Design Improvement for the AK

[hybridatsun350]

This is an excellent method of charging with the left hand, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnqkgI-wo4k

Must be nice to have a standard mag release!

[Hopi]

-Real bolt hold back.
-longer length of pull.
-better sights.

[scotthmt]

I could weld a charging handle on the right side in about a hour and a half, cut the top cover and everything, i've been meaning to do one, or maybe just do a galil style. What i dislike about that is the cutout in the top cover. Ever had a out of battery fire? that top cover will save your ***.

[Spiggy]

I would love to see an a "open bolt on last round" feature for the AK. The left hand charging handle is great as well. IMHO, this would have zero effect on the reliability of the AK platform.

Know how a M1 carbine stays open? the magazine follower has a raised bit mimicking the case head of a cartridge, the bolt jams itself on it and stops dead

The left handy bolt has a big problem though, the folding stock is in the way, so will any potential use of the side rails for optics.

I would not mind a comfortable folding stock that will still allow all these features, but that's not really in the realm of "CA-Legal" So I digress

[JeffM]

I've been gaming some solutions to all the problems mentioned above. We'll see if I have time over the summer to actually work them out.

Safety, LRBHO, mag release, charging handle, folding stock.

We will see.

There are several "fixes" to some of these problems, but I'm not happy with most of them.

IMHO, the AK is nearly perfect except some of the ergonomics. The only real "functional" fault I find with the design is the lack of a LRBHO. That can be partially fixed with Yugo LRBHO mags, or modded followers, and the Saiga series of rifles and shotguns have a decent manually operated BHO. I don't think it's a huge jump to have a LRBHO similar to the AR.