With the current price of 5.45 ammo, I’m giving consideration to buying a 5.45 upper. I’ve searched the threads here and saw the issues with magazines and opinions on cleaning methods for corrosive ammo. However, I would like to discuss uppers.
Which upper do you recommend & why?
I’ve heard some manufactures use .223 barrels and chamber them for 5.45; Is this true? If so, are there any 5.45 barrels available?
Are there any match type barrels (bull barrel ~ 20" - 24") available (I know it’s not a match accurate round)?
I have a S&W 16" 5.45.
No idea if there are viable long barrel options.
I will say that it is far more precise than I expected.
While not the equivalent of a true match grade 5.56 fed match ammo, it is more precise than M855/M4 or M16A4.
I don’t think that 5.45 is really a viable traning tool for Service Rifle type competitions though. The cost benefit of 5.45 is not really seen unless you are doing high volume shooting.
With IMI M193 being priced what it is now, I also question the validity of getting a dedicated 5.45 upper now, but since I have a S&W 16" upper that I rebarreled with a Ballistic Advantage 5.45 midlength 14.5", I’m very happy that I have both and plenty of 7N6 to feed them.
i continually see people who are confused on costing of 5.45 vs .556.
i buy .556 in 10k quantities from who ever can give me a good price. usually in the 300-310 landed price for xm-193.
i burn 15k or more in ar type ammo a year. burned more when i shot a lot of 3 gun but not so much now.
aim has 5.45 for 12-13c a rd i dont know where anyone gets any good ammo for anything close to that. i am a dealer so i only buy wholesale. going to gander or cabella’s is a definite wrong for me. never ever shoot anything but u.s. made ammo in .556. the price deferential is there for anyone who looks
REMEMBER"“”“”" mil spec accuracy is 4." if u are match shooter maybe this is not good enuff but if anyone wants to bet how it works at downrange 250-350 yds, i will be happy to demonstrate how this is effective.( L.O.L.) Crossgun and i shot 2-300 rds sunday in a big gravel pit that is 400 yds across, we use a lot. was hitting 12x12 size rocks at 300 yds from the prone with an eotec, as much as we want to. "splain to me how it gets any better at 125.00 for 1080 rds
NOT A FLAME. just the real world. people get toooo hung up on this board on m.o.scumbag and dont understand, its not about head shots at 400. its about making a bad guy quit pissing u off. ““I AINT A MATCH SHOOTER””. i also did not sleep in a h.inn. have been doing this, since 1967. i am satisfied.
Crossgun and i expect to be shooting this cartridge for the next 10-15 yrs. after which i will be pissing in my pampers at the old folks home and wont give a rat’s ass.
Regal, your ability to summarize is amazing. I wish you were a speech writer for some politicians. They’d go from a half hour of babbling and promising to saying “I’m just looking to get (re)elected.”
The S&W 5.45 M&P 15 upper has worked really well for me through tens of thousands of rounds, in spite of the limited magazine options out there. S&W’s customer support is solid.
If shooting corrosive ammo, it is helpful to at least wipe down and spray the bcg with WD-40 to stave off minor corrosion. At least remove the bcg from the gun after shooting if you don’t plan to clean it right away.
finding a 5.45 upper is the least of your worries the biggest problem with shooting the 5.45 round out of an AR is getting reliable magazines or the correct followers to make the round work properly in 556 magazines.
I’ll post basically the same thing I did on the other site:
I’ve been really happy with my S&W 5.45 upper. It’s reliable and accurate. The only problem I’ve had was from one of the later CP mags with screwy feed lips.
I tried Spikes but it was a waste of my time. First upper was an early one and keyholed badly. Finally got another one and after the first time I tested it the gas tube and key rusted together. This was after a normal corrosive cleaning routine directly following that shooting session. At that point, I just gave up on the Spikes (I’ve had other issues and ran out of patience for their stuff).
It was one from the first run and one from the second run, whenever that was. I’ve just had really bad luck with their products.
That last problem I had with the gas tube and key rusting together really surprised me. With all the effort they put into making it a corrosion resistant upper, that was the last thing I thought I’d have a problem with. I’ve had two different S&W 5.45 uppers that I’ve shot corrosive ammo through and they’ve never had any issue with rust or corrosion at all…and I didn’t/don’t always clean the same day I shoot corrosive ammo.
What was “burned out”? Keyholing? How were you using it? That just seems like a low round count for a barrel to be worn out (unless we’re talking match rifle precision).
It started keyholing different types of ammo and quite suddenly. I was using it for carbine training. Others have experienced the same thing. S&W took care of it on their dime in a week’s time.
Interesting. Is there any special reason why those barrels go suddenly? For example, does the steel jacketed bullet wear out the rifling (which I’ve read many places that it does not), does the corrosive primer shorten bore life even with chrome and cleaning, or did S&W get a batch of defective barrels?
Mine started to keyhole when I first got it. Then it went away. Once in a while it will show up for some rounds. I believe its an ammo issue more than anything.
