[Nightcrawler]

Okay, I've heard this rumor alot:

"The AK-47 can fire American 5.56mm rounds."

Obviously, this is untrue. A 5.56x45mm round won't even fit into the chamber of a 7.62x39mm AK, much less fire in it.

However, I've heard others say you can fire 5.56mm ammunition in 5.45mm AKs. It's true that the two are similar, but there are still very different case dimensions. 45mm long vs. 39mm long. That can make a big difference; will a 5.56mm round even fit into a 5.45 chamber?

Anybody in the know? Is this a fact or just one of those urban legends?

[Correia]

Look at the two side by side sometime. It is utter crap. :)

And sure you may be able to get it to fit, and fire, but you sure as heck aren't going to do it in any of my guns.

[hksw]

I think I'll have to see if a 5.56X45 case will fit in a 7.62X39 chamber tonight. Although the 5.56 case is longer, the mouth of the chamber and the angle of the shoulder might be wide enough to allow the 5.56 case to go in all the way.

IMO, if it does, for live rounds you would at the very best get one shot off. The case head would have to be centered pretty close on the larger dimension bolt face so the pin can hit the primer, the case would probably rupture (possibly injuring the shooter)and possibly get stuck, the bullet would not seal the bore allowing too much gas to go around not providing enough pressure to the gas tube/piston which would not work the action, the bullet would fly out in an unknown direction not likely to be anywhere near where the sights are lined up.

Hopefully, someone who has tried it will post his/her experience in this exercise from their hospital bed.

[falconer]

Oh it can and will fire. .233 fits just fine into the mag of a 7.62x39 AK. It won't really feed right, but if you smack the charging handle, it'll close and fire.

It's also a pain in the rear to remove the brass from the chamber after the fact.


The ak effectively becomes a single shot with .223, but it will work nonetheless.


Why do I know this? Long story short, it was Thebluesman's rifle, our 12 year old cousin was shooting it and loaded a .223 round in the mag by mistake. I took the gun when it jammed and made it fire (not realizing what was the cause of the jam).

Yes it can be done, no I don't recommend trying it unless you are using Dave's gun :D

[Dave Markowitz]

The AK-74 is chambered for the 5.45x39mm, while the 5.56 NATO round is 5.56x45mm. Won't fit, and the bullet diameter is larger, to boot.

[Tamara]

Well, yes, in a 7.62x39 gun, in much the same way that you could possibly touch off a 9mm in a .40 or .45, if you want to hurt yourself.

I am not responsible for any missing digits or eyeballs on anyone who wants to try this dumb experiment at home :p :eek:

[vitiaz]

Like Tamara & Falconer said...

I snagged this pic over on ak-47.net ... 223 fired in a 7.62x39 chamber.

:what:

[Badger Arms]

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=137524

Reminds me of a wildcat that I saw at a Gun Show once. It was a .223 case necked up to take a 45 bullet. Anybody see anything wrong with that?

[Gewehr98]

Fireforming .300 Whisper-style brass by shooting .223 in an AK. Hmm... :D

[Jim K]

For some reason, this old saw crops up in every war. In WWI and WWII, some GIs would say that the Germans could fire their ammo in our captured guns but not vice versa, while others would swear that they could fire our captured ammo in their guns but not vice versa. Same story about the Japanese. All nonsense, of course, as the direct contradiction shows.

In the Korean war, it was the Russian "thirty caliber" (7.62x54R) and the .30-'06. Either identical or one way swappable, take your pick on which way.

Some Vietnam vets swear up and down that the 7.62x51 (M14 rifle) and the AK-47 ammo were the same because they are both 7.62. And the same stuff about being swappable.

I suspect these story tellers never got anywhere near an enemy soldier or his weapon.


Jim

[MLC]

My friend was in ROTC and had foreign weapons training courtesy of the USAF. They had a medley of small arms: G3, MP5SD, FNC, Galils, AK's etc. I'm fuzzy on the specifics but i believe one young Einstein inserted a 5.56 Galil mag into a 7.62 AK. He called my friend over because he kept getting stoppages, imagine that! The rifle and individual survived, but, my friend broke the ejector on the 5.56 Galil. He also had an ROTC friend who, when at the shooting range, complained that his new Glock 23 was shooting very low and the rounds were keyholing. After a quick inspection his friends informed him that the .40 on the slide and barrel meant that it was not meant to fire the 9mm ammo he had purchased.

[mini14jac]

Jim,
Thanks for that tidbit.
I had heard the Vietnam-era rumor, but did not know that similar stories circulated in previous wars.
That is interesting.

[MLC]

Bear in mind that there are 5.56 NATO AK variants out there now(also available in the US). As well as limited numbers of M16s, in use by our military, that are made by KAC with custom magwells to accept AK magazines.

[Byron Quick]

Also bear in mind that we are surrounded by idiots.

[Art Eatman]

Another Ours/Theirs from Korea involved mortars. Our, 60mm. ChiCom, 61mm...True? I dunno.

Generally, shooting a bullet which is smaller than the bore won't hurt anything. The converse can lead to serious medical bills.

.44 Mag out of a .45 Colt leads to split brass, which causes difficult extraction...

:), Art

[TaurusGL]

My fathrer served in vietnam and had heard of this rumor. When I got my AK he brought up that I could shoot .223 out of it. I guess the metric thing just screws with your mind (7.62=30 cal) and agent orange prolly doesn't help either.

[SDC]

I don't know how anyone could believe this rumour to be true, given the dimensions of the rounds involved; the case head of the 5.45 round is larger than that of the 5.56, and the 5.56 round's shoulder is too far forward to allow it to chamber in a 5.45 chamber.

[Art Eatman]

SDC, never be amazed at the BS some folks can believe. Heck, there are even those who believe gun registration can solve problems with crime!

:D, Art

[Snowdog]

Reminds me of a wildcat that I saw at a Gun Show once. It was a .223 case necked up to take a 45 bullet. Anybody see anything wrong with that?

By any chance was that called a "ski bullet" ? I used to see them around when I was younger (for keychains). For the life of me, I couldn't see how it could function.