5.56X45 AKs in military service

[Iraqgunz]

The company I worked for in Iraq purchased 1500 or so of the 5.56 fixed stock AK's from Bulgaria. We issued them to the TCN guards on various contracts. They were pretty good performers for the most part, but they did suffer from some reliability issues.

These were factory Arsenal weapons with factory magazines.

[Tex]

Russia-Indonesia,May 2001.Contract for delivery of 5 000 AK-101 and AK-102 assault rifles.

Source:http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/1-2002/ff/icdrame/

[gillian_seed]

Even more fantastic replies, m4c never fail to disappoint!

calvin118: You make a lot of great points. I knew about the non-standardization, but I didn't realize the extent of how annoying magazines could be (specifically the part about individually fitting magazines, that sounds like a real chore. Do you run into fitting issues if you only use Bulgarian magazines in a Bulgarian gun)? Maybe I'll opt for a 7.62 AK instead.

Tex: Those are some great pictures, thanks for posting. It looks like the smoky clear magazines are getting some usage against terrorist scumbags. I wonder if they're still using those 101's and 102's today.

Iraqgunz: Do you remember what reliability issues they experienced specifically, and how prevalent they were? Broken parts, FTF's, FTE's, Double feeds? It's concerning to me that they were using factory weapons with factory magazines and still having problems.

Thanks again guys for the great information, aside from the outstanding photographs, this thread is helping me shape my decision for my future purchase. Keep it coming!

[xrayoneone]

Doesn't South Africa still issue the R4? I know it's a Galil but I don't know how technical you want to be regarding the 5.56 AK.

[MilitaryArms]

Bulgarians use 5.56 AK's.
This is one of the most famous pics

I'm curious who the soldier carrying the red plastic rifle pissed off.

I'm with the previous poster, my experiences with 5.56mm AK's has been less than impressive with the exception of the Israeli Galil and Valmet M76's. I've seen plenty of failures that I don't believe should have happened with the Arsenal rifles too, and I'm a fan of Arsenal AK in general.

I have no experience with the Beryl. Unfortunately they're made of unobtainium here in the US.

I own a lot of AK's but I don't have any 5.56mm AK's anymore. I've given up on them and stick with what has worked for me and that's the 7.62x39 and 5.45x39 rifles.

[CumbiaDude]

For several years the Army of Uruguay has been using AK-101s for their peacekeeping operations in Congo. These are 5.56 caliber full-size AK-100 series.

Looks like they just made a deal to purchase 500 103s, however, so doesn't look like they're going to switch to all 5.56 any time soon.

The thing to remember about 5.56 AKs is it's not as easy to get magazines. It's not as easy as 7.62 mags, where you can get mags from a dozen or more countries, or even 5.45 mags where there are at least five. 5.56 options are very limited when it comes to quality, military magazines.

[calvin118]

calvin118: You make a lot of great points. I knew about the non-standardization, but I didn't realize the extent of how annoying magazines could be (specifically the part about individually fitting magazines, that sounds like a real chore. Do you run into fitting issues if you only use Bulgarian magazines in a Bulgarian gun)? Maybe I'll opt for a 7.62 AK instead.

Most of the magazine problems that I know about are with converted Saiga .223's and older Chinese guns. That said, I have heard many complaints regarding SLR-106 rifles and I would have a lot more faith in a BCM 16" middy than a SLR-106 chosen at random. A factory Galil with factory magazines might be a different story, but good luck finding one for a reasonable price or fitting it with modern accessories.

The issue is not the theoretical capability of an AK in 5.56, but rather the selection and price points we are faced with in the US in 2011. There are no more factory 5.56 guns on the market, and many of the used ones (which fetch an inflated price on the secondary market) face an uncertain future in terms of replacement parts availability.

I was once really stoked about getting an AK in 5.56 too, but after studying the issue determined that it wasn't worth it (for me). If you have your heart set on an AK, choose between the two major Russian calibers. Get a 7.62x39 if you don't like cleaning your gun, want to hunt with it, or think for whatever reason you might have to shoot through intermediate barriers. Get a 5.45x39 if you want to save money, don't mind scrubbing out your gun every time you shoot cheap corrosive ammo, and dislike recoil.

