|93%
|81%
|66%
|51%
|34%
|-
|[[M16 rifle#XM16E1 and M16A1 (Colt Model 603)|M16A1]] (1967)
|[[5.56×45mm NATO]] M193
|100%
|100%
|100%
|100%
|96%
|87%
|73%
|56%
|39%
|-
|[[M16 rifle#M16A2|M16A2]] (1982)
|[[5.56×45mm NATO]] SS109/M855
|100%
|100%
|100%
|100%
|98%
|90%
|79%
|63%
|43%
|}

Under worst field exercise circumstances, the hit probabilities for all the tested rifles were drastically reduced, from 34% at 50m down to 3–4% at 600m with no significant differences between weapons at each range.<ref name=no461/>