View Full Version : Alexander Arms bringing back 5.45x39mm ARs
Spoke with Bill Alexander at SHOT today. He said he was going to bring back his 5.45x39mm AR uppers. So, for all of you looking to be able to shoot all of that super inexpensive Com Bloc 5.45 surplus on the market there will be an AR to do it in. Said he was going to see about getting a high capacity AR mag produced in 5.45...
what do you guys think, with surplus 5.45 7N6 running like $129 per 1,000 rounds, does a 5.45 AR upper interest you at all??
A62Rambler
02-03-08, 07:21
Well let's see here. It's going to be made by Alexander arms so it will cost a fortune to buy and it will be a licensed design so no competition to make the prices more reasonable. The magazines once again will be expensive like Grendel or Beowolf magazines. By the time you invest all that money, that cheap surplus ammo will not look so cheap. Then after the cheap surplus runs dry you can't really find components to reload it and no factory ammo or very expensive ammo is the only alternative. I don't think that would create much incentive for me to buy one. :rolleyes:
dunno, his 6.5mm 16 inch Grendel uppers only cost like $575.
So if they cost about the same............
why would it be an exclusive?? Bill didn't design the cartridge, any AR manufacturer can build a 5.45 gun, just nobody has bothered....
when the surplus ammo dries up, you will still be able to buy inexpensive factory fresh Wolf 5.45 FMJs and HP-BTs like you can now, along with Barnaul from Zanders
It would compliment my AK74 nicely:D
A62Rambler
02-03-08, 19:36
Gunwriter,
I re-read my post and it sounded harsh which it was not meant to be. I was actually trying to find a way to say that for the cost of the upper you could buy a cheap AK74 and ammo. If it is trying to appel to the poor or probably more appropriate cheap bas... guys like me, I don't think it will go over well. Now if he's bringing out a high end upper to appeal to those who will pay for quality then it might sell to them. I don't know, I'm not one of them. I am slow to jump on any caliber that isn't available from us ammo companies or uses readily available components for reloading. A gun with no ammo is an expensive club. :D
Cool.
Another tool in the tool box. The 5.45 does have a following with the AK crowd. It is a neat round that might be great in an SBR.
I am not sure how much you will save in cheap ammo after buying $600 upper.
Said he was going to see about getting a high capacity AR mag produced in 5.45...
Will they not fit in a standard 30rnd 5.56 mag? I thought that they would...If the 5.45 will load in a 5.56 mag and I could get a barrel and bolt for $350 or less, I'd definitely consider it, but I'm just looking at it from the cheaper ammo aspect of it
I really like the idea, and think the 5.45 would be a cool setup in an SBR, as the tapered case would seem to aid reliability on the otherwise hard-extracting shorties.
The only potential problem would be future ammo availability. With com-bloc Kalashnikov ammo, it's either feast or famine. We're enjoying some incredibly cheap surplus right now, but I fear that we may be looking back in a few years, fantasizing about when 1,080 rds of 7N6 was $130.
Will they not fit in a standard 30rnd 5.56 mag? I thought that they would...If the 5.45 will load in a 5.56 mag and I could get a barrel and bolt for $350 or less, I'd definitely consider it, but I'm just looking at it from the cheaper ammo aspect of it
I've loaded ~20 rounds of 5.45 into a standard GI 30rd M-16 mag, and I didn't see any glaring issue that wouldn't make it functional. 5.56 AKs will typically feed 5.56 out of a 5.45 mag, as long as you download the mag 5-10 rds. Who knows, though? If AA is making a proprietary mag, there's probably a reason.
rubberneck
02-05-08, 11:14
The only potential problem would be future ammo availability. With com-bloc Kalashnikov ammo, it's either feast or famine. We're enjoying some incredibly cheap surplus right now, but I fear that we may be looking back in a few years, fantasizing about when 1,080 rds of 7N6 was $130.
At that point who cares. I don't mean to sound flippant but after a couple thousand rounds the upper has paid for itself and you have gotten to train more than you would have otherwise.
I've been looking around for a while for someone to build a barrel/bolt/mags in 5.45 for the AR. It probably wouldn't take much for Magpul to do up the mag/follower. I'd also like to see the mags get finished up in 7.62x39 as I believe LMT has already done the development for a barrel and bolt in 7.62x39 for the MRP.
At that point who cares. I don't mean to sound flippant but after a couple thousand rounds the upper has paid for itself and you have gotten to train more than you would have otherwise.
Very true. Assuming you're going to buy and shoot 5,000 rounds, the cost savings is pretty substantial:
5,000 rds. PRVI Partizan 55gr. M193 @ $325/1K = $1,625 + shipping.
5,400 rds. combloc surplus 7N6 @ $129/1080 = $645 + shipping.
Ammo savings = $980.
Assuming the 5.45 upper will run ~$700 (liberal estimate), then after 5,000 rounds, you've:
1. Paid for your new 5.45 upper
2. Got 'paid' $280 (plus 400 more rounds) to train.
ETA: maybe I should have used Wolf .223 for the comparison, but I wanted to compare mil-spec vs. mil-spec ammo in the respective calibers. With 55gr. Wolf .223 @ $270/1K, you'll have an ammo savings of around $700 (plus 400 more rounds) after 5,000 rounds of training.
I guess you'd also have to take into account that the 5.45 will be corrosive, and thus require more careful maintenance than comparable 5.56.
Ya know, I was just talking with afriend the other day about this very round in an ar upper. I absolutely love this round in comparison to the .223 . If it's built, I will buy. If it can use .223 mags with different followers it would be a plus.
S&W already offering uppers in 5.45 x 39: http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=11101&langId=-1&productId=73942&tabselected=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=33803
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.