Editing AK-47

{{Short description|Soviet 7.62×39mm assault rifle}}
{{hatnote group|{{about|the weapon|the AK family|Kalashnikov rifle|other uses|}}|{{distinguish|AK-74}}}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}

{{Infobox weapon
| name = AK-47
| image = File:AK-47 type II noBG.png
| image_size = 300
| caption = AK-47 Type 2A
| origin = [[Soviet Union]]
| type = [[Assault rifle]]
| is_ranged = Yes
| service = 1949–1974 (Soviet Union)<br />1949–present (other countries)
| used_by = See ''[[#Users|Users]]''
| wars = See ''[[#Conflicts|Conflicts]]''
| designer = [[Mikhail Kalashnikov]]
| design_date = 1947<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-25497013|title=AK47 assault rifle designer Kalashnikov dies at 94|website=BBC News|date=December 23, 2013|access-date=December 23, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/23/world/europe/mikhail-kalashnikov-dies/index.html|title=Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of AK-47, dies at 94|website=CNN|date=December 23, 2013|access-date=December 23, 2013}}</ref>
| manufacturer = [[Kalashnikov Concern]] and various others including [[Norinco]]
| production_date = 1948–present<ref name="Ezell, Edward Clinton 1986 112">{{cite book |last=Ezell |first=Edward Clinton |author-link=Edward Ezell |title=The AK47 Story, Evolution of the Kalashnikov Weapons |date=1986 |publisher=[[Stackpole Books]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FroVAQAACAAJ|isbn=978-0-811-70916-3 |page=112}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Poyer |last=Joe |title=The AK-47 and AK-74 Kalashnikov Rifles and Their Variations |date=2004 |publisher=North Cape Publications Inc. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPArOwAACAAJ |isbn=1-882391-33-0 |page=8}}</ref>
| number = ~75 million AK-47s, 100 million [[Kalashnikov rifle|Kalashnikov-family]] weapons<ref name="k3" /><ref name="foxnews" />
| variants = ''See [[#Variants|Variants]]''
|spec_label=AK-47 with Type 3 receiver
| weight = Without magazine:<br />{{convert|3.47|kg|lb|abbr=on}}<br />Magazine, empty:<br />{{convert|0.43|kg|lb|abbr=on}} (early issue){{sfn|НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АК|1967|pp=161–162}}<br />{{convert|0.33|kg|lb|abbr=on}} (steel){{sfn|НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АКМ (АКМС)|1983|pp=149–150}}<br />{{convert|0.25|kg|lb|abbr=on}} (plastic)<ref name="izhmash" /><br />{{convert|0.17|kg|lb|abbr=on}} (light alloy){{sfn|НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АКМ (АКМС)|1983|pp=149–150}}
| length = Fixed wooden stock:<br />{{convert|880|mm|abbr=on}}<ref name="izhmash" /><br />{{convert|875|mm|abbr=on|1}} (folding stock extended)<br />{{convert|645|mm|abbr=on|1}} (stock folded){{sfn|НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АК|1967|pp=161–162}}
| part_length = Overall length:<br />{{convert|415|mm|abbr=on|1}}<ref name="izhmash" /><br />Rifled bore length:<br />{{convert|369|mm|abbr=on|1}}<ref name="izhmash" />
| cartridge = [[7.62×39mm]]
| action = [[Gas-operated reloading|Gas-operated]], [[gas-operated reloading#Long-stroke|long-stroke piston]], [[closed bolt|closed]] [[rotating bolt]]
| rate = Cyclic rate:<br />600 rounds/min<ref name="izhmash" /><br />Practical rate:<br />Semi-automatic: <br />40 rounds/min<ref name="izhmash" /><br />Bursts/ Fully automatic: <br />100 rounds/min<ref name="izhmash" />
| velocity = {{convert|715|m/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="izhmash" />
| range = {{convert|350|m|yd|abbr=on}}<ref name="izhmash" />
| feed = 20-round, 30-round, 50-round detachable [[box magazine]],<ref name="izhmash" /><br />40-round, 75-round [[drum magazine|drum]] [[magazine (firearms)|magazines]] also available
| sights = 100–800&nbsp;m adjustable [[iron sights]]<br />Sight radius:<br />{{convert|378|mm|abbr=on|1}}<ref name="izhmash" />
}}

The '''AK-47''', officially known as the '''Avtomat Kalashnikova''' ({{Langx|ru|Автомат Калашникова||Kalashnikov's automatic [rifle]}}; also known as the '''Kalashnikov''' or just '''AK'''), is an [[assault rifle]] that is chambered for the [[7.62×39mm]] cartridge. Developed in the [[Soviet Union]] by Russian small-arms designer [[Mikhail Kalashnikov]], it is the originating [[firearm]] of the [[Kalashnikov rifle|Kalashnikov (or "AK") family of rifles]]. After more than seven decades since its creation, the AK-47 model and its variants remain one of the most popular and widely used firearms in the world.

Design work on the AK-47 began in 1945. It was presented for official military trials in 1947, and, in 1948, the fixed-[[Stock (gun)|stock]] version was introduced into active service for selected units of the [[Soviet Army]]. In early 1949, the AK was officially accepted by the [[Soviet Armed Forces]]{{sfnm|Monetchikov|2005|1p=67|Bolotin|1995|2p=129}} and used by the majority of the member states of the [[Warsaw Pact]].

The model and its variants owe their global popularity to their reliability under harsh conditions, low production cost (compared to contemporary weapons), availability in virtually every geographic region, and ease of use. The AK has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with armed forces as well as [[irregular military|irregular forces]] and [[insurgencies]] throughout the world. {{as of|2004}}, "of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s".<ref name="k3" /> The model is the basis for the development of many other types of individual, crew-served, and specialized firearms.

==History==
===Origins===

During [[World War II]], the [[StG 44|Sturmgewehr 44]] [[rifle]] used by [[Nazi Germany|German]] forces made a deep impression on their Soviet counterparts.<ref name="Hallock" /><ref name="Gun Book Review" /> The select-fire rifle was chambered for a new [[intermediate cartridge]], the [[7.92×33mm Kurz]], and combined the firepower of a [[submachine gun]] with the range and accuracy of a rifle.<ref name="Machine Carbine Promoted" />{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=9}} On 15 July 1943, an earlier model of the Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the [[People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR]].<ref name="english.pravda.ru" /> The Soviets were impressed with the weapon and immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber fully automatic rifle of their own,<ref name="Hallock" /><ref name="Gun Book Review" /> to replace the [[PPSh-41]] submachine guns and outdated [[Mosin–Nagant]] bolt-action rifles that armed most of the Soviet Army.<ref name="Field &amp; Stream" />

The Soviets soon developed the [[7.62×39mm|7.62×39mm M43 cartridge]], used in<ref name="english.pravda.ru" /> the semi-automatic [[SKS|SKS carbine]] and the [[RPD machine gun|RPD light machine gun]].<ref name="virginia1774.org" /> Shortly after World War II, the Soviets developed the AK-47 rifle, which quickly replaced the SKS in Soviet service.<ref name="nickpatonwalsh" /><ref name="Rossiyskaya Gazeta" /> Introduced in 1959, the [[AKM]] is a lighter stamped steel version and the most ubiquitous variant of the entire AK series of firearms. In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced the [[RPK]] light machine gun, an AK-type weapon with a stronger receiver, a longer heavy barrel, and a bipod, that eventually replaced the RPD light machine gun.<ref name="virginia1774.org" />

===Concept===
[[Mikhail Kalashnikov]] began his career as a weapon designer in 1941 while recuperating from a shoulder wound that he received during the [[Battle of Bryansk]].<ref name="foxnews" />{{sfn|Bolotin|1995|pp=123–124}} Kalashnikov himself stated..."I was in the hospital, and a soldier in the bed beside me asked: 'Why do our soldiers have only one rifle for two or three of our men when the Germans have automatics?' So I designed one. I was a soldier, and I created a machine gun for a soldier. It was called an Avtomat Kalashnikova, the automatic weapon of Kalashnikov—AK—and it carried the year of its first manufacture, 1947."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.worldpress.org/cover5.htm |title=For Patriotism and Profit: An interview with Mikhail Kalashnikov |first=Robert |last=Fisk |author-link=Robert Fisk |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London, England |date=22 April 2001 |via=[[World Press Review]] (Vol.48, No.7) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001104001/http://www.worldpress.org/cover5.htm |archive-date=1 October 2016}}</ref>

The AK-47 is best described as a hybrid of previous rifle technology innovations. "Kalashnikov decided to design an automatic rifle combining the best features of the American [[M1 Garand]] and the German [[StG 44]]."<ref name="AP-Kalashnikov" /> Kalashnikov's team had access to these weapons and did not need to "reinvent the wheel". Kalashnikov himself observed: "A lot of Russian Army soldiers ask me how one can become a constructor, and how new weaponry is designed. These are very difficult questions. Each designer seems to have his own paths, his own successes and failures. But one thing is clear: before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field. I myself have had many experiences confirming this to be so."{{sfn|Bolotin|1995|pp=123–124}}

Some claimed that Kalashnikov copied designs like [[TKB-415|Bulkin's TKB-415]]<ref name="Popenker" /> or [[AVS-36|Simonov's AVS-31]].<ref name="Kuptsov" />

===Early designs===
Kalashnikov started work on a submachine gun design in 1942{{sfn|Bolotin|1995|p=123}} and a light machine gun design in 1943.{{sfn|Monetchikov|2005|p=38}}<ref name="Bolotin p150" /> Early in 1944, Kalashnikov was given some 7.62×39mm M43 cartridges and informed that other designers were working on weapons for this new Soviet small-arms cartridge. It was suggested that a new weapon might well lead to greater things. He then undertook work on the new rifle.<ref name="Power Custom" /> In 1944, he entered a design competition with this new 7.62×39mm, semi-automatic, gas-operated, long-stroke piston carbine, strongly influenced by the American M1 Garand.<ref name="The AR-15 2010" /> The new rifle was in the same class as the SKS-45 carbine, with a fixed [[Magazine (firearms)|magazine]] and gas tube above the barrel.<ref name="Power Custom" /> However, the new Kalashnikov design lost out to a Simonov design.<ref name="Bolotin p115" />

In 1946, a new design competition was initiated to develop a new rifle.{{sfn|Monetchikov|2005|p=36}} Kalashnikov submitted a gas-operated rifle with a short-stroke gas piston above the barrel, a [[breechblock]] mechanism similar to his 1944 carbine, and a curved 30-round magazine.<ref name="ak-akm-e" /> Kalashnikov's rifles, the AK-1 (with a milled [[receiver (firearms)|receiver]]) and AK-2 (with a stamped receiver) proved to be reliable weapons and were accepted to a second round of competition along with other designs.

These prototypes (also known as the AK-46) had a rotary bolt, a two-part receiver with separate trigger unit housing, dual controls (separate safety and fire selector switches), and a non-reciprocating [[Cocking handle|charging handle]] located on the left side of the weapon.<ref name="ak-akm-e" /><ref name="Popenker-Williams" /> This design had many similarities to the StG 44.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/ak-and-stg-kissing-cousins/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230315212642/https://www.forgottenweapons.com/ak-and-stg-kissing-cousins/|archive-date=March 15, 2023 |title=AK and StG – Kissing Cousins |date=12 December 2012 |first=Ian |last=McCollum |website=[[Forgotten Weapons]]}}</ref> In late 1946, as the rifles were being tested, one of Kalashnikov's assistants, Aleksandr Zaitsev, suggested a major redesign to improve reliability. At first, Kalashnikov was reluctant, given that their rifle had already fared better than its competitors. Eventually, however, Zaitsev managed to persuade Kalashnikov.

[[File:AK-47 experimental vs3.jpg|thumb|Trail prototype weapon with slab-sided steel magazine]]

In November 1947, the new prototypes (AK-47s) were completed. The rifle used a long-stroke gas piston above the barrel. The upper and lower receivers were combined into a single receiver. The selector and safety were combined into a single control lever/dust cover on the right side of the rifle and the bolt handle was attached to the bolt carrier. This simplified the design and production of the rifle. The first army trial series began in early 1948.{{sfn|Monetchikov|2005|p=64}} The new rifle proved to be reliable under a wide range of conditions and possessed convenient handling characteristics. In 1949, it was adopted by the Soviet Army as the "7.62&nbsp;mm Kalashnikov rifle (AK)".{{sfnm|Monetchikov|2005|1p=67|Bolotin|1995|2p=129}}

===Further development===
[[File:AKMS and AK-47 DD-ST-85-01270.jpg|thumb|AKMS with a stamped Type 4B receiver (top) and an AK-47 with a milled Type 2A receiver]]
There were many difficulties during the initial phase of production. The first production models had [[Stamping (metalworking)|stamped]] sheet metal receivers with a [[Milling (machining)|milled]] [[trunnion]] and butt stock insert and a stamped body. Difficulties were encountered in welding the guide and ejector rails, causing high rejection rates.{{sfn|Poyer|2006|pp=8–11}} Instead of halting production, a heavy<ref group=N>2.6 lb milled from 6 lb stock. This was about 2.2 lb heavier than the stamped receiver.</ref> machined receiver was substituted for the sheet metal receiver. Even though production of these milled rifles started in 1951, they were officially referred to as AK-49, based on the date their development started, but they are widely known in the collectors' and current commercial market as "Type 2 AK-47".<ref name="e36" /><ref name="ForgottenWeapons.com" /> This was a more costly process, but the use of machined receivers accelerated production as tooling and labor for the earlier Mosin–Nagant rifle's machined receiver were easily adapted.<ref name="browningmgs.com" /> Partly because of these problems, the Soviets were not able to distribute large numbers of the new rifles to soldiers until 1956. During this time, production of the interim SKS rifle continued.{{sfn|Poyer|2006|pp=8–11}}

