5.45x39 vs .22LR Upper

[cgseanp1]

I'd like to buy an upper for a caliber that still has affordable ammo. I'm looking at the two I listed above.. If I want to go really cheap, the .22lr is the obvious choice, but the 5.45 is still fairly cheap, and affordable for me. I'd like to get the 5.45 because it supposedly has similiar ballistics to the 5.56, but at about 1/3 the price for the cheap stuff, and at least 1/2 the price for the non corrosive stuff. Either way, my mind isn't totally set and I'd like to hear some feedback if you guy's have any And ya, I know I should just get both, which I may do someday... But only one at a time, so I need to decide what to buy first..

Also, I'm thinking about buying a couple cases of the 5.45 now while it is still affordable, and maybe buy the upper somewhere down the line.

[scout II]

I have a 5.45x39 upper and I love it.I have shot the Russian surplus stuff and it is pretty accurate.Every round fired without a problem.I even let it sit a week in the safe after shooting it before I cleaned it.No rust anywhere.That ammo is corrosive but,the S&W 5.45x39 upper is chrome lined.Gas system also is chromed.Not that I will make that a habit of not cleaning though.You can buy a C Products 30 rnd mag rebuild kit from 44mag.com and make a 10/30 mag for it like I did.I would say to buy up all the ammo for it you can now.Once every body knows how cool these uppers are the price will go up on ammo.

[FS00008]

I'd go for both. 5.45 is a great round but with .22LR you can use a standard mag release...

:-)

[Jpach]

Dont get the 5.45, Im selfish and I dont want you taking any of my future 5.45 supplies!

[SDgarrick]

I have been intrigued by this round and it's inexpensive price for so long.

[cgseanp1]

By the time I have money to buy an upper in this caliber, the ammo will probably be 2x what it is now!! Hopefully it stays cheap for a while, though.

[SDgarrick]

Buy the ammo now. for the price of an upper in a few years, you could likely get an AK pattern rifle in 5.45.

[BroncoBob]

Please go with the 22 lr. That way there will be more ammo available for me to buy..