It is a common held belief that the Soviet assualt-rifle that went around the world in large numbers is called the AK-47 and most people call it this.
The truth is that the AK-47 was the early model and was replaced by a more basic and cheaper to manufacture model called the AKM. It is the AKM that is actually the weapon that is called the AK-47.
This may well be different in the alternative universe of Fallout 3.

You can not use spare parts from one AKM or any Soviet weapon to fix another. Such devices were rushed out of Soviet factories and the parts were made with loose precision. When a gun broke one just threw the gun away.
The repair system in Fallout 3 using other weapons to repair one would not work.
Matters may have changed now and my be different in the alternative world of Fallout 3.

Just some observations. I like the game as it is.

Well, one thing that comes to mind is that the timeline divergence probably happened somewhere in the late 40s to mid 50s. That could mean that the AKM was in development if the split occurred after the early 50s, it wasn't actually used until 1959 in our world. This could mean that it was never created in the Fallout Universe; or that it was created in a different manner, favoring standardization over ease of creation.

As for the repair bit, the fact that they were so simple and rugged -should- mean that they suffer far less item degradation than other weapons. In addition, even though they were produced on a rapid assembly line, the parts used were so simple that you can usually mix and match quite readily; I have a few Soviet weapons from the WW2 era that are actually Frankensteins, created from multiple other, less pristine, weapons.

Darrett Teldemari, thanks for the feedback.

What I learned about the Soviet weapons being difficult to repair came from actual veterans including an African man. They did not have the time to mix and match plus Africa seems always to have too many cheap Soviet guns so they just got another one. Or at least this is the impression that I got. I have studied history, have been a military buff, and I find there is always another point of view. I actually like this.

The AKM was the standardised mass produced gun though AK-47s, I think, did go to some units. Hope is that as the years go one from the fall of the Soviet Union that more information will come to light for the West.

The Chinese assault rifle is derived from the Soviet weapon, as you probably know.

I am interested in this concept of Frankenstein weapons and will look into it more. Thanks for that info.

Submachineguns have been made from the oddest of materials. In Israel the Zionists fighting the British made stenguns partly out of metal chair legs. I am not sure I would want to shoot one of them. Or so goes the story.

The Sten may be cheap, but it's reliable. One of the few weapons, that has seen action on every continent, and has been highly successful. Also, in regards to Africa, it is incredibly easy to get your hands on a Kalashnikov, the USSR did a great job of equipping Marxists and Terrs over there.

It is interesting to note that Russians have brought out the AK-101 that is an AK assault-rifle that fires the NATO 5.56mm calibre.

Well, actually there are wasn't any waepon officially called AK-47. The model of 1947 was named just AK, modified version of 1959 was named AKM, and new rifle of year 1974 was AK-74.

And also AK-102 and AK-108.

About the only thing the Sten is known for is that it is cheap, extremely easy to mass-produce quickly, and quite unreliable. Several British soldiers during WWII complained that the Sten SMG had constant feeding problems. The problem was traced to the shoddily made magazines. The Sten was basically a stop gap measure, as the British desperately needed more SMGs than the Lanchesters and Thompsons (lend-leased from the Americans) they already had.

Out of all the Ak-100 series, what you want; is a Ak-103! Not the 5.45 rounds, they don't have good enough stopping power like the 7.62x39 that the Ak-47, Ak-47M, and older Ak's besides the Ak-74 used.

In the Fallout universe in North America in theory the NATO 5.56mm calibre should be more common than any Soviet calibre simply because it was mass produced for the United States military forces including the National Guard. Add to that all the other units that use such ammo such as SWATs. Introducing the AK-101 or something like it might simply be a move to take account of this greater abundance of this type of ammo.

Personally, I never had a problem with the functionality of the Sten(and it's offshoot the Sterling). Also, I find that the Canuck produced Stens tend to be of a better quality.

I'll take your word for it, as I have never fired a Sten; this is just what I've read of historical accounts of the Sten's reliability issues. I did see that Italian guy on YouTube firing a Sten (and about a hundred of other weapons; he's got tons), and in a 1 minute video it had feed problems twice. Anecdotal evidence, I know...

I didn't know that the Canadian produced Stens were of higher quality. Maybe the pressure of war influenced manufacturing capabilities in the UK.

Cheers.

Well technically AKM is AK-47M, M stands for modernized. Difference between AK-47 and AKM is receiver, original is milled from solid steel, it's expensive due to material and work that is required in manufacturing. AKM's receiver is made from stamped steel sheet, that is far cheaper manufacture.