Once the manufacturing difficulties of non-milled receivers had been overcome, a redesigned version designated the AKM (M for "modernized" or "upgraded"; in Russian: {{Lang|ru|Автомат Калашникова Модернизированный|italic=no}} [{{Lang|ru-latn|Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy}}]) was introduced in 1959.<ref name="e36" /> This new model used a stamped sheet metal receiver and featured a slanted [[muzzle brake]] on the end of the [[gun barrel|barrel]] to compensate for [[muzzle rise]] under recoil. In addition, a hammer retarder was added to prevent the weapon from firing out of battery (without the bolt being fully closed), during rapid or fully automatic fire.{{sfn|Poyer|2006|pp=8–11}} This is also sometimes referred to as a "cyclic rate reducer", or simply "rate reducer", as it also has the effect of reducing the number of rounds fired per minute during fully automatic fire. The rifle was also roughly one-third lighter than the previous model.<ref name="e36" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; margin:auto;"
|-
! Receiver type
! Description<ref name="browningmgs.com" />
|-
! Type 1A/B
| The original [[Stamping (metalworking)|stamped]] receiver for the AK-47 was first produced in 1948<ref name="Ezell, Edward Clinton 1986 112"/> and adopted in 1949. The 1B was modified for an underfolding stock with a large hole present on each side to accommodate the hardware for the under folding stock.
|-
! Type 2A/B
| The first [[Milling (machining)|milled]] receiver was made from steel forging. It went into production in 1951 and production ended in 1957. The Type 2A has a distinctive socketed metal "boot" connecting the butt stock to the receiver and the milled lightning cut on the sides runs parallel to the barrel.
|-
! Type 3A/B
| "Final" version of the AK milled receiver made from steel bar stock. It went into production in 1955. The most ubiquitous example of the AK milled receiver. The milled lightning cut on the sides is slanted to the barrel axis.
|-
! Type 4A/B
| AKM receiver stamped from a smooth {{convert|1.0|mm|abbr=on|2}} [[Sheet metal|sheet]] of [[steel]] supported extensively by pins and rivets. It went into production in 1959. Overall, the most-used design in the construction of AK-series rifles.
|}

Most licensed and unlicensed productions of the Kalashnikov assault rifle abroad were of the AKM variant, partially due to the much easier production of the stamped receiver. This model is the most commonly encountered, having been produced in much greater quantities. All rifles based on the Kalashnikov design are often colloquially referred to as "AK-47s" in the West and some parts of Asia, although this is only correct when applied to rifles based on the original three receiver types.{{sfn|Poyer|2006|p=2}} In most former Eastern Bloc countries, the weapon is known simply as the "Kalashnikov" or "AK". The differences between the milled and stamped receivers includes the use of rivets rather than welds on the stamped receiver, as well as the placement of a small dimple above the magazine well for stabilization of the magazine.

===Replacement===
In 1974, the Soviets began replacing their AK-47 and AKM rifles with a newer design, the [[AK-74]], which uses [[5.45×39mm]] ammunition. This new rifle and cartridge had only started to be manufactured in Eastern European nations when the [[Collapse of the Soviet Union|Soviet Union collapsed]], drastically slowing the production of the AK-74 and other weapons of the former Soviet bloc.

== Design ==
The AK-47 was designed to be a simple, reliable fully automatic rifle that could be manufactured quickly and cheaply, using mass production methods that were state of the art in the Soviet Union during the late 1940s.<ref name="Dunnigan" /> The AK-47 uses a [[Gas-operated reloading#Long-stroke|long-stroke gas system]] generally associated with high reliability in adverse conditions.<ref name="The AR-15 2010" /><ref name="Tilstra" /><ref name="Dockery" /> The large gas piston, generous clearance between moving parts, and tapered cartridge case design allow the gun to endure large amounts of foreign matter and fouling without failing to cycle.

=== Cartridge ===
{{Main|7.62×39mm}}
[[File:RussianWP.jpg|thumb|Wound Profiles of Russian small-arms ammunition compiled by Dr. [[Martin Fackler]] on behalf of the US military]]The AK fires the 7.62×39mm [[cartridge (weaponry)|cartridge]] with a muzzle velocity of {{convert|715|m/s|abbr=on}}.<ref name="izhmash" />
The cartridge weight is {{convert|16.3|g|oz|abbr=on|1}}, and the projectile weight is {{convert|7.9|g|gr|abbr=on|0}}.<ref name="ammoweight" /> The original Soviet M43 bullets are 123-grain [[boat-tail bullet]]s with a copper-plated steel jacket, a large steel core, and some lead between the core and the jacket. The AK has excellent penetration when shooting through heavy foliage, walls, or a common vehicle's metal body and into an opponent attempting to use these things as cover. The 7.62×39mm M43 projectile does not generally fragment when striking an opponent and has an unusual tendency to remain intact even after making contact with bone. The 7.62×39mm round produces significant wounding in cases where the bullet tumbles (yaws) in tissue,<ref name="Bellamy p146-155" /> but produces relatively minor wounds in cases where the bullet exits before beginning to yaw.<ref name="autogenerated7" /><ref name="Roberts-2008" /><ref name="Purdy" /> In the absence of yaw, the M43 round can pencil through tissue with relatively little injury.<ref name="autogenerated7" /><ref name="Bellamy p148" />

Most, if not all, of the 7.62×39mm ammunition found today is of the upgraded M67 variety. This variety deleted the steel insert, shifting the center of gravity rearward, and allowing the projectile to destabilize (or yaw) at about {{convert|3.3|in|cm|abbr=on}}, nearly {{convert|6.7|in|cm|abbr=on}} earlier in tissue than the M43 round.<ref name="uthr.org" /> This change also reduces penetration in ballistic gelatin to ~{{convert|25|in|cm|abbr=on}} for the newer M67 round versus ~{{convert|29|in|cm|abbr=on}} for the older M43 round.<ref name="uthr.org" /><ref name="Fackler" /> However, the wounding potential of M67 is mostly limited to the small permanent wound channel the bullet itself makes, especially when the bullet yaws.<ref name="uthr.org" />

=== Operating mechanism ===
[[File:Chinese type 56 AK47.jpg|thumb|The gas-operated mechanism of a [[Type 56 assault rifle|Norinco AK-47]]]]

To fire, the operator inserts a loaded magazine, pulls back and releases the charging handle, and then pulls the [[Trigger (firearms)|trigger]]. In semi-automatic, the firearm fires only once, requiring the trigger to be released and depressed again for the next shot. In fully automatic, the rifle continues to fire automatically cycling fresh rounds into the chamber until the magazine is exhausted or pressure is released from the trigger. After ignition of the cartridge primer and propellant, rapidly expanding propellant gases are diverted into the gas cylinder above the barrel through a vent near the muzzle. The build-up of gases inside the gas cylinder drives the long-stroke piston and [[Bolt (firearm)|bolt]] carrier rearward and a cam guide machined into the underside of the bolt carrier, along with an ejector spur on the bolt carrier rail guide, rotates the bolt approximately 35° and unlocks it from the barrel extension via a camming pin on the bolt. The moving assembly has about {{convert|5.5|mm|abbr=on|1}} of free travel, which creates a delay between the initial recoil impulse of the piston and the bolt unlocking sequence, allowing gas pressures to drop to a safe level before the seal between the chamber and the bolt is broken. The AK-47 does not have a gas valve; excess gases are ventilated through a series of radial ports in the gas cylinder. Unlike many other rifle platforms, such as the AR-15 platform, the Kalashnikov platform bolt locking lugs are chamfered allowing for [[primary extraction]] upon bolt rotation which aids reliable feeding and extraction, albeit not with that much force due to the short distance the bolt carrier travels before acting on the locking lug. The Kalashnikov platform then uses an extractor claw along with a fin shaped ejector to eject the spent cartridge case.<ref name="army" />

=== Barrel ===
[[File:Ak-47-iraqis.jpg|thumb|AK-47 barrel and its distinctive gas block with a horizontal row of gas relief ports]]

The rifle received a barrel with a [[Chrome plating|chrome-lined]] bore and four right-hand grooves at a 240&nbsp;mm (1 in 9.45 in) or 31.5 calibers [[Rifling#Twist rate|rifling twist rate]]. The gas block contains a gas channel that is installed at a slanted angle with the bore axis. The muzzle is threaded for the installation of various muzzle devices such as a muzzle brake or a [[blank-firing adaptor]].

===Gas block===
The gas block of the AK-47 features a cleaning rod capture or sling loop. Gas relief ports that alleviate gas pressure are placed horizontally in a row on the gas cylinder.

=== Fire selector ===
[[File:Viet Cong soldier DD-ST-99-04298.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Việt Cộng]] soldier armed with an AK-47 with the fire selector in the safe setting]]

The fire selector is a large lever located on the right side of the rifle; it acts as a dust cover and prevents the charging handle from being pulled fully to the rear when it is on safe.<ref name="arsenalinc1" /> It is operated by the shooter's right fore-fingers and has three settings: safe (up), full-auto (center), and semi-auto (down).<ref name="arsenalinc1" /> The reason for this is that a soldier under stress will push the selector lever down with considerable force, bypassing the full-auto stage and setting the rifle to semi-auto.<ref name="arsenalinc1" /> To set the AK-47 to full-auto requires the deliberate action of centering the selector lever.<ref name="arsenalinc1" /> To operate the fire selector lever, right-handed shooters have to briefly remove their right hand from the pistol grip, which is ergonomically sub-optimal. Some AK-type rifles also have a more traditional selector lever on the left side of the receiver, just above the pistol grip.<ref name="arsenalinc1" /> This lever is operated by the shooter's right thumb and has three settings: safe (forward), full-auto (center), and semi-auto (backward).<ref name="arsenalinc1" />

=== Sights ===
[[File:AK47-rear-sight.jpg|thumb|Rear sight of a Chinese Type 56, featuring {{convert|100|to|800|m|yd|0|abbr=on}} settings and omission of a battle zero setting]]

The AK-47 uses a notched rear tangent [[iron sight]] calibrated in {{convert|100|m|yd|0|abbr=on}} increments from {{convert|100|to|800|m|yd|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="scribd1" /> The front sight is a post adjustable for elevation in the field. Horizontal adjustment requires a special drift tool and is done by the armory before the issue or if the need arises by an armorer after the issue. The sight line elements are approximately {{convert|48.5|mm|in|1|abbr=on|lk=on}} over the bore axis. The "[[point-blank range]]" battle zero setting "'''''П'''''" standing for ''постоянная'' (constant) on the 7.62×39mm AK-47 rear tangent sight element corresponds to a {{convert|300|m|yd|0|abbr=on}} zero.<ref name="scribd1" />{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=42}} These settings mirror the Mosin–Nagant and SKS rifles, which the AK-47 replaced. For the AK-47 combined with service cartridges, the 300 m battle zero setting limits the [[External ballistics#Bullet drop|apparent "bullet rise"]] within approximately {{convert|-5|to|+31|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} relative to the line of sight. Soldiers are instructed to fire at any target within this range by simply placing the sights on the center of mass (the belt buckle, according to Russian and former Soviet doctrine) of the enemy target. Any errors in range estimation are tactically irrelevant, as a well-aimed shot will hit the torso of the enemy soldier. Some AK-type rifles have a front sight with a flip-up luminous dot that is calibrated at {{convert|50|m|yd|0|abbr=on}}, for improved night fighting.<ref name="scribd1" />

=== Furniture ===
The AK-47 was originally equipped with a buttstock, handguard, and an upper heat guard made from solid wood. With the introduction of the Type 3 receiver the buttstock, lower handguard, and upper heat guard were manufactured from [[birch]] [[plywood]] [[laminates]].<ref name="browningmgs.com" /> Such engineered woods are stronger and resist warping better than the conventional one-piece patterns, do not require lengthy maturing, and are cheaper. The wooden furniture was finished with the Russian amber shellac finishing process.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thornton |first=Nathan |date= 31 January 2020|title=Rifle 101: Replicating True Soviet/Russian Shellac Finish |url=https://internationalsportsman.com/rifle-101-replicating-true-soviet-russian-shellac-finish/ |access-date=March 31, 2023 |website=International Sportsman}}</ref> AKS and AKMS models featured a downward-folding metal butt-stock similar to that of the German [[MP40|MP40 submachine-gun]], for use in the restricted space in the [[BMP development|BMP infantry combat vehicle]], as well as by paratroops. All 100 series AKs use plastic furniture with side-folding stocks.

=== Magazines ===
[[File:Bakelite AK magazines.jpg|thumb|"Bakelite" rust-colored steel-reinforced 30-round plastic box 7.62×39mm AK magazines. Three magazines have an "arrow in triangle" [[Izhmash]] arsenal mark on the bottom right. The other magazine has a "star" [[Tula Arms Plant|Tula]] arsenal mark on the bottom right]]

The standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds. There are also 10-, 20-, and 40-round box magazines, as well as 75-round [[drum magazine|drum]] magazines.

The AK-47's standard 30-round magazines have a pronounced curve that allows them to smoothly feed ammunition into the chamber. Their heavy steel construction combined with "feed-lips" (the surfaces at the top of the magazine that control the angle at which the cartridge enters the chamber) machined from a single steel billet makes them highly resistant to damage. These magazines are so strong that "Soldiers have been known to use their mags as hammers, and even bottle openers".<ref name="Small Arms Defense Journal" /><ref name="magazine video" /> This contributes to the AK-47 magazine being more reliable but makes it heavier than US and NATO magazines.

