Do most gun shops prefer ARs over AKs?

[MrTokarev]

It's not just that it's a 'commie gun'. It's that more U.S. military men and women have come home in a box from that weapon than any other in modern times.
It's why I will never own one and am not sure why anyone would.
B

By the same logic you shouldn't own an AR-15 since one was used at Sandy Hook.

[railshot]

My AR's don't fire from time to time (jam, ftf, whatever). My AK's have NEVER failed to fire... NEVER... Hate to say it, but if I had to pick one gun in a SHTF scenario, it'd be an AK... just my 2 cents...

Unlike AKs, ARs don't work well with pieces of flesh stuck in the action. When the zombies come, all AR lovers will be sorry.

[Gomphe]

Unlike AKs, ARs don't work well with pieces of flesh stuck in the action. When the zombies come, all AR lovers will be sorry.

When that time comes, I would want an authentic Japanese katana made with carbon steel.

-Gomphe

[VendetAR]

Its the same reason you dont see rows of non-alcoholic beer at the liquor store, nobody wants to buy it.

[Mr357magnum]

I think AK's sell much slower because the bullet button on an AK makes it quite a bit more of a PITA to use. Thats why I never bought one..

If I was was in AZ or some other state I would definitely have bought a 5.45 x 39 AK..

[Kelster1574]

ARs sell accessories

Ding...Ding...Ding

I have noticed that all my LGS's sell AK's almost immediately after receiving them, but I bet the average $$$ a customer spends before they walk out the door is way, WAY higher when purchasing an AR because of the aftermarket bling. I mean how often do you see a stock AR?

[Josh3239]

I work in the industry. It is no comparison; there are more ARs available than AKs and there are more ARs sold than AKs. The profit margins for ARs differ per manufacturers, I cannot recall those margins for AKs but I would be surprised if dealers made more money on AKs than they do on ARs.

Too many QC issues with AK's.

This is spot on. Americans don't understand AKs. They believe there are well made firearms. They are not, they are cheap. They do not understand that communist governments do not care if their soldiers receive a rifle with canted sights. They do not understand that wobbly fitting mags or wobbly stocks is typical communist quality. Explaining this to a customer is tough. Every time I hand an AK to a customer I get a question about canted sights or some "thing" about the display unit. They sell because they are AKs. But a lot of them have problems. If there were such durable guns I wouldn't see so many come in for repairs and I wouldn't see all these AK forums filled with troubleshooting sections.

[1CavScout]

^^^ From my pre-ban type 56's to my Arsenal's, all my AK's have been rock solid. They have all run flawlessly and shoot well.

[orangeusa]

^^^ From my pre-ban type 56's to my Arsenal's, all my AK's have been rock solid. They have all run flawlessly and shoot well.

Saiga fan here - works a lot better for me as a lefty ( no I do not want to pay for a custom Stag Arms that costs 4x what my Siaga did ). And I too have yet to have a jam of any kind. There are like 11 parts in the gun.. And with my eyes, I'm just as accurate with the Saiga than an equivalent AR in 7.62x39 or .308. AK's kick more....

But - yeah, AR's have a built in market from former Military folks ( that's just my opinion - I could be wrong ).

.