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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - 47 or 74

Posted: 8/29/2015 4:02:05 PM EDT

Looking to pick up an AK. Not sure if I should go 7.62 or 5.45. What do you recommend and why?

Posted: 8/29/2015 4:31:03 PM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
Looking to pick up an AK. Not sure if I should go 7.62 or 5.45. What do you recommend and why?

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7.62. Ammo availability. /Thread

Posted: 8/29/2015 4:34:43 PM EDT

[#2]

I'd go Ak-47 personally first. Then AK-74 later on perhaps. The 7.62x39mm caliber is more available and it's classic. I like the larger bullet also. The 5.45mm is too similar to 5.56mm. But yeah availability is a big one for me.

Posted: 8/29/2015 4:49:04 PM EDT

[#3]

74

Mine was a sweet little rifle.

Easy to hit with, ridiculously reliable, and a hell of a lot of fun to shoot.

Posted: 8/29/2015 6:09:25 PM EDT

[#4]

If I had to get rid of all my AKs in all calibers except for one, I would keep one of my 74s. Recoil is minimal, ammo is readily available and costs the same or less than 7.62, and they are easier to shoot at a distance greater than 200 yards. The only big disadvantage is magazines as they are harder to find and cost more.

Posted: 8/29/2015 6:22:08 PM EDT

[#5]

7.62x39 for the win. Get an Arsenal and don't look back.

Posted: 8/29/2015 7:14:39 PM EDT

[#6]

7.62x39

Posted: 8/29/2015 7:33:46 PM EDT

[#7]

7.62

I shoot only 5.45 myself and would prefer that all others shoot only 7.62 so there would be plenty of 5.45 for me to shoot

Posted: 8/29/2015 7:37:43 PM EDT

[#8]

Quote History

Quoted:
7.62x39 for the win. Get an Arsenal and don't look back.

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Posted: 8/29/2015 7:39:18 PM EDT

[#9]

get both. Win.

Posted: 8/29/2015 10:18:18 PM EDT

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:
get both. Win.

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+1
THIS

I like them both.

. . . . wait. . . . . . . I think I like 5.45 better.

762x39

Posted: 8/29/2015 10:56:34 PM EDT

[#11]

74 for the flatter trajectory, works well with PK-01 VS. Minimal recoil, 7N6 is still available at reasonable cost, non-corrosive is a few cents per round more.

Posted: 8/30/2015 9:15:06 AM EDT

[#12]

1st AK should be 7.62x39
2nd AK should be 5.45x39

Posted: 8/30/2015 9:15:09 AM EDT

[#13]

Derek - nice SAR-2!

Posted: 8/30/2015 10:33:37 AM EDT

[#14]

Depends on what you expect to do with it. Both are fun calibers.

Posted: 8/30/2015 1:28:00 PM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:
Derek - nice SAR-2!

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Good eye

Posted: 8/30/2015 1:34:05 PM EDT

[#16]

My only AK is a 7.62x39.

Sometimes I wish I had gone with 5.45, but the 7.62 rifle was cheaper and so are mags. Ammo is about the same price.

Posted: 8/30/2015 2:01:28 PM EDT

[#17]

I have AK's in all 3 'common' calibers. (7.62, 5.56, 5.45) I shoot the 5.45 and 5.56 AKs much more.

Posted: 8/30/2015 2:33:50 PM EDT

[#18]

74 we can end this thread now.

Posted: 8/30/2015 3:17:02 PM EDT

[#19]

If you already have ARs or other 5.56 rifles, and only want an AK just to have one but don't care about caliber, I would take a look at the SLR-106 rather than investing in 7.62 or 5.45.

The 5.56 AKs are great shooters, share common ammo with their American friends, will shoot the cheapest steel-cased ammo, and you can avoid the hassle of corrosive surplus cleanup.

Posted: 8/30/2015 6:46:32 PM EDT

[#20]

I think the 74 is better but you can't deny the availablility of ammo and cheaper mags for the 47.

Having said that I still favor my 74. I just buy mags when I can and every paycheck I buy some 5.45. Even if it's a little. I'm currently sitting in 4000 rounds here and probably more than that at my dads house.

Posted: 8/30/2015 8:07:25 PM EDT

[#21]

I like 762 for bumming around the woods if bears are around or in moose mating season.

Blasting rocks is more fun too

Ive got lots of ARs and 556 so the ak fills the intermediate area inbetween them and my .308 bolt.

Posted: 8/31/2015 10:39:32 AM EDT

[#22]

I got my first AKM-pattern rifle in 7.62x39 because I wanted something substantially different from my three 5.56 rifles. I know 5.45 is fun and very smooth to shoot, but for the first step I'd vote 7.62. I've also found the ammo easier to find: picked up a couple hundred rounds at Wal-Mart for pretty cheap while 5.45 is either certain gun shops or online.

Posted: 8/31/2015 11:08:52 AM EDT

[#23]

another +1 for 7.62x39, I have five rifles chambered for 7.62x39 and one for 5.45x39. I agree 5.45 is the better choice for low recoil and long range accuracy but I still like the bigger thump of 7.62x39.
Lots more ammo & mag choices in 7.62x39.
So your first AKM should be a 47, your second should be a 74.