Spares taken from cannibalized weapon of same type are perfectly safe to use normally. AK's aren't any different in this respect. Certain license made AK's have some parts that could be used as spares too on Russian made AK's. If parts from original and cannibalized gun are worn it most likely would affect accuracy and reliability. AK's have earned reputation for inaccuracy, in case of Russian AK's it's due to poor quality control as parts will have quite big tolerances between them. AK was never meant to be very accurate, just accurate enough for it's job, to hit man sized target up to range of about 300m, it's sights are good enough for that. Those big tolerances are quite big part in AK's reliability in addition to basic design of weapon. 7.62 bullet would be quite deadly for lot longer ranges. Production of milled receiver AK-47's continued after AKM was adopted by Soviet army, for example Finnish army used Soviet AK's in armored units due to crews weapon racks in Soviet vehicles and firing ports of BMP's. Milled receiver is far firmer than one made from sheet and milled receiver make gun more accurate, especially if used with optical sight.

AK can be made with very high production standards, Finnish 7.62rk62 (civilian model is Valmet M62S) and 7.62rk95 (civvie version is Sako M92S) are very accurate and robust assault rifles. Drawback is cost was result of more quality control and higher grade materials. Valmet used to make stamped steel receiver 762rk62-76, but Finnish army wasn't very impressed as milled receiver is more durable and production for own army was terminated after couple production batches. M76-series was produced for US civilian market and few military customers in 7.62x39, 7.62x51 and 5.56x45.

Russian and even Chinese AK's can also be very accurate if parts are matching, those are just very rare in case of Russian guns and extremely rare in case of Chinese guns. One of my friends has Saiga M3exp, civilian version of AK-103. It's at least as accurate as most of AR-15's, he is only owner of said model of gun I know that got "positive" result of bad quality control. In general quality of AK's is very much relative production country.

FO3's gun wear out is massively over realistic level, but it adds something to game.

AKs most certainly can be repaired, and the parts are very interchangeable. I happen to own one, and have replaced a number of parts on it, including the barrel..

You would say that, wouldn't you..... [censored] Marine.

I've fired a sten gun. It was fun, and didn't have much recoil. But man, it jammed about every 2-3 seconds of constant fire, and boy it was inaccurate. The bullets pretty much flew in every direction.

the parts maybe made to a loose precision, but the ak has big gaps so it can be made to low precision and can have dirt or sand in it.
still when you brake a ak you did some thing wrong in a big way.

note that sten guns were made to only a few precision parts most of it made by small workshops the most basic model, the Mark III, could be produced from five man-hours work.
plans to dump the sten started i 44

Excellent post. The AKM is what we'd call the 'licensed' version of the weapon, typically spat out across the world in varying degrees of quality. I've had better luck matching Chinese sourced parts that those out of other places, including Russia/USSR/et al. However, the original AK-47 was far superior quality than almost all others, including a single source Chinese gun. (I've never touched a Soumi version)

Mind you, the same can be said of the AR series. A Stoner is far and away superior to a typical line produced M- series out of FN, whereas the Colt would rank somewhere in between. (You could split some hairs and say the Stoner is the original.)

The CAR and Xualong are Type-56 Chinese AK's somehow chambered in 5.56. The AKM was the M4 carbine of the AK-47 family.

Well to be technical, Stoner is the original.

Well I dont know why anyone would say that russian firearms are so poorly made that when it breaks you toss it. This is simply not the case, being one of those rare female firearms enthusiasts whom mainly focuses on RUSSIAN firearms I can say that Russian firearms for the most part are very very well made and while they may look rough on the outside (common with wartime Mosin nagants) they are very well finished where they need to be. Such as the breach, bore, trigger groups etc. The Soviet SKS is a fine example of good fit and finish when it comes to a firearm, same with the SVT family of firearms. The Milled receiver AKs were also really well made but as it was said earlier they went to a stamped reciver for ease of production. But over in the middle east you can find AKs that have been in use for more the 30 years and they are still runnin like a champ, and more often then not they are made up of mixed parts, not only of different serial numbers but of different nations as well.

I guess this is what happens when you live with your dad who probably is maxed out on his gunnut perks :gun:

i know a gun nut that had a couple ak-47s. one was very high quality, and was from russia. the other was acquired from africa, and was extremely shoddy. it was kinda interesing comparing the two side by side.

I got a question, is the real world Vinterez as bad ass as all the video games I've ever played makes it out to be? Integrated silencer, automatic firing option, low recoil, easy to handle, all of that??

I really want to get one...


For squirrel hunting, of course.