5.45mm questions

T

tahunua001

New member
hello all,
I'm trying to justify getting a rifle in 5.45 soviet and though it would be for mostly a range toy and camp gun, I would like to use it for varminting and coyotes and if worst comes to worst, wolves. my state has no laws against FMJs for hunting but I really wouldn't want to use them unless I was hunting for hides. are there any civilian companies that manufacture the 5.45x39 round?

I also recall reading some place that 5.45 is basically a 222, is that about right? if so could one load a 5.45 casing with a 222 bullet intended for hunting and use that?

which brings me to my final question,
is any of the surplus 5.45 ammo re loadable brass or is it all garbage lacquered steel?
 
5.45x39 bullet diameter is .221 in. .222 (and damn near every other .22 centerfire) is 0.224 in.

There is commercial hunting ammo available, but I don't think anyone makes reloading components. I think the best argument for the 5.54x39 is the cost of surplus ammo. $144/1080 rounds is hard to beat.

http://www.jgsales.com/product_info...tin,-ak-74-ammo-/cPath/12_37/products_id/2940

Then again, $200 for 1000 rounds of non-corrosive hollow points are not bad either.

http://www.jgsales.com/product_info...tin,-ak-74-ammo-/cPath/12_37/products_id/2940
 
surplus ammo is the main reason I want one but I also want a round designed for hunting if I ever want to field it for that task, so now that I know it is .221, is a 221 bullet actually going to be that diameter or is it going to be a misnomer like a 7.62x39 bullet is actually 311 instead of 7.62 nato which is 308?
 
The bullet is .221.

There are a couple of options for hunting hollow-point ammo, from the various Russian sources, plus Hornady.
 
for killing coyotes and wolves, the surplus FMJ should be fine. It tumble soon after hitting soft targets.
Aim surplus has 2160rd cases for $250.
 
thanks for all the healp guys, hornady has 60gr vmax that'll probably even be marginal for deer(though I'll probably just stick to 223 and up for them). I am a little miffed that even the "good stuff" is steel cased but at least I wont have to hijack my brothers reloading dies every time I want to make some hunting rounds...thanks for the input guys
 
Hornady has ammo loaded with a proprietary 60 grain V-Max bullet. I haven't tested it yet to see if it really does expand quickly. I really don't think you can count on surplus ammo for anything except punching holes. Yes, it does tumble but may not begin to do so until it has already passed through a varmint.
The HP I tested did not expand in a way which led me to feel it a good varmint bullet either. Truthfully, I think the Silver Bear 55 HP is loaded with the same bullet as SB 223 with the bullet slightly swaged down. It measured significantly bigger diameter than the RWS commercial FMJ. I had problems with SB wedging in the throat of my S&W MP15 and had to send the upper back to have it throated out a little.
 
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