Is anyone shooting 5.45x39, is it worth it and is the ammo quantities getting low? Thinking about building one.
- Thread starter solarflarearts
- Start date
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Worth it for.......what?
The differences in price between 5.56 and 5.45 these days are still pretty sizable especially if you are shooting a LOT of it (like ~$0.30/round for 5.45 ball vs. ~$0.47/round or more for quality 5.56 ball). That can add up quickly depending on how much you are shooting, and even a few mags can be several dollars difference at minimum. I still see plenty of 5.45 ammo available online from various sources, but whether the difference in ammo prices makes sense I suppose depends on you, what you'll be doing with it and how much you'll be shooting, etc.
The differences in price between 5.56 and 5.45 these days are still pretty sizable especially if you are shooting a LOT of it (like ~$0.30/round for 5.45 ball vs. ~$0.47/round or more for quality 5.56 ball). That can add up quickly depending on how much you are shooting, and even a few mags can be several dollars difference at minimum. I still see plenty of 5.45 ammo available online from various sources, but whether the difference in ammo prices makes sense I suppose depends on you, what you'll be doing with it and how much you'll be shooting, etc.
My short answer would be no. I have a nice Krebs AK in 5.45 and surplus ammo to boot. My big concern with this caliber is all the production ammo I am finding is imported If this dries up it becomes an issue. I have not run across any US sources. The 7.62 X 39 on the other hand is readily available with foreign and domestic sources. I don't reload as of yet but have plenty of ammo to feed my Krebs AK in 7.62. I certainly would not build one in 5.45 and if I had to do it all over again would not have purchased a 5.45. You also might check, depending on the type of rifle you build on any potential issues with magazines. I recall reading about problems with 5.45 mags and the AR platform but can't place a source for you. Good luck!
I've heard that a standard 5.56 x45 mag will accept up to ten 5.45 x39 rounds before the cases' taper starts causing problems. If that's the case, it might be handy as a training analog or some hunting applications without having to invest in large numbers of dedicated magazines. May not want to rely on it as a HD or Duty Rifle.
I agree it depends on you.
I stocked several thousand rounds when it was below 10c/round delivered. At the time I was shooting it through various AK74s. Then I built a couple of ARs, now the AKs never see the light of day. My Smith and Wesson is super accurate for what it is, around 1.25-1.5 MOA with either 7N6 milsurp or Hornady. This is from a 16" carbine.
One thing to remember is that the "cheap" (20cents/round is cheap today, but it's a double for me!) milsurp is corrosive. Not a big deal, but for a truck gun there's no way I'm carrying corrosive and worrying about it.
The bullet performs very well, both the 7N6 and the VMax have good terminal performance and are accurate enough. I've not been impressed with the accuracy or wounding ability of the Wolf etc. I'm running a carbine in 5.45 as my primary hog/truck gun and I like it a lot. It's not a 308, but it performs about as well as 5.56. I'd put it close behind M193 and ahead of M855 for hogs and dogs, the main problem being there aren't a lot of choices in bullets. The fancy expensive bullets available in 5.56 beat it hands down.
I stocked several thousand rounds when it was below 10c/round delivered. At the time I was shooting it through various AK74s. Then I built a couple of ARs, now the AKs never see the light of day. My Smith and Wesson is super accurate for what it is, around 1.25-1.5 MOA with either 7N6 milsurp or Hornady. This is from a 16" carbine.
One thing to remember is that the "cheap" (20cents/round is cheap today, but it's a double for me!) milsurp is corrosive. Not a big deal, but for a truck gun there's no way I'm carrying corrosive and worrying about it.
The bullet performs very well, both the 7N6 and the VMax have good terminal performance and are accurate enough. I've not been impressed with the accuracy or wounding ability of the Wolf etc. I'm running a carbine in 5.45 as my primary hog/truck gun and I like it a lot. It's not a 308, but it performs about as well as 5.56. I'd put it close behind M193 and ahead of M855 for hogs and dogs, the main problem being there aren't a lot of choices in bullets. The fancy expensive bullets available in 5.56 beat it hands down.
I agree it depends on you.
I stocked several thousand rounds when it was below 10c/round delivered. At the time I was shooting it through various AK74s. Then I built a couple of ARs, now the AKs never see the light of day. My Smith and Wesson is super accurate for what it is, around 1.25-1.5 MOA with either 7N6 milsurp or Hornady. This is from a 16" carbine.
One thing to remember is that the "cheap" (20cents/round is cheap today, but it's a double for me!) milsurp is corrosive. Not a big deal, but for a truck gun there's no way I'm carrying corrosive and worrying about it.
The bullet performs very well, both the 7N6 and the VMax have good terminal performance and are accurate enough. I've not been impressed with the accuracy or wounding ability of the Wolf etc. I'm running a carbine in 5.45 as my primary hog/truck gun and I like it a lot. It's not a 308, but it performs about as well as 5.56. I'd put it close behind M193 and ahead of M855 for hogs and dogs, the main problem being there aren't a lot of choices in bullets. The fancy expensive bullets available in 5.56 beat it hands down.
