Why I Picked the AR Over he AK
Kevin Felts 05.25.17
One of the popular debates in the prepping community is the AR-15 vs AK-47 discussion. Both have their good points and bad points.
It only took one thing for me to go with the AR over the AK, and that was my daughter.
Over the course of several years I would take my children shooting. We would shoot the AR-15, AK-47, Marlin 30-30, Marlin model 60 and the Ruger 10/22.
While my daughter was shooting the AK and the AR, I would observe how well she handled the rifles. Was she able to change magazines easily? How well did she handle recoil? Was the rifle too heavy for her?
She much preferred the recoil of the AR over the AK. The 223 Remington combined with the buffer makes the AR a pleasure to shoot. The AK on the other hand, she did not like the recoil at all.
Magazine changes were much easier with the AR than the AK.
Least Common Denominator
Prepping not not just what “we” want; decisions should be for the good of the family. When considering the family, what is the least common denominator? Would it be your ten year old daughter? Maybe a grandchild?
Children grow up and we should not make decisions based on their responses at a certain age. However, we know magazine changes are easier with the AR than the AK, and that generally does not change. We know as the child grows they will get stronger. But, the AK weighs more than the AR and that will not change.
If my daughter can shoot an AR-15 at ten years old, then she will continue to improve over the years. Since she does not like the shoot the AK, improvement will be hampered by her dislike for the rifle.
Let’s say the world went to hell, I would have doubts about handing my daughter an AK-47 and be confident that she would be able to handle the rifle proficiently.
Since she likes shooting the AR, the more she is willing to train with it.
In the end, I picked the AR for my family and saved the AK for myself.
