Ak 47 or ak 74

D

Danb3387

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I just bought a Wasr 10 the other week. I know what it is and that there are better out there. I'm not too concerned. I was talking to a friend and he said he would sell me his Bulgarian AK 74 side folder for a good price. The only downside is that the 74 is 5.45 and it isn't as available as 7.62. A neighbor said he would buy my 47 for what I paid so that's not an issue. Should I stick with what I have or get the 74?
 
Isn't the commie block going with the 74 now?

They probably spent millions determining what you are trying to do now.
 
Personal preferences.
Do you want to shoot it?
Does it bother you that 5.45 may not be as flush as 7.62. So you may not be able to shoot the 74 while your neighbor could be out popping coke bottles with your Wasr.
 
Check any online ammo vendors for 7.62x39 and 5.45x39 ammo availability, choices and prices.

That should give you some idea of which AK would be the wiser choice.
It seems pretty clear that keeping your WASR would be the best option right now.


The other downside is the side folder isn't legal in this state unless it's pinned (it is pinned... right [wink]), or it's a pre-ban
(note: I have no idea if there is or isn't such a thing as a pre-ban Bulgarian AK 74. Someone else will know).
 
i have more AKs in 5.45 than in any other caliber.
it's good to have at least one in each caliber.
i like AK74M/100 more than any other.

Bulgarian ak74 sidefolders are top-notch guns i would replace wasr with it any time any day even if it's in 5.45

you can always get another wasr there is a sheit-load of them everywhere and those are cheap and cheerful.

i personally had two wasrs and got rid of them both soon after. very low quality guns. the only reason they don't suck because of AK inherit design and forgiveness to loose tolerances and shoddy craftsmanship.

also to those who think 5.45 is a weak round should watch this funny vid

 
Last edited by a moderator:
LoginName said:
Check any online ammo vendors for 7.62x39 and 5.45x39 ammo availability, choices and prices.

That should give you some idea of which AK would be the wiser choice.
It seems pretty clear that keeping your WASR would be the best option right now.


The other downside is the side folder isn't legal in this state unless it's pinned (it is pinned... right [wink]), or it's a pre-ban
(note: I have no idea if there is or isn't such a thing as a pre-ban Bulgarian AK 74. Someone else will know).
Click to expand...

there are pre-ban ak74 mags. not quite as common and widespread as ak47 but available
there are russian and east german orange bakelites that are 100% pre-ban
russian plum are also pre-ban
russian black and multicolor bulgarian standard ak74 pattern are post ban. bulgarian waffle-pattern are post-ban.
steel polish rare but pre-ban.
not sure about chinese bakelites i think those can be both pre and post ban

obviously mags made by US companies like SGM, Tapco are all post-ban, most being late 2000s production
 
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LoginName said:
Check any online ammo vendors for 7.62x39 and 5.45x39 ammo availability, choices and prices.

That should give you some idea of which AK would be the wiser choice.
It seems pretty clear that keeping your WASR would be the best option right now.


The other downside is the side folder isn't legal in this state unless it's pinned (it is pinned... right [wink]), or it's a pre-ban
(note: I have no idea if there is or isn't such a thing as a pre-ban Bulgarian AK 74. Someone else will know).
Click to expand...

5.45 is by no means hard to find round. offerings are solid from many manufacturers. with 7N6 surplus banned i expect to see more commercial 5.45 being imported since before it was hard to compete with 15-17 c/r cost of surplus 5.45

there are several major brands of 5.45. Wolf, Bear, tiger, KSAP, Tulammo, LCW and new guy on the block - Red Army Standard

Red Army Standard is ukrainian made commercial steel cased ammo. deserves special attention for several reaons:
1. it's copper jacketed as oppose to all other imported ammo which is good for your barrel
2. it's made in Ukraine (as well as LWC and some wolf ammo). no need to send your money to Putler
 
Do not buy the 5.45, stick with your 7.62x39 ,

Snartest decision i made was to get rid of my arsenal 5.45
And buy a norinco in 7.62..

So much easier to walk into wall mart and buy tula 7.62 vs corrosive surplus 5.45 or even worse expensive 5.45...

If you want a smaller caliber just buy an AR instead..
 
Queen Bee said:
Do not buy the 5.45, stick with your 7.62x39 ,

Snartest decision i made was to get rid of my arsenal 5.45
And buy a norinco in 7.62..

So much easier to walk into wall mart and buy tula 7.62 vs corrosive surplus 5.45 or even worse expensive 5.45...

If you want a smaller caliber just buy an AR instead..
Click to expand...

