Tantal Sporter???

[stecker]

I know this is a silly question, but any opinions on that Tantal Sporter on sale this week at Fleet Farm. Or the positives/negatives on the 5.45x39 round. The only rifle I have right now is a 9mm luger carbine, which is a lot of fun, but I'm thinking about getting more of a "battle rifle". I have looked at AR's and AK's. I like the AK's for their economy (both cost of rifle and cost of ammo), but I also really like the way my son's AR shoots (particularly 100m+). The little I have read leads me to believe the Tantal with its 5.45x39 round is essentially a "weak" .223, but it is very inexpensive to shoot for fun.

[yuppiejr]

The ergonomic differences between the AK and AR platforms are such that I don't expect the cartridge is the biggest factor in how one "feels" versus the other. The muzzle brake and smaller projectile should both improve the muzzle jump typical in a 7.62x39 AK pattern rifle.

The bang for the buck is hard to beat, for the price of an entry level AR you are getting the Tantal rifle plus 2000+ rounds of ammo... Other than perhaps a rear tech-sight to improve the notched rear leaf there isn't a whole lot worth messing with that would really improve handling/function of the rifle. I'd do some reading up on what things to look for on these as they still are a "kit" gun assembled in the US at low cost which can mean oddball problems with canted sights, etc.. on some of them.

[heavy metal daze]

Some of the Tantals had issues with accuracy, due to the wrong barrel used (a 5.56 barrel instead of a true 5.45 barrel). There's some online posts about how to differentiate between the good and bad, though I don't know the gist of it off the top of my head.
5.45 surplus ammo is cheap and corrosive. The commercial stuff is non-corrosive and costs a little more than the 5.56x45 and 7.62x39 steel cased russian ammo.
The 5.45x39 has noticably less recoil than the 7.62x39, and marginally less than the 5.56x45 from an AK. It shoots about the same as a 5.56x45, trajectory-wise.

[Erik_Pakieser]

So far my crew has two of them, they look very solid. These are rebuilt from Tantal kits on Nodak recievers.

Range reports on arfcom are all positive. The keyholing problem does not appear to be an issue with these.

I'm plannning on picking one up in the next month or so. I was going to get one this week, but I decided to buy a new timing belt instead.

[plink]

Some of the Tantals had issues with accuracy, due to the wrong barrel used (a 5.56 barrel instead of a true 5.45 barrel). There's some online posts about how to differentiate between the good and bad, though I don't know the gist of it off the top of my head.

I was watching youtube video on it. The guy was saying serial numbers starting with 9 are fitted with the proper barrel and shoot fine, but I'd investigate more before buying.

[DeanC]

During the McCain/Obama gun crisis the price and availability of 5.45x39 stayed much more stable than 7.62x39 and .223.

I'm guessing that is a good bet for the coming Romney/Obama gun crisis.

[Eric Marleau]

I picked one up from Fleet Farm last fall.
It seems plenty accurate, and I have had no issues.
I spend the extra money and buy the WPA Military Classic ammo.

Yuppie says the rest on his post, and it is a fun gun to shoot.

Eric

[stecker]

Thanks for the input guys!

[Keith]

Check out the Silver Bear 5.45 ammo, too. It's been surprisingly accurate and consistent out of my Arsenal 74. It was even a little more accurate than the Hornady Vmax stuff.
Haven't had a chance to try Wolf, yet. I've been trying to stock up on the surplus ammo while the stocking is good.

[kollector03]

I picked up an Interarms wz.88 Tantal a while back and it rapidly became one of my favorites. Recoil is nil and accuracy is superb. I couldn't take that wire stock, so I put on a fixed stock and it handles WAY better now. Ammo is creeping up in price, but I stacked it deep during the last special when the 1050rd tins were selling for less that $100 each.

IMHO the Tantal is the best 5.45 AK platform available today.

Don

[shadeslanding]

Fleet Farm in Lakeville still had four tins of 1008 rounds (I believe it was 1008), in 5.45 x 39 for $149. I bought one tin, leaving four more for you guys. Not a bad price.

[FuriousGeorge]

Love the Tantal. Prefer it over my Maadi AK47. No AK trigger slap with the tapco trigger on the tantals. Allot of fun for the money.

[zero]

Do all the fleet farms sell the tantels? Maybe this is the next ak to get, i have one in 223 but the 30$ mags from aresnal kinda makes me wanna go a different route...

[Keith]

Do all the fleet farms sell the tantels? Maybe this is the next ak to get, i have one in 223 but the 30$ mags from aresnal kinda makes me wanna go a different route...

The only problem is that right now surplus 5.45 AK mags are hard to find.

[whiteox]

I have a used tapco 5.45 AK mag and I have no use for it. I'd let it go real cheap.