1 definition by jimijimi

The gun which replaced the akm (upgraded ak-47) in the mid 70's in the soviet armed forces.
Cartridge: 5.45x39mm
Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute
Fire modes: safe-semi auto-full auto
Action: long stroke gas piston
The 5.45x39 is much faster and more accurate then the ak-47 7.62x39. The ak-74 also has a muzzle brake which allows it to have the lease amount of recoil of any assualt rifle.
The ak-74 is more reliable then the ak-47 because it has a bigger shell extractor.
A little know fact about the 5.45x39 is that it still has quite a bit of stopping power. When the 5.45x39 hits anything it immidiatly flips around, leaving a nasty wide hole in the target. This is quite unlike the m-16's 5.56x45 and the ak-47's 7.62x39 rounds as they just pencil right thru flesh leaving a small hole.

The ak-74 has been used by the russians since 1990 in the form of the ak-74m.

Other varients:

U=shortened S=folding stock
aks-74: folding stock varient
aks-74u Krinkov: folding stock and short barrel
ak-74m: current issue russian rifle, polymer furniture instead of wood and has a folding stock
ak-74u- a varient that is only found in video games, if this gun did exist then it would have a short barrel but no folding stock.
The ak-74 is a rifle not a submachine gun

A way to tell the ak-74 and the ak-47 apart is that the ak-74 has an almost straight magazine and the ak-47 mag is shaped like a bannana
The ak-74 is lighter, more accurate, has more stopping power, and has less recoil then the ak-47
by jimijimi December 22, 2011
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