Never fired a true AK, but I fire an SKS (AK's grandaddy) on occasion with my friend who owns one. That thing is a tank. Not very accurate and clunky, but absolutely reliable and very easy to maintain. I totally enjoy my M4 and it has never failed me. As accurate as I want it to be and cheaper to fire than the AK. Maintenance is a bit more time consuming, but that's a fair trade off to me.