#7n6

Kalashnikov Media, apparently inspired by IV8888, conducted a meltdown test of AK-12, the latest iteration of Kalashnikov rifle that was recently adopted by the Russian military. They fired this 5.45x39mm rifle in full-auto rapidly changing the magazines until the barrel ruptured right behind the gas block. The gun performed pretty well though firing 680 rounds of 7N6 ammunition before the failure which according to Kalashnikov Media is over three times the sustained fire requirement of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

It’s a well-known fact that the AR is categorically superior to the AK and the Kalashnikov is suitable only for dirty commies and the poors. There are a lot of reasons for this fact, but today we are going to focus on reliability and the ballistic differences between common FMJ for AKs and ARs, after touching briefly on the ergonomic inferiority of the AK.

The effort to deregulate of silencers has reached an important milestone: The Hearing Protection Act has made it out of committee, and been incorporated as part of another larger bill. House Resolution 3668 – the Sportsmen Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act – has been introduced to the House floor with a new subsection, Title XV, Hearing Protection. The new subsection provides for the change in classification of silencers from NFA items to standard firearms such as long guns, just like the HPA. Its text is reproduced at the bottom of this post.

When I started the Modern Intermediate Calibers series, I did not expect it to grow as large as it has. The initial plan was for 7 major calibers, which grew into well over 20, and the spinoff Modern Personal Defense Weapon Calibers, which itself will have at least 20 entries.

That seems like a pretty straightforward question, doesn’t it? On the surface, armor piercing ammunition ought to be ammunition that pierces armor, right? Seems pretty simple. Except it isn’t. At least, not according to the BATFE. Under 18 United States code, AP ammo is defined rather arbitrarily as:

Close your eyes and allow me to take you back to a time when ammunition was cheap and plentiful. Crates of Comm Bloc surplus ammo could be had for the price of a night at the movies. Where ammo shelves were stocked to the brim, and retailers were handing out ‘buy one, get one’ coupons. Remember those days? No, neither do I .

I, for one, am glad we have never had a real all-out shooting war against the Russians. Their 7N6 is a nasty little ball round, designed from inception to tumble. To see just how much trouble the 5.45 round is, MrGunsNGear did a quick gel-block test using a Krinkov.

This review could not have come at a worse time to a better company & product. TFB requested the Adams Arms upper when 7n6 was plentiful. With the recent ban on cheap MilSurp ammo, the allure of 5.45 may be waning, but as a DI guy I walked away plenty impressed with the Adams Arms piston kit.

The ATF has officially banned “Russian-made 7n6 5.45×39 ammunition” after a request for review from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

There has been a lot of hub-ub going on over the weekend on 5.45×39 ammunition. Originally brought to light by James Yeager and then by Tim at the Military Arms Channel, ATF Form 6’s (Request for Import) that include the mild steel core 7n6 ammunition are currently being “held”.