5.45 x 39 FAQ Thread?

AR/M4 Beyond 5.56/.223
1

I feel a little sheepish for posting this, but the 5.45 x 39 plunge thread is getting kinda long.

Any way maybe we could distill a few of the salient points in this (or another thread up-front)?

Examples:

Magazine:

C-Products 5.45 x 39 mags are inconsistent in terms of reliability.

C-Products 5.45 x 39 mag springs could be a little stiffer, and a DIY upgrade could be to replace the C-Products springs with AK-74 springs that are cut to appropriate length.

“Wolff extra power AR magazine springs WILL NOT work in C Products magazines. Too wide.”

Some users are reporting that lubing a C-Products 5.45 x 39 mag follower helps with feeding.

C-Products 5.45 x 39 mag could be improved with an anti-tilt follower.

“A modified TangoDown ARC magazine follower is a substantial improvment over the stock CP follower.”

USGI aluminum, PMAGS and EMAGS will work with 5.45 x 39, but you can’t fill the magazines completely.

Some users here are reporting that Lancer 5.56 mags can work, provided they are broken in.

“A 5.56 AR LULA doesn’t play nice with 5.45. A much better option is the 5 rd loader that Beta sells for the C-Mag.”

Triggers:

Some users report problems with supplied S&W hammer spring

Some users report no problems (w/r/t sufficent hammer strikes on hard primers) using stock springs

Some aftermarket triggers such as the Geissele SSA work fine without the S&W hammer spring.

Maintenance when shooting with corrosive surplus ammo:

"Corrosive ammo is nothing to be feared. It’s easily cleaned up afterwards either by any number of cleaning solutions or chemicals or plain old hot soapy water. "

Corrosion occurs more rapidly when shooting the 5.45 x 39 platform in humid environments

Hot water wash seems to work in dealing with corrosive salts

Shooting a few rounds of non-corrosive ammo after shooting corrosive ammo may help prevent corrosion.

Some users are reporting that the gas tube is susceptible to corrosion, and that flushing it out may be necessary.

Appears to be a consensus that Weaponshield is good stuff

Is the 5.45 x 39 system worth it:

It is a useful and economical traning alternative to the 5.56

Recoil impulse is (at least subjectively) similar to the 5.56

It is surprisingly accurate.

It is a metric shit ton of fun to shoot.

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I’m sure I’m leaving out a few details but you get the drift …

2

I was just thinking this myself. The other thread is so long that many simply won’t read it and miss all the good info.

I would put the PMag/EMag usability in this caliber in the neighborhood of the plain old USGI mag. Some say they get them to work but I haven’t seen consistent results from either. Neither will allow loading to full capacity.

Wolff extra power AR magazine springs WILL NOT work in C Products magazines. Too wide.

A modified TangoDown ARC magazine follower is a substantial improvment over the stock CP follower.

Corrosive ammo is nothing to be feared. It’s easily cleaned up afterwards either by any number of cleaning solutions or chemicals or plain old hot soapy water.

A 5.56 AR LULA doesn’t play nice with 5.45. A much better option is the 5 rd loader that Beta sells for the C-Mag.

I’ll second the “surprisingly accurate” part.

3

Noted, thanks!

4

dont know why people are having problems, with c-products mags. i have about 30 in that caliber and all run flawlessly. i THINK i had 1 bad 1 form smith. .556 steel from c-products DO NOT run worth a shit. have taken about 25 back and dont sell them anymore

i have 3 – 5.45 uppers including the only 11.5": ever built by them. courtesy of Ernie Langdon before he left. all run flawlessly with the Gisele (?) or std trigger set up and the heavy spring. green spam can form aim in ammo, and guess what c-products. also get perfect results form h&k but they heavy and rust real quick. nothing else works for me.

wonder is screwing with the guns and mags is a precursor to problems. i have never changed anything in the mag

no flame pls as this is fact. also have run over 7500 rds last year and 1/2 and seen others do it to.

me— 3 uppers all smith
bolt gun— 2-3 and 1 cut short by great local smith
his best friend dave “o” — same thing, also has a short bbl, form same smith.

ummv

5

There’s a FAQ over at ARFCOM that goes into some detail.

A few things to add:

  • There has been concern about availability of decent bolts since S&W doesn’t sell them by themselves and there is concern over the quality of the bolts produced by Model 1 Sales. Spike’s Tactical now has nickel boron 5.45x39 BCGs for sale.

  • I have heard good things about Rev-M windowed PMags with this round.

6

Are all 5.45mm bolts created equal? Model 1, Ballistic Advantage, S&W, Spikes, Olympic bolts all made to the same spec? Are there even any 5.45mm headspace gages available to check?

There is a photo comparing a Model 1 5.45 extractor to a Model 1 5.56 extractor in the big thread, and they appear to the be the same. The S&W 5.45 extractor is not a standard 5.56 part.

Are the ARC followers available a la carte, or do you have to buy the whole mag?

7

+1, would like to know this as well.

Also, has anybody tried just using the whole ARC mag with 5.45 – just thinking that if the follower works well, might the whole mag?

8

New Brownells catalog came in a few days ago. They now have headspace gages and chamber reamers.

So that question is answered.