Does anyone use 5.45 when hunting?

Sure...squirrels.

I know very little about the round, nothing first hand, but after doing some research it is similar in performance to the 223. With good bullets designed for hunting the 223 is quite effective when used at close to moderate ranges on animals up to the size of deer. When used with varmit or military ammo the 223 is a poor choice. I see no reson why the 5.45 would be any different if proper bullets are used.

The problem is that I know of no proper bullets for this round. They may exist, but I'm not aware of any. I wouldn't hunt with a 223 with FMJ ammo nor would I with any round. Including 308 or 30-06. I wouldn't count on a military rounds tumble to be effective as a hunting round.

Most 5.45 is FMJ and I would advise against that.
I think Wolf offers hollow point 5.45, that might would work. If its your only option you could pull it off, but a different round would be preferable.

Hornady makes a VMAX in 5.45.. im sure you could take anything up to coyotes with it. anything bigger and I think you would run into problems.. its only a 60 grain bullet.

What type of rifle would you use?

Aside from AK types, and some AR uppers what rifles are there in this caliber? Those single shot E. German border rifles, that's about it I think. None sound better for hunting than a $400 bolt-rifle combo at Wal-mart. I'm sure someone could make you a custom job, but the rifle would far exceed the equivalent off the shelf .223.

I suppose its not a bad option if you wanted to spray a family of hogs, but I don't know why you would select it over a variety of other things.

The advantage of 5.45 is cheap ammo. This is almost irrelevant when shooting a couple rounds while hunting, especially if you have paid a ton for a custom rifle.

Is 5.45 ammo any cheaper than 7.62x39? 7.62 round is FAR more capable, I mean, if you gotta us an AK. Many AKs are not even hunting accurate beyond 100 yards and those that are don't stretch that range by much. Yeah, Savage and Ruger make better rifles for less, to name a couple.

I have a buddy who uses a .223 for deer. He has killed 7 Whitetails with that gun. He has never had to shoot twice, and all of them have dropped immediately. And he hunts from about 250-300 yards.

The problem is that 5.45 uses an oddball bullet diameter that doesn't allow it to be used in the woods to "hit above its weight" like 5.56 can when using the appropriate projectile.




posted via that mobile app with the sig lines everyone complaints about

I was looking for a cheaper upper for my AR. I don't have a .223/5.56 and wanted something cheaper than my .458S for hunting smaller game. 7.62x39 does seem a better bet for range time and hunting deer and smaller.

Click to expand...

Oh, not an AK. Guess there are 7.62 uppers for the AR? If so, seems the obvious choice for hunting unless you get an AR10 or one of the various gas piston guns in .308. But, then, you'd have to buy the whole gun.

Not an AR guy, as you can probably tell, but I've shot A deer with the SKS. It worked. I was using a handlloaded 135 grain .308 bullet. Now days, i find the Wolf or other Russian el cheapo 154 soft points to work well on pigs and they're more accurate. I love that stuff.

If you're looking for an AR upper for hunting deer and so forth, why not get one chambered in 6.8SPC or 6.5 Grendel? Or even .300BLK? That is one of the reasons those cartridges exist, after all, and they are purpose designed to function in AR rifles. The 7.62x39 can have trouble cycling in an AR.

The 6.8 uses a standard bolt, standard magazines, and is very effective on game. It's like a .270 lite. A friend of mine has 2 deer, a javelina, and several foxes and coyotes taken with his 6.8 - 1 shot each. He has a nice little 1-4x Leupold on it. Can't imagine a better, lighter little walking around carbine. There is some momentum building behind this cartridge, as it is becoming a mainstream service and hunting tool.

The 6.5 needs its own bolt and perhaps magazines, but it gives somewhat flatter trajectory and uses the high ballistic coefficient 6.5mm bullets used in the 6.5x55 and .260 Remington. All three are very effective on game.

.300 BLK gives you basically a .30-30 in your AR, with better bullets.

Good luck with whatever you choose, but I would personally pick the 6.8SPC if I were you. With the mainstream and military ammo manufacturers getting behind it, it will be the least expensive modern hunting option for the non-handloader, but give better game-taking performance than any 5.45 could dream of. It has true hunting ammo loaded for it, which I haven't seen in 7.62x39 except for some questionable Wolf softpoints. Certainly haven't seen the variety of extremely effective modern hunting bullets you can get for the 6.8 in the old M43, anyway.

