I have toyed with getting an AK in 5.56 since I reload. I don’t reload 7.62x39. I have also heard the .223 versions are fairly good for accuracy. But I have heard that they are not that reliable. IS there a .223 Ak that is reliable and what do you guys recommend. Just curious.
Pat
There is one major problem with AK chambered in 5.56 - there is no universal standard. So often Bulgarian mags won’t work well with East German rifles, &c.
My experience with the Arsenal SLR-106F is quite good, but some others here had problems with the early versions. The milled Arsenals and Chinese folders have earned good marks on the forums.
I have one (SLR-106F) just because I got a good deal on it. If I want to shoot 5.56 I tend to pick up an AR-style rifle.
You may not want to bother doing all the trial-and-error work to figure it out. FWIW, most are 1/7 twist, since most were designed post-Cold War.
Shrug.
M_P
I have had nothing but success with my Arsenal SAM-5 not a single malfunction I can remember, shots very well a little bit on the heavy side though, I also have about 20 bulgarian mags for the weapon and do not plan to purchase any more at the current price.
i have a Arsenal 106F and love it, no problems whatsoever
double post
While not a true AK, the Finnish Valmet is an excellent rifle in this chambering.
Most of the reliability problems (unless we’re talking the Wasr-3–completely avoid that) come from using the wrong magazine. More below.
My .223 AK’s are far more accurate than my x39 ones, especially with 55gr ammo.
This is true. However, you can get about any .223 AK mag to fit and function just fine is about any .223 rifle–the amount of fitting time certainly varies from rifle to rifle and mag to mag though.
I currently have 3 .223 AR’s but my favorite above all is the Sar-3 with the Saiga .223 coming in at a close second.
An inexpensive (albeit un-traditional) solution is the MSA AR magazine adapter (still waiting on mine). It allows you to use AR mags in your .223 AKs. It is not just a galil AR mag adapter (which has a feed angle about 1.5mm too low), it was designed for the Saiga was evidently works well in other .223’s (I’ll be putting mine on a Sar-3 and will report back when it comes in). It does, however, require mods to the magwell. I’ve seen a video of PMags dropping free from one of these, which put me completely on board.
Hence the phrase: “You may not want to bother doing all the trial-and-error work to figure it out.”
M_P
As others have stated, you’ll have to pick a system and stick with it.
I have owned an Arsenal Inc. SA-M5, which was the milled 5.56mm that Arsenal put out a few years ago. They’re semi auto clones of the military AR-M1 milled 5.56mm AK that Bulgaria is making for export and for rearming their troops now that they’re NATO members. Ran like a top, and I should never have gotten rid of it.
I currently own and run an Arsenal Inc. SLR-106FR, it’s one of the early ones and it has been nothing but 100% for me, but unfortunately I can’t say that of all the early SLR’s. Some have feed issues that are easily fixed, but should have been before they left the Arsenal factory.
I’ve found that the small caliber AK’s, both in 5.45mm and 5.56mm have been every bit as accurate as a quality AR carbine when used the same way, practically and on the move. Bench resting, yeah, the AR should be capable of better accuracy, but when people are moving, no practical difference.
Good knowledge here, tagging to stay updated.
doubled post sorry.
I have a question, I have a 5.45 cirlce 10 bulgarain slab side magazine. That I picked up at a gun show for next to nothing compared to what they are selling for now. I know you can change out the follower in the magazine to a 5.56 one, but do you have to do any grinding or filling on it. Thanks in advanced.
If you have those 5.45 mags, sell them to me and half of what they are going for now. 
Check out: http://www.robarm.com/products.asp?cat=25
They sell a the followers for $5+ that will convert your AK74 mags to 5.56 mags. I tried 10 on some bulgarian slabside mags and they fed like a champ.
m4fun If you have those 5.45 mags, sell them to me and half of what they are going for now.
