Generally I feel 5.56 is best in the AR platform. I have been offered a Saiga 11.5” 5.56 at a steal.. I’m tempted, but I have no experience with 5.56 AKs.
Apart from mag availability, any input?
Generally I feel 5.56 is best in the AR platform. I have been offered a Saiga 11.5” 5.56 at a steal.. I’m tempted, but I have no experience with 5.56 AKs.
Apart from mag availability, any input?
From what I understand the pressures from a 5.56 are higher and the straight walled case is suboptimal for a shorty ak ( or any ak for that matter) so they tend to beat themselves up faster than there traditionally chambered counterparts. That being said I've owned them (arsenals mostly) and they have always performed very well for me. I believe in order to see any of the negatives youd need to fire ALLOT of ammo through the gun and probably in full auto. For normal use they are good to go in my opinion. Plus they are only going up in value so it's a solid investment.Originally Posted by flux
I have a registered SBR Arsenal krink in 5.56, 8.25" barrel. It has been nothing but reliable once the project was finished. Launches 55gr ammo at about 2400 fps. Accuracy is on par with my SBR AR's, I am going to say about 2 moa. I need to shoot it more since it is primarily a range toy.
An 11.5in is interesting. Any more details on this Saiga? I'm assuming it's a de-SBR'd rifle that was built from a Saiga .223 sporter 16in of some kind?
I've put plenty of ammo through a WASR-3 and some through SLR-106's in 5.56, and never an issue so long as correct magazines are used. The lack of standardization in 5.56 made magazines a problem as far back as the Chinese imports, and now Polytech .223 and Norinco .223 mags (they are very different and do not interchange) both bring big $$$.
I haven't personally experienced any issues with any AK regardless of caliber that wasn't magazine-induced. So long as you've got vetted magazines, there should be no problems even with totally shit ammo.
Since an 11.5in Saiga is one that's been rebuilt, I'd be curious about who did that rebuilding and what ammo the current owner recommends. If that rebuild induced any kind of ammo sensitivity I'd been disinclined to buy it. AK's aren't fun unless you can feed them lots of cheap ammo.
RTG parts is bringing in some European made 5.56 AK mags from the same maker as some modern 7.62 and 5.45 mags they offer. I got some of the 5.45 mags last year and they worked great. Beats spending $50+ per magazine for Arsenal mags.
I have a registered SBR Arsenal krink in 5.56, 8.25" barrel. It has been nothing but reliable once the project was finished. Launches 55gr ammo at about 2400 fps. Accuracy is on par with my SBR AR's, I am going to say about 2 moa. I need to shoot it more since it is primarily a range toy.
That is a great looking Krink, especially with the Kobra red dot!
I've got an SLR-104UR rifle that's waiting for me to get home and form 1 it. I went with the OG laminated wood and triangle folder though.
I like the Polish mags. They are cheaper than the Arsenal mags and are not as tight in the magwell.
https://armsofamerica.com/ak-5-56-30...-radom-poland/
I've never owned an AK so when these 5.56 AKS74U clones (SLR106UR) were on sale I jumped. It was nice to practice the AK manual-of-arms but I hardly ever shoot it, so I cannot speak to reliability. It is over gassed and sends brass into the rafters at the range, even with the Geissele extra spring I installed when I tried out a suppressor.
I ran a red dot (and was able to add a white light to that railed upper handguard) but they both got very very hot. If I decide to mess with this more, I would rather get an RS mount and get the dot above the dust cover.
I am glad I gave this a shot for the experience but its the top of my list of things to sell.
5.56 AK's are interesting creatures.
I would say go for it only for one reason.
1. Rarity. They're few and far between and we are probably going to see a vastly reduced number of arsenals coming into the country in the future.
Id probably throw it up on the wall and not really shoot it all that much. Ive found that anything a 5.56 AK can do, a 7.62X39 AK can do at a cheaper price (prior to covid).
That is a really good lookin' AK.I have a registered SBR Arsenal krink in 5.56, 8.25" barrel. It has been nothing but reliable once the project was finished. Launches 55gr ammo at about 2400 fps. Accuracy is on par with my SBR AR's, I am going to say about 2 moa. I need to shoot it more since it is primarily a range toy.
Seems like I got the barrel length wrong. Its a Saiga MK V33. Its a 13" barrel. Semi auto. I'm not in the states though so not sure what's available elsewhere.
*RS Regulate Affiliate*
Exactly that, but in 5.56 not 5.45.
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