In fact, I will probably be putting together a 6.8 upper in the near future. It's a very practical package. Guys on the 6.8 forums are even taking elk with them.

The 6.8 spc DOES NOT use standard bolts or magazines.

The only larger than 5.56 round that's ar15 compatable with these parts is 300blk




posted via that mobile app with the sig lines everyone complaints about

I guess I am wrong on the bolt, but my friend does use standard magazines.

Sounds like you need a press, some dies, etc. Autochuckers ain't the best guns to reload for, need a brass catcher, but hey, I CAN reload for the SKSs. I just prefer to load them with 154 wolf for hunting, cheap and effective.

None of my actual hunting rifles have ever killed game with a factory round. I've fired some, but I make better ammo tailored to them. I started reloading with my grandpa and uncle at the age of 10. I turn 60 next month.

Saakee said:

I did a site search and a Google search and found one or two references, citing the tumble factor of the round being a boon for hunting and was hoping there might be some here who have some insight in to the round for hunting purposes and what game would be viable if one did use the round.

Click to expand...

I don`t know why not, basically same as .223 Rem. & I have friends that take White-tail every year with one............

Most FMJ ammo is specifically prohibited for hunting regardless of the "tumbling effect". The European HP ammo is likewise unsatisfactory for hunting since that is a marketing ploy not a bullet perfomance enhancing feature. There is one that might be useable for deer hunting-Silver Bear 55HP has shown sufficient expansion in wet newsprint to make a ribcage hit fatal. My lot of this ammo unfortunately seems to be loaded with swaged down(insufficiently I might add) .223 bullets and caused problems in a new S&W 5.45 AR upper. The Hornady V-Max is accurate enough but I have not tested this in wet newsprint to compare it to other bullets I've tested.

Federal loaded with 60 gr Nosler partition
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/...n-223-rem-60-grain-np-20-rounds.aspx?a=148333

CMC said:

Federal loaded with 60 gr Nosler partition
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/...n-223-rem-60-grain-np-20-rounds.aspx?a=148333

Click to expand...

This thread is about 5.45x39mm

Not 223/5.56x45mm




posted via that mobile app with the sig lines everyone complaints about

I am no big fan of ultra small calibers on large game, 243 is the smallest I would intend to carry on a deer hunt, and 223 (with heavy premium bullets) would be the smallest I would even consider to be a hunting rifle form deer class game.
A 5.45 has less energy, mass and momentum then a 223, I would limit that to head/spine shots only. Treat it like a 22 hornet and you will be OK, treat it like a 270 and you could be in for some very extended tracking.

If you want another upper for your AR, then decide the max size game you plan to take with it vs using your other upper and how much you can afford to shoot.

I think the 6.8 SPC is the best all around cartridge for the AR. 40-50% more power than 223/5.56, but it costs about $0.80/round. Excellent hunting round thru large deer. Cheaper ammo is coming out in 2013 as Federal and Tula enter the 6.8 SPC market

300 Blackout gives you about 25% more power than 223/5.56 and uses a 30 caliber bullet. Ammo is around $0.60/round. Excellent hunting ammo is available (110gr Barnes TTSX, good for whitetail deer, hogs).

223 is the cheapest to shoot at $0.30-$0.35/ round for plinking. Excellent premium hunting rounds available (Vmax for coyote; Barnes 62gr TSX for deer).

The War Poodle uses 5.45 for hunting

A guy over on the the akforum, along with War Poodle, hunts deer with 5.45mm. He posts as -x- and has quite a few threads hunting with various brands and styles of 5.45.

Here are a couple links detailing their hunting adventures including some autopsy analysis.

http://www.theakforum.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=143372

http://www.theakforum.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=112495


Definitely some of my favorite threads of all time - due to War Poodle's posing

Why not, if you shoot at close range esp head shots on hogs, the 5.45 cal is just as good. Most farmers use their .17 HMRs and .22 magnum to take out hogs at close ranges. This is better as meat stays intact . Hogs of course are not classified as game animal in Texas so anything goes. But if its declared game like deer, then got to stick to the rules.

Last night on Yukon Men, I saw the boy drop a griz with one shot with his .223 AR in the dark.