The early slab-sided steel AK-47 30-round detachable box magazines had {{convert|1|mm|in|abbr=on}} sheet-metal bodies and weighed {{convert|0.43|kg|lb|abbr=on}} empty.<ref name="Dockery" /> The later steel AKM 30-round magazines had lighter sheet-metal bodies with prominent reinforcing ribs weighing {{convert|0.33|kg|lb|abbr=on}} empty.<ref name="Dockery" /><ref name="scribd2" /> To further reduce weight, a lightweight magazine with an aluminum body with a prominent reinforcing waffle rib pattern weighing {{convert|0.19|kg|lb|abbr=on}} empty was developed for the AKM that proved to be too fragile, and the small issued amount of these magazines were quickly withdrawn from service.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/09/17/guest-post-brief-history-kalashnikov-magazine-part-1-metal-magazines/ |title=A Brief History of the Kalashnikov Magazine Part 1: Metal Magazines |date=17 September 2016 |website=The Firearm Blog |access-date=2020-01-28}}</ref> As a replacement steel-reinforced 30-round plastic 7.62×39mm box magazines were introduced. These [[Rust (color)|rust-colored]] magazines weigh {{convert|0.24|kg|lb|abbr=on}} empty and are often mistakenly identified as being made of [[Bakelite]] (a [[phenolic resin]]), but were fabricated from two parts of AG-S4 molding compound (a [[glass-filled polymer|glass-reinforced]] phenol-[[formaldehyde]] binder impregnated composite), assembled using an [[epoxy resin]] adhesive.<ref name="Kokalis" /><ref name="AG-S4" /><ref name="Kokalis_49" /> Noted for their durability, these magazines did however compromise the rifle's camouflage and lacked the small horizontal reinforcing ribs running down both sides of the magazine body near the front that were added on all later plastic magazine generations.<ref name="Kokalis_49" /> A second-generation steel-reinforced dark-brown (color shades vary from [[maroon]] to [[Plum (color)|plum]] to near [[black]]) 30-round 7.62×39mm magazine was introduced in the early 1980s, fabricated from [[Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene|ABS]] plastic. The third generation steel-reinforced 30-round 7.62×39mm magazine is similar to the second generation, but is darker colored and has a matte non-reflective surface finish. The current issue is a steel-reinforced matte true black non- reflective surface finished 7.62×39mm 30-round magazine, fabricated from ABS plastic weighing {{convert|0.25|kg|lb|abbr=on}} empty.<ref name="izhmash" />

Early steel AK-47 magazines are {{convert|9.75|in|mm|abbr=on}} long; the later ribbed steel AKM and newer plastic 7.62×39mm magazines are about {{convert|1|in|mm|abbr=on}} shorter.<ref name="dtic.mil" /><ref name="tormented" />

The transition from steel to mainly plastic magazines yields a significant weight reduction and allows a soldier to carry more ammunition for the same weight.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background:#efefef;" | Rifle
! style="background:#efefef;" | Cartridge
! style="background:#efefef;" | Weight of empty magazine
! style="background:#efefef;" | Weight of loaded magazine
! style="background:#efefef;" | Max. {{convert|10.12|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} ammunition load*
|-
| AK-47 (1949)
| rowspan="3" | [[7.62×39mm]]
| slab-sided steel<br />{{convert|430|g|lb|abbr=on}}
| 30-rounds<br />{{convert|916|g|lbs|abbr=on}}<ref name="Dockery" />
| 11 magazines for 330 rounds<br />{{convert|10.08|kg|lbs|abbr=on}}
|-
| [[AKM]] (1959)
| ribbed stamped-steel<br />{{convert|330|g|lbs|abbr=on}}
| 30-rounds<br />{{convert|819|g|lbs|abbr=on}}<ref name="Dockery" /><ref name="scribd2" />
| 12 magazines for 360 rounds<br />{{convert|9.83|kg|lbs|abbr=on}}
|-
| [[AK-103]] (1994)
| steel-reinforced plastic<br />{{convert|250|g|lbs|abbr=on}}
| 30-rounds<br />{{convert|739|g|lbs|abbr=on}}<ref name="Dockery" /><ref name="scribd2" />
| 13 magazines for 390 rounds<br />{{convert|9.61|kg|lbs|abbr=on}}
|}

All 7.62×39mm AK magazines are backward compatible with older AK variants.

10.12&nbsp;kg (22.3&nbsp;lb) is the maximum amount of ammo that the average soldier can comfortably carry. It also allows for the best comparison of the three most common 7.62×39mm AK magazines.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

Most Yugoslavian and some East German AK magazines were made with cartridge followers that hold the bolt open when empty; however, most AK magazine followers allow the bolt to close when the magazine is empty.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

=== Accessories ===
[[File:AK-47 bayonet and scabbard.jpg|thumb|left|AK-47 6H2 bayonet and scabbard]]

[[File:AK47Figure54.jpg|thumb|left|AK-47 with Kalashnikov grenade launcher mounted on the muzzle]]
Accessories supplied with the rifle include a {{convert|387|mm|in|abbr=on}} long 6H3 [[bayonet]] featuring a {{convert|200|mm|in|abbr=on}} long spear point blade. The AK-47 bayonet is installed by slipping the {{convert|17.7|mm|in|abbr=on}} diameter muzzle ring around the muzzle and latching the handle down on the bayonet lug under the front sight base.<ref name="worldbayonets.com" />

All current model AKM rifles can mount under-barrel 40&nbsp;mm grenade launchers such as the [[GP-25]] and its variants, which can fire up to 20 rounds per minute and have an effective range of up to 400 meters.<ref name="Izhmash gp-34" /> The main grenade is the VOG-25 (VOG-25M) fragmentation grenade which has a 6&nbsp;m (9&nbsp;m) (20&nbsp;ft (30&nbsp;ft)) lethality radius. The VOG-25P/VOG-25PM ("jumping") variant explodes {{convert|0.5|–|1|m|ft}} above the ground.<ref name="Russian Close Combat Weapon" />

The AK-47 can also mount a (rarely used) [[Rifle grenade#Cup-type|cup-type grenade launcher]], the Kalashnikov grenade launcher that fires standard [[RGD-5]] Soviet hand grenades. The maximum effective range is approximately 150 meters.<ref name="ar15" /> This launcher can also be used to launch [[tear-gas|tear gas]] and [[riot control]] grenades.

All current AKs (100 series) and some older models have side rails for mounting a variety of scopes and sighting devices, such as the [[PSO-1|PSO-1 Optical Sniper Sight]].<ref name="Izhmash ak103" /> The side rails allow for the removal and remounting of optical accessories without interfering with the zeroing of the optic. However, the 100 series side folding stocks cannot be folded with the optics mounted.

== Characteristics ==
=== Service life ===
The AK-47 and its variants have been and are made in dozens of countries, with "quality ranging from finely engineered weapons to pieces of questionable workmanship."{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=39}} As a result, the AK-47 has a service/system life of approximately 6,000,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mouseguns.com/mak90web/mak90man.pdf |author=Norinco |title=Instruction Manual Model MAK-90 Semi-Automatic Rifle |website=Mouseguns.com |access-date=12 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080152/http://www.mouseguns.com/mak90web/mak90man.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> to 10,000,<ref name="Forgotten Weapons" /> to 15,000<ref name="AR-M1" /> rounds. The AK-47 was designed to be a cheap, simple, easy-to-manufacture rifle,<ref name="VDH" /> perfectly matching Soviet military doctrine that treats equipment and weapons as disposable items.<ref name="scribd.com" /> As units are often deployed without adequate logistical support and dependent on "battlefield cannibalization" for resupply, it is more cost-effective to replace rather than repair weapons.<ref name="scribd.com" />

The AK-47 has small parts and springs that need to be replaced every few thousand rounds. However, "Every time it is disassembled beyond the field stripping stage, it will take some time for some parts to regain their fit, and some parts may tend to shake loose and fall out when firing the weapon. Some parts of the AK-47 line are riveted together. Repairing these can be quite a hassle since the end of the rivet has to be ground off and a new one set after the part is replaced."<ref name="scribd1" />

== Variants ==
[[File:AK-47 bullets from China, Pakistan and Russia.jpg|thumb|7.62×39mm cartridges from Russia, China and Pakistan]]

; Early variants (7.62×39mm)
* Issue of 1948/49: Type 1: The very earliest models, stamped sheet metal receivers, are now very rare.
* Issue of 1951: Type 2: Has a milled receiver. The barrel and chamber are chrome-plated to resist corrosion.
* Issue of 1954/55: Type 3: Lightened, milled receiver variant. Rifle weight is {{convert|3.47|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АК|1967|pp=161–162}}
* AKS (AKS-47): Type 1, 2, or 3 receivers: Featured a downward under folding metal stock similar to that of the [[MP 40]], for use in the restricted space of the [[BMP-1|BMP]] infantry combat vehicle, as well as for [[airborne forces|airborne]] troops.
* AKN (AKSN): Night sight rail.{{sfn|Monetchikov|2005|p=76}}

; Modernized (7.62×39mm)
* [[AKM]]: A simplified, lighter version of the AK-47; the Type 4 receiver is made from stamped and riveted sheet metal. A slanted muzzle device was added to reduce muzzle rise in automatic fire. The rifle weight is {{convert|3.1|kg|lb|abbr=on}}<ref name="izhmash" /> due to the lighter receiver. This is the most ubiquitous variant of the AK-47.
** AKMS: Under-folding stock version of the AKM intended for [[airborne forces|airborne]] troops.
** AKMN (AKMSN): Night scope rail.
** AKML (AKMSL): Slotted flash suppressor and night scope rail.<ref name="AKML" />
* [[RPK]]: Hand-held machine gun version with longer barrel and [[bipod]]. The variants—RPKS, RPKN (RPKSN), RPKL (RPKSL)—mirror AKM variants. The "S" variants have a side-folding wooden stock.

;Foreign Variants (7.62×39mm)
* [[Type 56 assault rifle|Type 56]]: [[China|Chinese]] assault rifle based on the {{nowrap|AK-47 Type 3}}.<ref name="miller2001">{{cite book |last=Miller |first=David |date=2001 |title=The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns |publisher=Salamander Books Ltd |isbn=1-84065-245-4}}</ref> Still in production primarily for export markets.

For the further developed AK models, see [[Kalashnikov rifle]]s.

== Production ==
{{more citations needed|section |date=July 2018}}<!--most of this table is not cited-->
Manufacturing countries of AK-47 and its variants in alphabetical order.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
|-
! Country !! Military variant(s)
|-
! Albania
| Automatiku Shqiptar 1978 model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-1) made at Poliçan Arsenal (copy of [[Type 56 assault rifle|Type 56]] based on [[AKM]] rifle); model 56 Tip-2, copy of [[RPK]]; model 56 Tip-3 hybrid for multi-purpose roles with secondary rifle and grenade launcher capability; 1982 model (ASH-82) copy of [[AKMS]]. Several other versions of the AKMS have been produced mainly with short barrels similar to Soviet [[AK-74|AKS-74U]] for special forces, tank & armoured crew and for helicopter pilots and police. There have also been modified ASh-82 ([[AKMS]]) with [[SOPMOD]] accessories, mainly for Albania's special forces [[RENEA]] & exports.<ref name=alb>{{cite web |url=http://aftermathgunclub.com/2015/04/20/albanian-small-arms/ |title=Albanian Small Arms |author=Ethan M. |date=20 April 2015 |website=Aftermath Gun Club |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014034429/http://aftermathgunclub.com/2015/04/20/albanian-small-arms/ |archive-date=14 October 2017}}</ref>
|-
! Armenia
| [[K-3 (rifle)|K-3]] (bullpup, [[5.45×39mm]])
|-
! Azerbaijan
| Khazri (AK-74M)<ref name="Azerbaijan">{{cite web |script-title=ru:Азербайджан приступил к серийному производству автоматов АК-74М по российской лицензии |trans-title=Azerbaijan began serial production of AK-74M rifles under Russian license |language=ru |date=8 July 2011 |work=ЦАМТО |publisher=Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade |location=Moscow |url=http://www.armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2011/0708/10108803/detail.shtml |access-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922064227/http://www.armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2011/0708/10108803/detail.shtml |archive-date=22 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! Bangladesh
| Chinese [[Type 56 assault rifle|Type 56]]
|-
! Bulgaria
| AKK/AKKS (Type 3 AK-47/w. side-folding buttstock); AKKMS (AKMS), AKKN-47 (fittings for NPSU night sights); AK-47M1 (Type 3 with black polymer furniture); [[AR-M1|AK-47MA1/AR-M1]] (same as -M1, but in 5.56mm NATO); AKS-47M1 (AKMS in [[5.56×45mm NATO]]); AKS-47S (AK-47M1, short version, with East German folding stock, laser aiming device); AKS-47UF (short version of -M1, Russian folding stock), AR-SF (same as −47UF, but 5.56mm NATO); AKS-93SM6 (similar to −47M1, cannot use grenade launcher); and RKKS (RPK), AKT-47 (.22 rimfire training rifle)
|-
! Cambodia
| Chinese [[Type 56 assault rifle|Type 56]], Soviet AK-47, and [[AKM]]
|-
! China
| [[Type 56 assault rifle|Type 56]]
|-
! Colombia
| [[Galil ACE]], [[Galil Córdova]]
|-
! Croatia
| [[APS-95]]
|-
! Cuba
| AKM{{r|variants}}
|-
! [[East Germany]]{{r|MPi-AK}}
| MPi-K/MPi-KS (AK-47/AKS); MPi-KM (AKM; wooden and plastic stock), MPi-KMS-72 (side-folding stock), MPi-KMS-K (carbine); MPi-AK-74N (AK-74), MPi-AKS-74N (side-folding stock), MPi-AKS-74NK (carbine); KK-MPi Mod.69 ([[.22 Long Rifle|.22 LR]] select-fire trainer){{r|MPi-AK}}
|-
! Egypt
| AK-47, [[Misr rifle]] (AKMS), Maadi ARM (AKM)
|-
! Ethiopia
| AK-47, [[AK-103]] (manufactured locally at the State-run ''[[Gafat Armament Engineering Complex]]'' as the Et-97/1){{r|Et-97/1}}
|-
! Finland
| [[Rk 62]], [[Valmet M76]] (other names Rk 62 76, M62/76), [[Valmet M78]] (light machine gun), [[Rk 95 Tp]]
|-
! Hungary
| AK-55 (domestic manufacture of the 2nd Model AK-47); AKM-63 (also known as AMD-63 in the US; modernized AK-55), [[AMD-65]]M (modernized AKM-63, shorter barrel and side-folding stock), [[AMP-69]] (rifle grenade launcher); [[AK-63]]F/D (other name AMM/AMMSz), AK-63MF (modernized); NGM-81 ([[5.56×45mm NATO]]; fixed and under-folding stock){{r|Hungary}}
|-
! India
| [[INSAS]] (fixed and side-folding stock), [[INSAS#Variant & Developments|KALANTAK]] (carbine), [[INSAS#Variant & Developments|INSAS light machine gun]] (fixed and side-folding stock), a local unlicensed version with carbon fibre furniture designated as AK-7;{{r|India}} and Trichy Rifle 7.62&nbsp;mm manufactured by [[Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli]] of [[Ordnance Factories Board]]<ref name="Ordnance Factories Board" />
|-
! Iran
| KLS/KLF (AK-47/AKS), KLT (AKMS)
|-
! Iraq
| [[Tabuk Sniper Rifle]], Tabuk Rifle (with fixed or underfolding stock, outright clones of Yugoslavian M70 rifles series), Tabuk Short Rifle (carbine)
|-
! Israel
| [[IMI Galil]]: AR (battle rifle), ARM (rifle/light machine gun), SAR (carbine), MAR (compact carbine), Sniper (sniper rifle), SR-99 (sniper rifle); and [[Galil ACE]]
|-
! Italy
| Bernardelli VB-STD/VB-SR (Galil AR/SAR){{r|Bernardelli}}
|-
! Nigeria
| Produced by [[Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria|DICON]] as OBJ-006<ref name="People's Daily Nigeria" /><ref name="DICON" />
|-
! North Korea
| [[Type 58 assault rifle|Type 58]]A/B (Type 3 AK-47/w. stamped steel folding stock), Type 68A/B (AKM/AKMS), Type 88A/B-2 (AK-74/AKS-74/w. top folding stock)<ref name="Weapon" /><ref name="North Korea" />
|-
! Pakistan
| [[Reverse Engineering|Reverse engineered]] by hand and machine in Pakistan's highland areas (see [[Khyber Pass Copy]]) near the border of Afghanistan; more recently the [[Pakistan Ordnance Factories]] started the manufacture of an AK-47/AKM clone called PK-10<ref name="Pakistan" />
|-
! Poland
| PmK (kbk AK) / PmKS (kbk AKS), Kalashnikov SMG name change to Kbk AK, Kalashnikov Carbine in 1960s, (AK-47/AKS); [[kbkg wz. 1960]] (rifle grenade launcher), kbkg wz. 1960/72 (modernized); kbk AKM / kbk AKMS (AKM/AKMS); [[kbk wz. 1988 Tantal]] ([[5.45×39mm]]), [[skbk wz. 1989 Onyks]] (compact carbine); [[kbs wz. 1996 Beryl]] ([[5.56×45mm NATO|5.56×45mm]]), [[kbk wz. 1996 Mini-Beryl]] (compact carbine){{r|Poland}}
|-
! Romania
| [[Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965|PM md. 63/65]] (AKM/AKMS), [[Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965#PM md. 80|PM md. 80]], [[Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965#PM md. 90|PM md. 90]], collectively exported under the umbrella name AIM or AIMS; [[PA md. 86]] (AK-74) exported as the AIMS-74; PM md. 90 short barrel, PA md. 86 short barrel exported as the AIMR; [[PSL (rifle)|PSL]] (designated marksman rifle; other names PSL-54C, Romak III, FPK and SSG-97)
|-
! South Africa
| [[R4 rifle]], [[Truvelo Raptor]], [[Vektor CR-21]] (bullpup)
|-
! Sudan
| MAZ (based on the [[Type 56 assault rifle|Type 56]]){{r|MAZ}}
|-
! Türkiye
| SAR 15T,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sarsilmaz.com/en/product/sar-15t |title=SAR 15T |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website= www.sarsilmaz.com |publisher= [[Sarsılmaz Arms]] |access-date=7 November 2024 |quote=Manufacturer Website}}</ref> SAR 308<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sarsilmaz.com/en/product/sar-308 |title=SAR 308 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website= www.sarsilmaz.com |publisher= [[Sarsılmaz Arms]] |access-date=7 November 2024 |quote=Manufacturer Website}}</ref>
|-
! Ukraine
| [[Vepr]] (bullpup, [[5.45×39mm]]), Malyuk (bullpup)<ref name="Malyuk" />
|-
! United States
| Century Arms: C39 (AK-47 var.), RAS47 (AKM var.), and C39v2 (AK-47 var.), InterOrdnance: AKM247 (AKM var.) M214 (pistol), Palmetto State Armory: PSAK-47 (AKM var.), Arsenal Inc: SA M-7 (AK-47 var.), Destructive Devices Industries: DDI 47S (AKM var.) DDI 47M (AK-47 var), Rifle Dynamics: RD700 and other custom build AK / AKM guns
|-
! Vietnam
| AKM-1 (AKM), TUL-1 (RPK), Galil Ace 31/32, [[STV rifle]]
|-
! Venezuela
| License granted, factory under construction<ref name="Venezuela" />
|-
! [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]/[[Serbia]]
| M64, [[Zastava M70 assault rifle|M70]], [[Zastava M72|M72]], [[Zastava M76|M76]], [[Zastava M77|M77]], [[Zastava M80|M80]], [[Zastava M82|M82]], [[Zastava M85|M85]], [[Zastava M90|M90]], [[Zastava M91|M91]], [[Zastava M92|M92]], [[Zastava M99|M99]], [[Zastava M21|M21]]
|}

