"Shooting a gun that you built with your bare hands, there's definitely a better relationship between you and the gun," said Scott Rickard, who built an AK-47 from a kit. He shared his build with Guns.com at the 2021 Red Oktober Kalashnikov Championships that takes place every October just outside Las Vegas.
Restores Tanks
Rickard and his team restore tanks and military equipment at Battlefield Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. We've featured him a few times on our site, and we've also gotten a chance to see some of Battlefield Vega's heavy firepower in action on a previous visit.
He was at Red Oktober with the Syrian T62 tank that his team had just finished restoring. It was a good fit for this event that is dedicated to the "Russian Hammer," or Kalashnikov rifle. It's one of a few AK-themed shooting competitions that are growing in popularity.
Polish Kit
Rickard's AK-47 was built from a Polish kit because he heard it was the closest thing to a real Russian AK. Although he has a great deal of experience working with his hands, he still found building his AK to be challenging but also very rewarding. He highly recommends everyone give it a go.
His goal was to shoot his AK-47 he built from the Syrian T62 tank he restored. He got to do just that at the Red Oktober event, and it was a hit with the crowd.