The AK-47 assault rifle , otherwise known as the "Kalash" (or just "AK" if you're Ice Cube) is the most successful assault rifle ever made. Tens of millions have been made, serving everywhere from the Red Army to the jungles of Vietnam. Simple, reliable, and easy to maintain, the AK has a reputation for hardiness to the point of being indestructible.

This particular AK-47—actually, a Chinese copy known as the Type 56 —was confiscated from poachers in Mozambique. Half of the original parts are missing, including the trigger and hand guard. The receiver cover is completely gone, exposing the recoil spring and bolt carrier. The gun looks like someone went over it with a ball peen hammer.

Surprise: the AK still shoots! According to the person who found it, fresh gunpowder residue was found on the tip of the barrel, indicating it had been recently fired. It's almost certainly not accurate, may not even shoot more than one bullet at a time before jamming, and could still be mere days away from permanent mechanical failure. The finder speculated it was used to finish off poached animals that had been caught in traps.

Nevertheless, the fact that such a hunt of rusted junk held together by wires and string still works is a testament to good design. The AK-47 was made to suffer rough handling on the modern battlefield, and based on this photograph it's pretty clear inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov succeeded.

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