"there are so many factors to consider.
size
weight
balance
capacity
reliability
accessibility
for all of these i like the israli arms UZI, the colt M4-A3 carbine,and the HK MP-5sd although you might find that they are hard to get your hands on the civilian (semi-auto) versions are on the market and easy to purchase if you have a felony free record!
"

"Why would you be arming survivors at all?
I wouldn't want to give someone a gun that wasn't smart enough to have one already. Arming strangers is like saying "Hey here's a gun please shoot me in the back and take everything I have whenever it's convenient for you."

But to answer your question(kind of), why pick between the two? It's a wonderfully modern age we live in and it's quite possible to have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. There's a reason all other gun designs didn't fall off the face of the planet after the AK was designed.

As of now im going out the door with my AR but id stop and take a good long look at the SKS before I left.


"

"I have people I’d trust with a gun...they just have there own already so I don't have to worry about arming anyone. My policy is that someone needs to know how to take care of themselves before I trust them to take care of me.

The trick to surviving when SHTF is staying low key. Don't let people know you've prepared and have the ability to ride it out in relative comfort. If they think you're as desperate as them they'll leave you alone.
Once you start handing out guns to desperate people they are going to know you have extra and you just gave them the means to take it for themselves.
It’s not "greed" its called being smart and if they need my handouts they're not in much of a position to help me anyway.

You state, “Getting head shots won't work when zeds close in on you, and good luck at wasting ammo at avoidable zombie at far distance."
By that logic why even have a gun at all? Since for some reason it's impossible to get head shots on close targets(I’d like to hear the logic behind that one) and it's wasteful to shoot targets far off. Plus you've already undermined any attempt at defense against other survivors since you'll just be handing guns to strangers anyway. So why have a gun at all since you've just shot down any reason for having one? (pun not intended)

I choose the AR because you won't just be up against zeds. Two guys engage each other at some intermediate range...lets call it 150 meters, one has an AK and the other has and AR. For the sake of argument lets say they both know how to shoot and stay calm and they notice each other at the same time i.e. no real first shot advantage. My money's going on the guy with the rifle that can easily keep a minute of man out to 300meters rather than the one that'll be lucky to keep all its rounds in an area the size of a Volkswagen at just 100 meters.
"

"Sub-guns like UZI, Macs, etc were designed primarily as weapons to keep the enemy down. When fighting "Zombies" the ability to take aimed shots is more important."

"We're discussing the merits of individual weapons not the shooters. The scenario I used wasn't really about the people it was about the capabilities of the rifles...I was trying to keep the human element out of it as much as possible hence my statement.
"For the sake of argument lets say they both know how to shoot and stay calm and they notice each other at the same time i.e. no real first shot advantage."

I figured the gun fight scenario was more relevant to the whole end of the world thing. I could have just as easily said you've got the same guy shooting an AR and an AK from a bench rest at 50m. He's going to get more rounds on target with the AR than the AK. I picked 150m for the fact that most engagements are from 300m on in so I just cut that in half. Pick any range you want and the AR will out shoot the AK.
Yes the 'nut' behind the stock is the most important element in accurate shooting but the rifle has to be capable of some sort of accuracy itself otherwise the best shooter in the world isn't going to be able to put rounds where he wants them.

Who did I put down? If someone feels I’ve been less than civil with them all they have to do is speak up and they'll have my immediate and most sincere apologies.
"

"side note: I dont post opinion's or theory. unlike most I am an expert in the field of combat tactics, survival, CQB, explosives, and entry tactics. I want to share my knowledge with you but it really pisses me off when someone posts comments on something they know nothing about! so please roverbruce stop posting comments"

"the UZI was designed to be a compact close quarters weapon that was accurate and easy to silence. they were made to do the exact job we are speaking of IDIOT! "