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Posted: 4/19/2017 9:46:06 PM EDT
| The ballistic advantage of the 5.45x39 has got me very interested in a upper in this caliber, but from searching around for uppers seems like all the manufactures all jumped ship and stopped producing them. Was the 5.45x39 upper an unreliable POS? I know supposedly the Pmag mod on standard AR mags cured a lot of problems for feeding and the dedicated bolt/firing pin/extra power springs cured the ignition problems from what little info I found on the net and I know ammo prices have gone up, but is there another reason? |
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I used quality parts and its a dirty pig. At around 250rds it doesnt want to go into battery anymore. More lube will keep it running another 100rds or so but you got a shitshow on your hands when you get home. Everytime I clean it I think it wasnt worth the money I saved on all that 7N6.
AR Performance barrel ARP bolt PSA premium carrier VLTOR MUR upper PRI gas buster ch |
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Built an 11.5 SBR in 5.45 recently. Used Voodoo Innovations barrel and bolt. Put an SLR adj gas block on to reduce gas back into the receiver.
Runs great! All of my 5.45 uppers work. I built two using AK74 barrels, and have an S&W 5.45 along with a Spike's upper. Good thing I bought case after case after case back when the surplus was cheap! I really want to grab an AA 7.5" piston upper, but six uppers in 5.45 is a bit much. |
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I really like mine.
I don't have any issues with running it or cleaning it. I have the cleaning routine down anyway and use Ballistol to avoid corrosion. I bought the ammo when it was dirt cheap and can hand folks 30 rounds at a time without blinking an eye. The daughters sit in a chair and blast away, while dad doesn't worry about ammo costs. Anyone who picks this rig up starts grinning from ear to ear and can't put it down. The last administration used excuses to ban importation because of the conflicts over in the Comm Block. I think it would be politically difficult to reverse those bans any time soon, even with a favorable administration. That cheap center fire ammo may not come back into the supply here. Unless someone thinks of a way to move it to non-ban countries and then get around the bans. I would wonder about starting this now unless you already have the ammo stacked. No regrets on my part. |
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Quoted:
First post nailed it. I have had 3 5.45 uppers, all of them ran fine. Sub 10 cent ammo made them popular, without that, there are much better options. I wouldn't worry about the upper, but there is no "ballistic advantage" to the 5.45 over a 5.56 gun. |
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Quoted:
From what I've read/seen so far the 5.45 is superior due to the fact that 5.45 will tumble sooner and more reliably vs the 5.56. Also the barrier penetration is greater between the 2 cartridges. Thanks for all replies If you are chasing "poison bullet" hype, you are chasing a marketing myth. |
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Would a piston kit help with the fouling? Or would it just promote corrosion of the piston? Assuming corrosive ammo of course. And that makes a huge difference, especially shooting suppressed. |
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You can read lots of things on the interwebs. I have shot at least 100 animals with each, you can't tell the difference between M193 and 7n6. But you can tell a LOT of difference between good bullets (Gold Dots, TSX, etc.) and 7n6/M193, especially when it comes to consistency. If you are chasing "poison bullet" hype, you are chasing a marketing myth. |
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The poison bullet allure did have me considering building it especially in a pistol configuration I bought a pile of AK74s and 5.45 uppers when you could get 7N6 under 10cents per round delivered. I'm still sitting on around 10k rounds of the stuff, but I pretty much only burn it up training. |
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Quoted:
Then don't waste your time. M193 and 7N6 are pretty stinking close in terminal ballistics. If you buy a decent bullet, the 556 beats the 5.45 hands down. That's before you factor in issues like mag/ammo availability/commonality. When I carried a 5.45 AR in the truck, I was always worried about getting a mag/ammo mixed up, especially if there was a 'situation'. I bought a pile of AK74s and 5.45 uppers when you could get 7N6 under 10cents per round delivered. I'm still sitting on around 10k rounds of the stuff, but I pretty much only burn it up training. |
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