Posted: 8/31/2015 11:12:37 AM EDT

[#24]

The 74 solved the biggest problem with the 47, the round

BUT

7.62x39 is much easier to find

If you have an ar in 5.56, i would look into getting a 5.56 ak

Posted: 8/31/2015 2:24:32 PM EDT

[#25]

My ARs fill my .22cal needs so I like the 7.62x39. I've owned both and like both and if you have the $$ definitely go that route but I think #1 should be a 7.62 esp if you already own ARs. My AK is also an SBR and I like the 7.62 better out of the short barrel.

Posted: 8/31/2015 2:29:13 PM EDT

[#26]

I have had ARs in 5.56 for years. After the Sandy Hook stuff, I couldn't stomach paying so much for 5.56. Once the supply of 5.56 and x39 starting rolling back around, the x39 was easier to find in my area and was significantly cheaper. That's the whole reason I first bought an AK in x39 - to diversify the calibers I shoot in case there are discrepancies in caliber availability. Plus, shooting .30 cal is fun, too.

Posted: 8/31/2015 2:39:06 PM EDT

[#27]

thats true. during the Sandy Hook panic I typically had no trouble ordering cases of 7.62x39 online for mostly normal prices.

Posted: 9/1/2015 2:12:12 AM EDT

[#28]

Still kicking myself in the ass for getting rid of all my 74 stuff a few year back. Had 2-3 rifles maybe 20 mags and 12k in ammo. Sold it all for school money. I want it bavk but would pay more then double now.

If you asked this question 5 years ago id say to get 74 there was so much good surplus stuff coming in. But today id definitely get a 47, everything for it is still relativly cheap and available.

Posted: 9/1/2015 11:26:25 PM EDT

[#29]

I don't believe the 74 is really at a disadvantage to the 47. Mags aren't as available locally, nor is ammo in most cases, but you can usually get 74 mags from 30-35 shipped all day, and they're excellent magazines; lighter, the polymer bodies don't corrode, and they just look cool

I myself have 9 magazines (8 30-rounders, one 45-rounder), and that's all I need for one rifle.

5.45 is also cheaper, shooters flatter and more accurately, so it's a fair trade off. Plus, with a 74 brake, it has .22lr control.

The AK-74 family was when Russian went "Now rifle is fine."

Posted: 9/2/2015 5:53:24 PM EDT

[#30]

7N6 is still relatively cheap and plentiful, but it is going up in price incrementally every day, and it will never go back down. So think about that. It will only get more expensive and harder to find as time goes on. Steel-cased .223 is now cheaper in most places and has the benefit of being non-corrosive. The same is true of 7.62. Granted, neither .223 nor 7.62 in commercial form performs as well as 7N6, but if you're mostly punching paper or ringing steel, who cares? Commercial 5.45 doesn't do anything to excite me, certainly nothing more than commercial .223.

I've often been tempted to the verge of buying a '74, but the modern realities of it keep bringing me back from the edge.

Posted: 9/2/2015 7:06:20 PM EDT

[#31]

Quote History

Quoted:
7N6 is still relatively cheap and plentiful, but it is going up in price incrementally every day, and it will never go back down. So think about that. It will only get more expensive and harder to find as time goes on. Steel-cased .223 is now cheaper in most places and has the benefit of being non-corrosive. The same is true of 7.62. Granted, neither .223 nor 7.62 in commercial form performs as well as 7N6, but if you're mostly punching paper or ringing steel, who cares? Commercial 5.45 doesn't do anything to excite me, certainly nothing more than commercial .223.

I've often been tempted to the verge of buying a '74, but the modern realities of it keep bringing me back from the edge.

View Quote

I've got thousands and thousands and thousands of 7N6 laying around but I srated buying commercial non corrosive. I'm saving the corrosive for a rainy day.

One less step in the cleaning process to take its toll on Krylon paint :)
And as someone else mentioned with a compensator like the CNC warrior compact break it feels almost like a .22

Man, the more I read this the more I want to have my pops send me the rest of my 74's sitting in his safe :)

Posted: 9/3/2015 4:50:12 PM EDT

[#32]

7.62, much mo bettah. Good hunting round too.

Posted: 9/4/2015 4:21:44 AM EDT

[#33]

I would say for me it is literally 50/50. I like the availability of the 7.62, the barrier penetration capability over 5.45, and the mag price.

I also love 5.45 for the light recoil and flat traj, accurate follow up shots with 5.45 were substantially easier for me. Others might have different experiences.

It might be wise to go for 7.62 first but I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Posted: 9/5/2015 2:31:38 AM EDT

[#34]

Quote History

Quoted:
get both. Win.

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The correct answer.

Posted: 9/6/2015 9:57:25 AM EDT

[#35]

I have a 47, 2 74s, and rpk. The is the one that goes to the range with me every time and probably gets shot more than any of my other center fire rifles combined. For whatever reason it just works for me better than anything else. Not a tier one operator though so if if I was hunting etc that opinion may change.

Posted: 9/7/2015 12:27:15 AM EDT

[#36]

Quote History

Quoted:

get both. Win.

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Posted: 9/7/2015 12:35:56 AM EDT

[#37]

I went with an AK 47 I built.

Already had an AR in 223, so no 74 for me.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - 47 or 74

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