User blog comment:USMC Lance/Whats the better rifle: M16 or AK47?/@comment-4081799-20111016222929

The comparison between AK-47 and the M16 has been outdated since Vietnam. Now, with the switch to the 5.45 Soviet round, both Kalashnikovs and M16's have similar power and weight, and the Russians are no longer above adding vital attachments such as optics to their weapons. The AK-47 is simply not even the same kind of weapon as the M16. The AK-74, however, is much more similar, and makes for a better comparison.

AK's are just more reliable, that's a fact. They will never stop working. You could fire bullets made of fused horse crap through them and they will keep going. But, in practical warfare, the ability to engage point targets at 300 yards or more is a feature that makes AR-15 derivatives significantly more useful. Coupled with the recent advent of the infinitely cleaner and more enduring piston-driven AR-15 platform, I think I'm sold on the M16.

Should the zombies come, I'd want an AK at my side, because the Lord knows when I'd next come across a bottle of Hoppe's no. 9. But, if I'm fighting a war, there's no substitute for an M16 or an M4.