Does Zastava make a 5.45x39 AK?

[scattergun10 125]

I looked on the Zastava website and didn't see any.(unless I overlooked them) They have the 7.62x39 of course and a .308. IIRC, I think I even saw a 5.56/.223, but no 5.45x39? Why in the world would they not make a 5.45 AK? I would definitely scoop one up.

[Matthew Hopkins 1,065]

who knows why they don't export them. Bulgaria exports the 5.45 AK, in both the standard 74 and "krink" configuration

 

personally, I would go with the 5.56 AK  as ammunition will always be around,

Edited February 19, 2014 by Matthew Hopkins

[Arik 565]

They dont. Well maybe in some unofficial capacity. If you make 5.45 ammo/firearms you pay Russia royalties. The ammo is cheaper. This is also why Bulgaria switched to the 5.56. Romania basically said our design is modified and therefore not the same, they do however pay for ammo.

 

Personally i would stay away from 5.56 AKs. Nothing is standardized. All mags are different. Yugo mags only work for Yugo, Norinco for Norinco, Hell even Polytech and Norinco have different mags for their 223 rifles despite being from the same country. The most common are Bulgy. Most were not built from the ground up for the 5.56 like the Valmet or the Galil but instead were 5.45 that were modified enough to shoot 5.56. "ammunition will always be around," I dont think so! During the frenzy I could buy 5.45 for $40/120 round. 5.56? HAHAHAHA! Over a dollar IF I could find it!!. 5.45 Was cheap(er) and is still cheap. Stock up and before you know it you'll have more than you'll ever need. Right now if I shoot only 5.45 a few hundred rounds every day it will take a very very long time to run out. Besides that Hornady is already making the caliber so there already is a foot in the door. If Russian imports stop you'll see US making it

Edited February 19, 2014 by Arik

[mancat 2,368]

No. Yugoslavia never adopted 5.45x39, so they have no tooling for it. Before they collapsed, Yugoslavia was moving towards joining NATO, and had begun development and migration towards 5.56/7.62 NATO.

[Matthew Hopkins 1,065]

"ammunition will always be around," I dont think so! During the frenzy I could buy 5.45 for $40/120 round. 5.56? HAHAHAHA! Over a dollar IF I could find it!!. 5.45 Was cheap(er) and is still cheap. Stock up and before you know it you'll have more than you'll ever need. Right now if I shoot only 5.45 a few hundred rounds every day it will take a very very long time to run out.

 

 

when I say will be around, I mean it will still be available, since 5.56 is produced here, there is no worry about it all of sudden being cut off, unlike  the cheap surplus 5.45. yeah, .cheap surplus .308 was everywhere also,  do you see them  now?

 

eventually you will run out, and then what will happen to your 5.45 AK, when the cheap surplus runs out as well?

 

I have a 74U I had built in 04, and I have 5.45 stocked piled up where I can also shoot a few hundred rounds a day before I run out a long,  long time from now. but I have seen what happens to surplus, of any  caliber, and they all  go bye-bye eventually, it seems just about the same time your pile dwindles down to a few hundred rounds.

 

 if you have this attitude that it's going to be around forever and cheap, then you are living in a dream world, and have not looked historically what happened to other surplus ammo. . that's why I bought a SLR106UR,

 

so while yours will be hanging on the wall as decoration, I will still be shooting my 5.56 AK.

 

as for the mags. yeah they are picky, but all you need is a few, not a warehouse full. want to know how I can only get by with 6 or 7  mags? I modified a 5.56 BETA CO. speed loader to work on any 5.56 AK mag. the TAPCO GALIL, Bulgarian 5.56,   all the way up to my  modified 74 mags

 

 

since all my 5.56 ammo is on stripper clips, I don't  spend more time loading on the range then shooting

 

want to know another nice thing about a 5.56 AK? make a AK feed tower, put it on a s5.56 BETA DRUM. now that is a high cap mag, baby  . this is the thing that makes liberals piss their pants, "speak in tongues" and go into convulsions, more then would over a 30 round mag   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2014 by Matthew Hopkins

[mancat 2,368]

The 5.56 AKs are not as picky as is believed. There is quite a bit of mag compatibility across the various models.

[Arik 565]

No Tapcos for me, Those are like Jennings of mags. I dont do home built or "modified" either. Not when I have to depend on it. Its either made for or its not. Im not sure how else to explain that. I buy stuff thats proven. The 74 mag in a AK74 is proven. E. European x39 mags are proven, S. Korean are not.....example. I dont spend money to make librals piss their pants. Drums are a bit tacticool boutique. If I had a FA I might want or need one. As it is im pretty good with 30 rounders. They are lighter and easeir to carry. There's a reason most soldiers dont carry betta mags or AK drums.

 

What does a modified loader have to do with how many mags you get by with? So when I need to depend on the rifle and mags AND WHEN I run out of ammo should i ask whomever is shooting at me while i grab a loader and loose rounds to reload the used mags? How about when a few mags break? Loading at the range is irrelevant to me. I load up my mags before I go

 

I see Port surplus 308 at every gun show. $150 for 200 round battle pack.

 

I wont run out of 5.45 unless I start giving away crates. And i seriously doubt that if imports stop there will be no more 5.45. Yes prices go up, they go up on everything.What will happen when the cheap surplus runs out? Same thing that happens with 223. There is no cheap surplus 223/556 but everyone has a rifle in that cal and shoots it lots. So PMC or PPU or whomever will pick up. Right now you can spend $400 and get 2180 rounds. What do you get for $400 in 5.56? You can stock up faster and not need to worry about later.

 

 

Fitting and functioning of mags can be two different stories.

Generally Galil, Valmet, Yugo and Chinese (Norinco and Polytech are also different amongst themselves) are proprietary to their respective rifle "unmodified". Now, I have used Polish, Russian, Bulgarian .223/5.56 mags in a Norinco with no problems but a Norinco steel mag will not back work in the other platforms. Weigers will work in Romanian .223 applications but can be spotty in Bulgarian and Russian rifle because of the bottom trunnion rivets in those rifles.Gail and Bulgarian mags have been modded for Valmet rifles with limited success as you need to know what you are doing in relation to bullet feed angles.I am sure I have missed some examples as the .223/5.56 was not a standardize application amongst the former and current makers of the AK platform. Basically just need to stick with the mags specifically made for your platform for best performance and sanity

[Matthew Hopkins 1,065]

What does a modified loader have to do with how many mags you get by with?

 

it's so you don't have to take a bunch of mags with you to the range, or don't need to buy a warehouse of mags.  just a few, so you can load them faster then with some lever gizmo or by hand.

 

So when I need to depend on the rifle and mags AND WHEN I run out of ammo should i ask whomever is shooting at me while i grab a loader and loose rounds to reload the used mags?

 

 

and in what walter mitty fantasy of yours do you except to be engaging people shooting at you  that you would need a lot of ammo or mags?  black helicopters? the UN or some other fantasy?

Edited February 19, 2014 by Matthew Hopkins

[Arik 565]

The point was that most people get more mags so they have them when needed, not when you are lazy at the range. Otherwise all you really need is one mag. Why would you need more than one mag...."do you except to be engaging people shooting at you that you would need a lot of ammo or mags? black helicopters? the UN or some other fantasy?" Also most people buy firearms for self defance not to just put holes in paper. Since mags break and wear out your "warehouse" gets depleted.