Yet, oddly the folks in Ukraine are handing them out to any citizen who will take one. Apparently, they have run out of firearms to give to people.
How useful they will be in the hands of untrained people remains to be seen. Shooting (shooting well, at least) is a skill, and a perishable one. Just handing out “assault rifles” won’t make accurate shooters.
We here in the US, most of us, that have rifles actually shoot them several times (or more) a year. We (generally) know how to care for and feed these rifles. While AK’s are robust and need little care, they still require some care and cleaning. We shooters generally have a fair bit of ammo for our firearms as well. locally stockpiled, as it were.
“But no one needs a 30 round magazine for hunting”………depends on what we are hunting, doesn’t it?
A lesson the Ukrainian people are learning.
Not kidding here, I have read in another blog that, history being what it is, in Ukraine, school kids are familiarized with use of the rifles in common use in that part of the world. I’m certain they have standard capacity ( 30 round ) magazines.
and gun control inc takes another hit. this is not lost on some of the people of the u.s. i have neighbors that never owned a gun before, just bought a shotgun and an ar. others are asking questions. i have seen more of my neighbors this week than in the past year. folks are nervous and gathering together in small groups. what was it, lgop’s? little groups of paratroopers. i for one am totally shocked putin’s forces aren’t having a vodka on the polish border by now. go ukraine. i think putin and the world forgot about the holomordor. ukraine hasn’t.
Also note that the politicians saying ‘assault weapons do not belong on the street’ were the same ones demanding soldiers armed with fully automatic weapons be deployed to protect the Capital. Guess they learned they do have a role in public life after all.