Anyone here load 7.62x39? Tips?

M

MEATSAW

New member
I am a new owner of an AK and I would like to reload for it to some degree. Yes I know loaded ammo is cheap and I have 2000 rounds of the steel cased stuff, BUT I still would like to get into making some fun plinking rounds with it.

I am very curious about using powder coated bullets in it and I have a lot of Accurate 5744 that I can use.

I am interested though in any tips, tricks, advice, or suggestions you have in regards to loading this caliber
 
hmmmm looks like I use 17gr of 5744 behind a LEE 7.62x39 cast bullet.
I have found 5744 to be my favorite cast bullet powder in Semi Auto rifles.
All of them except 300 Black out gets 5744.

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I also use some 160 grfn bullets too.

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I actually use that LEE bullet in just about every thing I have thats 30 cal.

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Sure 7.62x39 is sort of cheap and I do buy some. Whats it like $5 a box now?
I reload for around $3 so i still win.
 
I remember when a Pres order cut off my 8 cent SKS ammo from China in 1994. I would have to pay 12 cents a shot for Russian ammo. I was outraged.

I don't think my Chinese ammo is shot up yet, but I was outraged.


My tip, do not work up a load with 180 gr H110 in an SKS to failure. The gun fails, not the brass. I had to buy a new firing pin.
 
Used to be able to buy 124gr fmj .310 pulls. last bunch I got was $39 for 500.
I still have a couple thousand of them left.

They make good AK fodder ahead of H335.
Once a year or so you may find a close out sale at Midway.
They sell un marked seconds. last i got was 125gr .310 sp hunting bullets for 40 bucks for 500.
Still hunting with those.

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But I shoot those from my AR15 in 7.62x39

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Have yet to load cast lead bullets for my AK, but I did try some Hornady V-Max 123 grain .310 diameter bullets with H-335, 30.5 grains worth which is the starting load, and it outshines any factory load for accuracy I have tried.
 
Load what you can find for now. But keep an eye out for sales and specials.
When you run across a good sale.
buy until it hurts. Thats how you keep costs low.
 
I did some accuracy testing with x39 severall yess ago with some good sucess. I loaded .308 cal 165 gr Sierra spitzers using Benchmark powder and was able to get about 1.6 moa at 100 yds. I also played with the 123 gr Vmax's and both 4198 and RL-7 and was able to get to about 2 MOA. I plan on some point to revisit precision loading with my Opap and see if I can achieve the elusive "MOA" ! There's not a lot of data out there on x39 because millsurp has been so cheap , but in recent years now x39 millsurp is getting expensive and people will be looking for cheaper options such as handloading. Same situation with 7.62x54R ..
 
The steel cased stuff isn't reloadable. Aside from most of it being Berdan primed, it doesn't resize right and it's kind of hard on dies. Brass seems to be kind of scarce, Stateside, these days too. Both Midway and Graf's are showing most brands as out of stock. Except for Lapua. Runs about $60 per 100. $40.99 per 100 for Prvi, but that's on Back Order. Winchester is 'Limited Production'.
Buckets of loaded brass cased ammo though. Most guys gather brass by buying ammo.
Other than that reloading 7.62 x 39 for a semi-auto is no different than loading for any semi-auto. You must check case lengths and trim, chamfer and deburr as required, full length resize every time and watch OAL. It doesn't use .308" bullets either.
 
The hardest part of economic 7.62x39 is finding reloadable boxer primed brass. Most of the cheap stuff everybody leaves lying around is useless for reloading.

I have an SKS, and I was disappointed in the accuracy of military ball and factory ammo in mine. Then I handloaded some .308" 150gr bullets for kicks, and was pleased enough to use it as a hunting load. My best groups were with some Speer 150gr RNSP bullets. None of the pointed bullets shot all that well for me. Some Rem 150gr PSP weren't too bad. 147ge FMJBT were as bad as the Russian military ball ammo. Your mileage may vary, but don't assume .308" bullets will shoot lousy in your gun. They are worth trying, especially if building cheap plinking ammo. Year ago I tried some cast .309" 120gr 30 carbine bullets just warm enough to work the action. They were horrible. It's certainly a trial and error thing.
 
Me too. I bought some fired brass on line. I was using Rem .308 RNCL 150 grain for hunting. Very accurate in my rifle. Can't seem to get the Remington anymore and just got some Speer Hotcore 150 grain RN. Anybody ever use them on deer?
 
T. O'Heir said:
The steel cased stuff isn't reloadable. Aside from most of it being Berdan primed, it doesn't resize right and it's kind of hard on dies.
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Thats not entirely true. See my Image above.
All though I would not recommend it for a new reloader, Such as the OP.
Going to have your hands full with the basics. With out adding new stuff.