[montrala]

I have no experience with the Beryl. Unfortunately they're made of unobtainium here in the US.

It is very close to wz.88 Tantal - basically Beryl was designed on top of Tantal to standardize on NATO cartridge. Tantal were newer AK74 - it was developed based on projects for AKMS wz. 80 (AKMS with burst trigger) and Lantan (prototype 7x41mm rifle)

Then some modernizations in form on new stocks, rails, scope mounts, handguards, enhanced safety, etc. and lately STANAG magazine adapter was developed. Lack of compatibility with STANAG magazine was seen as one of biggest Beryl drawbacks in scope of presence of Polish forces in Iraq and A-stan, especially with joint operations with US or other NATO forces.

Beryl is in use mostly in Polish Army, some small numbers were used by Lithuania SOF in A-Stan until some 2002 or little later.

[gillian_seed]

I think you guys have effectively persuaded my away from a 5.56 AK.

MilitaryArms: First of all, I want to say that I highly respect your opinion and thoroughly enjoy your youtube videos (please keep em' coming)! The fact that you don't own any more 5.56 AKs speaks volumes to me.

CumbiaDude & calvin118: Sustainability really does seem like a valid problem with 5.56 AKs. The points both of you bring up make sense to me.

I think for now I'll choose an AK in 7.62 or 5.45 (in one of Arsenal's flavors) and maybe pick up a Beryl one day if they ever come to the states, just for a fun gun.

Finally, thanks again to everyone for posting such fantastic content. Before starting this thread I searched google for reliable information regarding the military fielding of the 5.56 AK. And this thread has answered all of my questions and given me very cool pictures to look at. I'm truly grateful!

[BaronFitz]

I figured I'd add my two cents...

I have an Arsenal SLR-106F (with the side-folding AK-100 series stock) that I've owned for a year and change now. I recently ran it through a Vickers AK operator course, and had very good results with it.

A few thoughts, in a semi-organized fashion:

-- The recoil is quite mild compared to the 7.62 "original recipe", and ammo is arguably pretty easy to come by. The barrel is 1/7 twist, chrome-lined, cold-hammer forged, which is what you would expect from a good M4 type. The muzzle brake smooths the already easy recoil even further (but doesn't do much for flash when shooting full powered 5.56). It is exceedingly accurate if you do your part...probably moreso than the 7.62 version.

-- Larry Vickers says to get a Galil or Valmet if you want a 5.56 AK, and with some justification. The 5.56 cartridge is much straighter and less tapered than either 7.62x39 or 5.45x39, and requires a decent feed ramp to chamber reliably. Early Arsenals (mine included) had no feed ramp to speak of. Mine failed to feed properly as a result. It took a trip back to Arsenal and a subsequent tune-up trip to VA Arms to get my feed ramp in 100% shape. After that, it's been 100% reliable.

-- Mags aren't exactly cheap for 5.56 AKs. If you're running an Arsenal (and that's the only one you should consider really for a 5.56 gun) you'll need to grab some Bulgarian Circle 10 mags from k-var.com or whoever happens to have them locally. You're looking at ~ $30 per mag on average. The black mags are the way to go for reliability. The clear ones look really cool and have the added advantage of a quick visual on your round count, but aren't as durable. Some of mine have developed cracks...I intend to run them until failure and replace with black mags.

-- You mentioned that you want to reload. I've noticed that my 106 tends to ding and deform brass in one way or another, probably due to the feed geometry. Parts are also rather hard to come by... I have no spare firing pins or extractors on hand for the 106 at the moment, though I'm told that k-var has them if you call.

All that said, I'm holding onto my 106. Once I gutted it out through the feeding issues, it's been a 100% reliable gun, and it's a lot of fun. Having had time to wring it out, I'd trust it just as much as my BCM if I had to grab up a personal long gun to take into harm's way. As long as you're cognizant of the ups and downs of the 5.56 guns and know what you're getting into, they can be quite nice.