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<blockquote data-quote="Perplexed" data-source="post: 2349970" data-attributes="member: 7157">I&#039;ve had three AR uppers chambered for 5.45x39, and soon will be getting an AK-74 in the same caliber, for the reason you mentioned - the milsurp ammo is cheap.&nbsp; Just keep in mind it&#039;s also corrosive and quite dirty, which is why it&#039;s cheap, so you&#039;ll need to be careful to clean your rifle ASAP after a range session.&nbsp; The bullet is essentially a jacketed steel rod with a hollow pocket in the tip, so the bullet tends to yaw when it hits a solid object.&nbsp; Ballistically, it&#039;s somewhat like the 5.56 round; at close range, it might have more penetrating power, as there&#039;s a YouTube video showing a test between an AR15 and an AK74.&nbsp; In the test, they fired a single round from each rifle at a series of spaced wood boards held in a frame; I don&#039;t recall the exact distance, but it was probably no more than 10 yards.&nbsp; The 5.56 round penetrated eight or nine boards before being stopped; the 5.45 round went through 12 boards while yawing, and it chipped the 13th board on its way out of the frame.&nbsp; On the other hand, it might not be as effective at the max ranges of the 5.56 round.&nbsp; I had trouble knocking over steel silhouettes at 300 yards, and found I really could do that only if I hit the upper part of the targets.&nbsp; With a 5.56 M4gery, I generally had no trouble knocking over the same targets no matter where I hit them.That&#039;s just my experience though;&nbsp; YMMV.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Perplexed, post: 2349970, member: 7157"] I've had three AR uppers chambered for 5.45x39, and soon will be getting an AK-74 in the same caliber, for the reason you mentioned - the milsurp ammo is cheap. Just keep in mind it's also corrosive and quite dirty, which is why it's cheap, so you'll need to be careful to clean your rifle ASAP after a range session. The bullet is essentially a jacketed steel rod with a hollow pocket in the tip, so the bullet tends to yaw when it hits a solid object. Ballistically, it's somewhat like the 5.56 round; at close range, it might have more penetrating power, as there's a YouTube video showing a test between an AR15 and an AK74. In the test, they fired a single round from each rifle at a series of spaced wood boards held in a frame; I don't recall the exact distance, but it was probably no more than 10 yards. The 5.56 round penetrated eight or nine boards before being stopped; the 5.45 round went through 12 boards while yawing, and it chipped the 13th board on its way out of the frame. On the other hand, it might not be as effective at the max ranges of the 5.56 round. I had trouble knocking over steel silhouettes at 300 yards, and found I really could do that only if I hit the upper part of the targets. With a 5.56 M4gery, I generally had no trouble knocking over the same targets no matter where I hit them. That's just my experience though; YMMV. [/QUOTE]

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