A private company [[Kalashnikov Concern]] (formerly Izhmash) from Russia has repeatedly claimed that the majority of foreign manufacturers are producing AK-type rifles without proper [[license|licensing]].<ref name="licensing-1" /><ref name="licensing-2" />

==Accuracy potential==
===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/>

===Russian method===
The following table represents the Russian [[circular error probable]] method for determining accuracy, which involves drawing two circles on the target, one for the maximum vertical dispersion of hits and one for the maximum horizontal dispersion of hits. They then disregard the hits on the outer part of the target and only count half of the hits (50% or R<sub>50</sub>) on the inner part of the circles. This significantly reduces the overall diameter of the groups. They then use both the vertical and horizontal measurements of the reduced groups to measure accuracy. When the R<sub>50</sub> results are doubled, the hit probability increases to 93.7%.

[[File:Circular error probable - example.png|thumb|right|Circular error probable 20 hits distribution example]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|+AK-47 semi-automatic and short burst dispersion with 57-N-231 steel core service ammunition<ref name="мануал3">{{cite book |title=Instruction on small business 7,62- mm Kalashnikov (AK) |location=Moscow |publisher=Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR |date=1967}}</ref>
|-
!Range||Vertical accuracy of fire (R<sub>50</sub>) semi-automatic||Horizontal accuracy of fire (R<sub>50</sub>) semi-automatic||Vertical accuracy of fire (R<sub>50</sub>) short burst||Horizontal accuracy of fire (R<sub>50</sub>) short burst||Remaining bullet energy||Remaining bullet velocity
|-
|{{convert|0|m|yd|0|abbr=on|disp=br()}}||{{convert|0|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|0|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|0|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|0|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|2036|J|ftlbf|abbr=on}}||{{convert|718|m/s|ft/s|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|{{convert|100|m|yd|abbr=on}}||{{convert|8|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|4|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|9|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|11|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|1540|J|ftlbf|abbr=on}}||{{convert|624|m/s|ft/s|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|{{convert|200|m|yd|0|abbr=on}}||{{convert|11|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|8|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|18|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|22|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|1147|J|ftlbf|abbr=on}}||{{convert|539|m/s|ft/s|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|{{convert|300|m|yd|abbr=on}}||{{convert|17|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|12|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|27|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|33|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|843|J|ftlbf|abbr=on}}||{{convert|462|m/s|ft/s|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|{{convert|400|m|yd|abbr=on}}||{{convert|23|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|16|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|31|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|44|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|618|J|ftlbf|abbr=on}}||{{convert|395|m/s|ft/s|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|{{convert|500|m|yd|abbr=on}}||{{convert|29|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|20|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|46|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|56|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|461|J|ftlbf|abbr=on}}||{{convert|342|m/s|ft/s|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|{{convert|600|m|yd|0|abbr=on}}||{{convert|35|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|24|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|56|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|67|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|363|J|ftlbf|abbr=on}}||{{convert|303|m/s|ft/s|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|{{convert|700|m|yd|abbr=on}}||{{convert|42|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|29|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|66|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|78|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|314|J|ftlbf|abbr=on}}||{{convert|282|m/s|ft/s|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|{{convert|800|m|yd|abbr=on}}||{{convert|49|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|34|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|76|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|89|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|284|J|ftlbf|abbr=on}}||{{convert|268|m/s|ft/s|0|abbr=on}}
|}
* R<sub>50</sub> means the closest 50 percent of the shot group will all be within a circle of the mentioned diameter.

The vertical and horizontal mean (R<sub>50</sub>) deviations with service ammunition at {{convert|800|m|yd|0|abbr=on}} for AK platforms are.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|+SKS, AK-47, AKM, and AK-74 dispersion at {{convert|800|m|yd|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="мануал">Manual on small business. 7.62-mm modernized Kalashnikov assault rifle (AKM and AKMS). – 3rd ed. – Moscow: Military Publishing, 1983. – 160 p., Ill.</ref>
|-
!Rifle||Firing mode||Vertical accuracy of fire (R<sub>50</sub>)||Horizontal accuracy of fire (R<sub>50</sub>)
|-
|[[SKS]] (1945)||semi-automatic||{{convert|38|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|29|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}
|-
|AK-47 (1949)||semi-automatic||{{convert|49|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|34|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}
|-
|AK-47 (1949)||short burst||{{convert|76|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|89|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[AKM]] (1959)||short burst||{{convert|64|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|90|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[AK-74]] (1974)||short burst||{{convert|48|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}||{{convert|64|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}
|-
|}

== Users ==
[[File:AK47map.svg|thumb|A map of current AK users (including derivative and modernized variants in orange and purple)]]

<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->

===Current===
{{Div col|colwidth=18em}}
* {{Flagcountry|Afghanistan}}<ref name="washingtonpost" />
* {{Flagcountry|Albania}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Algeria}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Angola}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Armenia}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Azerbaijan}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Bangladesh}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Belarus}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Benin}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Botswana}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dale|first=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bg8jQxkSTcC&pg=PA53|title=Botswana's Search for Autonomy in Southern Africa|date=1995|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|page=85|isbn=978-0-313-29571-3|language=en}}</ref>
* {{Flagcountry|Bulgaria}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Burkina Faso}}<ref name="Africa Defense Journal" /><ref name="afrikitalia" />
* {{Flagcountry|Burundi}}<ref name="Burundi-flickr" /><ref name="SSR Monitor" />
* {{Flagcountry|Cambodia}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Cape Verde}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Central African Republic}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Chad}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Chile}}<ref name="Gander" />
* {{Flagcountry|China}} − [[Type 56 assault rifle|Type 56]] variant.<ref name="Miller" />
* {{Flagcountry|Comoros}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Congo}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Cuba}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Djibouti}}<ref name="roberthuffstutter" />
* {{Flagcountry|Egypt}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Equatorial Guinea}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Eritrea}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Ethiopia}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Finland}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Kevytasekäsikirja 2019 |url=https://puolustusvoimat.fi/documents/1948673/2258487/PEVIESTOS_Kevytasekäsikirja_2019.pdf |publisher=Finnish Defence Forces |access-date=23 March 2019 |language=fi |date=2019 |isbn=978-951-25-3060-1 |trans-title=Small Arms Manual 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190323123437/https://puolustusvoimat.fi/documents/1948673/2258487/PEVIESTOS_Kevytasek%C3%A4sikirja_2019.pdf/f80efe96-3d7a-9ce0-0a21-74c10c13cd1c/PEVIESTOS_Kevytasek%C3%A4sikirja_2019.pdf.pdf |archive-date=23 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> 
* {{Flagcountry|Gabon}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Georgia}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Greece}} − [[Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (Greece)|EKAM]]: The counter-terrorist unit of the [[Hellenic Police]]<ref name="Milosevic" /><ref name="Hellenic Police" />
* {{Flagcountry|Guinea}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Guinea-Bissau}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Guyana}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Hungary}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|India}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}<ref name="Force One" />
* {{Flagcountry|Indonesia}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.shadowspear.com/2009/01/kopassus/ |title=Komando Pasukan Khusus (Kopassus) |date=January 28, 2009 |website=Shadowspear.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202003917/https://www.shadowspear.com/2009/01/kopassus/ |archive-date=2 December 2020}}</ref>
* {{Flagcountry|Iran}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Iraq}}<ref name="washingtonpost" />{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Israel}}<ref name="Jones">{{cite book |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Richard D. |editor2-last=Ness |editor2-first=Leland S. |title=Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009–2010 |year= 2009 |edition=35th |publisher=[[Jane's Information Group]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5ngPgAACAAJ |isbn=978-0-7106-2869-5}}</ref>
* {{Flagcountry|Kazakhstan}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Kyrgyzstan}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Laos}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Lebanon}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Lesotho}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Liberia}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Libya}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Madagascar}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Mali}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Moldova}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Mongolia}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Morocco}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Mozambique}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Namibia}}<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200212180202.html |title=Namibia: Soldier Claims Ignorance About AK-47 Used to Murder Farmer |last=Menges |first=Werner |date=2002-12-18 |newspaper=[[The Namibian]] |location=Windhoek |access-date=2017-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030101220927/http://allafrica.com/stories/200212180202.html |archive-date=1 January 2003 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* {{Flagcountry|Nicaragua}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Carlos Caballero |last=Jurado |title=Central American Wars 1959–89 |series=Men-at-Arms 221 |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |place=London |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-85045-945-6 |pages=20, 45}}</ref>
* {{Flagcountry|North Korea}} − [[Type 58 assault rifle|Type 58]] variant{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|North Macedonia}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}<ref name="Nikolovski" />
* {{Flagcountry|Pakistan}} – Locally made as well as being in service with the [[Pakistan Army|Army]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2019/2/4/darra-adam-khel-pakistans-dying-gun-bazaar |title=Darra Adam Khel: Pakistan's dying gun bazaar |first=Asad |last=Hashim |date=4 February 2019 |website=[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501065051/https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/features/2019/2/4/darra-adam-khel-pakistans-dying-gun-bazaar|archive-date=May 1, 2023}}</ref>
* {{Flagcountry|Peru}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Qatar}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Romania}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|São Tomé and Príncipe}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Saudi Arabia}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://syrianobserver.com/EN/news/47016/uae-saudi-arabia-dispatch-troops-to-syria.html |title=UAE, Saudi Arabia Dispatch Troops to Syria |date=22 November 2018 |website=Syrian Observer |access-date=28 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122120242/https://syrianobserver.com/EN/news/47016/uae-saudi-arabia-dispatch-troops-to-syria.html |archive-date=22 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{Flagcountry|Serbia}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Seychelles}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Sierra Leone}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Somalia}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Sudan}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Suriname}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Syria|variant=1932}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Tajikistan}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Tanzania}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Thailand}} − Used by [[Thahan Phran]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/newly-recruited-rangers-practice-with-their-ak-47-rifles-news-photo/87890633|title=Newly recruited Rangers practice with their AK-47 rifles during a training session at a military camp in Thailand's restive southern Narathiwat province.|date=May 21, 2009|website=[[Getty Images]]}}</ref>
* {{Flagcountry|Togo}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Turkey}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Turkmenistan}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Ukraine}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{flag|United States}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/04/12/aks-among-u-s-police-departments/ |title=AKs among U.S. Police Departments |date=12 April 2016 |website=The Firearm Blog|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423025314/https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/04/12/aks-among-u-s-police-departments/|archive-date=April 23, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/why-us-commandos-loved-ak-47-rifle-44872 |title=Why U.S. Commandos Loved the AK-47 Rifle |date=18 February 2019 |website=The National Interest|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813092107/https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/why-us-commandos-loved-ak-47-rifle-44872|archive-date=August 13, 2020}}</ref>
* {{Flagcountry|Uzbekistan}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Vietnam}}<ref name="Miller" />
* {{Flagcountry|Yemen}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Zambia}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
* {{Flagcountry|Zimbabwe}}{{sfn|Rottman|2011|p=78}}
{{div col end}}

