AK-47

"This rifle right here got my name all over it."

- Ellis

The AK-47 is an Assault Rifle variant that made it's debut in Left 4 Dead 2. It trades the versatility of the Assault Rifle for incredible stopping power, making it an excellent weapon for handling hordes of Common Infected and Tanks. However, it also has a slower fire rate, a smaller magazine, and poorer accuracy.

Tactics

 * The AK-47 can kill Common Infected with one or two shots based on difficulty, making it an incredibly useful weapon for taking down hordes.
 * The slower firing rate on the AK-47 means that you can save ammunition easily when picking off lone Common Infected.
 * The AK-47's high damage makes it an excellent Tank busting weapon. It can't quite match the auto shotguns in damage per second, but the weapon's range makes it the better weapon for killing Tanks in open spaces.
 * While the AK-47 has poor accuracy when moving and high kickback, you can still pull off fairly accurate bursts to kill distant Special Infected with.
 * Shooting a Witch in the head with the AK-47 will stun her as if you headshot her with a Sniper Rifle. This isn't recommended, however, unless your team has enough firepower to kill her before she can reach you.
 * The Laser Sight upgrade works best with the AK-47, patching up the weapon's main drawback and making it a much more effective weapon for distance shots.
 * Explosive and Incendiary ammo upgrades don't complement the AK-47 as well as they do the Assault Rifle, although they still work well with it given the easily controllable rate of fire.
 * The Magnum is a good secondary to use with the AK-47, as it gives you a longer-distance weapon while you save your AK-47 for close range. The Pistols, however, aren't as effective.
 * Melee weapons work great with the AK-47 due to the weapon's versatility and ability to quickly kill Tanks.

Trivia

 * The AK-47 in Left 4 Dead 2 appears to be based on the AKM, a modernized, but nearly identical and more widely used variant.
 * It is unlikely to stumble upon an automatic version of this rifle in civilian life, though semi-automatic "sporter" versions are prominent throughout the United States.
 * The real life AK-47 uses a 30 round magazine, although, like the Assault Rifle's magazine of 50 rounds, it was likely increased for gameplay purposes.
 * The AK series is still being produced all over the world under different models and variants in numerous countries due to its ease of use, high durability, and low production cost.
 * The representation of the AK-47 in game is actually fairly accurate compared to real life, as the AK fires stronger rounds that can penetrate cover, often fires in full-automatic, and has poorer recoil compensation and a slower fire rate compared to the M16.
 * In real life, the AK-47 is one of the hardiest guns in the world, and waterproof. This could be an explanation as to why it shows up in Swamp Fever and Hard Rain.
 * The third-person reloading animation is the same as the other Assault Rifles, although the magazine is never actually removed.
 * The poster for Dark Carnival shows Nick holding what appears to be an AK-74M instead of the AKM. It's possible that the developers planned to use the AK-74M, as the 3D model for the AK-47 shows some traits of the AK-74M, but changed midway through development to make the weapon look like a variant more likely to be seen in the United States.