5.45x39 vs 7.62x39

[TN Outlaw]

sorry if this has already been talked about, but i am in the market for a AK and was wondering which is the best all around for a SHTF situation....

[Mike]

Both work well. 5.45 is much lighter with minimal recoil and is cheaper. 7.62 is better at defeating barriers, heavier and more expensive. The US ammunition manufacturers are starting to produce very good rounds as of late for both calibers. Corbon and Hornady make 7.62 and Hornady makes a 5.45 offering.

I have both, but I would probably use the 5.45. It does interesting things when it hits soft tissue and weighs much less.

Mike

[TMF]

I love my 5.45. If I had to choose between one or the other I'd go with it. Ballistics are good in regards to wounding effects and it's cheap ammo.

[TN Outlaw]

if i went the 5.45 route whats the best gun to get?

[Mike]

Russian Arsenal or Bulgarian. Hands down. Buy nothing from century.

[hipower]

Been thinking about getting a 5.45 x39 myself lately. Good to hear some commentary on them.

[TMF]

The Bulgarians are very nice. I bought a Romanian a long time ago for very little money. It's a great rifle but not as pretty as the Bulgarian models. I would recommend the Romanian 5.45 if it weren't for the price increase since the 90s. I only paid 250 for mine back in the day, but for what they are now you might as well get a pretty one for a few bucks more.

[TN Outlaw]

how much should i expect to pay for one?.... all the info is appreciated thanks guys

[Guest The Dude]

5.45 is a better performer overall. id go with it. much better accuracy as well as flatter trajectory. the above posts pretty much said it already.

arsenals have been going up in price. i bought mine for 809 last year. since then there have been two price increases to 839 and now 869. but that was for plum furniture. the standard black ones are a few bucks less.

but it depends on where you shop at. i bought mine from kvar. i havent seen very many gun stores stocking the sgl's. lots do, but not in this area that ive seen. im sure a few do though.

[eapking]

Arsenal SGL-21 (7.62x39) - the Real McCoy.

[Moped]

If you want to save a bit of money go with the Saiga. If money is no object, go with the Arsenal.

[~48_South~]

The 5.45 will key hole if it hits anything at all so lets hope you arent having to shoot at something hiding in bushes with it, I own 2 Arsenal SGL 21's in 7.62 and 1 Arsenal SGL 31 in 5.45. If I had to pick one for SHTF its going to be one of my Arsenal 21's in 7.62, I like being able to shoot through objects without having to wait for whatever it is to come out from behind cover, and I personally think 7.62x39 is a way more common round to be found during SHTF. Both rounds are cheap as can be imo. 500 rounds of 7.62x39 and 750 rounds of 5.45x39 or roughly the same price(Silver Bear). Yes the 7.62 has more recoil than the 5.45 but you are trading penetration for recoil reduction.

As far as accuracy goes they both perform like battle rifles from my Arsenals,there isnt a HUGE difference in accuracy within 100 yards between my 21's and my 31's, if you are overly concerned with having an accurate rifle you might want to stick with a NICE 5.56 AR platform.

[Guest The Dude]

The 5.45 will key hole if it hits anything at all so lets hope you arent having to shoot at something hiding in bushes with it, I own 2 Arsenal SGL 21's in 7.62 and 1 Arsenal SGL 31 in 5.45. If I had to pick one for SHTF its going to be one of my Arsenal 21's in 7.62, I like being able to shoot through objects without having to wait for whatever it is to come out from behind cover, and I personally think 7.62x39 is a way more common round to be found during SHTF. Both rounds are cheap as can be imo. 500 rounds of 7.62x39 and 750 rounds of 5.45x39 or roughly the same price(Silver Bear). Yes the 7.62 has more recoil than the 5.45 but you are trading penetration for recoil reduction.