I LOL. who uses walmart as a standard on ammo availability?

5.45 is plenty available if you know where to look. 5.45 is a good round though you need to have both 7,62 and 5,45

corrosive surplus vs non-corrosive commercial is no loger relevant 7N6 is done and not coming back in all likelihood.

if i could find well priced arsenal ak74 folder i would buy it. ak74s are great guns.
 
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Queen Bee said:
Do not buy the 5.45, stick with your 7.62x39 ,

Snartest decision i made was to get rid of my arsenal 5.45
And buy a norinco in 7.62..

So much easier to walk into wall mart and buy tula 7.62 vs corrosive surplus 5.45 or even worse expensive 5.45...

If you want a smaller caliber just buy an AR instead..
Click to expand...

5.45x39 is easy to get, cheap and easy to shoot.
 
Danb3387 said:
I just bought a Wasr 10 the other week. I know what it is and that there are better out there. I'm not too concerned. I was talking to a friend and he said he would sell me his Bulgarian AK 74 side folder for a good price. The only downside is that the 74 is 5.45 and it isn't as available as 7.62. A neighbor said he would buy my 47 for what I paid so that's not an issue. Should I stick with what I have or get the 74?
Click to expand...

I would keep the 47 and buy the 74 if possible.
 
personally I would stock up on mags and ammo for the riffle you already have. im my opinion you should have a few thousand rounds on hand if its cheap enough ammo, which 7.62x39 is.

consider this, I only know of one place near me that sells it regularly Both new and surplus, generally it was cheaper but currently 7.62 is cheaper. also with the ammo 5.45 is going to be harder to find in another panic, where every gun shop and major sporting goods store sells 7.62. 74 mags are harder to find and when you do they are going to cost you at least $25 compared to $10-$16 7.62 mags.

just some things to consider and take in, not sure what kind of person you are a casual shooter or a prepper.
 
dnepro-mike said:
i have more AKs in 5.45 than in any other caliber.
it's good to have at least one in each caliber.
i like AK74M/100 more than any other.

Bulgarian ak74 sidefolders are top-notch guns i would replace wasr with it any time any day even if it's in 5.45

you can always get another wasr there is a sheit-load of them everywhere and those are cheap and cheerful.

i personally had two wasrs and got rid of them both soon after. very low quality guns. the only reason they don't suck because of AK inherit design and forgiveness to loose tolerances and shoddy craftsmanship.

also to those who think 5.45 is a weak round should watch this funny vid

Click to expand...



Cool comparison.
 
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Both guns are decent plinkers, I have both. Ammo availability will be likely in favor of 7.62x39... Red army standard is an affiliate of CAI with ammo plants in Bosnia and Ukraine. Ukrainian plant is in Luhansk- Headstamp LU- prime Putlerland and about 50 miles from Grabovo, where Malaysian jet was shot down. Don't think we will see ammo from there any time soon.
 
I flipped a coin and chose 7.62x39. I would like to add a 5.45 (or a 5.56 AK), but 7.62x39 has more options available and available locally.
 
That's again in favor of 7.62x39... More guns available in that caliber- some bolt actions, Ruger mini, SKS... vs 5.45x39 with basically one platform...
 
7.62 has 166 offerings on gd
5.45 has 37

in comparison

223/5,56 has 379 offerings
308 = 156
9mm = 212
45acp = 150
40sw = 138

given that 6.62 and 5.45 are non-native all import rounds number of offerings isn't bad. especially if you compare it to 'local' true niche calibers:

30-30 = 19
45-70 = 12
45lc = 25

5.45 actually has same ammount of offerings as 300AAC blackout (300aac=38)


as i said, we should will see more 5.45 trickling in as 7n6 surplus gives way to commercial 5.45 ammo which now it'll be somewhat competing against .223/5.56 in the assault rifle category. where before it was competing against very inexpensive 7n6. i suspect we might see rise in popularity of 5.45 over next 2-3 years. there are number of outfiters and builders started to offer 5.45 AKs, mags are getting cheaper (new not surplus) and prices on guns getting pretty low.

and since
Russian Aggression Prevention Act: U.S. Declares Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova Major Non-NATO Allies
Click to expand...
i suspect we soon *might* see those three states start rearming to NATO standards and as a result have tons of surplus to offer. i hope. if it's in fact becomes a reality we will have a lot more 5.45 and ak74 kits start to trickle in. sonce all three are currently armed with ak74s as standard mil issue weapon. also PKMs, x54r, surplus Makarovs which all be russian made and C&R compatible. we'll see, we'll see
 
I think I may hold on to the 47 for now. I'll be getting some extra money soon so I'll also get the 74. I'm just looking for more toys. I'm not really looking for something compareable to 5.56 as I have 2 AR's. The 74 isn't goin anywhere. He said he would hold it.
 
