Quote Originally Posted by Diamondeye View Post
15th century technology would be exceedingly hard-pressed to make an AK-47. It is not simply a matter of making a breach loader, but rather one that can repeat at a cyclic rate of 600 rounds per minute, and be accurate in single shot ode out to 400 meters with a muzzle velocity of 715 meters per second. Machining all the various parts of an AK-47 to the necessary tolerances should be very hard for 15th century technology, especially if they have never seen an example of an AK-47 when they make their first one.

This is why the remote village in Pakistan can make AK-47s and repair parts for them. They already know AK-47s exist and have seen them before. it's simply a matter of obtaining the necessary specifications, and it's not like it's hard to get your hands on an AK-47 to take apart and figure out.

It's much easier to make something once you know it can be made even if you don't have any working examples. This is why North Korea and Iran (or for that matter, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Israel) don't need to start from scratch to make the atomic bomb. They already know it works.
Well, that was pretty much precisely my point.... Technologically, it's really nothing that hard.

But probability that someone, no matter how bright, will come up with all that stuff from blank, seeing only 'standard' cylindrical, black powder, one shot arquebuses, bombards, swivel guns of 15th century...

Just no way, little by little all that stuff had to be devised and tried.

And yeah, next thread please!