As far as accuracy goes they both perform like battle rifles from my Arsenals,there isnt a HUGE difference in accuracy within 100 yards between my 21's and my 31's, if you are overly concerned with having an accurate rifle you might want to stick with a NICE 5.56 AR platform.

i doubt you'll find anything in a shtf scenario.

and for keyholing, i shoot up in walland and rarely have that problem. it does happen, but not as easily as stated. i even have my mosin keyhole from time to time. but the 7.62 will travel through barriers much better over the smaller calibers.

i think accuracy from a combat rifle is overrated. combat stress leaves no time for calm accurate shooting. and using irons, itll be hard to tell what caliber is going to be more accurate over the other, so good optics would help decide what one is better, as well as intended purpose, or how you'll run your weapon in general.

[~48_South~]

My SGL 31 and one of my SGL 21's both run Aimpoint Comp ML3's with LaRue QD mounts and using that set up its hard for me to really tell a difference in accuracy when firing off hand(I dont shoot them benched). Im not trying to argue with you about key holing but I have put all of my weapons/various calibers through paces to see how they compare to one another in certain situations, be it shooting through a car to hiding a target in brush, and in MY experience as soon as the 5.45 hits a small limb/twig it starts flipping(Your mileage may vary), I like to know the limitations of the weapons I own and ammunition they shoot.

As far as finding ammo in SHTF I was simply stating that the 7.62x39 seems to be the more common round,if something crazy ever happens all I have to do is look in the closet and I will find 8,000 rounds(I shoot ALOT!!) just between those 2 calibers so Im personally not worried about it.

Edited February 18, 2012 by ~48_South~

[k9wh91984]

SHTF you will find .223 and 5.56 because of military and LE, hell just pick their stuff up! Lol I had my SGL21-71 7.62 and it was great. On Target in Murfreesboro has 6 Arsenal AK's right now but I didn't look at calibers.

[R1100R]

I went with a Siaga in 5.45 and did the conversion with parts from Carolina Shooters supply. Around $550.

It can be done cheaper. Just depends on the conversion kit purchased. It is a Russian made AK.

[Guest The Dude]

My SGL 31 and one of my SGL 21's both run Aimpoint Comp ML3's with LaRue QD mounts and using that set up its hard for me to really tell a difference in accuracy when firing off hand(I dont shoot them benched). Im not trying to argue with you about key holing but I have put all of my weapons/various calibers through paces to see how they compare to one another in certain situations, be it shooting through a car to hiding a target in brush, and in MY experience as soon as the 5.45 hits a small limb/twig it starts flipping(Your mileage may vary), I like to know the limitations of the weapons I own and ammunition they shoot.

As far as finding ammo in SHTF I was simply stating that the 7.62x39 seems to be the more common round,if something crazy ever happens all I have to do is look in the closet and I will find 8,000 rounds(I shoot ALOT!!) just between those 2 calibers so Im personally not worried about it.

i wasnt trying to argue either by any means. i just havent experienced that much keyholing with that caliber in my 31-62, except in a tantal that had a .223 barrel on it.

and for the ammo availability in a crisis, i was referring to stock on store shelves and the peoples will to rid themselves of some of their supply. baisicly trying to imply that the only ammo that will be readily available will most likely be what you have and your friends/family have access to. but with that said, heavier bullets do better in heavier vegetated ares and defeating barriers.

[~48_South~]

i just havent experienced that much keyholing with that caliber in my 31-62, except in a tantal that had a .223 barrel on it.

Lol I had the exact same thing happen with what sounds like the exact same gun, mine would key hole without even hitting any obstacles in its flight path, I was pretty upset to say the least when I noticed that happening.

[Smith]

Lol I had the exact same thing happen with what sounds like the exact same gun, mine would key hole without even hitting any obstacles in its flight path, I was pretty upset to say the least when I noticed that happening.

Wrong barrel, wrong chamber, wrong twist rate = keyholing. THe Tantals had this problem when Century tried to cut corners by using 5.56 barrels instead if using the correct 5.45 barrel.

[Moped]

If your worried about a SHFT situation and finding ammo, then go with a Saiga in .223. Problem solved. It's not the reason I bought a .223 Saiga, I just like the caliber better and AK's a cheaper than Mini 14s and ARs. Also I think the more people here in the states play with AK's and work on them, the more accurate they are going to get.