AK-47 AK-47 is known as "Cuerno de Chivo" (literally "Goat's Horn") because of its curved magazine design. It is one of the weapons of choice of Mexican drug cartels. It is sometimes mentioned in Mexican folk music lyrics. AK-47 The AK-47, AK, or as it is officially known (), also known as the Kalashnikov, is a gas-operated, 7.62×39mm assault rifle, developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov rifle (or "AK") family. Design work on the AK-47 began in 1945. In 1946, the AK-47 was presented for official military trials, and in 1948,
Comparison of the AK-47 and M16 Approximately 100 million AK-47 type rifles have been made worldwide. "The AR-15/M16-series rifles are considered the finest human-engineered assault rifles in the world." The M16 is ergonomically superior to the AK-47 in most respects. It is much easier and faster to change magazines and get the M16 back into action than with the AK-47. This is due to several factors, such as perfectly located magazine release and bolt release buttons, a flared magazine well for fast magazine insertions, and the ability to simply insert the magazine into the M16 in a conventional manner, rather than the "rock and lock" method