Service Rifles

More wrinkled old stuff! This time it's a drawing I did a year or two ago of some military services. From top to bottom, the AK47, SKS, M1 Garand, and the FN FAL. I own all but the SKS, which would be one of the least expensive. I just never bought one because since I've had the AK, I didn't really need one.

AK47- The Avtomat Kalashnikov Model of 1947 is the world's more popular assault rifle, and by far the most widely used of any of these rifles. Holding 30 rounds, it's extremely reliable, fires semi and fully automatic, and easy to operate and maintain. The only drawbacks would be the limited firepower and accuracy of the weapon with it's relatively primitive sights.

SKS- Prior the the introduction of the AK, Simonov's SKS provided the Russian Army with a semi-automatic rifle using the intermediate 7.62x39mm round which would later prove to be ideal for a fully automatic rifle. Like the AK, the SKS is very reliable and simple to operate. Capacity is limited to 10 rounds but accuracy is generally better than that of the AK.

M1 Garand- The first successful semi-automatic service rifle, the M1 Garand is remembered as the gun that won WW2. Firing the powerful 30-06 round, the M1 fires 8 rounds from an enbloc clip which is ejected once the last round is fired. It's then reloaded through the open breech on top of the rifle. The rifle is accurate with it's excellent sights, although the gun is rather heavy and can be bit tricky to operate without practice.

FN FAL- Designed by Fabrique Nationale of Belgium, the FAL was first intended to become an assault rifle like the AK47. However, when NATO adopted the powerful 7.62x51 cartridge, the weapon was forced to become a powerful select-fire battle rifle and went on to prove itself in the hands of NATO forces throughout the world, most notably the U.K. These rifles are too overpowered for a fully automatic weapon, but are quite excellent as a semi-automatic service rifle.