In this week’s episode of Two Guys One Gun, the boys discuss the AK-47 and its inventor. There are many famous gun inventors, but an elite handful have had the greatest impacts on the world of firearms.
With names like John Moses Browning, Samuel Colt, and Paul Mauser held in high esteem, you’d be remiss to leave out Mikhail Kalashnikov. This humble Soviet World War II veteran is responsible for one of the most common rifles on the planet. In the past 60-plus years, it would be hard to find a battlefield not riddled with Kalashnikov rifles.
Related: Kalashnikov 101 – The History of the AK-47
The AK-47, or more commonly, the AKM, is so prominent that it has touched just about every continent. During the Cold War, the Soviets pumped out Kalashnikov rifles as fast as they could, sending them to every communist sympathetic country in the world. Opposite firearms like the FAL, G3, and AR-15, the AK became a symbol of communism across the globe in numerous proxy wars that accompanied the not-so-Cold War.
Chambered in the Soviet 7.62x39mm cartridge, the AK was one of the first mass-produced rifles to solidify the use of the intermediate cartridge. With almost every Warsaw Pact nation settling licensing terms, the AK has a plethora of variants and versions that were produced in countless countries. The platform is known for its simplicity and longevity, as 50-plus-year-old rifles are still found operating in battlefields all over the world.
Related Review: Long Live the Soviets' Short and Sweet 7.62x39mm
The AK has to be present on every list of most influential firearms on the planet. Everyone should have at least one AK, if not five or six. So, while you check out the AK collection on Guns.com, sit back and listen to the boys fawn over this classic design.