=== Non-state current ===

*{{flagicon image|Flag of ELN.svg}} [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|ELN]]<ref name="Colombia">{{cite web |title=Violence, Crime And Illegal Arms Trafficking In Colombia |url=https://www.unodc.org/pdf/Colombia_Dec06_en.pdf |publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |access-date=13 October 2024 |page=26 |date=November 2006}}</ref>
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the FARC-EP.svg}} [[FARC dissidents]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Acosta |first1=Luis Jaime |title=Meet the secretive Colombian guerrillas who could deal final blow to peace plan |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/meet-secretive-colombian-guerrillas-who-could-deal-final-blow-peace-plan-2024-08-21/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=Reuters |date=21 August 2024}}</ref>
*{{flag|Hamas}}<ref name="Biesecker">{{cite news |last1=Biesecker |first1=Michael |title=Hamas fights with a patchwork of weapons built by Iran, China, Russia and North Korea |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-guns-weapons-missiles-smuggling-adae9dae4c48059d2a3c8e5d565daa30 |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=AP News |date=15 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
*{{flag|Hezbollah}}{{sfn|Zagdanski|2007|page=32}}
*{{flaglist|Islamic State}} − Captured from the Syrian Army<ref name="Bellingcat">{{cite web |title=Islamic State Captures Masses of Iranian-supplied Weaponry Near Khanasir |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2016/04/16/islamic-state-captures-masses-of-iranian-supplied-weaponry-near-khanasir/ |website=bellingcat |access-date=13 October 2024 |date=16 April 2016}}</ref>
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Karen National Defence Organisation.svg}} [[Karen National Defence Organisation]]<ref name="VOA">{{cite news |title=Myanmar's Anti-Junta Protesters Turning to Rebel Armies for Military Training |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_myanmars-anti-junta-protesters-turning-rebel-armies-military-training/6205108.html |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=Voice of America |date=27 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the KNLA.svg}} [[Karen National Liberation Army]]<ref name="Tan">{{cite news |last1=Tan |first1=Rebecca |title=In the jungle with Myanmar's oldest rebel group amid new threat to junta |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/21/myanmar-military-karen-knu-rebels/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=24 November 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240211185529/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/21/myanmar-military-karen-knu-rebels/ |archive-date=11 February 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Kurdistan Workers' Party.svg}} [[Kurdistan Workers Party]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Reynolds |first1=James |last2=Erdim |first2=Zeynep |title=PKK fighters face life after Turkey withdrawal |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22304002 |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=BBC News |date=25 April 2013}}</ref>
*{{flagicon image|MNLA flag.svg}} [[National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad]]<ref name="MNLA">{{cite news |last1=Diallo |first1=Tiemoko |last2=Diarra |first2=Adama |title=Mali fights rebels in north as army officers protest in south |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/mali-fights-rebels-in-north-as-army-officers-protest-in-south-idUSJOE99000Q/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=Reuters |date=1 October 2013}}</ref>
*{{flagicon image|Infoboxnpa.png}} [[New People's Army]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Meniano |first1=Sarwell |title=Another NPA arms cache unearthed in Samar |url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1232776 |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=Philippine News Agency |date=6 September 2024}}</ref>
*{{flag|Palestine Liberation Organization}}{{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|page=237}}
*{{flagicon|Syrian opposition}} [[Syrian opposition to Bashar al-Assad|Syrian opposition]]<ref name="Bender">{{cite news |last1=Bender |first1=Jeremy |title=Here's a look at the weapons the US is sending to Syrian rebels |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/weapons-us-sends-to-syrian-rebels-2016-4#dshk-and-rpg-7-10 |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=Business Insider |date=11 April 2016}}</ref>
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army.svg}} [[Ta'ang National Liberation Army]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Watson |first1=Ivan |last2=Iqbal |first2=Javed |last3=Maung |first3=Manny |title=Myanmar's hidden war |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/11/asia/myanmar-shan-rebels-civil-war/index.html |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=CNN |date=11 November 2015 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Former ===
* {{Flagcountry|East Germany}} − MPi-K (AK-47) and MPi-KM (AKM){{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|page=131}}
* {{GRN}}{{sfn|Florence|1983|page=31}}
* {{Flag|North Vietnam}}{{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|page=75}} − Passed on to the unified Vietnamese state{{sfn|Jones|Ness|2010|page=917}}
* {{PAN}} − Used by the [[Panama Defense Forces]]{{sfn|Hasenauer|1990|page=51}}
* {{Flagcountry|Rhodesia}}<ref name="PTW" />
* {{Flagcountry|Soviet Union}} − Replaced by the AKM and AK-74<ref name="miller2001b">{{cite book |first=D. M. O. |last=Miller |title=Illustrated Directory of Twentieth Century Guns |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GgpRPgAACAAJ |year= 2001 |publisher=Salamander |isbn=978-1-84065-245-1}}</ref>
*{{flag|South Vietnam}} − Captured rifles were issued to [[ARVN]] irregular units{{sfn|Lanning|2011|page=125}}

===Non-state former===
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Afghan interim government-in-exile (1988–1992).svg}} [[Afghan mujahideen]] − [[CIA]] supplied Egyptian and Chinese variants{{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|pages=78−79}}
* {{flag|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}}{{sfn|German|2003|page=58}}
* {{flagicon image|Bandera Resistencia Nicaragüense..jpg}} [[Contras]]{{sfn|Binder|1987|page=25}}{{sfn|Bracamonte|Spencer|1995|page=182}}
* {{flag|Donetsk People's Republic}}<ref name="auto">{{cite news | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-22/foreign-fighters-join-pro-russian-rebels-in-eastern-ukraine/6792696 | title=Hundreds of foreign fighters join pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine | newspaper=ABC News | date=21 September 2015 }}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front former flag.svg}} [[Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front]]{{sfn|Bracamonte|Spencer|1995|page=180}}
* {{flagicon|Iraq|1991}} [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)|Iraqi insurgents]]{{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|pages=186,193,210}}
* {{flagicon|Democratic Kampuchea}} [[Khmer Rouge]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Violations Of The Laws Of War By The Khmer Rouge |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/c/cambodia/cambodia904.pdf |website=Human Rights Watch |access-date=14 October 2024 |pages=7−8, 10 |date=April 1990}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Tamil Eelam Flag.svg}} [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]]<ref name="Desmond">{{cite magazine |last1=Desmond |first1=Edward W. |title=Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers |url=https://time.com/archive/6718578/sri-lankas-tamil-tigers/ |access-date=14 October 2024 |magazine=TIME |date=16 September 1991 |language=en}}</ref>
* {{flag|Luhansk People's Republic}}<ref name="auto"/>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Malayan National Liberation Army.svg}} [[Malayan National Liberation Army]]{{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|page=21}}
* {{flagicon image|MNLF flag.svg}} [[Moro National Liberation Front]]{{sfn|Morea|2008|page=42}}
* {{flagicon|Afghanistan|1992}} [[Northern Alliance]]{{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|page=161}}
* {{flagicon image|Provisional Irish Republican Army Badge.svg}} [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] − Supplied by Libya{{sfn|Horgan|Braddock|2012|page=179}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of RENAMO.svg}} [[RENAMO]]{{sfn|Moorcraft|1987|pages=43,45}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the FARC-EP.svg}} [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia]]<ref name="Colombia" />{{sfn|Felbab-Brown|2009|page=82}}
* {{flagicon image|FNL Flag.svg}} [[Viet Cong]]{{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|page=75}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the VBSW.png}} [[Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors |url=https://irp.fas.org/world/para/vbsw.htm |website=Federation of American Scientists |date=24 January 2000|access-date=13 October 2024}}</ref>

=== Illicit trade ===
{{see also|Crime in Russia#Arms trafficking}}
[[File:Somalimerirosvojen rynnäkkökiväärejä Maneesi.JPG|thumb|AK-47 copies confiscated from Somali pirates by Finnish mine-layer {{ship|Finnish minelayer|Pohjanmaa||2}} during [[Operation Atalanta]], photographed in Manege Military Museum. The stocks are missing on the top three AKs.]]

Throughout the world, the AK and its variants are commonly used by governments, revolutionaries, terrorists, criminals, and civilians alike. In some countries, such as Somalia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Congo, and Tanzania, the prices for Black Market AKs are between $30 and $125 per weapon and prices have fallen in the last few decades due to mass counterfeiting.<ref name="ControlArms" /> In Kenya, "an AK-47 fetches five head of cattle (about 10,000 Kenya shillings or 100 US dollars) when offered for barter, but costs almost half that price when cash is paid".<ref name="van Schendel" /> There are places around the world where AK-type weapons can be purchased on the [[black market]] "for as little as $6, or traded for a chicken or a sack of grain".<ref name="ECOSOCDEV" /><ref name="UNCHR" /><ref name="Kabbani" />

The AK-47 has also spawned a cottage industry of sorts and has been copied and manufactured (one gun at a time) in small shops around the world (see [[Khyber Pass Copy]]).<ref name="Santos" /><ref name="smallarmssurvey-1" /> The estimated numbers of AK-type weapons vary greatly. The Small Arms Survey suggests that "between 70 and 100&nbsp;million of these weapons have been produced since 1947".<ref name="smallarmssurvey-2" /> The World Bank estimates that out of the 500&nbsp;million total firearms available worldwide, 100&nbsp;million are of the Kalashnikov family, and 75&nbsp;million are AK-47s.<ref name="k3" /> Because AK-type weapons have been made in many countries, often illicitly, it is impossible to know how many exist.<ref name="Graves-Brown" />

== Conflicts ==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2024}}
The AK-47 has been used in the following conflicts:

;1940s
* [[Malayan Emergency]] (1948−1960){{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|page=21}}

;1950s
* [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|Hungarian Revolution]] (1956)<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2011/02/10/most-influential-weapon-our-time/ |title=The Most Influential Weapon of Our Time |magazine=[[The New York Review of Books]] |first=Max |last=Hastings |author-link=Max Hastings |date=10 February 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811010810/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2011/02/10/most-influential-weapon-our-time/ |archive-date=11 August 2017 |quote=József Tibor Fejes, a young Hungarian identified by C. J. Chivers in 'The Gun' as 'the first known insurgent to carry an AK-47.' According to Chivers, 'Fejes obtained his prize after Soviet soldiers dropped their rifles during their attack on revolutionaries in Budapest in 1956…. The Hungarian Revolution marked the AK-47's true battlefield debut.}}</ref>
* [[Vietnam War]] (1955–1975){{sfn|Lanning|2011|page=125}}
* [[Laotian Civil War]] (1959–1975)

;1960s
* [[Congo Crisis]] (1960–1965)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.akg-images.co.uk/CS.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&VBID=2UMESQJAHUPQB7&POPUPPN=7&POPUPIID=2UMDHU858585|title=Simba uprising 1964–1965; mercenary with captured AK-47, December 1964 |website=AKG Images}}</ref>
* [[Portuguese Colonial War]] (1961–1974)
* [[Rhodesian Bush War]] (1964–1979)<ref name="Zimbabwe">{{cite book |title=Modern African Wars (1): Rhodesia 1965–80 |url=https://archive.org/details/modernafricanwar00abbo_940 |url-access=limited |series=Men-at-Arms 183 |first1=Peter |last1=Abbott |first2=Philip |last2=Botham |date= 1986 |isbn=978-0-85045-728-5 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |page=[https://archive.org/details/modernafricanwar00abbo_940/page/n10 10]}}</ref>
* [[The Troubles]] (late 1960s–1998){{sfn|Horgan|Braddock|2012|page=179}}
* [[Communist insurgency in Thailand]] (1965–1983)
* [[South African Border War]] (1966–1990)
* [[Nathu La and Cho La clashes|India-China clashes (1967)]]
* [[Cambodian Civil War]] (1968–1975)
* [[Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–1989)]]
* [[Moro conflict]] (1968−2019){{sfn|Morea|2008|page=42}}

;1970s
* [[Yom Kippur War]] (1973)
* [[Ethiopian Civil War]] (1974–1991)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Ethiopian Military Rifle Cartridges: Part 2: from Mauser to Kalashnikov |last=Scarlata |first=Paul |magazine=[[Shotgun News]] |date=1 March 2009 |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ethiopian+military+rifle+cartridges%3A+Part+2%3A+from+Mauser+to...-a0195134991 |access-date=24 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124055029/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ethiopian+military+rifle+cartridges%3A+Part+2%3A+from+Mauser+to...-a0195134991 |archive-date=24 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Western Sahara War]] (1975–1991)
* [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War]] (1978–1989)
* [[Chadian–Libyan War]] (1978–1987)
* [[Soviet–Afghan War]] (1979–1989)

