I've shared your videos before here. Good overviews. Thanks for making them.
Worth noting that the Russians did require the Czechs to switch from 7.62x45 Czech that the vz58 was originally designed for (same cartridge as VZ52 [Soviets forced late conversions of the VZ52 too, the VZ52/57 is 7.62x39], the 7.62x45 was essentially a 6.8 spc spec load w/ powders of the time -- but Cris Murray, 6.8 SPC lead designer developed a new universal cartridge inspired by the 7.62x45 Czech that he's pushing as the new universal cartridge for our boots on the ground; I'm a big fan the cartridge) to 7.62x39. But that's the only major change I've gathered that the soviets insisted on... Had they kept 7.62x45, I think hands down, the VZ58 would be recognized as the best military rifle of the era and be superior to/preferred by the high speed community vs many of the other options available today... Essentially, the Soviets didn't start really iron fisting Warsaw Pact nations until the 60s or so when the uprisings started...
Now, their next gen rifle, the Lada/CZ2000 was very much an improved AK74 (looks like long stroke piston AK internals but have never seen one disassembled) -- sort of a tantal/galil hybrid -- and was to be chambered in 5.45x39 for the Lada and CZ2000 at some point was redesigned for 5.56 after the fall of the Soviet Union. Then finally, that switched around and redesigned again as a short stroke action where it looks like there were just trying to copy the SCAR/Tavor/etc operating system... I believe somewhere I saw that it was allegedly inspired by the VZ52 and lessons learned from Lada...
ARs aren't good with sand, but it seems to be an issue of the "lube attracts dirt" and "run your guns dry in the desert" bs as well as the sad state of military mags that causes failures much of the time. !@##ting where it eats, especially in regards to heat dumping into the receiver is brutal on a weapon's op system as well... But with quality mil-spec parts that's not necessarily imminent failure provided regular service and replacing parts at service life/before failure...
16,874 rounds of Freedom Munitions through the Knight's Armament Company SR-15 MOD2. Zero cleanings, Zero malfunctions.
Lubed every 800-1,600 rounds with Wilson Combat grease.
https://www.facebook.com/ballisticradio/photos/a.354410478023122.1073741831.277229719074532/578454525618715http://vimeo.com/114095244*This is the after video.
http://vimeo.com/11409474615,350 rounds of Freedom Munitions (Official) through the Knight's Armament Company SR-15 MOD2 (the last 350 of them after having been submerged multiple times in 50 pounds of sand)
Zero cleanings.
Zero malfunctions. (1 soft piece of brass failed to extract 5,000-6,000 rounds ago, but was not counted against the gun)
Still shooting sub 1 MOA groups.
ETA: In response to the "Open the bolt and pour sand directly into the action then see if it runs comments."
I'll do that as soon as the people leaving me those comments post video of them opening the trays to their Xbox, pouring sand in them, and seeing if they still run...
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=571969806267187*AKs don't run when sand is dumped straight into the action either -- 3:30 mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHlFfhrDn2c20,000 Rounds Through An Knight's Armament SR-15 MOD2...Now With SAND!!!!!
http://youtu.be/UvPmJYcgBSoTo be clear, no AR fanboy here, and I totally agree w/ your thoughts on the caliber. Benefits of 5.56 as I see it -- it's lighter so you can carry a little more rounds per weight volume. It's a little more compact round as well and wider and cheaper range of 5.56 mag pouches for carry vests, etc. It shoots flatter which is very important for new shooters that don't have experience w/ holdovers, etc. And if we're truly in an SHTF situation if that's what your collection is geared around, ammo and weapon pickups will be important, so at a minimum it's good to know how to both run and maintain ARs as well have some weapons in that caliber that you're willing to trust your life to. I primarily focus on Galils in this caliber (it's a rifle and a 5.56 is a rifle round, despite being most effective in military loadings in carbine engagement distances...) but I do have both an AR pistol carbine in 9mm and a 5.56 piston carbine (both ~16") on hand for training/familiarity as well as the wife likes them and current and former military friends/family prefer that platform/mechanics should the need arise to equip them...
Ultimately, the VZ has had some modern ergo/furniture upgrades that I think are pretty essential, but otherwise that base system really hasn't changed...
Whereas the AR has been continually improved upon to fix all the issues with its core operating system ranging from ammo to components, etc -- so many that were mag related an really only come close to solving in the past decade (though I don't see a scenario in which a push button mechanism is either more secure or more durable than tilt locks)...
And I find the VZ58 to be an/the ideal carbine, especially if fully dressed w/ modern upgrades, if but if I had to "bug out" and carry one weapon w/ no resupply or ammo caches, I'd have a conundrum on 5.56 vs 7.62x39 just due to both number of rounds I could keep on me and which caliber I'm most likely to encounter in a battlefield pickups/scavenging or just general scavenging situation...
Non-bugout and/or having a re-supply system, 7.62x39 and the VZ58 is the clear winner for carbine platforms for me...
The VZ mags weighing 1/2 lb less when full than an AK steel mag is a major equalizer though and allows you to carry a fair bit more ammo... With a 20lb ammo load per anther thread going, that's ~100 more rounds for the same weight as 7.62x39 AK steel mags. Still only about ~2/3rds the ammo of equivalent weight in 5.56, but it's better than the 1/2 the number of rounds scenario you'd have with steel AK Mags and 7.62x39.
And for reliability -- AK mags can be dicey and often have issues that lead to feeding issues... VZ Mags are almost entirely OE. So they work darn near always. No problem with bum mags due to slight but important spec differences between AK manufacturers (and stampings/bendings or receivers also cause unforeseen issues too that generally are less likely with millings provided tooling components experiencing wear were replaced before they went out of spec...
Also, reliability of weapon systems when dirty is two fold. 1) is tolerances, and 2) is the bolt carrier weight/cycling force. Heavy bolt carriers require more gas pressure to move, so while they usually do tend to increase felt recoil, they also push through a lot more crud and have a similarly strong/stronger return spring (both to arrest rearward movement and return it to battery)...
My personal break on 7.62x39 vs 5.56 is that 5.56 is an ideal fields/prairie type round, new shooters (see holdover point earlier) or for the very recoil sensitive... Otherwise, all other environs the 7.62x39 is superior as it's less likely to deflect and penetrate through cover (and actually the 7.62x39 has a greater effective range but its drop at ranges/trajectory makes that extra range more of a wash between the calibers... In regards to performance, 5.56 really only beats 7.62x39 in penetration of plate steel and not overpenetrating at very close distances, and if fmj, then 5.56 is better w/in 150 yards or so in tumbling/fragmenting/etc earlier...
But, 7n6 5.45x39 beats FMJ 5.56 in almost every category in my book; however, with that now being banned from import (not to mention it's corrosive), 5.45x39 moving forward once that surplus stock is exhausted will essentially be a lower velocity version of 5.56. Yes, it might feed and extract a little more reliably due to cartridge case design but otherwise have inferior performance... And yes, there is some very good 5.56 ammo that is considerably more costly than FMJ, but some of the Russian soft point stuff is serviceable...
On the new 7x46 UIAC, inspired by the 7.62x45 Czech:
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2010/04/07/7x46mm-uiac-universal-intermediate-assault-cartridge/http://www.7x46mmuiac.com/
