Outside of the Beryls, there's nothing interesting about a 556 AK. 545 has an incredible history, from Afghanistan to Ukraine. No one ever hid under their desk in school worries about dudes with 556 AKs storming the Fulda Gap.

Pretty much how I feel about 5.45 - it's the standard Russian AK caliber and has been for 50 years. There's just a pedigree there that an AK in 5.56 (and frankly, 7.62x39) doesn't have at this point. To me, there is nothing cooler than the AK-74M. It's just as synonymous with "assault rifle" as the M4 is.

Literally as we speak, one of the most intense wars in modern history is taking place in Eastern Ukraine and 5.45x39 is once again doing the lion's share of small arms killing on both sides.

It's just a legendary caliber that has way more interesting history than any other caliber AK in the last 50 years.

I'm also not a high volume shooter either though - I'm perfectly fine owning firearms in calibers that aren't as plentiful and accessible as others. It's not like 5.45 isn't around - there's still shit tons of it available, it's just not as cheap anymore.

I feel the same way about the reproduction STG-44 that PSA plans to bring to market - why the hell would you NOT want it in its original caliber? It's a legendary rifle in a legendary caliber - a caliber which helped change the world. There is nothing cooler than that - not even saving some money on ammo (if you decided to get one in 5.56 or 7.62x39).

To each their own - just how I feel about it personally.

And for the record, I'd love to have an AK-101 clone (specifically the one KUSA is building now) for fun, but I'm also not losing my shit over it like I will be when they finally introduce and sell their 74M clone - way cooler - way more historically significant.

5.56 is the way. Russian ammo is gone along with Chinese. 7.62x39 is very expensive now. 5.56 is still somewhat reasonable. No point in buying a rifle you can't afford the ammo for.

Historically, you are right.

But 5.56 AKs are really fun to shoot.  

I used to be a collector. Had a C&R license and everything. I ended up with too much crap I didn't even like shooting. I sold most of it and now I'm just a shooter. First and foremost I like guns that are fun to shoot.

Lol, times is tough, never thought my modest ammo fort would become a significant part of my net worth, my ammo has gone up more than gold almost over the last few years (and is vastly more useful). Think i'll sell the gold and hold on to the ammo though.

Some day my grandkids will be like "ooh Grandpa, what's that?" And i'll say "That my boy, is the legendary 7.62x39 demon-slayer-soul-taker, and the source of our great power".

Definitely.  You can have a lot of fun with ammo. Gold, not so much.

7.62x39 and 5.45 are dead IMO. My AK's have been collecting dust since COVID, I think I've shot less than 200rds of 7.62 in the past 4yrs. Still sitting on a pile of ammo, but I hate shooting anything I cant replace. Hopefully we'll see imports from other countries in the future, but I doubt any domestically produced 7.62x39 will ever be cheaper than 5.56. And if I'm paying that much it's going to be spent on 5.56.

I need to dust off my 106fr to scratch the itch.

762 was cheap compared to 556 during covid. That's why I got back into them but unfortunately that didn't last long.


I don't see 762 or definitely 545 ever being lower than 556 again. PSA/AAC might make it shootable but I don't think $300 a case is coming back. Brass 556 even if a few bucks more beats anything steel case if we're talking about a 50 dollar difference per case.


I hope I'm wrong

I love shooting mine.. Attached File

I bought two 5.56 AKs from Atlantic already this year!

Then again, I've also bought a 7.62 AK every time I bought a 5.56 AK.

I'm on board. I just can't decide if I want standard mags or the AR15 magazine variant. I did buy some standard Bulgarian mags already either way.

My brutha. The philosophy that has served so many of us so well for so long: GET BOTH!

Absolutely!

I really like my SAM-5 and will soon get a Krink to go with it