;1980s
* [[1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran]]
* [[Iran–Iraq War]] (1980–1988){{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|page=105}}
* [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]] (1988–present)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kanwal |first=Gurmeet |date=April 1999 |title=Proxy War in Kashmir: Jehad or State-Sponsored Terrorism? |url=https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/sa/sa_99kag02.html |journal=Strategic Analysis: A Monthly Journal of the IDSA |volume=XXIII| issue =  1 |page=4 |via=Proxy War in Kashmir: Jehad or State-Sponsored Terrorism?}}</ref>
* [[Sri Lankan civil war|Sri Lankan Civil War]] (1983–2009)<ref name="Desmond" />
* [[United States invasion of Grenada]] (1983){{sfn|Florence|1983|page=31}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nara.getarchive.net/media/soviet-made-ak-47-assault-rifles-seized-during-operation-urgent-fury-on-the-a52b7b |title=Soviet made AK-47 assault rifles seized during Operation Urgent Fury. On the top of the pile of weapons is the barrel attachment to a 7.62 mm machine gun |date=25 October 1983 |website=The U.S. National Archives }}{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* [[South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)]]{{sfn|Zagdanski|2007|page=32}}
* [[Lord's Resistance Army insurgency]] (1987–present)<ref name ='SAS 2007 10'>{{cite book |url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2007.html |chapter-url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2007/en/full/Small-Arms-Survey-2007-Chapter-10-EN.pdf |chapter=Persistent Instability: Armed Violence and Insecurity in South Sudan |title=The Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2007 |author=Small Arms Survey |page=325 |isbn=978-0-521-88039-8 |access-date=29 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827001033/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2007.html |archive-date=27 August 2018 |url-status=live |author-link=Small Arms Survey}}</ref>
* [[United States invasion of Panama]] (1989){{sfn|Hasenauer|1990|page=51}}

;1990s
* [[KDPI insurgency (1989–1996)]]
* [[Tuareg rebellion (1990–1995)]]<ref name="SAS 2005">{{cite book |url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2005.html |chapter-url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2005/en/Small-Arms-Survey-2005-Chapter-06-EN.pdf |chapter=Sourcing the Tools of War: Small Arms Supplies to Conflict Zones |title=Small Arms Survey 2005: Weapons at War |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2005 |author=Small Arms Survey |page=166 |isbn=978-0-19-928085-8 |access-date=29 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830004838/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2005.html |archive-date=30 August 2018 |url-status=dead |author-link=Small Arms Survey}}</ref>
* [[Gulf War]] (1990–1991){{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|page=105}}
* [[Somali Civil War]] (1991–present)
* [[Yugoslav Wars]] (1991–2001)
* [[Burundian Civil War]] (1993–2005)<ref name ='SAS 2007 6'>{{cite book |url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2007.html |chapter-url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2007/en/full/Small-Arms-Survey-2007-Chapter-06-EN.pdf |chapter=Armed Violence in Burundi: Conflict and Post-Conflict Bujumbura |title=The Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2007 |author=Small Arms Survey |page=204 |isbn=978-0-521-88039-8 |access-date=29 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827001033/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2007.html |archive-date=27 August 2018 |url-status=live |author-link=Small Arms Survey}}</ref>
* [[First Chechen War]] (1994−1996){{sfn|German|2003|page=58}}
* [[Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997–1999)]]<ref name ='SAS 2003 263'>{{cite book |url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2003.html |chapter-url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2003/en/Small-Arms-Survey-2003-Chapter-08-EN.pdf |chapter=Making the Difference?: Weapon Collection and Small Arms Availability in the Republic of Congo |title=Small Arms Survey 2003: Development Denied |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2003 |author=Small Arms Survey |pages=268 |isbn=0199251754 |access-date=29 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829175229/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2003.html |archive-date=29 August 2018 |url-status=dead |author-link=Small Arms Survey}}</ref>
* [[Kargil War]] (1999)

;2000s
* [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
* [[Iraq War|Iraq War (2003–2011)]]{{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|page=105}}
* [[South Thailand insurgency]] (2004–present)
* [[Mexican drug war]] (2006–present)

;2010s
* [[Libyan Civil War (2011)]]
* [[Syrian civil war]] (2011–present)<ref name="Bellingcat" /><ref name="Bender"/>
* [[Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)]]{{sfn|Tucker-Jones|2012|pages=186,193,210}}
* [[Central African Republic Civil War]] (2012–present)<ref name="CAR">{{cite news |title=Centrafrique : le Soudan a-t-il armé les ex-Séléka ? |language=fr |work=[[Jeune Afrique]] |date=17 December 2013 |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/166718/politique/centrafrique-le-soudan-a-t-il-arm-les-ex-s-l-ka/ |first=Laurent |last=Touchard |access-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130111716/https://www.jeuneafrique.com/166718/politique/centrafrique-le-soudan-a-t-il-arm-les-ex-s-l-ka/ |archive-date=30 January 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Mali War]] (2012–present)<ref name="MNLA" />
* [[Russo-Ukrainian War]] (2014–present)
* [[Western Iran clashes (2016–present)]]

;2020s
* [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]] (2020)
* [[Tigray War]] (2020–2022)
* [[Myanmar civil war (2021–present)]]<ref name="VOA" /><ref name="Tan" />
* [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] (2022–present)
* [[September–October 2022 attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan]]
* [[Gaza war]] (2023–present)<ref name="Biesecker" />

== Cultural influence and impact ==
[[File:Flag of Mozambique.svg|thumb|The AK-47 on the [[flag of Mozambique]]]]
[[File:Coat of arms of Burkina Faso 1984-1991.svg|thumb|The AK-47 on the former [[coat of arms of Burkina Faso]]]]
[[File:Cia ak47 -1520961375.png|thumb|CIA Agent drawing of the alleged first westerner sighting of the AK-47 in 1953]]
{{Quote box
| quote = "Basically, it's the anti-Western cachet of it&nbsp;... And you know, one man's terrorist is another man's [[freedom fighter]], so we all sort of think, oh boy, we've got a little bit of [[Che Guevara]] in us. And this accounts for the popularity of the (AK 47) weapon. Plus I think that in the United States it's considered [[counterculture]], which is always something that citizens in this country kind of like&nbsp;... It's kind of sticking a finger in the eye of [[the man]], if you will."
| source =—Larry Kahaner, author of ''AK-47: The Weapon That Changed the Face of War''<ref name = "NPRKahaner" /> | width = 25% | align = right
}}

During the [[Cold War]], the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, as well as United States and other NATO nations supplied arms and technical knowledge to numerous countries and rebel forces around the world. During this time the Western countries used relatively expensive automatic rifles, such as the [[FN FAL]], the [[Heckler & Koch G3|HK G3]], the [[M14 rifle|M14]], and the [[M16 rifle|M16]]. In contrast, the Russians and Chinese used the AK-47; its low production cost and ease of manufacture allow them to make AKs in vast numbers.

In the pro-communist states, the AK-47 became a symbol of the [[Third World]] revolution. They were utilized in the [[Cambodian Civil War]] and the [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War]].<ref name="Jones1981">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/20/magazine/in-the-land-of-the-khmer-rouge.html |title=In The Land Of The Khmer Rouge |first=Christopher |last=Jones |date=20 December 1981 |newspaper=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211210646/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/20/magazine/in-the-land-of-the-khmer-rouge.html |archive-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> During the 1980s, the Soviet Union became the principal arms dealer to countries embargoed by Western nations, including Middle Eastern nations such as Libya and Syria, which welcomed Soviet Union backing against Israel. After the [[History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991)|fall of the Soviet Union]], AK-47s were sold both openly and on the black market to any group with cash, including drug cartels and dictatorial states, and more recently they have been seen in the hands of Islamic groups such as [[Al-Qaeda]], [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIL]], and the [[Taliban]] in Afghanistan and Iraq, and [[FARC]], [[Ejército de Liberación Nacional]] guerrillas in Colombia.<ref name="NPRKahaner" />

In Russia, the Kalashnikov is a tremendous source of national pride.<ref name="Kalashnikov dies" /> "The family of the inventor of the world's most famous rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has authorized German engineering company MMI to use the well-known Kalashnikov name on a variety of not-so-deadly goods."<ref name="Moscow Times" /> In recent years, Kalashnikov Vodka has been marketed with souvenir bottles in the shape of the AK-47 Kalashnikov.<ref name="russianvodka" /><ref name="vodka-wired" /> There are also Kalashnikov watches,<ref name="watches" /> umbrellas,<ref name="umbrellas" /> and knives.<ref name="knives" /><ref name="Boker" />

The Kalashnikov Museum (also called the AK-47 museum) opened on 4 November 2004 in [[Izhevsk]], Udmurt Republic. This city is in the [[Ural Region]] of Russia. The museum chronicles the biography of General Kalashnikov and documents the invention of the AK-47. The museum complex of Kalashnikov's small arms, a series of halls, and multimedia exhibitions are devoted to the evolution of the AK-47 rifle and attracts 10,000 monthly visitors.<ref name="museum" /> Nadezhda Vechtomova, the museum director, stated in an interview that the purpose of the museum is to honor the ingenuity of the inventor and the hard work of the employees and to "separate the weapon as a weapon of murder from the people who are producing it and to tell its history in our country".

On 19 September 2017 a {{convert|9|m}} monument of Kalashnikov was unveiled in central Moscow. A protester, later detained by police, attempted to unfurl a banner reading "a creator of weapons is a creator of death".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/19/30ft-high-statue-of-mikhail-kalashnikov-unveiled-in-moscow |title=30ft-high statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov unveiled in Moscow |first=Marc |last=Bennetts |date=19 September 2017 |access-date=19 September 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919111207/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/19/30ft-high-statue-of-mikhail-kalashnikov-unveiled-in-moscow |archive-date=19 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The proliferation of this weapon is reflected by more than just numbers. The AK-47 is included on the [[flag of Mozambique]] and its [[Emblem of Mozambique|emblem]], an acknowledgment that the country gained its independence in large part through the effective use of their AK-47s.<ref name="Gordon-1997" /> It is also found in the coats of arms of [[Coat of arms of East Timor|East Timor]], [[Coat of arms of Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe]] and the revolution era [[coat of arms of Burkina Faso|Burkina Faso]], as well as in the flags of [[flag of Hezbollah|Hezbollah]], [[Syrian Resistance]], [[FARC-EP]], the [[New People's Army]], [[Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist|TKP/TIKKO]] and the [[International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces]].

US and Western Europe countries frequently associate the AK-47 with their enemies, both Cold War era and present-day. For example, Western works of fiction (movies, television, novels, video games) often portray criminals, gang members, insurgents, and terrorists using AK-47s as the weapon of choice. Conversely, throughout the [[developing world]], the AK-47 can be positively attributed with [[Revolutionary|revolutionaries]] against foreign occupation, [[imperialism]], or [[colonialism]].<ref name="NPRKahaner" />

In Ireland the AK-47 is associated with [[The Troubles]] due to its extensive use by republican paramilitaries during this period.<ref>{{cite book |last=Oppenheimer |first=A. R. |date=2009 |title=IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity |location=[[Newbridge, County Kildare]] |publisher=Irish Academic Press |isbn=978-0-7165-2895-1}}</ref> In 2013, a decommissioned AK-47 was included in the ''[[A History of Ireland in 100 Objects]]'' collection.<ref>{{Cite news |title=A History of Ireland in 100 Objects: Decommissioned AK-47 assault rifle, 2005 |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/a-history-of-ireland-in-100-objects-decommissioned-ak-47-assault-rifle-2005-1.957646 |last=O'Toole |first=Fintan |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |language=en |access-date=2020-05-12}}</ref>

The AK-47 made an appearance in US popular culture as a recurring focus in the [[Nicolas Cage]] film ''[[Lord of War]]'' (2005). Numerous monologues in the movie focus on the weapon, and its effects on global conflict and the [[gun running]] market.<ref name="Lord of War" />

In Iraq and Afghanistan, [[private military company]] contractors from the UK and other countries used the AK-47 and its variants along with Western firearms such as the [[AR-15]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://novact.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/The-privatization-of-warfare.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://novact.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/The-privatization-of-warfare.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=The Privatization of Warfare, Violence and Private Military & Security Companies |first1=Jordi |last1=Palou-Loverdos |first2=Leticia |last2=Armendáriz |name-list-style=amp |website=The International Institute for Nonviolent Action |access-date=25 June 2021}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=August 2022|reason=One mention of AK-47, no mentions of AR-15 that I can find.}}

In 2006, the Colombian musician and peace activist [[César López (Colombian musician)|César López]] devised the ''[[escopetarra]]'', an AK converted into a guitar. One sold for US$17,000 in a fundraiser held to benefit the victims of [[anti-personnel mine]]s, while another was exhibited at the United Nations' [[Conference on Disarmament]].<ref name="BBC" />

In Mexico, the AK-47 is known as "Cuerno de Chivo" (literally "Goat's Horn") because of its curved magazine design. It is one of the weapons of choice of Mexican drug cartels. It is sometimes mentioned in Mexican folk music lyrics.<ref name="AolNews" />

