ODE TO THE MAK-90

The MAK-90 is a long legged Mack Daddy of assault rifles for sure. It reminds me of my old rough and tumble hot rod Mustang. It ran like a bat outta hell, but was no cruiser and you really had to work to drive it well. The various AR-15 Colts and clones are more like some sort of more refined automobile, sometimes finnicky and sometimes just down right difficult.

I've owned one great AR-15. It shot great and wasn't made by Colt. It was made or imported by IMI, but all parts fit. I put some good springs in it and it was good to go. Never should have sold it.

The MAK-90 was another gun I shouldn't have sold. Bought from a freind in crisis with a big electric bill due, it was new in the box. At the time, I was shooting russian surplus ammo that seemed a little hot, and some newer non-surplus ammo like Gold Bear or something like that. You could buy a battle pack of ammo at a gun show in the early 90's for nothing, and do quite a bit of shooting with the MAK-90.

The MAK-90, as pictured above, is an AK-47 with a sporter thumbhole stock and supplied with a five round mag to satisfy the Clintons. It took the 20 and 30 round AK mags as well. I borrowed a friends AK drum magazine back then, and that was a real hoot to shoot. Again, sold to a good friend who still has it who had to have it.

I recently got to shoot a MAK-90, one that had been new in the box and unfired. It was great and shot really well. Again, it's not a Lexus or even a Toyota or Honda like most of the AR's are, it's more like an old 80's Land Cruiser. A bit rough around the edges with a bumpy ride, but as with Glocks, pull trigger, goes boom.

Over the years I met folks older than me who fought in Nam and in other conflicts with the M-16. They either loved the M-16 or hated it...no in between. Many of the guys found good AK's on enemy soldiers and just carried those into the field, often for adjunct reason that they could get extra ammo off the enemy,

Special Forces folks I've known told me they often went into enemy territory carrying about 200 rounds a man for their long guns. They didn't hardly ever use full auto, and very rarely 3 round burst, but usually semi-auto mode to conserve bullets. So to me, if you could find a well functioning AK when the enemy is carrying that (rarely it seems do they carry anything else), that you could snag extra ammo/magazines off enemy combatants as you completed your mission.

But what do I know about combat? Nada.

AK's have a reputation of functioning very well in a variety of dirty or nasty conditions. Sandy, wet, dirty, gritty, bloody, oily...you name it, vets will tell you that a good AK will work well under conditions that incapacitate many other rifles.