Also: why are there so many rifles running off the AR lower, instead of running off, say, a Kalashnikov base?
because the AR is "modular", owing to the fact that the receiver splits in half. way back in the day, some bureaucrat decided to put the serial number on the lower part of the receiver, thus making the lower a "gun" and the upper receiver just another accessory. why does this matter? well, not a lot really happens in the lower receiver. you've got the magazine release, trigger assembly, selector, etc. the upper is where the bolt lives, where rounds are chambered, and the part that receives the bulk of the forces from ignition... after the barrel, of course. so you can take your AR lower and slap an upper on it to shoot 9mm, or 7.62x39, or 300 blackout, or 458 socom... essentially any round that will pass through the magazine well... plus a few that won't.
the AK is riveted in place. after watching a smith put mine together from a parts kit, i can say it would be quite difficult to swap calibers.
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or even a crossbow, cus MERICA!
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now for a cyberpunk gun, the ruskies do have something special for us. it's about 2 feet long, so it'll fit under your trench coat. it puts dime sized holes in things, with the kinetic force of a freight train on meth.
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the Russians know well, that overkill is underrated
seems they also don't believe in proper trigger discipline, tisk tisk.