Firing 5.45x39 in a 5.56x45 chamber

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Wolfsbane

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I came across this site with a discussion about a guy who managed to fire 5.56x45 in a AK47.

Here's the link. Watch the video and see page two for pictures of the fired brass.

http://www.nevadashooters.com/showthread.php?t=13840

So I was wondering if anyone managed or knows anyone who managed to fire 5.45x39 through a 5.56x45 chamber?

I checked the numbers and the base and the shoulder of the 5.45 is slighty larger than the 5.56x45 round.

Anyone know anything?
 
He was a complete moron, and that was probably a 7.62 AK, as the longer 5.56x45mm case won't squish into a 5.45x39mm chamber. Looks like he got the bolt to ram home hard enough after a few tries to crumple the shoulder of the 5.56 round. He's just lucky Darwin was taking a break that day.

And no, you won't get a 5.45 round in a 5.56 chamber without a hammer.
 
Stupid is an understatement here. Why would you want to risk your rifle,life, or injury. Anyone reading this thread please DO NOT TRY THIS!
 
When I had both uppers I intentionally fed the wrong ammo into each barrel with the uppers off of the lower. To cram a 5.56 into a 5.45 was impossible. Bullet way too big and it jammed very hard. Had to tap it out with a brass rod from the front. 5.45 seemed to go in but not all the way. Additionally the bolt faces didn't work out quite right. For someone to have accomplished firing 5.45 in a 5.56 they had to work hard to make it happen. In and of itself it's stupid to mix similar ammo, but knowing you have done so it's even worse to try to force an issue without pulling everything apart and verifying that everything is right. This is stupidity at its finest.
 
my old man told me that the VC did this when they were out of 7.62 ammo. not sure how effective it was but it would fire
 
I have personally seen a 556 NATO round fired out of a 7.62 AK. The bullet hit the steel we were shooting at (about 20 yards away) too.

The burst case seized the action of the AK, which required work to clear.

The owner had both 556 and 7.62x39 in his ammo bag and had inadvertently loaded the 556 into his AK mag.

BSW
 
5.45x39 wont fit in a 5.56x45 chamber. Did you mean the converse? I don't think the bolt would close.

Mike
 
I have personally seen a 556 NATO round fired out of a 7.62 AK. The bullet hit the steel we were shooting at (about 20 yards away) too.

The burst case seized the action of the AK, which required work to clear.

The owner had both 556 and 7.62x39 in his ammo bag and had inadvertently loaded the 556 into his AK mag.
Click to expand...

+1. I had a soldier accidentally put a Galil mag into an AKM in the dark (OPFOR for an SF training exercise) and drop the hammer on a blank 5.56mm round. Did not extract and I think we ended up having to knock it loose with a cleaning rod.
 
Not.

Smart.

:banghead:

This made me shake my head... people cease to amaze me. They treat firearms like they are tinkering with a BB gun or nerf gun, not a device intended to contain a small explosion of several dozen thousand PSI that uses precisely made metallic cartridges to contain that kind of power. Doing things like this can turn your gun into a hand grenade... that you are holding and putting up next to your eyes/face.

Stupid stupid STUPID!!! :cuss:
 
The owner had both 556 and 7.62x39 in his ammo bag and had inadvertently loaded the 556 into his AK mag.
Click to expand...
I did that once myself but the other way. I loaded a 7.62x39 in an AR by accident and wondered why the bolt would not close!
 
Correct. The head diameter of the 5.45 X 39 is .445" and the head diameter of the 5.56 X 445 is .378." The Soviet round will not go deep enough into the 5.56 chamber for the bolt to close.
 
Why anyone would INTENTIONALLY chamber and fire ammo of a different, incompatible caliber into any weapon is beyond me. The lengths people will go to in order to prove they are an idiot amazes me sometimes.
 
Why anyone would INTENTIONALLY chamber and fire ammo of a different, incompatible caliber into any weapon is beyond me. The lengths people will go to in order to prove they are an idiot amazes me sometimes.
Click to expand...
At least one of the cases of a low-number Springfield blowing up was traced to an attempt to fire an 8X57 Mauser cartridge in a Springfield chamber.
 
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