5.45 hunting

[resident-shooter]

So, long story short: for my first center fire rifle I decided to pick a reliable, quality made, ultra high value Saiga rifle. Now I need to pick a caliber. While 7.62 X 39 is good for targets, SHTF, and hunting, but it is significantly more expensive than 5.45 X 39. 5.45 works on targets just like any cartridge, but how about the other two purposes? Any experience ?


Yes, I know that I can buy both rifles and that I could pick and AR with 2-3 uppers etc. I need an answer/feedback on 5.45 being used as a defense or hunting weapon. Thanks

[John Browning]

I don't know what you're looking to hunt, but a Saiga AK would be one of the worst choices I could imagine for just about any kind of hunting trip. They don't have the accuracy you'd want in hunting rig and hunting ammo is super expensive in 7.62x39 and non-existent in 5.45x39. You just can't get proper ammo to hunt with in 5.45, so that isn't a realistic option if you really want to hunt with it.

The 7.62 would probably suffice for stuff up to white-tail and hogs up to 100 yards, maybe 150 with optics, but for the same coin you could be into a used Savage or Remington with real basic glass and have a real hunting set up.

[sevensix2x51]

if you want reliable, accurate, and effective hunting ammo, stick with the calibers that your local walmart stocks. .223, .22-250, 243, 270, 7mag, 308, 300wm.. if you want reliable, accurate, and effective shtf ammo, stick with the nato calibers that your local walmart stocks. .223, .308.

[Ford8N]

I don't know what you're looking to hunt, but a Saiga AK would be one of the worst choices I could imagine for just about any kind of hunting trip. They don't have the accuracy you'd want in hunting rig and hunting ammo is super expensive in 7.62x39 and non-existent in 5.45x39. You just can't get proper ammo to hunt with in 5.45, so that isn't a realistic option if you really want to hunt with it.

The 7.62 would probably suffice for stuff up to white-tail and hogs up to 100 yards, maybe 150 with optics, but for the same coin you could be into a used Savage or Remington with real basic glass and have a real hunting set up.

Wolf made some HP in 5.45 at one time.

[Jpach]

What kind of hunting do you plan on doing? I think on the AKfiles or AK forum (whichever has a dark background and green writing IIRC) theres a guy who hunts DEER with his 5.45 and milsurp ammo. Kills em dead. He also shows damage of the internal organs.

And Ive killed several rabbits with my 5.45 Bulgy-74. Does the job. I even made a ~~200 yard shot rabbit kill with it.

If you plan on shooting little critters, the 5.45 will be fine. If you want to shoot deer, you can in some areas but I know there are a lot of restrictions requiring expanding bullets and bullets bigger than .22. It varies state to state IIRC so just keep that in mind.

[resident-shooter]

What kind of hunting do you plan on doing? I think on the AKfiles or AK forum (whichever has a dark background and green writing IIRC) theres a guy who hunts DEER with his 5.45 and milsurp ammo. Kills em dead. He also shows damage of the internal organs.

And Ive killed several rabbits with my 5.45 Bulgy-74. Does the job. I even made a ~~200 yard shot rabbit kill with it.

If you plan on shooting little critters, the 5.45 will be fine. If you want to shoot deer, you can in some areas but I know there are a lot of restrictions requiring expanding bullets and bullets bigger than .22. It varies state to state IIRC so just keep that in mind.

Finally some helpful feedback. Thanks!

[chaseface]

I don't know why some people say saigas arnt good to hunt with they are reliable and accurate to 300 yards. Personally I would go with the saiga .308 because its powerful and better for longer distances but u would probly be fine with what u want.

If you want good info on saigas and on each caliber from people who have actually shot them check out www.saiga12.com they have great forums

[C.W.M.V.]

Check out Saiga12 forums. Ive seen a couple posts in the 5.45 forum that detail hunting with said rifle. Seems to do the job just fine.

[MrPlink]

Saigas were actually developed for hunting, do some homework on how the name came to be.

[C.W.M.V.]

