7.62 or 5.45 AK's : Which to scope?

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Jackal

Jackal

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I'm having a hard time making a decision here and I think my fellow THR member may be able to help.

I am currently enjoying 2 AK's. One is a M&M Romanian in 7.62x39 with a cold hammer forged barrel and the other is a Waffen Werkes Bulgarian 5.45x39. Here's my little dilemma. I wish to scope one with a 2-5x Pentax Lightseeker mounted to a Parabellum Armament AKARS top rail and the other will get an Ultimak gas tube and an Aimpoint H1. I'm having a hard time deciding which rifle to scope and which to red dot. Both rifles deliver very similar accuracy. The flat shooting nature of the 5.45 kinda makes me want to scope it, but the 7.62 would be more practical if the need for hunting arises.

I cant decide which to scope or red dot. Please folks, rain your wisdom and opinions upon me.:)
 
I'd scope the 5.45 for the reason you stated... flatter shooting cartridge that is easier to get hits with at longer distances.

Actually if it were me I'd probably put Ultimaks and co-witnessed red dots on both of them.
 
I also vote for the 5.45x39 getting the scope. There is a lot less recoil, the barrels are a bit stiffer and there is a lot less receiver flex from the recoil so 5.45x39 tends to shoot better groups off sandbags in my experience.
 
I would utilize
Ultimaks and red dots for both, as both are optimum with this type of optic, and could be used for hunting.

If I had to pick,(provided both rifles are the same in terms of precision) then the 5.45mm AK would most defiantly receive the Ultimak/red dot...... as this makes the most for keeping the rifle compact and lightweight.....and I would want this attribute for a rifle such as this.


This leaves the 7.62x39mm AK as the only one left for the optics.
 
Decide what the priority intended use is for each gun, and then choose the optic based on that?

The 5.45 has a greater effective range (due to higher velocity, flatter trajectory, and greater accuracy) but it is also probably the better gun in the HD role...so you might make the choice for that rifle based on whether HD or 250-yard plinking is the most important role.

Ditto for the 7.62x39mm...it has the shorter effective range, but within 150 yards or so it is undoubtedly the better hunting caliber (with quality 150-154gr softpoints), so if the hunting role is important to you, there is an argument for scoping that one even though it is less accurate with less effective range than the 5.45.
 
Jackal said:
I'm having a hard time making a decision here and I think my fellow THR member may be able to help.

I am currently enjoying 2 AK's. One is a M&M Romanian in 7.62x39 with a cold hammer forged barrel and the other is a Waffen Werkes Bulgarian 5.45x39. Here's my little dilemma. I wish to scope one with a 2-5x Pentax Lightseeker mounted to a Parabellum Armament AKARS top rail and the other will get an Ultimak gas tube and an Aimpoint H1. I'm having a hard time deciding which rifle to scope and which to red dot. Both rifles deliver very similar accuracy. The flat shooting nature of the 5.45 kinda makes me want to scope it, but the 7.62 would be more practical if the need for hunting arises.

I cant decide which to scope or red dot. Please folks, rain your wisdom and opinions upon me.:)
Click to expand...
the Russians knew where to put the scope mount which was on the side of the receiver the part of the gun that flexes the least if any. if you watch an AK fired in slo mo and saw the movement in barrel and gas cylinder you would not waste your money on overly expensive mounts like you listed
 
I have both and have tried red dots and scopes on both.

+1benEzra: Decide what the priority intended use is for each gun, and then choose the optic based on that?

I prefer using the optic rail system with QR mounts. That way you can quickly change the AK to "mission specific"....iron sight, red dot, or scope.

I don't use my AKs for HD, although they would do. I prefer my G19 first and my HD setup Rem1100 second.
 
5.45 is my SHTf rifle to go. More ammo to boot but the mags are getting very expensive.
 
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