I have a killer deal in the works for a no ban Arsenal SLR 105, NIB. I want it but I feel it may not be wise....I do not have have any other 5.45 rifles, and I have no ammo. I can't find 5.45 anywhere. I have a couple Arsenals in 7.62, but in a pinch I can always by US made ammo for these. Not so with the SLR 105.

So, should I let this ammo shortage discourage me, or buy it anyway and hope this ammo dry spell ends?

Thanks

get it if it is a good deal.  5.45 is fun, great round.

Buy it while you can get one. The ammo shortage will end and then you will be glad you have it.

Absolutely buy a 5.45 Arsenal AK. 5.45 is cheap, flat shooting, accurate and lethal as are magazines. I personally feel that a Krebs custom AK in 5.45 might be one of the most effective assault weapons in the world. The ammo shortage is a serious issue. In all probability, the supply will resume once Wolf has fulfilled its military obligations. I was buying 500 rounds of Wolf 60grn FMJ's for around 70.00 and I have no reason to belive I won't be doing the same in a month or two.
There are other manufactures as well as surplus type ammo that exists which can be bought right now. Check with some smaller retailers that may already have the product in stock. Dynamit

Noble seems to be availible, at a cost though. Don't count on surplus, but every once in a while it materializes. In all probability, ammo supply/prices will resume shortly....That being said, many of the former Warsaw pact nations have converted to 5.56x45 leaving only Russia which sources say that Russia will adopt an AK100 or AN94 in 5.56x45. Should Russia replace the 5.45x39 the only support for this round will have evaporated. There is no domestic manufacture and almost no means to manufacture your own so 5.45x39 would be prohibitively expensive to shoot. If this were to happen, it would be years from now and years for the supply to dry up. If it were to be

replaced, the surplus market would be ripe making it possible to secure thousands of rounds. So, there isn't an immediate threat and nothing is set in stone, but if Russia drops 5.45 it will be ten times more obscure. Its highly unlikely that there will ever be a domestic manufacutre since there really isn't any support/demand. Another good point is that you can buy domestic 7.62x39 in an emergency. If you intend to use 5.45 as a possible defensive/SHTF weapon, you will need to maintain a sizeable stockpile. I tried to keep around 3k for this purpose knowing that in case of emergency, all ammo will be hard to come by especially obscure stuff. I also didn't like having to buy two different AK calibers in addition to 5.56, Id rather buy more 7.62/5.56....The ammo shortage will end soon, I suspect...if not only temporarily. 5.45 is a great caliber and Arsenal makes awesome weapons so I say go for it. I have owned 5.45's in the past and always enjoyed them. My only complaint was having to make room in the budget to buy 5.45 ammo that I could shoot so I could maintain my stockpile. I found myself shooting it a quarter of as much as my other calibers because I never had enough ammo and I was to paranoid to break into my stash.
For what its worth, I say do it if the price is right.

Krebs Custom  AK-74 with plum furniture, US Yugo grip and Bulgarian flash-hider...  The Krebs is built and finished incredibly well !!!

What kind of sling are you using on that?  It's nice.