Check out: http://www.robarm.com/products.asp?cat=25
They sell a the followers for $5+ that will convert your AK74 mags to 5.56 mags. I tried 10 on some bulgarian slabside mags and they fed like a champ.
What did you do to alter the feed lips is says they need altering on the website.
As someone that was once heavily into AK’s and had many different variants of 223 AK’s there are a few things to know. There are two different pattern of .223 AK’s, 74 pattern and AKM pattern. The easiest way to differentiate between the two is by the bolt/bolt carrier. 74 pattern guns are small (diameter) bolt pattern, AKM pattern guns are large (diameter) bolt pattern. The most common 74 pattern guns are saiga and saiga converts. The AKM pattern include Chinese/Bulgarian guns. The Romanian series are a bastard between the two (modify 5.45 bolt/carrier to work with Bulgarian trunion/barrel). To convert 5.45 mags use the robarm followers and remove material from the top of the mag to clear the longer shoulder of the .223 round. Once you learn how to tweak them they run as well as any other AK. Any questions just ask.
First, it is so nice to see the emails again indicating replies to threads you have subscribed to!!!
Keller is dead on. My AK74s(Romanian Romak II, Bulgarian parts gun and Polish parts gun(all 5.45x39) and my Arsenal SLR-106s(both 5.56) magazines are interchangable in “fit.” Lockup good, etc.
I have used the Robinson Arms followers Bulgarian AK74 plum ribbed and black slab side mags and have no issues in either SLR-106.
I have an older Chinese 5.56 gun(might be .223 for all I know) no AK74 or 5.56 Bulgy mag works in in, or vice versa. Its an “almost” fit that if I were desparate, I am sure a dremel could cure.
I have an yugo m90a u/f and it is very reliable and accurate (more accurate than my x39 ak).
finding oem mags are a problem though, but I have found others that fit but haven’t put them through the paces yet.
my only complaint is it’s a u/f, but I knew that going in, obviously.
I have 3 Norincos in 5.56. Two work great. One would sometimes double,
without picking up the third cartridge. I put in a Tapco trigger group, single
hook, and it now works great, too. Accuracy, for me, is no better than the
7.62.
I have a SLR-106F that I took to the range recently. I was able to fire one round sucessfully and then got to try my hand at various malfunction drills dealing with FTFs and double feeds.
I think the best fix for the problem is to convert it into an SLR-105 a buddy of mine has. He’s aware of the issues and is willing to get it fixed to have a spare for his other 106 which runs flawlessly.
My experience with .223 AKs boils down to the Saiga conversion I did last summer. I must say I have put almost 2000 rounds through this weapon and have yet to experience any sort of malfunction. Mind you much of this involved some VERY rapid firing and long strings of “practical shooting”. In one afternoon, for example, I fired 700 rounds of Wolf 55gr MC. While the weapon got hotter than an Iraqi porto-john in August, it never skipped a beat. I have run everything from lacquer coated Barnaul to 75gr TAP, M855, M193, etc. The only time I fired for accuracy was when I was zero’ing the irons and about 3 MOA was what I got. I think with a RDS on an Ultimak this will shrink.
About the weapon, basically I bought a .223 Saiga and (among other things) converted it to take 5.56 AK mags using a Dinzag bullet guide. While it was not an off the shelf weapon, it is an easy and fun thing to build an AK in this regard. I wanted something that was for the most part made in a real AK factory (Izhmash) and not something some dude bent up from a piece of sheet metal. One catch is that due to the shape of the front trunnion, in order to use AK mags I have to modify the magazine slightly (grind the top about .01"). It is so trivial though it’s really not a concern. Anyway I have run Bulgarian Waffle Circle 10 mags in 30 and 20 round, smoked and black; Polish Beryl mags, and East German Weiger mags, all without issue. I find the AK to simply be a blast to shoot, and while I never meant the weapon have any serious use, I would feel 100% confident in it’s ability to function well in a serious social role.
