new sorce for 5.45 ammo?

I just looked over the new SGN and there was a fortner art. compairing the akm to the vz. in that art. there a refrince to hornady ammo in 7.62 that should be out now. the better news is that they should be releasing their version of the 5.45 soon. things might be lookin up if this all pans out. muttman

Seems like the advantage to 5.45 has always been cheap price of surplus ammo. Hornaday ammo will be full retail, especially if part of their TAP line. Might be good for serious work, but would put a dent in the pocket book for just plinking.

Ed

I always get a chuckle out of Fortier's articles (I met the guy before, nice dude.) He hunches all up when he shoots (that's gotta cause a kink in his back sooner or later) and always wears some kind of goofy outfit to go with the rifle.

I just bought a tin (1080) from Copes for $150 and $19 shipping.

yes ther is cheep surpluss out there, but one of the bigest draw back to the -74 is ammo and price and if the law should change with the curent admin. in power. now that s/w have made an AR in 5.45 there should be a reloading parts ( bullets) still no brass but I wont need to get a bullet swager to make bullets the brass I can fireform .222 reminton and trim. the main thing is there is a opitions now other than mil surlpus and wolfe. muttman

How does 5.45 perform compared to 5.56? Is it as fast? Does it have similar ballistics? I know the case is shorter, but it seems wider, so does it hold the same amount of powder?

Ed

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seems like the 5.45 dominates in that video. <---lol no need to start that argument. Wish I knew Japanese.

agreed.

the intent of the 5.45 was to compet with the 5.56. the russians did a good job. muttman

If you're talking military ammo, as far as I know the two different rounds are "close". The military 5.45 with 53gn FMJ, depending on who you talk to, averages about 2950fps at the muzzle, compared to 3250 for U.S. M193 55gn ammo. The Soviet 5.45 came out before the M885/SS109 ammo, and should be compared to the M193 55gn ammo. The U.S. M193 fragments rather quickly after impact, especially at close range. This creates an overall larger wound channel/track. The Soviet 5.45 was designed to be effective on light armor as well as personnel, so it was designed with the steel penetrator core. Normally a round with a penetrator core like this would just punch straight through personnel without much damage. The Soviets compensated for this by placing the steel penetrator core at the extreme rear of the bullet. This resulted in an air pocket ahead of it within the bullet's jacket. Upon impact the bullet would exhibit "hollow-point" - like behaviour with the air space opening up. Didn't always do this, but, with the steel penetrator core being located so far aft (rear) it caused the bullet to start to tumble shortly after impact. In Afghanistan, this exhibited wounds similar to what the M193 produced but on a significantly smaller scale.

Theres different versions of 5,45. you got your 7n6,7n24 etc.

construction changed over the years to yield greater penetration.



As body armor saw increasing use in Western militaries, bullet construction was changed several times to compensate. In 1987 a steel rod in the original 7N6 bullets was hardened to 60 HRC. In 1992 the size of the steel penetrator was increased and the lead plug in front of it discarded. This bullet was designated 7N10 "improved penetration". In 1994 the 7N10 design was improved by filling the air space with lead. Upon impacting a hard target, soft lead is pressed sideways by the steel penetrator, its hydrostatic pressure tearing the jacket. The 7N22 armour-piercing bullet, introduced in 1998, has a sharp-pointed steel penetrator and retaining the soft lead plug in the nose for jacket discarding. [4] The recent 7N24 "super-armor-piercing" bullet has a penetrator made of tungsten carbide.


I hear that the ap stuff is really hard to come by here, not many collectors can get thier hands on it.. some of it is scarce in the motherland as well i would expect.

i just wish we could get tracers!