5.45x39 AR upper from S&W

[RNB65]

I just saw that S&W is going to sell a 5.45mm AR upper. What's your opinion? Would corrosive mil-surp ammo fired thru a gas impingement system ruin the gas tube and receiver? Would it be a bear to clean? Any interest?
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[brian923]

i would be interested, but i think that the expense of the upper would far outway the inexpensive military ammo. this round was being tossed around by the germans as a new sniper round towards the end of the second great war. i dont know if theres any merit to it, but its what i have heard. it a high velocity round, and i think it would be pretty fun. handloading would also increase it performance. cleaning wouldnt be so bad. you could clean out the gas tube buy spraying a carburator or brake cleaner down the tube from inside the upper reciever.

do you know if the might be chrome lined???

brian

oh, by the way, alaxander arms had an AR upper by the name of 21 genhgis, (sp?)

it used this round. but i dont think it caught on only because of the lack of military surpluse at the time.

 

[RNB65]

The chamber, bore, gas key, and bolt carrier are all supposed to be chromed to resist corrosion. I'm wondering about the effects of corrosive salts on the aluminium receiver.
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[CBS220]

Unless there are some serious changes, you can't reload this round- not only is no boxer primed brass available now (well, a little is, but it's very expensive) the bullet diameter is unusual as well.

So, you buy the upper... the super expensive brass, custom dies, a bullet swaging die for what, .219?, and then shoot it in a production gun made for corrosive, cheapo ammo.

I suppose as long as the 5.45X39 surplus stays cheap it will be fine, but Century has already noted that it will be more expensive soon...

 

[bl4ckd0g]

The brass is similar to the .22 PPC wildcat, so there are ways to create 5.45 brass, and this option is not cheap. Also true if you aren't already equipped with bullet casting or swedging equipment, which can add up quickly.

 

[Eightball]

Depending on the price, I might look into it. Why? Because having an upper in which I can basically just blast away with some cheap surplus ammo is a nifty concept, especially since that round is significantly cheaper than .223 at the moment.