A few things to consider:
1. Online vendors are selling commercial 7.62x39 and 5.45x39 at about the same price, $.24 per round before shipping. There's plenty of both out there as long as you have a friend in a free state that it can be shipped to.
2. 7N6 is still available for around $240 per tin, or $.22 per round. It is corrosive, so cleaning is required after each range trip.
3. 5.45 shoots flatter and is, in general, more accurate. You'll notice a big difference between a WASR and Bulgy 74 in the accuracy department.
4. To me, 5.45 is just more fun to shoot. When I bring an AKM and 74 to the range, the 74 gets far more use.
 
maybe give me your friends contact, if you change your mind about it i'd be glad to pickup another ak74. always wanted to have a bulgy 5.45 folder. is it skeleton 74-style or solid polymer 100-series style??

if for someone ak74 consideration comes down to mag availability you can use standard ar mags filled to 27 or 28 round capacity. assuming of course you have installed AK to AR mag conversion extension. i know it's not the most desirable way to do it, but for the range runs it's good enough
 
paulleve said:
A few things to consider:
1. Online vendors are selling commercial 7.62x39 and 5.45x39 at about the same price, $.24 per round before shipping. There's plenty of both out there as long as you have a friend in a free state that it can be shipped to.
2. 7N6 is still available for around $240 per tin, or $.22 per round. It is corrosive, so cleaning is required after each range trip.
3. 5.45 shoots flatter and is, in general, more accurate. You'll notice a big difference between a WASR and Bulgy 74 in the accuracy department.
4. To me, 5.45 is just more fun to shoot. When I bring an AKM and 74 to the range, the 74 gets far more use.
Click to expand...

all good points.

7n6 while still available is no longer 17c/r shipped. it will soon dry up give it couple of month.
i do shoot 5.45 a lot more than 7.62x39 in part because it was cheaper and in part because that's what i know, that's what i trained on back in the homeland. all women in my family like 5.45 more than 7.62 as well. corrosive is an issue but only when you are lazy. i have a 'squirty bottle' in my range bag which makes flushing out corrosive residue a breeze. then wipe dry and oil. no big deal.
 
dnepro-mike said:
there are pre-ban ak74 mags. not quite as common and widespread as ak47 but available
there are russian and east german orange bakelites that are 100% pre-ban
Click to expand...

Some idiot at the range(Didn't ask his NES screen name) asked me what kind of mags I had..I told him they were E German...Then he asked me if they were pre-ban..

This guy was over 30 years old too.
 
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Queen Bee said:
Do not buy the 5.45, stick with your 7.62x39 ,

Snartest decision i made was to get rid of my arsenal 5.45
And buy a norinco in 7.62..

So much easier to walk into wall mart and buy tula 7.62 vs corrosive surplus 5.45 or even worse expensive 5.45...

If you want a smaller caliber just buy an AR instead..
Click to expand...

The corrosive aspect of cheap 5.45 was what turned me off of the 74. I understand that the classic 74 break has nooks and crannies that can build up carbon and there's places where rust can hide. I didn't want to deal with trying to clean the pinned brake, and the 47 non-corrosive ammo is plentiful and cheap enough. Plus there's the punch of the 30cal round. I can use my AR for the smaller 5.45 feel.
 
goodzilla said:
The corrosive aspect of cheap 5.45 was what turned me off of the 74. I understand that the classic 74 break has nooks and crannies that can build up carbon and there's places where rust can hide. I didn't want to deal with trying to clean the pinned brake, and the 47 non-corrosive ammo is plentiful and cheap enough. Plus there's the punch of the 30cal round. I can use my AR for the smaller 5.45 feel.
Click to expand...

ak74 are brakes are chrome-lined on the inside. if you are flushing with water anyways this shouldn't be a problem
 
Queen Bee said:
Do not buy the 5.45, stick with your 7.62x39 ,

Snartest decision i made was to get rid of my arsenal 5.45
And buy a norinco in 7.62..

So much easier to walk into wall mart and buy tula 7.62 vs corrosive surplus 5.45 or even worse expensive 5.45...

If you want a smaller caliber just buy an AR instead..
Click to expand...
Walmarts don't sell ammo around here. And I have 4 AR's. Last thing I need is another one.
 

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