The AK's charging handle (to chamber the first round of a new magazine) is on the right side of the gun and the girl here is right handed, so she's just reaching under the gun to chamber the first round. If you are trying to keep your trigger hand ready, you use your off hand for reloading and working the charging handle. In casual shooting most people will reach over the top, but for target trials almost all reach under, so as not to obscure vision.
The AK's charging handle (to chamber the first round of a new magazine) is on the right side of the gun […] for target trials almost all reach under, so as not to obscure vision.
I didn't know that. Thanks for your amazing answer.
The AK's charging handle (to chamber the first round of a new magazine) is on the right side of the gun and the girl here is right handed, so she's just reaching under the gun to chamber the first round. If you are trying to keep your trigger hand ready, you use your off hand for reloading and working the charging handle. In casual shooting most people will reach over the top, but for target trials almost all reach under, so as not to obscure vision.
I would say that we don't reach over not so much to obscure vision (since we are not looking down the sights) but rather to allow the ejection port to be oriented downward (muscle memory for malfunction clearance, things fall downwards), optics on modernized AKs can get in the way, and the pinkey has a tendency to be sliced open on bare hands against the sheet metal dust cover when charging over the top. Plus when we reload, the rifle is already tilted ejection port down, so why flip the gun over, when we can charge with the same motion?
The AK's charging handle (to chamber the first round of a new magazine) is on the right side of the gun and the girl here is right handed, so she's just reaching under the gun to chamber the first round. If you are trying to keep your trigger hand ready, you use your off hand for reloading and working the charging handle. In casual shooting most people will reach over the top, but for target trials almost all reach under, so as not to obscure vision.
By the way, Russians don't use this way. One Pacific Fleet seaman explained me personally so: this method is used for shooting from large distance when it's need constantly keep target in aim. But if battle is in a city you have not to be visible in large time period therefore soldier often hides in cover. When he's sitting there he can take the rifle by left hand and change magazine and reload rifle by right one. Russian soldiers are prepared to sity shooting.
