Sub zero rifle AR vs AK

[J556]

Say you were looking to get a go to rifle and it had to run well even in sub zero temps without any special treatment which would you choose? and why? keep in mind these could be high quality rifles like a larue ar or a krebs custom ask.

[NIKSD]

AK- will run better in the cold- looser tolerance, not much need for lubrication, less carbon build up around critical action parts.

/disclosure- I was born and raised in Bulgaria, and my opinion is based on personal experience with Bulgarian AK in the military. I do not have much experience with AR in cold climate/.

[jdben92883]

AK will be better.

/disclosure - I was born and raised in Southern California and my opinion is based on zero personal experience in weather under 50-degrees/.

[acaligunner]

Oh, you mean like this.

The AR still makes a respectable showing

[geoint]

AK will be better.

/disclosure - I was born and raised in Southern California and my opinion is based on zero personal experience in weather under 50-degrees/.

I trust your credentials

[alks207]

Ak for sure. Will run in +50c -50c

[BLK RFL DIV]

Just don't use Frog Lube.

[Bgillette91]

So much frog lube hate lately.

[yoteassasin]

Make sure you wear gloves running an AK in cold weather ... the forced trigger reset will make your finger numb.... and hurt bad ....
this is from experience chasing coyotes on quads in Wyoming in the winter ...

[J556]

Wow I didn't expect the ak to have issues like that, thing just fell apart .maybe a better base gun other than the ras 47 wouldn't have the same issues. Now I'm wondering if an m1a would be a better choice than either hmm.

[acaligunner]

Wow I didn't expect the ak to have issues like that, thing just fell apart .maybe a better base gun other than the ras 47 wouldn't have the same issues. Now I'm wondering if an m1a would be a better choice than either hmm.

Krebs is one of the top custom manufacturers of the AK rifle, and while they did capture some issues with the rifle- we have to remember that all rifles can fail.

One case in point, is were an NVA soldier engaged my brother with a Russian Kalashnikov, his rifle jammed - my brothers colt M16 did not.

So, it's not the first time AK's have had problems, and it's not the first time AR's have shown to work better than what we give them credit for.

Oh, you can youtube videos of M1A's and how they hold up to the AR's, in dust test.

[ChuckDizzle]

The reliability of the AK 47 has been vastly inflated by mythology.

The ANA guys I spent time with in Afghanistan had malfunctions pretty regularly. Both seemed to work fine in the cold of winter though, temp were in sub freezing, but never below zero.

[acaligunner]

^
Very True, thank you.

[Junkie]

If you look at the InRange mud tests you'll see that ARs are surprisingly good at working in less than ideal conditions. My recollection is the AR, even cover open, did better than the AK.

In order for a gun to work well in sub-zero temperatures it'll need to be overgassed in normal conditions.

[God Bless America]

Valmet.