I stocked several thousand rounds when it was below 10c/round delivered. At the time I was shooting it through various AK74s. Then I built a couple of ARs, now the AKs never see the light of day. My Smith and Wesson is super accurate for what it is, around 1.25-1.5 MOA with either 7N6 milsurp or Hornady. This is from a 16" carbine.
One thing to remember is that the "cheap" (20cents/round is cheap today, but it's a double for me!) milsurp is corrosive. Not a big deal, but for a truck gun there's no way I'm carrying corrosive and worrying about it.
The bullet performs very well, both the 7N6 and the VMax have good terminal performance and are accurate enough. I've not been impressed with the accuracy or wounding ability of the Wolf etc. I'm running a carbine in 5.45 as my primary hog/truck gun and I like it a lot. It's not a 308, but it performs about as well as 5.56. I'd put it close behind M193 and ahead of M855 for hogs and dogs, the main problem being there aren't a lot of choices in bullets. The fancy expensive bullets available in 5.56 beat it hands down.
Is it better than 5.56; your mileage will vary. Also make sure you are comparing apples to apples and not Hornady VMAX vs standard FMJ
Is it cheaper? Yes, and will probably always will be.
Am I worried about it drying up? No. For 2 reasons. 1 - The Russians seem to be better capitalists than the USA lately and love the money, not to mention that the 5.45 round is still in heavy use right now. 2 - With as many 5.45 uppers and AK74 variants that exist in the US now, someone will step up and make ammo for it IF the imports dry up. The only reason they haven't so far is because of all the imported cheap ammo making it not worth their while.
Is it cheaper? Yes, and will probably always will be.
Am I worried about it drying up? No. For 2 reasons. 1 - The Russians seem to be better capitalists than the USA lately and love the money, not to mention that the 5.45 round is still in heavy use right now. 2 - With as many 5.45 uppers and AK74 variants that exist in the US now, someone will step up and make ammo for it IF the imports dry up. The only reason they haven't so far is because of all the imported cheap ammo making it not worth their while.
Thanks for all the great info I just heard about the round at last weekends gun show, I know you all have a wealth of knowledge. I was thinking of an AR platform for basic plinking and a cheap round I could stock up on. I was also noticing the rounds were available now but may not stay around, if a US manufacturer dose make it I am sure the price will go up. I am building a new AR and was trying to figure out which caliber I want to go with.
If you use a old Black follower in it, you can run about 20 to 23 rounds in a 30rnd 223 magazine.....been playing with this caliber in the AR for over 10 years now.....and for ten years I have been hearing "what if the ammo dries up".....
I bought a S&W M&P15 in 5.45X39. Great shooting rifle. Never any issues so far.
I could never get the GI aluminum or steel magazines or even the PMags (1st generation) to feed the rounds consistently. They would load smoothly for a few rounds, get hard to load, then get smooth again. Shooting them out of the magazine was the same story. They feed for a few rounds, then I'd get nose down in the magazine failures to feed, then the last few rounds would feed fine. I bought a bunch of the old CProducts 5.45X39 magazines and they worked great. No issues with any of them.
Accuracy? At 25 yds. I could squirrel hunt with it (5 shots under a dime when a rest against something). At 300 yds. I get a 4" wide by 6" high five shot group. Pretty good for cheap Russian surplus ammo. That ammo is corrosive and it will rust your gun pretty quick under the wrong conditions. Quick, line in less than 24 hrs. if you don't take the proper steps to neutralize the salts before you put the gun away at the range, or don't clean it within a few hours.
I've not shot any of the Wolf ammo in it (supposed to be non-corrosive) so I can't say anything about it in comparison to the surplus ammo.
I could never get the GI aluminum or steel magazines or even the PMags (1st generation) to feed the rounds consistently. They would load smoothly for a few rounds, get hard to load, then get smooth again. Shooting them out of the magazine was the same story. They feed for a few rounds, then I'd get nose down in the magazine failures to feed, then the last few rounds would feed fine. I bought a bunch of the old CProducts 5.45X39 magazines and they worked great. No issues with any of them.
Accuracy? At 25 yds. I could squirrel hunt with it (5 shots under a dime when a rest against something). At 300 yds. I get a 4" wide by 6" high five shot group. Pretty good for cheap Russian surplus ammo. That ammo is corrosive and it will rust your gun pretty quick under the wrong conditions. Quick, line in less than 24 hrs. if you don't take the proper steps to neutralize the salts before you put the gun away at the range, or don't clean it within a few hours.
I've not shot any of the Wolf ammo in it (supposed to be non-corrosive) so I can't say anything about it in comparison to the surplus ammo.
