Where are the 5.45 ak's?

Atlantic has a few. K-Var has a few 104 variants in stock. Your best bet is GunBroker and the private/secondhand market, or build your own.

The 7N6 ban was a death knell in a lot of ways. Not nearly the number of nations that made/make 5.45 as did/do 7.62. Commercial offerings, while available, are much fewer and farther between. Also, nearly all factory import guns have dried up for a variety of reasons over the past few years. Supply and demand, dude! For every 100 7.62x39 AKs out there, there probably are only one or two in 5.45x39.

I ignored 5.45 for the past decade+, and only finally got into it in the past year or so. I've definitely paid dearly for this new hobby/passion/obsession, but I have managed to score a few deals along the way.

Deals are out there. You just need to be patient, shrewd, and be ready to throw down some big bucks on a package deal and resell the stuff you don't need. Or, you know, just go full retard: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/775608177
 
In all fairness, that's not your typical 5.45 gun, it's a factory built Russian RPK, and that particular gun is one of only about 20 that made it into the US. Most of the 5.45 rpks you run across are either bulgarian ones built from kits or a verp IV that's had a barrel/bolt swapped out from 5.56. That one is going very high because it's got collectors bidding on it looking to fill a hole in their collection. 5.45 rpks are just crazy priced because there are so few over there. Just the barrel alone to build one is $1,000 and they're hard to find. You can pick up a Bulgarian one for ~2500 for a fixed stock and ~3000 if you look.

7n6 getting banned did hurt the popularity of the caliber, but there is still plenty of commercial stuff getting in, SGAmmo has it and it sells for a comparable cost per round to 5.56. 7.62 is still the cheapest to shoot, cheapest mags, etc out there.

There's several runs of Aims74 clones out there, I'd look at one of them, they'll take standard akm stocks/etc so easy to mod if you're going tactical.
 
Guns, parts, and ammo are generally more expensive and harder to find than x39 stuff.

From what I understand most of the AK builders in the states build them using demilled parts kits they import from Europe. The surplus of x39 stuff was coming over as nations switched over to 5.45 or away from the AK platfom. Selling off the x39s they stored in armories to exporters who demilled them. With Russian aggression in the most of the users of the AK platform aren't looking to get rid of guns.
 
Most of the 5.45 stuff you see being brought in lately is from countries that switched over to nato calibers, Poland and Romania to name the biggest 2. Bulgarian kits flooded the market for years but they've slowed down and are starting to get spendy. RGuns still have Izzy kits, but they're all 87 or 88 year models so they'd went to press punched parts, so it's a bigger pain to demill and build them to look right.

7.62 mags are going up. Most of the importers are claiming there's very little surplus left in countries that it can be brought in from, new production mags like the newer Coation, and Bulgarian mags are available, but they're $20 a mag. Right now one of the better deals I know is through AOA and they're $14 a mag.

If you're into AKs you want to get whatever you want now while it's generally readily available, alot of stuff has already dried up.
 
A bit off topic, but the Croatian maple leaf 7.62 mags are $10.95 at AIM. Free VZ pouch if you buy four. I don't personally care for them, but they work for some as-is, and for most with a touch or two of a file.

Now 5.45 mags, on the other hand...
PMAGs are fine, but I like metal.

Edit - well, bakelite and Bulgy polymer is dandy, too.
 
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5.45 AK74 is likely my next big buy. Been reading up for a week or so and it seems like the best and nearly only options for a a good gun are pay a lot for one or pay less but still too much to have one built by a reputable builder from parts kits. Sucks because I'd like to have an 8-9" barrel one and the sourcing plus form 1 process before then having it built seems like a pain in the penis and something that will take a long time.
 
I like the Arsenal SLR-104FR. I don't shoot it as much as I should but its not going anywhere anytime soon.
 
wvsig said:
I like the Arsenal SLR-104FR. I don't shoot it as much as I should but its not going anywhere anytime soon.
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And they're no longer imported so your choices to get one are GunBroker, Armslist, or your local forums!
 
JRHorne said:
And they're no longer imported so your choices to get one are GunBroker, Armslist, or your local forums!
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Or just look in the safe.... ;) They are out there.
 
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JRHorne said:
5.45 AK74 is likely my next big buy. Been reading up for a week or so and it seems like the best and nearly only options for a a good gun are pay a lot for one or pay less but still too much to have one built by a reputable builder from parts kits. Sucks because I'd like to have an 8-9" barrel one and the sourcing plus form 1 process before then having it built seems like a pain in the penis and something that will take a long time.
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What are you leaning toward? There are still quite a few decent deals out there, especially in the private market. Everything from higher end Arsenals and Veprs (I've seen some solid package deals if you have the coin to pick up gun, mags, and ammo all at once) to lower end but still reliable WASR-2s. Speaking of Romanian, the earlier Ratmil imports can still be found for good prices because they aren't as familiar to a lot of folks. Just stay away from the Waffen Weeks and the other notable lemons.

Only thing that really stinks about 5.45 is the surplus mag prices. Commercial ammo is not nearly as common as 7.62x39 but it's still readily available.
 
I'm thinking VEPR or that Arsenal 104FR is what I'd really like. I also want to do the 104UR and file paper work to take it to 8.5" barrel.
 
JRHorne said:
I'm thinking VEPR or that Arsenal 104FR is what I'd really like. I also want to do the 104UR and file paper work to take it to 8.5" barrel.
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:cool: Smart choice!

I have a 104UR that was professionally barrel chopped and recrowned, and now rocks a pinned & welded faux suppressor until I talk myself into submitting the paperwork. It's a dang hoot, man! You won't be disappointed at all.
 
IUHoosier429 said:
:cool: Smart choice!

I have a 104UR that was professionally barrel chopped and recrowned, and now rocks a pinned & welded faux suppressor until I talk myself into submitting the paperwork. It's a dang hoot, man! You won't be disappointed at all.
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Who did your work?
 
20180912_004439.jpg I have a nib 5.45 Siaga done by Fime in Vegas one of the last ones. Red one in the middle to lazy to get up for a better picture.
 
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jmccracken1214 said:
Just checked ammo prices. Basically the same as the x39. Outside of the minor recoil difference, is there any reason to get a 545 over the x39 ak?
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For me it’s more for cool commie factor. My 5.45 has dramatically less recoil than the 7.62.

5.45 obviously has drawbacks compared to 7.62 or even 5.56. Very few ammo options and all are imported. But while that ammo is still available, it’s affordable and fun to shoot.
 
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WadeWatts said:
For me it’s more for cool commie factor. My 5.45 has dramatically less recoil than the 7.62.

5.45 obviously has drawbacks compared to 7.62 or even 5.56. Very few ammo options and all are imported. But while that ammo is still available, it’s affordable and fun to shoot.
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Outdoor limited, where I get my ammo anyways has a crap ton of wolf 545 on their site for 22 cent
 
5.45x39 rifles are out there. One source is www.legionusa.com, another is K-VAR.com, both of whom still have some new Vepers and K-VAR also has Arsenal SLR 104s. Like many, I came to the 5.45x39 rather late but it quickly became a favorite!
 
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