"doe, a deer, a female deer"
Actually its a screwed up looking antelope.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

5.45 will work for hunting in a pinch. But it is illegal to use on most game here in California without expanding bullets. The Saiga isn't noted for being a tack driver. But again, it will work in a pinch. Or if the range isn't overly great. What I would look at was whether or not hunting was actually likely to be in your immediate future. If you are only thinking you will be hunting in a SHTF end of the world kind of situation, go with the 5.45. Game laws will be out the window. Oh, and the likelyhood of you actually seeing a game animal big enough to shoot with a rifle are slightly higher than seeing a vampire or zombie in that same situation. But not much higher. Every idiot with a gun will be out trying to get them too, as part of their "end of the world" fantasy. If all you want is the potential to knock down game in an emergency, and something larger than a .22 that you can afford to shoot, the 5.45 is the ticket.

If you actually plan on doing any hunting, either the 7.62x39 version or the .308 version would be a better choice. OR you can go pick up a real hunting rifle in a hunting caliber, new or used for around the same price. The Stevens Model 200 by Savage comes to mind. As does gunbroker. You can end up with a pretty good hunting rifle for less than a new saiga. Not as cool, but definately more effective.

Now, as for anybody jumping in to say that the 5.45 is a great deer cartridge, I know it will kill them. And in the hands of a good hunter it is just as deadly as a .223 FMJ, if not more so. But that doesn't change the fact that the milsurp ammo is still illegal for deer here in this state. And neither is what any serious hunter would consider to be a deer cartridge. I knew a guy that was a subsitance hunter up in Alaska on another board. He hunted caribou almost exclusively with Czech 7.62x54R ball ammo. We are talking probably more than 100-200 every year. Not to mention seals, walrus, bears and one of his inuit friends used it on whales. But there is a huge difference between what he could do with a rifle, and what most of us mere mortals can do. FMJ will kill, but not reliably or humanely, when we use it.

[Chk Chk Boom]

If all you want is the potential to knock down game in an emergency, and something larger than a .22 that you can afford to shoot, the 5.45 is the ticket.

And even then, 5.45 is smaller than .22.
5.45 is fun as hell to shoot, but realistically if you see hunting in your future you probably ought to go with one of the 7.62xwhatever calibers.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Not bullet diameter. A more powerful, larger cartridge.

[Beetle Bailey]

All I have ever done with a 5.45 was blast away with a S&W AR in the desert, but I gotta figure it's the same basically as .223 rem as far as hunting goes. So I would think 5.45 would be good for the same stuff, namely small game and varmint/predator hunting. Ground squirrels, coyote, rabbits, bobcats, etc.

Thing is, where are you gonna get proper hunting ammo? What about lead free stuff if you want to hunt in the condor areas? I don't know of a source for 5.45 brass so I don't know if reloading is possible, but even if it is, it isn't gonna be widely available. .223 rem makes more sense if hunting remains a requirement. More hunting ammo available, more reloading options, does pretty much the same thing.

Also, a Saiga might not give you the accuracy you may want in a varmint gun, which is what 5.45 would be great for.

My suggestion is to just get the Saiga and a boatload of 5.45 ammo spamcans. Have fun with it. If you still want to hunt with it, take a hunter safety class if you haven't already done so, and get a hunting license. Give it a try - you don't need the "perfect rifle" to go hunting.

A lifelong hunter told me not to wait until I had the perfect rifle before going out to hunt. He said just getting out there was the most important part, not having the perfect rifle. But I do think the Saiga 5.45 is really limiting as a hunting rifle.

[sevensix2x51]

im not slighting anyone's opinion, but i think that a new shooter pot-shooting deer with ball ammo and an ak74 is not the best idea.

OP- if you just want people to agree with you so you can do what you want anyways, then just do it. but i dont agree that you would be just fine hunting with a saiga in 5.45. sorry if my posts are not "helpful," but it is what it is. saiga in 5.45 for plinking and having a good time? sure! said rifle for taking game in a responsible manner? no. ymmv. if you are merely speculating that you may want to hunt someday in the distant future, then go ahead and get the saiga. but a serious pursuit of game requires a dedicated rifle, in a caliber which offers hunting-oriented projectiles.