ok to put it down simply:
ar-15 family(m16, m4 family)-ie the stoner rifles, generally more accurate than AK-47, and marginally lighter. accuracy points down to the fact that the ar-15 uses 5.56mm NATO which has a smaller recoil. and also higher muzzle velocity(reduced bullet drop) however it comes at a price: less stopping power. the stoner system is also another issue: it has a tendency to get clogeed up easily with carbon upon prolonged firing W/O cleaning. which is ok given a civilian context, but problematic in a combat scenario. the problems are even more prominent in the M4 series as the shorther barrel gives reduced firepower and shorter gas tube translate to reduced reliability. in addition, M4s have been known to suffer frequent weapon failures in extremely dusty conditions(refer to US army's dust test).
Ak-47: because of it's simple construction it is cheap to manufacture and easy to produce. it is also very reliable because of it's simplicity in design. that said: there are issues: firstly recoil. the 7.62 soviet round has more stopping power but lacks accuracy due to it's slow muzzle velocity and high recoil.
so to sum up the fight between ak and ar-15: they complement each other-both representing different approaches to assualt rifle design-largely due to different warfighting doctrine employed by the us and the soviets during the cold war. and this is why there's always this foght going on abt the better of the 2 rifles, and to make it worse: the ak has now become the standard of any guerilla army, while the m16 continues to be used by the US army(particularly because the us army is being a bit of a cheapskate by scrapping the xm-8, citing that the system was not a big enough advancement for them to invest more money into it-despite having proven it's relaibilty in the extreme dust test(which by the way, the m4 failed miserably)-thereby further proving that the army always goes for the cheapest alternative, and equipment will always be provided by the lowest bidder(unless u happen to end up in spec force i guess)-this can also be proven by the dragon scale body armour vs IBA case.
however-take note: the soviets later, upon hearing about reports of the effectiveness of the 5.56 in vietnam, went on to update their aks for their new 5.45mm round, the new aks became ak-74. the newer ak 101 series which takes 5.56mm was designed for export market for countries who use 5.56mm
well, back to the main focus of this forum. what assualt rifle i would pick.
prob the bushmaster acr or scar for their versatility. it's not just that you can add additional optics or shotguns/grenade launcher via the picatinny rail.you can change the barrel and magazine feed to accept other calibres. so for now they can accept both 5.56mm nato and 7.62 nato. it is rumoured that barrels that can use the 7.62 soviet will be produced. now if only they manufactured barrels for 6.5mm grendel or 6.8 SPC and it'll be almost perfect.(note: the ACR wasn't included in the dust test, but the scar was and it did fairly well)