But I have reloaded many many steel cased loads.
Some of my test batches are on their tenth reloading with zero issues.
Primers are available. Well they were when we could get Tula primers.
Even though they are steel cased. In the annealed state that they are.
They are actually softer than the brass cases, So you wont hurt your dies.

The one main issue you need to be aware of, Steel cases dont expand after sizing as Brass cases do. So your case volume is less.
There may be an increase in pressure compared to a similar load in a Brass case. I keep it well below max so has never been a issue. but it is a fact that needs to counted.

Two reasons I do it.
#1 I suspect one day. Companies will no longer offer common calibers in Brass. So we wont have a choice.

#2 SHTF nice to know info...

Oh and some times I shoot were I cant collect my brass. And they do Rust.
So as a long term storage option would need some sort of coating. But for loading and shooting right away its not an issue.
 
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I for one am going to keep testing .308 projectiles to see if I can find some that consistently work. I'm at about 3 moa with your typical Wolf.Tula steel case stuff, so anything better than that is a big plus. Shooting .308's will add huge sustainability and versatility for future AK-47 usage. It's a little scary looking into the millsurp x39 and x54R crystal ball...
 
Yes if I can get .308 caliber bullets to work I'd be happy! Especially since Missouri bullet makes coated bullets in .309". I already buy them and use them in my Finn M39 and Remington bolt gun
 
I hand load for my sks.

Brass is a bit hard to get, but not too bad. Found a bunch once fired on forum. Price was OK.

Sks has floating firing pin that dents primer. I only use NATO primers to lower the risk of slam fires. Different people have different opinions, but that is how I do it.

Plated bullets (xtreme) don't work unless keep well below 2000fps. Soviet rifles have rather tight twist. Perhaps they got ripped apart by the rpm. This goes to coated or plain cast bullets too, I believe.

0.308 bullets will certainly work, but accuracy may suffer. Whether the degradation is noticeable is the key. Some are and some aren't. One needs to try to know. But I will stick to jacketed bullets to avoid leading. Leading in a gas operated semi auto is a pain.

My sks' ejector makes deep dents on the case head. A stronger recoil spring should fix it, but nobody makes one. I can tweak the gas system, but I have been too lazy. The pounding actually deform the rim that the case couldn't go into she'll holder any more. I chucked the brass on a drill and turned the rim back down with file. No problem, although the case look beat up.

-TL
 
Couple things from my experience.

I tried using a gas checked/tumble lubed 155gr Lee in my Saiga, but two mags later a lead ring formed around the piston and it took a 5# hammer to unlock it.

I also tried powdercoated, non-GC in my Garand (similar action) and while it didn't lead the gas port, accuracy was terrible with my usual reduced load 37gr 4895. I may try it with a gas check.

Also, be sure to buy a brass catcher for your AK. I cannot begin to tell you how frustrating it is chasing that precious brass flung 30' away.:mad:

In a nutshell, just find some pulled 308 jacketed bullets and call it a day.
 
In a nutshell, just find some pulled 308 jacketed bullets and call it a day.
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I would agree. I won't do cast bullets in mine again. If I wanted to go the ultra cheap route, I would try some 30 carbine jacketed bullets. I used 150gr because I bought a ton of different variations in bulk in the 80's that I'm still pulling from. I still have some 150gr 30-30 bullets to try.
 
I tried loading 30 cal 155 Lapua Scenars and no go with long match BT's. I was getting powder compression lockup before I could get the bullet seated deep enough to be able to mag load and I was only at about 21 gr of powder. Here's a trick to help minimize brass "AK dings" use multiple layers of electrical tape on the edge of your dust cover and it will act as a soft bumper for your brass. Works awesome.



I also take an extra target stand from my gun club and poistion the target at 2 oclock from my shooting position and most all my brass bounces back toward me. My Garand is the same way, Garand brass gets hurled 360 degrees in a 10 ft radius !
 
I bought about 2 gallons of blem .311 123 grain bullets a while back. Some had crimp grooves and some didn't. I sorted the "no grooves" off to use in the bolt action and single shot and have 3-4K left to load for my AR(s).
Just my experience but AK's are extremely hard on brass-not only from the striking the dust cover stand point or the "fling it into the next county" standpoint, but simply due to the sloppy chambers.
I bought a bucket of 7.62x39 brass only to find that nearly 10% were expanded beyond sizing(unless you can use belted brass).
 
Well I got 300 pieces of Prvi brass from powder valley, and I had already collected about 200 pieces from the range in the last year. That's a great start at least for brass.

In loading the coated cast bullets would it be useful to get the Lee universal expanding die? I'm hoping to develop a nice easy shooting load that's low power but enough to cycle the action 100%.

Of course I'll always keep my eyes open for good deals on copper jacket bullets
 
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