Logically, it would be worth starting with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the Soviet 5.45x39 and American 5.56x45 cartridges, but this is a separate topic, so I will confine myself to a statement of fact. Domestic is weaker in power when flying out of the barrel, but this is not its drawback. On the contrary, less power means less weapon recoil, higher accuracy when firing bursts, while in terms of penetration, our cartridge is still out of reach of either American or European designers.
Shop aspect
Unlike the M16 rifle itself, full of small details, its magazine surprises with its simplicity of shape to such an extent that in a hurry it can be inserted upside down into a weapon (see the thesis on protection from the fool in the first part).
The lack of overlays reinforcing the folds of the M16 magazine is striking, although they are in the AK and Sturmgewer stores. An unreinforced bend is more sensitive to mechanical stress, which means that due to its deformation, the stability of the cartridge feed line into the chamber will not be ensured.
The casket just opens. These stores were supposed to be disposable and come in plastic wrap. The fighter was supposed to rip off this package (with his teeth?) And, after shooting the store (in whole or in part), throw it away. The principle, which works great for disposable tableware, did not suit the American customer. The stores did not become disposable, but nothing happened in terms of design changes. Of course, this was not slow to affect the reliability.
The walls of the M16 magazine are reinforced with two vertical stamped stiffeners, which, in addition, serve to reduce the friction of the cartridges against the magazine walls. But the rigidity that they must provide is not at all sufficient for reliable operation.
Here is a diagram of the distribution of forces inside an ordinary store:
The force of the feed spring passes through one vertical row of cartridges. On the one hand, it should be sufficient to lift its entire mass. On the other hand, a too powerful spring will complicate the equipment, and the upper cartridge will be so strongly pressed against the bend that the rolling energy of the bolt may not be enough to reliably feed it from the magazine into the chamber.
Add entropy - step on the store with your foot. Its walls will come closer, gaps will appear between the cartridges of the same vertical row:
The force of the feed spring will be applied to the upper cartridge through one tangent, a force will appear pressing on the walls of the magazine. Depending on the degree and quality of contamination (let's add more entropy) between the cartridge and the magazine body, due to friction, a component will appear that is directed against the spring supply force.
In order for the cartridges to disperse, the displacement of the side walls or the adhesion of debris to them by about 1 mm is enough. That is, an abrupt result will be obtained for a slight change in the system.
Where it leads? Even if the cartridges do not jam, and for this you really need to try very hard to fill the store with dirt or cover it with dust, the feed of the cartridge to the ramming line will slow down. As a result, the shutter, when rolling, simply does not have time to capture the next cartridge, because it has not yet risen to the feed level.
Plastic magazines have the best resilience, so they will simply regain their shape or break if you push hard on them. But when a lot of dirt gets inside, the same effect will happen. Such a disaster is equally probable for the shops of both machines. But let's take a look at their construction inside. In the M16, the slide slides over the top magazine cartridge in the recoil. In AK, the shutter, when rolled back by the rammer, presses on it, pushing the entire row down:
At the same time, dirt and debris are shaken off, reducing the likelihood of its critical accumulation at one point, which increases the reliability of the store by an order of magnitude.
Fastening the store
You say "ergonomics", "ergonomics". Let's fasten the store to the Kalashnikov assault rifle. To do this, you need to make two movements. Catch the front edge of the receiving window with the magazine hook and rotate it until the latch engages.
The release of the latch will not only be audible, but also perceptibly tactile. "Chock!" - as Mikhail Timofeevich said. This is ensured by a sufficiently strong latch spring and its large working stroke. The magazine itself works like a lever, so no great effort is required to trigger. This movement is the same for all situations when working with the machine and for users of any level. An athlete, a special forces soldier, a simple infantryman or a child with a toy will do this movement in exactly the same way.
And now we will attach the store to the Stoner machine. Unlike AK, two movements will not work. And even more so. Although, at first glance, this is exactly how it should happen. To do this, you need to, without looking, get into the mine window with the store, that is, precisely align the outer perimeter of the store and the inner receiving window. Such precision is achieved by persistent training in situations that are far from stressful. In life, you have to reload weapons while sitting and lying down and sideways, but here skills do not help much. Therefore, the entrance to the mine is not made at a right angle, but with a slight bevel. This increases the size of the receiving window, makes it easier to hit it with the corner of the magazine, but adds one more movement - turning to the perpendicular, so that the magazine begins its movement in the shaft.
Thus, the first action is equivalent when manipulating a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Well, they caught the window, turned the store over, pushed it into the shaft. Everything? No, "everything" is just beginning. The latch of the magazine is very snot along the length of the actuation - only two millimeters.
It works in a stamped hole in the wall of the store, through which the entropy of dirt seeps inside.
If this dirt did not fall into the store, but, say, dried up or appeared in the form of a splinter or pebble, then the latch will not fix anything. There is no lever to push it inside the store! The shooter will feel the action of the latch - a question. But he also has gloves on his hands so as not to rub his palms on the Picatinny rails. On the other hand, the latch spring was too strong. Then, in order for the latch to work, another force must act towards the movement of the store in the shaft. Only the weight of the machine itself acts in its capacity. If it is not enough, the problem can be solved only by giving acceleration to the store. So the process of its attachment is crowned with a characteristic slap with a palm from below, knocking down the weapon that has already left the line of sight. Greetings to Schmeisser.
Oddly enough, the location of the latch button on one side of the weapon is not inconvenient. Although it increases the likelihood of accidentally unfastening the store.
Shutter delay
Buckled the store, what's next? That's right - the slide delay. To do this, you need to hit its button with your thumb or forefinger, depending on which hand is attaching the store. In reality, this is often done differently. Once in a stressful situation, this latch does not work or does not hit it with your finger, and for the rest of your life you will turn it off with a clap of the palm of your left hand, knocking the weapon off the line of sight, already gone after slamming the magazine from below.
With all these manipulations, let's not forget that the center of gravity of the weapon is in front of the right hand, forcing it to strain additionally, and the very control of the position of the weapon on the aiming line during the process of changing the magazine remains possible only in refined conditions of exemplary performances.
As you know, there are no delays in AK. Therefore, the problem of removing the shutter with a delay by pressing a button or clapping the palm on it does not exist, instead, the usual jerking of the shutter occurs. In terms of energy, such a movement is more costly than clapping the palm of your hand, this is indisputable. But if you do it with your right hand, with your left hand holding the weapon with a grip on the forend, you can easily control its position on the line of sight. The center of gravity will be located between the two points of support - the forend and the heel of the butt, and will not additionally strain the wrist holding the machine gun. If you fasten the magazine in the Orthodox way, with your right hand, then her hand will be next to the cocking handle. With a further movement after cocking the shutter, the hand will be where it needs to be - at the weapon handle. Thus, the M16 slide delay does not provide any decisive advantages over its absence in the AK.
Separately, it should be said about the manner of reloading the AK with the left hand. Anyway, this topic will be raised in the discussions of the article. I do not mind, rather for.
You need to be able to recharge not only with any hand, but also with your foot, and first of all with your head. I am opposed to this manner being imposed as mandatory in the training system, which we now often observe. Reinforcing unnatural manners as a skill can be costly in practice.
