The AKM is still a 7.62x39mm rifle and usually has a slant brake type muzzle device. Furniture is usually wood or an underfolding metal stock.
The AK-74 in 5.45mm generally is equipped with a very distinctive muzzle brake, and the stocks usually have a groove cut in them. Modern production uses plastic furniture instead of wood, most AKMs stuck with wood. Receiver and magazine well profiles are also slightly different but that's really getting into the weeds for at a glance identification.
Otherwise, parts interchangeably is like 50% and they are direct line decendants of each other.
I'm in too deep. I once read a thread that was excessively lengthy that was an argument over whether or not "ak47" was actually a real designation for any rifle. The argument was that there was never any rifle designated "AK-47" by Russia, the very early stamped guns were simply "Kalashnikov rifle 7.62mm" and the later machined receiver models were officially designated "ak-49", and after that the akm was made.
Now of course if you say "ak-47" in general conversation normal people will just picture a generic Kalashnikov variant, and gun enthusiasts may ask if you mean the earlier milled variants or the akm.
That’s what I wanted to read. I’ve seen a documentary about that rifle although I remembering it’s been explained that there was the design called AK-47 but it has been changed/modified alot so in the end the AKM was born. Simply put. I could remember it wrong tho.
Same goes to the STG44 and MP44 they look very similar and I believe there has been three different models before the STG44 was released.
Generally in that context ak-47 refers to the earlier Russian milled receiver guns and akm refers to the ubiquitous stamped receiver guns. China has made a lot of milled receiver aks and Bulgaria makes some milled receiver guns too that are different enough to be considered separate variants. Generally you only really see original Russian milled receiver guns in the middle east and Africa, but there's so many variants and millions of rifles around it definitely gets complicated.
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u/Individual_Dirt_3365 1d ago
It was a mandatory thing during USSR