AK-47 Vs. M16: Which Assault Rifle Is Better?

There are numerous debates that will likely never be resolved – Coke vs. Pepsi, rock vs. country – but when it comes to firearms, the debate goes deeper than mere opinion, especially when it is the AK-47 vs. M16. Both were developed during the Cold War, and while Soviet soldiers and Americans never actually met (fortunately) on the battlefield, the weapons have been used against one another in countless other conflicts.

Unlike ongoing debates over whether a Glock is better than a SIG Sauer or if 9mm is superior to .45 APC, the assault weapon debate is one where soldiers have ample experience.

Tale of More Than Two Assault Rifles
When considering the two weapons, we must first focus solely on the military-used versions – not the various semi-automatic modern sporting rifle versions. However, the issue is still complicated by the fact that there have been numerous variations of each one.

Thus simply stating “the AK is better because of X,” fails to address whether the conversation is actually about the AK-47 as it was developed and produced between 1948 and 1951, or is the AK-47 as it was improved in the early 1950s. Then there is the fact that while AK-47 is generally the nomenclature that is used, the modernized AKM was the most ubiquitous variant in service. Then there were the variations such as the AKS-47 and AKMS.