so im looking to get an AK
i plan to pick up a stock, standard arsenal, but my question is what caliber?
7.62x39(SGL-21)
5.45x39(SGL-31)
5.56x45(SLR-106FR)
what would be your choice?
ETA: all my current rifles are ar-15’s
Most recommend 7.62 for a first ak but I personally like the ammo price of the 5.45 which is what I went with, as for the 5.56 I only have ar experience with that.
thanks, im really interested in 7.62 since i already have a small caliber high velocity gun, but itd be nice to be able to share ammo as well.
i also updated the OP with the gun models im looking at
I’d opt for the SGL31 & it’s cheaper 5.45x39 ammo if I could only buy one. The Bulgy Arsenals are nice, but I would rather have a Russian made AK. I have several new model Arsenal (Russian) AKs, SGL20, SGL31 & SGL41 and they are all very well made. I have stocked up on the cheap Russian surplus 5.45x39 ammo for the SGL31 while it is available.
SGL31-61
SGL20-01 (Early version of the SGL21)
SGL41-61
I have first hand experience with all the three of the rifles that were mentioned in the original post, and honestly, I don’t think that you can wrong with any of them.
You will take a slight reliability hit with the 5.56 AK but if you already have other 5.56 rifles, the logistical aspects would make me lean towards the 5.56 SLR…
I personally don’t see any reason to go with one caliber over the other, as they are all quite effective within their operating parameters.
Either 5.45 or 7.62. 5.56 has the slight aggravation of having to find decent mags. Military 7.62 mags and to a slightly lesser extent 5.45 mags are plentiful, cheap, reliable, etc. Military 5.56 mags are much rarer - basically you’re limited to Bulgarian (if I remember right). I wouldn’t recommend any non-military mag, they’re never as good.
It is only a slight aggravation though, and as DeltaSierra said, if you already have 5.56 rifles, it may be worth the minor one-time hassle of finding decent mags to keep ammo compatibility (really I think you can just go to K-var and buy a bunch of Bulgies and be done with it).
That is exactly what I did, and I can’t complain. I won’t buy any other magazines now that I spoiled myself with the Bulgarian mags…
thanks for all the reply’s
if i got the 106 i would def buy a bunch of those bulgi K-Var mags…the clear ones:D
im really leaning towards it for ammo availability, is it reliable with steel cased ammo? its about all i run for range use
Yup. The current crop of 106’s are very reliable. You should be pretty well set up with that rifle. If SLR’s were legal in CA I’d have one myself.
5.45 is the one i would pick. The ammo is super cheap, and more accurate than 7.62 in my experience. This is based off firing multiple 5.45 Aks next to 7.62 guns, multiple types of both ammo and rifles. If you already own a AR, you will end up burning that ammo in the proper 5.56 platform, so I wouldn’t bother. 5.45 is insanely cheep, buy 1k of ammo and never buy ammo again. The 7.62 is easier to find at the gunshops (and around the world) but costs more to train with. I own and shoot both. I will never buy a 5.56 AK. My advice is 5.45, “the poison bullet”. It never has failed to impress me with Its lethality and accuracy.
the 5.45 x39 is boring, stick with AR15 . Get the 7.62x39, its the classic AK , like the 1911 it will always be around.
Boring hell!! The 5.45 is the most fun I’ve had in a rifle in a LONG time. My father, with his arthritis and my girlfriend, with her aversion to recoil; highly enjoy the 5.45 AK, it’s accuracy and lack of heavy recoil. This is one of the best firearms investments I’ve ever made. She’s even thinking of taking a carbine class with the 5.45 AK…now that is results! 
Whats the recoil like on the 5.56 AK?
Unbearable.
Okay it’s not bad.
I mean how does it compare to 5.45?
Your first AK should be 7.62x39 and if you are only going to have one, again it should be 7.62x39.
SGL-21 is the winner.
No, don’t get the clear ones… They tend to crack, and not last as well as the black Circle 10 magazines…
My 106 has run fine with Brown Bear and Wolf. I have had exactly one malfunction, and that was when I was shooting some Wolf Black Box last year, and got a stuck case, which was easily fixed with the heel of my boot applied to the cocking handle…
7.62 im a big fan of it never let me down
What he said about the clear Circle 10 5.56 mags. I have quite a few myself, and they’re lots of fun, as well as practical for being able to tell ammo remaining at a glance, but they do crack. If you get some, do so with the understanding that they’re fun toys, and get plenty of black ones that will last.
I have an SLR-106F and an SLR-105R. Love both of them. The 106 AK-100 type folding stock is in my opinion the apex of AK folders out there, but it’s really too long a pull when wearing armor. The 105 has a Magpul CTR stock on it, and adjusts much better, but doesn’t fold up ridiculously compactly like the 106.
The 5.45 gun will have the edge over the 5.56 gun in inherent reliability, because the 5.45 cartridge is much more tapered than the 5.56, and will feed more reliably. The 5.56 gun requires a proper feed ramp, or you’ll have failures to feed (like I did before having work done on my 106).
You ask if steel case will be fine in the 106…in my opinion, it actually enhances feeding reliability because the case is more rigid than brass cased. My 106 is 100% reliable, but it does tend to ding and dent brass casings.
I find the recoil of both to be comparable, with the 5.45 slightly softer, as expected.
Not going to tell you what to get, but for ballistic commonality, you can zero both the 5.56 and 5.45 to a 50/200 yard zero fairly easily, and remember your hold overs from shooting an AR. The 7.62 isn’t as flat shooting.
A side note you won’t see mentioned too often around here is that the 5.56 and 5.45 aren’t legal deer rounds in some states (like VA), whereas you could conceivably hunt with a 7.62 if you were thinking of pulling double duty with it, as long as the muzzle velocity meets requirements.
I want to thank everyone for all their input.
Ive decided to get the 7.62x39 AK, i feel itll be something different than my AR’s