AR-15 or AK-47? The constant battle for superiority in the modern sporting rifle continues to rage on. Some feared that the battle may be over as imports on the AK platform became restricted, but a burst of American manufactures producing the AK has kept the fire burning. As the AK defies odds and continues to grow in popularity in the U.S., while the AR-15 is simultaneously undergoing a phase of unprecedented innovation, we dig into the question of which rifle do we prefer.

The AR-15 was designed in the late 1950’s by Eugene Stoner and was adopted into military use during the Vietnam war. The rifle is known for its accuracy, light weight, and modularity. The AR-15 has been a military and police mainstay in different variations ever since. It really found its stride as America’s rifle in the hands of civilians since the Clinton era assault weapons ban ended in the early 2000’s. Since then the rifle has seen an obscene amount of innovation in the aftermarket as new manufactures continue to build and improve upon the design.

The AKM, or AK-47, was designed in the mid 1940’s by Mikhail Kalashnikov and was first used by the Soviet military in 1948. Since then, it has become the most popular rifle in the world, with an estimated 100 million manufactured, due to its ease of use and relatively low cost when produced in bulk. The rifle is so popular that it can even be found on the flags of Mozambique and Hezbollah to represent either freedom or strength, respectively. AK’s first reached the civilian market in the U.S. in the early 1980’s, but truly gained a cult following after the sunset on the previously mentioned assault weapons ban.

The first Pro of the AR-15 is the availability at a variety of price points. High quality rifles can be found for very reasonable prices, and with the modularity of the rifle it is very easy for a manufacture to assemble a high-quality AR-15 in a variety of configurations.

The next is the aftermarket, and the ease of modifying the rifle to your preferences. There is a seemingly endless number of companies offering products to enhance the ergonomics and ease of use for the AR-15. Lights, rails, lasers, stocks, barrel length, triggers, etc. The list is obscene.

While there are several different calibers you can get an AR-15 chambered in, the vast majority will be of .223 caliber (or 5.56, or .223 Wylde which are all the same for the purposes of our discussion). Many consider this caliber to be insufficient for most applications. There is certainly an argument to be made in favor of the caliber choice, but when compared to .30 caliber counterparts it does show room for improvement.

I’m sure that most readers are waiting to read the part where I point out how maintenance intensive an AR-15 can be. While I think that the amount of maintenance required is blown out of proportion, when compared to the AK-47, it is worth mentioning that it does require regular cleaning more often.

Top: AR-15

Bottom: AK-47

The AK has a reputation for absolute reliability. It is true that it takes a ridiculous amount of neglect to cause an AK to malfunction, and this can be a huge benefit for certain situations. The AK also fires a larger standard round; the 7.62x39mm cartridge is the most common caliber to find the rifle chambered in, and it is absolutely devastating to both obstacles and living targets up to 300 meters.

Not only is the 7.62 caliber very effective at a great deal of tasks, it is also inexpensive. Due to the popularity, world-wide, of the cartridge, it can be found in cans of military surplus ammo or extremely inexpensive from a variety of manufactures. The rifle has no problem running cheaper steel cased ammo, and when factory ammunition can be found at around 20 cents per round, there is no need to even consider reloading.

The AK platform does not lend itself to modularity nearly as well as the AR. There have been enhancements recently that have improved the ability to add accessories, but the capabilities are nowhere near that of the AR.

One of the major challenges with enhancing your AK is in adding optics to the rifle. It’s no secret that most standard AK iron sights leave much to be desired, so there is a need for many to add a red dot or scope. The sharp recoil of the rifle tends to destroy all but the most robust optics, and with the required durability you will find extra cost. Unless you are willing to spend more than $600 on an optic, or replace optics regularly, you will be challenged to find an enhanced aiming system.

The final con I’ll list is maybe the most frustrating. There is a huge lack of consistency in the build quality of the AK platform. There is a self-fulfilling prophecy with AK; they must be cheap and made to loose tolerances, so many manufactures make them as cheaply as possible and cut costs to meet consumer price expectations. The truth is that the AK-47 requires a more expensive manufacturing process than the AR-15, and to use quality components with that manufacturing process will increase costs at the gun store shelf. In order to keep prices low, some manufactures will use cheaper components or processes that may not stand the test of time and hope that the consumer doesn’t use the rifle enough to reach the failure mode.

While both platforms are battle-proven and boast laundry lists of accomplishments, there can be only one. We must choose the AR-15 every time for our purposes. The modularity and ability to find high quality components and upgrades at reasonable cost is too difficult to pass on. Even with the decreased firepower, most of us are not going to be sharing rounds on the two-way range daily, and even if we were, I have yet to find somebody who wants to be shot with a 55 grain .223 bullet. In today’s market, you can’t get as much gun for the same value if you choose the AK-47 platform.