Quote:
Originally Posted by copeab
As for the counterintuitive selector on the AK-47, I've heard that explained that the gun was primarily intended as an automatic rifle, so auto on the first setting off safe was a logical extension of this (OTOH, the M16 was meant to primarily fire single, aimed shots, so it's selector settings were single before auto). No idea if this is true.
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Poorly-trained and adrenalized troops don’t always have a delicate touch. The selector lever on the AK-47 is designed such that a startled, excited infantryman will tend to slam the lever all the way to the bottom of its range of movement when taking the weapon off SAFE. Combine this with the tendency of the same kind of soldier to depress the trigger and hold it back until the magazine is empty, and the best-case scenario is a waste of ammunition. The Soviets concluded that it was better for their infantry to fire a single shot if they were reacting strongly to stimuli on the battlefield.
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“We’re not innovating. We’re selectively imitating.” June Bernstein, Acting President of the University of Arizona in Tucson, November 15, 1998.
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