Chriznak Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 What's the deal with US barrel length minimum of 16" and the AK mysteriously having that barrel length? Was the barrel length law set by someone that owned an AK? Is the AK barrel length something just past 16" in it's metric measurement (ie 16.5234")? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Ho Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 16" was set back when the NFA was enacted in the early 30s. I've seen some AKs that have shorter than 16in barrels but I don't remember which particular varient. My guess would be that US sales account for a pretty good pile of money, so a huge number have been made to satisfy US laws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrala Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Original AK had 415mm barrel. This equals 16.33". This barrel length was considered optimal for delivering enough muzzle energy with intermediate ammo, and short enough to allow compact and maneuverable weapon. When designed, Russians had fresh memory of CQB fights with Germans. They wanted rifle that will be good in the city and good in the open. This barrel length set standard for later incarnations of AK (AKM, AK-74m etc.). Polish AK-like 5.56x45mm NATO wz.96 Beryl assault rifle uses 457mm (18") barrel, because it was established that, unlike 7.62x39mm round, 5.56x45mm NATO round requires longer barrel to deliver full energy potential. In short: No, AK barrel length has nothing to do with US laws, however it neatly fits into those requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Ho Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Original AK had 415mm barrel. This equals 16.33". This barrel length was considered optimal for delivering enough muzzle energy with intermediate ammo, and short enough to allow compact and maneuverable weapon. When designed, Russians had fresh memory of CQB fights with Germans. They wanted rifle that will be good in the city and good in the open. This barrel length set standard for later incarnations of AK (AKM, AK-74m etc.). Polish AK-like 5.56x45mm NATO wz.96 Beryl assault rifle uses 457mm (18") barrel, because it was established that, unlike 7.62x39mm round, 5.56x45mm NATO round requires longer barrel to deliver full energy potential. In short: No, AK barrel length has nothing to do with US laws, however it neatly fits into those requirements. Sounds good to me. Makes sense since the 5.56 relies more on it's velocity to get the job done. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinistralRifleman Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Originally the NFA was 18" for rifles and shotguns. The length for rifle barrels was reduced to 16" in the 1960s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Firearms_Act Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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