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:AK 1 and 2 model.jpg|An AK-47 Type 1 (top) and 2 (bottom) on display. The Type 1 features a stamped receiver while the Type 2 receiver is milled.
File:MP Inspects Captured AK-47 Vietnam.jpg|A [[United States Army|US Army]] [[Military police|MP]] inspects a Chinese AK-47 recovered in Vietnam, 1968
File:ASC Leiden - Coutinho Collection - G 24 - Life in Ziguinchor, Senegal - Carrying weapons to Hermangono, Guinea-Bissau - 1973.tif|AK-47s of the [[PAIGC]]-liberation movement, ready to be transported from Senegal to Guinea-Bissau, 1973
File:Evstafiev-spetsnaz-prepare-for-mission.jpg|A [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Spetsnaz]] (special operations) group prepares for a mission in [[Afghanistan]], 1988
File:Mortar attack on Shigal Tarna garrison, Kunar Province, 87.jpg|During the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] in the 1980s, several sources simultaneously armed both sides of the Afghan conflict, filling the country with AK-47s and their derivatives.<ref name="most abundant" />
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Comparison of the AK-47 and M16]]
* [[AK-12]]
* [[PK machine gun]]
* [[Draco Pistol|Draco]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=N}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="Africa Defense Journal">{{cite journal |url=http://africadefensejournal.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/burkina-nouveau-mouvement-de-colere-des-militaires-a-ouagadougou/ |title=Burkina : nouveau mouvement de colère des militaires à Ouagadougou |trans-title=Burkina: new angry movement of the soldiers in Ouagadougou |language=fr |journal=Africa Defense Journal |date=24 May 2011 |access-date=29 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023042817/http://africadefensejournal.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/burkina-nouveau-mouvement-de-colere-des-militaires-a-ouagadougou/ |archive-date=23 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="afrikitalia">{{cite web |url=http://www.afrikitalia.it/burkina-faso-ces-mesures-presidentielles-qui-font-plaisir-a-larmee/ |title=Burkina Faso: Ces Mesures Présidentielles Qui Font Plaisir à l'Armée |trans-title=Burkina Faso: The Presidential Measures Which Please the Army |language=fr |first=Arsène Flavien |last=Bationo |date=October 2012 |website=AfrikItalia.it |access-date=29 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131017212241/http://www.afrikitalia.it/burkina-faso-ces-mesures-presidentielles-qui-font-plaisir-a-larmee/ |archive-date=17 October 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="AG-S4">{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF00867112 |title=Elastic characteristics of AG-4S glass-reinforced plastic under short-time and long-time loads |last=Grezin |first=V. M. |journal=Polymer Mechanics |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=188–190 |year=1966 |bibcode=1966PoMec...2..188G|s2cid=135895271 |issn = 0032-390X}}</ref>
<ref name="ak-akm-e">{{cite web |url=http://world.guns.ru/assault/rus/ak-akm-e.html |title=Kalashnikov AK (AK-47) AKS, AKM and AKMS rifles (USSR) |date=25 November 2015 |website=World.guns.ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120230537/http://world.guns.ru/assault/rus/ak-akm-e.html |archive-date=20 January 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="AKML">{{cite web |title=AKML (AKMSL) |website=AK-info.ru |language=ru |url=http://www.ak-info.ru/joomla/index.php/aaka/6-akm/54-akmsl |access-date=8 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523004257/http://www.ak-info.ru/joomla/index.php/aaka/6-akm/54-akmsl |archive-date=23 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="alpharubicon2">{{cite web |url=http://www.alpharubicon.com/leo/akseries.htm |title=Avtomat Kalashnikov |date=March 1998 |website=Alpharubicon.com |access-date=10 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513012711/http://www.alpharubicon.com/leo/akseries.htm |archive-date=13 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="ammoweight">{{cite book |title=Land Forces Weapons: Export Catalogue |year=2003 |page=85 |publisher=[[Rosoboronexport]] |location=Moscow |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/30301368/Rosoboronexport-Land-Forces-Weapons-Catalogue |oclc=61406322 |access-date=8 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170614160811/https://www.scribd.com/doc/30301368/Rosoboronexport-Land-Forces-Weapons-Catalogue |archive-date=14 June 2017 |url-status=live |via=Scribd}}</ref>
<ref name="AolNews">{{cite web |last=Muessig |first=Ben |title=Narcocorridos: The Songs of Mexico's Drug War |url=http://www.aolnews.com/2010/08/10/narcocorridos-the-songs-of-mexicos-drug-war/ |website=AOL News |date=10 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814224007/http://www.aolnews.com/2010/08/10/narcocorridos-the-songs-of-mexicos-drug-war/ |archive-date=14 August 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="AP-Kalashnikov">{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/ak-47-inventor-doesnt-lose-sleep-over-havoc-wrought-with-his-invention/ |title=AK-47 Inventor Doesn't Lose Sleep Over Havoc Wrought With His Invention. An interview with Mikhail Kalashnikov |agency=Associated Press |date=6 July 2007 |website=Fox News Channel |access-date=25 November 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114000457/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/07/06/ak-47-inventor-doesnt-lose-sleep-over-havoc-wrought-with-his-invention/ |archive-date=14 January 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="ar15">{{cite book |url=https://www.ar15.com/content/webPDF/AK47USArmyOperatorManual.pdf |title=Operator's Manual for AK-47 Rifle |author=[[203rd Military Intelligence Battalion]] |publisher=Department of the Army |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122215048/http://www.ar15.com/content/webPDF/AK47USArmyOperatorManual.pdf |archive-date=22 January 2014 |accessdate=25 November 2015 |via=ar15.com}}</ref>
<ref name="AR-M1">{{cite web |url=http://www.arsenal-bg.com/defense_police/7,62ar-m1-m1f.htm |title=Arsenal 7.62mm "Arsenal" Rifle AR-M1 and with Folding Butt AR-M1F |website=[[Arsenal AD]] |access-date=2 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006075455/http://www.arsenal-bg.com/defense_police/7%2C62ar-m1-m1f.htm |archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="army">203d Military Intelligence Battalion, ''[[s:en:AK-47 Operator's Manual|AK-47 Operator's Manual]]'', U.S. Department of the Army.</ref>
<ref name="arsenalinc1">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.arsenalinc.com/usa/imgs/articles/BulgarianAK.pdf |title=Kalashnikovs – 3 of the best |first=Peter G. |last=Kokalis |date=May 2005 |magazine=Shotgun News |volume=59 |issue=12 |via=ArsenalInc.com |access-date=25 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923173907/http://www.arsenalinc.com/usa/imgs/articles/BulgarianAK.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref>
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<ref name="Bellamy p146-155">{{cite book |first1=Ronald F. |last1=Bellamy |first2=Russ |last2=Zajtchuk |name-list-style=amp |editor-last=Zajtchuk |editor-first=R. |date=1990 |chapter=The Physics and Biophysics of Wound Ballistics |title=Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty, Vol. 5, Conventional Warfare: Ballistic, Blast, and Burn Injuries |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of the Army |pages=146–155}}</ref>
<ref name="Bellamy p148">{{cite book |first1=Ronald F. |last1=Bellamy |first2=Russ |last2=Zajtchuk |name-list-style=amp |editor-last=Zajtchuk |editor-first=R. |date=1990 |chapter=The Physics and Biophysics of Wound Ballistics |title=Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty, Vol. 5, Conventional Warfare: Ballistic, Blast, and Burn Injuries |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of the Army |page=148 (Fig. 4–38)}}</ref>
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<ref name="Boker">{{cite web |url=http://www.bladehq.com/cat--Boker-Kalashnikov--249 |title=Boker Kalashnikov Knives |website=BladeHQ.com |access-date=13 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615030753/http://www.bladehq.com/cat--Boker-Kalashnikov--249 |archive-date=15 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Bolotin p115">{{harvnb|Bolotin |1995a|p=115}}</ref>
<ref name="Bolotin p150">{{harvnb|Bolotin |1995a|p=150}}</ref>
<ref name="browningmgs.com">{{cite web |url=http://browningmgs.com/T2T3/Kalashnikov.htm |title=Type 2 & Type 3 AK-47 |website=BrowningMGs.com |access-date=19 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026055254/http://browningmgs.com/T2T3/Kalashnikov.htm |archive-date=26 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="Burundi-flickr">{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/7591704762/ |title=Blending |website=Flickr |date=21 July 2012 |access-date=29 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022212815/http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/7591704762/ |archive-date=22 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="chivers">{{cite book |last=Chivers |first=C. J. |author-link=C. J. Chivers |date=2011 |title=[[The Gun (Chivers book)|The Gun]] |publisher=Simon & Schuster |pages=206–207 |isbn=978-0743271738}} Taken from the Long-Range Dispersion Firing Test of the AK-47 Rifle, U.S. Army Foreign Science and Technology Center, August 1969.</ref>
<ref name="ControlArms">{{cite web |url=http://www.oxfam.de/files/20060623_theak47_200kb.pdf |title=Control Arms Briefing Note: The AK-47, The World's Favourite Killing Machine |first1=Oliver |last1=Sprague |first2=Hugh |last2=Griffiths |name-list-style=amp |date=26 June 2006 |website=Oxfam |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809180916/http://www.oxfam.de/files/20060623_theak47_200kb.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-09}}</ref>
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<ref name="dtic.mil">{{cite report |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA046961.pdf |title=ADA046961: Rifle Evaluation Study |date=20 December 1962 |publisher=United States Army, Combat Development Command |access-date=25 November 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201030728/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA046961 |archive-date=1 December 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Dunnigan">{{cite web |url=http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/20030423.asp |title=An AK for Every Market |first=James |last=Dunnigan |date=April 23, 2003 |website=Strategypage.com |access-date=26 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070325171640/http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/20030423.asp |archive-date=25 March 2007 }}</ref>
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<ref name="ECOSOCDEV">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol15no4/154arms.htm |title=Small arms in Africa: Counting the cost of gun violence |first=Michael |last=Fleshman |date=December 2001 |magazine=[[Africa Renewal|Africa Recovery]] |volume=15 |number=4 |publisher=United Nations |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060105000803/http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol15no4/154arms.htm |archive-date=2006-01-05}}</ref>
<ref name="english.pravda.ru">{{cite web |url=http://english.pravda.ru/history/02-08-2003/3461-kalashnikov-0/ |title=The History of Kalashnikov Gun |first=Olga |last=Savka |date=2 August 2003 |website=[[Pravda.ru]] |access-date=25 November 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015195847/http://english.pravda.ru/history/02-08-2003/3461-kalashnikov-0/ |archive-date=15 October 2015}}</ref>
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<ref name="Field & Stream">{{cite web |url=http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/guns/2006/02/father-100-million-rifles |title=Mikhail Kalashnikov: The Father of 100 Million Rifles |work=Field & Stream |date=February 2006 |access-date=19 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815145427/http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/guns/2006/02/father-100-million-rifles |archive-date=15 August 2016 |url-status=live |last1=Chivers |first1=C. J. }}</ref>
<ref name="Force One">{{cite news |title=Maha's elite counter terror unit Force One becomes operational |date=25 November 2009 |newspaper=[[Business Standard]] |publisher=Business Standard Ltd |location=New Delhi |url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/maha%5Cs-elite-counter-terror-unit-force-one-becomes-operational/377563/ |access-date=5 July 2010 |oclc=496280002}}</ref>
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<ref name="foxnews">{{cite web |title=AK-47 Inventor Doesn't Lose Sleep Over Havoc Wrought With His Invention |website=[[Fox News Channel]] |date=6 July 2007 |location=USA |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/ak-47-inventor-doesnt-lose-sleep-over-havoc-wrought-with-his-invention |access-date=3 April 2010 |oclc=36334372 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603232941/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288456,00.html |archive-date=3 June 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Gander">{{cite book |first1=Gander |last1=Terry J. |last2=Hogg |first2=Ian V. |author-link2=Ian V. Hogg |title=Jane's Infantry Weapons 1995–96 |date= 1995 |edition=21st |publisher=[[Jane's Information Group]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSL8AAAACAAJ |isbn=978-0-7106-1241-0 |access-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318225343/http://books.google.com/books?id=qSL8AAAACAAJ |archive-date=18 March 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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<ref name="Gun Book Review">{{cite web |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/weapons/ak-47-questions-about-most-important-gun-ever |title=The AK-47: Questions About the Most Important Weapon Ever |first=Erin |last=McCarthy |date=12 October 2010 |website=[[Popular Mechanics]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803184020/http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/weapons/ak-47-questions-about-most-important-gun-ever |archive-date=3 August 2014}}</ref>
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<ref name="Hellenic Police">{{cite web |title=Greece Ministry of Public Order Press Office: Special Anti-Terrorist Unit |date=July 2004 |website=[[Hellenic Police]] |url=http://www.astynomia.gr/images/stories/DOCS/Attachment11480_ENHMEROTIKO_EKAM_ENGL.pdf |access-date=27 September 2009 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5rOg1WIHo?url=http://www.astynomia.gr/images/stories/DOCS/Attachment11480_ENHMEROTIKO_EKAM_ENGL.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="India">{{cite web |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/why-general-kalashnikov-couldnt-sell-the-ak-47-in-india/1/333532.html |title=Why General Kalashnikov couldn't sell the AK in India |first=Sandeep |last=Unnithan |date=30 December 2013 |website=[[India Today]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416002043/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/why-general-kalashnikov-couldnt-sell-the-ak-47-in-india/1/333532.html |archive-date=16 April 2015}}</ref>
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<ref name="Izhmash gp-34">{{cite web |title=40 mm underbarrel grenade launcher GP-34 |website=[[Izhmash]] |url=http://www.izhmash.ru/eng/product/gp-34.shtml |access-date=20 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728115857/http://www.izhmash.ru/eng/product/gp-34.shtml |archive-date=28 July 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="izhmash">{{cite web |title=AKM (AK-47) Kalashnikov modernized rifle, caliber 7.62mm |website=[[Izhmash]] |url=http://www.izhmash.ru/eng/product/akm.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006092719/http://www.izhmash.ru/eng/product/akm.shtml |archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="k3">{{cite web |last=Killicoat |first=Phillip |title=Weaponomics: The Global Market for Rifles |work=World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4202 (Post-Conflict Transitions Working Paper No. 10) |publisher=[[University of Oxford]] |date=April 2007 |url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2007/04/13/000016406_20070413145045/Rendered/PDF/wps4202.pdf |access-date=3 April 2010 |page=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112121512/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2007/04/13/000016406_20070413145045/Rendered/PDF/wps4202.pdf |archive-date=12 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Kabbani">{{cite journal |url=http://www.keyforensic.co.uk/docs/2013_45_3_222_Kabbani.pdf |title=Intelligence and Historical Background on the AK-47 and AK Variants |first=Khaldoun |last=Kabbani |date=2013 |journal=AFTE Journal |volume=45 |number=3 |access-date=25 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064134/http://www.keyforensic.co.uk/docs/2013_45_3_222_Kabbani.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="Kalashnikov dies">{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-kalashnikov-idUKBRE9BM0KP20131224 |title=AK-47 rifle inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov dies at 94 |first=Dmitry |last=Solovyov |work=Reuters UK |date=24 December 2013 |access-date=13 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614183816/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/12/24/uk-russia-kalashnikov-idUKBRE9BM0KP20131224 |archive-date=14 June 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="knives">{{cite web |url=http://www.thetruthaboutknives.com/2013/06/edc-for-ccw-boker-kalashnikov-anniversary-knife/ |title=EDC for CCW: Boker Kalashnikov Anniversary Knife |work=The Truth About Knives |date=June 2013 |access-date=13 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615122911/http://www.thetruthaboutknives.com/2013/06/edc-for-ccw-boker-kalashnikov-anniversary-knife/ |archive-date=15 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Kokalis">{{cite journal |url=http://www.arsenalinc.com/usa/imgs/articles/BulgarianAK.pdf |title=Kalashnikovs – 3 of the best |journal=Shotgun News |first=Peter G. |last=Kokalis |volume=59 |issue=12 |date=May 2005 |access-date=15 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923173907/http://www.arsenalinc.com/usa/imgs/articles/BulgarianAK.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Kokalis_49">Kokalis, p.49.</ref>
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<ref name="Lord of War">{{cite web |title=Lord of War (2005) – memorable quotes |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295/quotes?qt=qt0403308 |website=Internet Movie Database |access-date=29 October 2012|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424015147/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295/quotes/qt0403308|archive-date=April 24, 2022}}</ref>
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}}

