Got a Real-World Weapon or Armor Question? Mk. IX

[Joran]

15th century European metallurgy and stuff was more than perfectly sufficient to make AK-47, even though it would be a bit of a fuzz, and of course mass production for 200$ each wouldn't be possible.

It's simply not any rocket science in any kind. Some metal containers, springs, levers....

Idea, knowledge, to form such working idea is everything, not technology per se.

Obviously no one, no matter how genius, is going to build AK-47-like something before modern cartridges, repetitive fire systems and so on aren't devised in the first place.

Wouldn't a AK-47 foul up if fired with black powder? Going to a smokeless powder is a non-trivial step that requires a fair bit of chemistry to do it right.

I wouldn't be surprised if 1600's-1700's engineers could put together something like the Sten gun, especially looking at those old fuseé pocketwatches that are really intricate inside.

The two innovations in firearms that seem so simple that they should have been invented earlier than they actually were are the flintlock and the Minié ball.