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*{{cite book |last1=Bracamonte |first1=José Angel Moroni |last2=Spencer |first2=David E. |title=Strategy and Tactics of the Salvadoran FMLN Guerrillas – Last Battle of the Cold War, Blueprint for Future Conflicts |date=1995 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=9780275950187}}
*{{cite journal |editor1-last=Binder |editor1-first=L. James |title=On the Ramparts in Central America |journal=Army |date=May 1987 |volume=37 |issue=5 |pages=18−40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bzdEAQAAIAAJ |access-date=7 October 2024 |publisher=Association of the United States Army |location=Arlington, VA |issn=0004-2455}}
*{{cite book |last=Bolotin |first=David Naumovich |script-title=ru:История советского стрелкового оружия и патронов |trans-title=The History of Soviet Small Arms and Ammunition |series=Voyenno-Istoricheskaya Biblioteka |publisher=Poligon |location=Saint Petersburg |year=1995 |url=http://www.shooting-ua.com/dop_arhiv/dop_2/books/Istor_sovet_orujiya.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.shooting-ua.com/dop_arhiv/dop_2/books/Istor_sovet_orujiya.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |language=ru |isbn=5-85503-072-5 }}
*{{cite book |last=Bolotin |first=David Naumovich |translator=Igor F. Naftul'eff |editor1-first=John |editor1-last=Walter |editor2-first=Heikki |editor2-last=Pohjolainen |title=Soviet Small Arms and Ammunition |year=1995a |publisher=Finnish Arms Museum Foundation (Suomen asemuseosäätiö) |location=Hyvinkää |isbn=9519718419}}
*{{cite book |last1=Felbab-Brown |first1=Vanda |title=Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs |date=2009 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8157-0450-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5N95OLwIcUYC |language=en}}
*{{cite journal |editor1-last=Florence |editor1-first=John |title=A Caribbean Arms Cache |journal=Engineer |date=1983 |volume=13 |issue=4 |page=31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7aZaTIOL5EC |access-date=7 October 2024 |publisher=United States Army Engineer Center |location=Fort Belvoir, VA |issn=0046-1989}}
*{{cite book |last1=German |first1=Tracey C. |title=Russia's Chechen War |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-43250-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VaBAgAAQBAJ |language=en}}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Gulevich |editor-first=I. D. |title=НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АК |trans-title=7.62 mm AK |language=ru |year=1967 |edition=3rd |publisher=[[Voenizdat]] |location=Moscow |url=https://archive.org/details/NastavLehne_AKM/nastav_ak_1967/ |ref={{sfnref|НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АК|1967|pp=161–162}} }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Hasenauer |first1=Heike |title=Panama − One Year Later |journal=Soldiers |date=December 1990 |volume=45 |issue=12 |pages=50−52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M35kl4QjklMC |access-date=8 October 2024 |publisher=Department of the Army |location=Alexandria, VA |language=en |issn=0093-8440}}
*{{cite book |last1=Horgan |first1=John |last2=Braddock |first2=Kurt |title=Terrorism Studies: A Reader |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-45504-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ekm2dmSDF_cC |language=en}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Richard D|editor2-last=Ness |editor2-first=Leland S |title=Jane's Infantry Weapons 2010–2011 |date=2010 |publisher=Jane's Information Group |isbn=978-0-7106-2908-1 |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Lanning |first1=Col Michael Lee |title=Inside the LRRPs: Rangers in Vietnam |date=2011 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-80146-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GN8HpfSJeTAC |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last=Monetchikov |first=Sergei Borisovich |script-title=ru:История русского автомата |trans-title=The History of Russian Assault Rifle |series=Entsiklopediya Russkoi Armii |language=ru |year=2005 |publisher=Izdatel'stvo "Atlant 44" |url=http://www.rulit.net/books/istoriya-russkogo-avtomata-read-249341-1.html |isbn=5-98655-006-4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516010402/http://www.rulit.net/books/istoriya-russkogo-avtomata-read-249341-1.html |archive-date=16 May 2013 }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Moorcraft |first1=Paul L. |title=The Savage, Silent War |journal=Army |date=April 1987 |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=42−52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bzdEAQAAIAAJ |access-date=7 October 2024 |publisher=Association of the United States Army |location=Arlington, VA |issn=0004-2455}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Morea |first1=Major Gary J. |title=From Enduring Strife to Enduring Peace in the Philippines |journal=Military Review |date=May–June 2008 |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=38−48 |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/military-review/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20080630_art009.pdf |access-date=14 October 2024 |publisher=US Army Command and General Staff College |location=Fort Leavenworth, KS |issn=0026-4148}}
*{{cite book |last=Poyer |first=Joe |title=The AK-47 and AK-74 Kalashnikov Rifles and Their Variations: A Shooter's and Collector's Guide |date= 2006 |publisher=North Cape Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPArOwAACAAJ |isbn=978-1-882391-41-7 }}
*{{cite book |last=Rottman |first=Gordon |title=The AK-47: Kalashnikov-series assault rifles |date= 2011 |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qK9Nn-2xocUC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926230536/http://books.google.com/books?id=qK9Nn-2xocUC |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 September 2013 |isbn=978-1-84908-835-0 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Tucker-Jones |first1=Anthony |title=Kalashnikov in Combat |date=2012 |publisher=Casemate Publishers |isbn=978-1-78303-858-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DwTMDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Vilchinsky |editor-first=I. K. |title=НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АКМ (АКМС) |trans-title=7.62 mm AKM (AKMS) |language=ru |year=1983 |edition=3rd |publisher=[[Voenizdat]] |location=Moscow |url=https://ukr.bulletpicker.com/pdf/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%D0%BF%D0%BE%20%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%83%20%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%83%207%2C62-%D0%BC%D0%BC%20%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9%20%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%20%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%20%28%D0%90%D0%9A%D0%9C%20%D0%B8%20%D0%90%D0%9A%D0%9C%D0%A1%29%20%281983%29.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507163245/https://ukr.bulletpicker.com/pdf/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%D0%BF%D0%BE%20%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%83%20%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%83%207%2C62-%D0%BC%D0%BC%20%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9%20%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%20%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%20%28%D0%90%D0%9A%D0%9C%20%D0%B8%20%D0%90%D0%9A%D0%9C%D0%A1%29%20%281983%29.pdf |archive-date=7 May 2023 |ref={{sfnref|НСД. 7,62-мм автомат АКМ (АКМС)|1983|pp=149–150}} }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Zagdanski |first1=Captain Jonathan D. |editor1-last=Eno |editor1-first=Russel A |title=Round 2 in Lebanon: How the IDF Focused on COIN and Lost the Ability to Fight Manuever War |journal=Infantry |date=September–October 2007 |volume=96 |issue=5 |pages=32−35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9SS2XHeSgkcC |access-date=13 October 2024 |publisher=U.S. Army Infantry School |location=Fort Benning, GA |language=en |issn=0019-9532}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book |last=Chivers |first=C.J. |title=The Gun |url=https://archive.org/details/gun00chiv |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/gun00chiv/page/459 459] |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |date= 2010 |isbn=978-0-7432-7076-2}}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/11/ff-ak47/ |title=How the AK-47 Rewrote the Rules of Modern Warfare |first=C. J. |last=Chivers |date=November 1, 2010 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421205056/https://www.wired.com/2010/11/ff-ak47/|archive-date=21 April 2023}}
*{{cite journal |title=AK-47S for the Ancestors |first1=William J. |last1=Dewey |date=November 1994 |journal=Journal of Religion in Africa |volume=24 |number=4 |pages=358–374 |doi=10.1163/157006694X00200 |jstor=1581342}}
*{{cite book |last1=Ezell |first1=Edward Clinton |first2=R. Blake |last2=Stevens |title=Kalashnikov: The Arms and the Man |date= 2001 |publisher=Collector Grade Publications |location=Cobourg, ON |isbn=978-0-88935-267-4}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Fackler |first1=Martin L. |last2=Surinchak |first2=John S. |last3=Malinowski |first3=John A. |last4=Bowen |first4=Robert E. |year=1984 |title=Wounding potential of the Russian AK-74 assault rifle |journal=Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care |volume=24 |pages=263–66 |doi=10.1097/00005373-198403000-00014 |pmid=6708147 |issue=3}}
*{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Hodges |title=AK47: The Story of the People's Gun |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j82yAAAACAAJ |date= 2007 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |isbn=978-0-340-92104-3}}
*{{cite book |first1=Fred L. Jr |last1=Honeycutt |first2=F. Patt |last2=Anthony |name-list-style=amp |date=1996 |title=Military Rifles of Japan |edition=5th |location=Palm Beach Gardens, FL |publisher=Julin Books |isbn=0-9623208-7-0}}
*{{cite book |last=Kahaner |first=Larry |title=AK-47: The Weapon That Changed the Face of War |year=2007 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oBAhAQAAIAAJ |isbn=978-0-471-72641-8}}
*{{cite book |last1=Kalashnikov |first1=Mikhail Timofeevich |last2=Joly |first2=Elena |title=The Gun That Changed the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CY2HlLDiaNwC |year=2006 |publisher=Polity Press |isbn=978-0-7456-3691-7 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*{{cite book |last1=Shilin |first1=Valery |last2=Cutshaw |first2=Charlie |title=Legends and Reality of the AK: A Behind-The Scenes Look at the History, Design, and Impact of the Kalashnikov Family of Weapons |date=1 March 2000 |publisher=[[Paladin Press]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U3kIAAAACAAJ |isbn=978-1-58160-069-8}}
*{{cite book |first=John |last=Walter |title=Kalashnikov: machine pistols, assault rifles, and machine-guns, 1945 to the present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XnybC2qSORAC |date=4 September 1999 |publisher=Greenhill Books/[[Lionel Leventhal]] |isbn=978-1-85367-364-1}}
*''Ружье. Оружие и амуниция'', 1999/3, pp.&nbsp;18–21 has an article about the AK-47 prototypes.
*{{cite magazine |url=https://www.kalashnikov.ru/medialibrary/8c5/04_07.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.kalashnikov.ru/medialibrary/8c5/04_07.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Кто автор АК-47? |trans-title=Who is the author of AK-47? |first=М.Т. |last=Kalashnikov |date=2002 |magazine=Kalashnikov |language=ru |number=2 |pages=4–7}} An article rejecting some of the alternative theories as to the authorship of the AK-47.
*{{cite magazine |url=http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/ |title=Неочевидное очевидное |first=М. |last=Degtyaryov |date=2009 |magazine=Kalashnikov |language=ru |number=4 |pages=18–23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102901/http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/ |archive-date=2007-09-29}} An article comparing the internals of the StG 44 and AK-47.
*{{cite magazine |url=http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/ |title=В преддверии юбилея... |date=2009 |magazine=Kalashnikov |language=ru |number=8 |pages=18–23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102901/http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/ |archive-date=2007-09-29}} Transcription of the commission report on the testing round from the summer of 1947; no winner was selected at this point, but the commission held Kalashnikov's, Dementiev's and Bulkin's designs as most closely satisfying TTT number 3131.
*{{cite magazine |url=http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/ |title=Путёвка в жизнь |date=2009 |magazine=Kalashnikov |language=ru |number=9 |pages=16–22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102901/http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/ |archive-date=2007-09-29}} Report/letter on the final round of testing, 27 December 1947, declaring Kalashnikov's design the winner.
*{{cite magazine |url=http://www.kalashnikov.ru/upload/medialibrary/c06/008_013.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.kalashnikov.ru/upload/medialibrary/c06/008_013.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Первый В Династии |trans-title=First In The Dynasty |date=2009 |magazine=Kalashnikov |language=ru |number=11 |pages=8–13}} Articles on the 1948 military trials.

==External links==
{{Sister project links|AK-47}}
*[[s:AK-47 Operator's Manual|US Army Operator's Manual for the AK-47 Assault Rifle]]
*{{cite web |url=http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/ |title=Kalashnikov AK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102901/http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/|archive-date=29 September 2007}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.nazarian.no/images/wep/284_US_Army_AK47.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214072004/http://www.nazarian.no/images/wep/284_US_Army_AK47.pdf |archive-date=14 February 2006 |url-status=bot: unknown |title=AK 47 Operator's Manual |website=U.S. Army |access-date=9 November 2005 }}
*{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1964810,00.html |title=The Timeless, Ubiquitous AK-47 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225040332/http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1964810,00.html |archive-date=25 February 2010 }}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQtFYkvascA|title=Legendary Kalashnikov: Story of AK-47 Rifle |website=[[RT (TV network)|RT]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808134353/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQtFYkvascA |archive-date=8 August 2021 }}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6539945 |title=AK-47: The Weapon Changed the Face of War |website=[[NPR]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217120631/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6539945|archive-date= February 17, 2023}}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130493013 |title=The AK-47: The Gun That Changed The Battlefield |website=[[NPR]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326134156/https://www.npr.org/2010/10/12/130493013/the-ak-47-the-gun-that-changed-the-battlefield|archive-date= March 26, 2023}}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/embed/na2_Nw31BBI|title=AK-47 Documentary: Part 1|website=[[YouTube]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227204939/https://www.youtube.com/embed/na2_Nw31BBI |archive-date=27 December 2021 }} & {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/embed/PB1VuBWTyvY |title=Part 2 |website=[[Al Jazeera English]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421205057/https://www.youtube.com/embed/PB1VuBWTyvY |archive-date=21 April 2023 }}
*{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/AkmAk-47TypeFullAutoIraqU.s.Army |title=AK-47 Full Auto, U.S. Army in Iraq}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1076328 |title=Years of the Gun: A political history of the AK-47 in Pakistan |website=[[Dawn News]]|date=26 December 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423113729/https://www.dawn.com/news/1076328|archive-date= April 23, 2023 }}

{{AK-47 derivatives}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1947]]
[[Category:7.62×39mm assault rifles]]
[[Category:Infantry weapons of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Rifles of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Kalashnikov derivatives]]
[[Category:Assault rifles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Kalashnikov Concern products]]
[[Category:Long stroke piston firearms]]