Anyone reloading 7.62x39.

Z

zanemoseley

New member
I just put a sweet Arsenal SAM7R-61 on layaway at Tombstone Tactical and being the reloader I am I immediately start thinking of reloading for it. Now the problem is you can buy steel cased ammo for about $.25 a round delivered. The cheapest price I've found for 7.62x39 bullets is about $.10 for some plates 123 grain bullets, after powder and primer it would be about the same price as the steel stuff but may be more accurate.

So anyone reload this milsurp caliber.
 
I haven't reloaded it yet but I bought dies, a mold and have been stock piling good brass for it. Ive been stocking up on the steel cases stuff for a while now. Id be interested in this thread also. In case the steel cased stuff become unavailable.
 
For a semiauto such as an SKS or AK variant...skip it. Finding reloadable brass is a PITA, then you have to either use a brass catcher or chase the suckers all over the range as they get chucked 20' away in all directions.

How about suitable bullets, 123gr .311? Nah. You can get away with using .308 pills but accuracy suffers, what little you do achieve. Want to cast your own? I tried that, even gas checked it locked up my Saiga solid after two mags.

Now I do still cast and reload x39, but for my CZ bolt gun. My days of chasing rare brass are over.
 
I've reloaded 7.62x39mm for a Mini-30.

For SKSs and AKs... not worth the trouble.
They're very hard on the brass, and chuck the cases into the next county.
Brass recovery rate with my SKS, in particular, was 10-40%, depending upon season, location, and lighting (not shooting reloads, but boxer brass factory loads). The absolute best I ever did was recovering 7 of 10 ... because 5 of them landed in the ruts of the Jeep trail I was standing on.
But even then, the loss rate from damaged cases is much higher than most other rifles/cartridges. Probably 10-15% of what I recovered was unusable, due to creased case mouths, tears, etc.

Not worth the trouble, in my opinion.
 
I hand load for my sks. No problem recovering brass and approaching 15 loads already. I am not really saving money. I simply don't buy any loaded ammunition.

-TL
 
Personally, I don't consider costs when I reload. Money only comes into play when you pull the trigger, "how much did that shot cost?". I have reloaded for my SKS and figger pulling the trigger is only half the fun of gun ownership, so I have no idea what my reloads cost...
 
"...may be more accurate..." Absolutely not question about it. That's the purpose of reloading. Otherwise, you'd have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find the ammo your new rifle shoots best.
Steel cased ammo is usually Berdan primed and as low end as low end gets. It's 25 cents a shot for a reason. Prvi starts at $12.29 per 20 from Midway. Brass case using a 123 grain SP.
However, like tangolima says, you're unlikely to save any money. But reloading isn't about saving money. It's about using the best possible ammunition. Even out of an AK clone that isn't going to be a target rifle anyway.
"...but accuracy suffers..." That's because a .308" bullet is the wrong bullet.
 
I've been reloading the 7.62 x 39 for close to ten years now for two different SKS rifles. I had full intention of reloading the cartridge right from the start regardless of how cheap the steel case ammo was an with the way the political winds blow it can be here today and gone tomorrow.

Over the years I've pretty much loaded about anything you can shoot in the X39.52 gr. BTHP Sabot loads,90 gr. SWC sub-Sonic up to 155 & 170 gr. cast loads. I pretty much tried every jacketed bullet from 123 up to 187 gr. in the .310 to .311" dia in FMJ,SP & V-Max. I mainly shoot gas check cast lead bullets and have for years so my steel case stash along with my supply of various J bullets stay in the rainy day stash.

For powders I like Reloader #7 it's the most versatile as it can be used with both cast lead as well as J bullet will equally good results an about the best bang for the buck charge weight vs velocity. For cast loads only I use lots of Alliant 2400. Other powders like IMR-4198 or 4895 as well as AA-1680 are excellent as well. Not sure how Ak's are on brass but in the whole time I've load the X39 I can count on one hand the number of cases I've had to toss.
 
I reload 7.62x39 for AR 15, Mini-Mauser, and single shot Rossi. Not worth the trouble for AK/SKS. I find that a lot of the brass available for sale has been "AKed" and has a LOT of dents, dings, stretching, and/or swollen bases. I can't imagine this brass lasting more than 2-3 reloads before incipient failure. In fact, I end up tossing about 5% due to being expanded too much to even size(you end up with a BELT above the extraction groove).
AK type rifles were/are(?) designed to use steel cases and realistically should be fed steel cases. Considering what I've seen happen to some of the brass cases coming out of an AK, I wouldn't want that going on within inches of MY face.
 
You can get away with using .308 pills but accuracy suffers, what little you do achieve.
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My most accurate loads for my SKS are with 150gr .308" bullets. far better than light weight factory ammo or reloading with lighter .311 bullets.

Your statement is repeated a lot, and I'd just say don't knock it 'til you've tried it.
 
Local ammo outlet has stacks of brass Fiachi, maybe a couple other ones.

Our range has brass catchers available.

Buy a bulk of 250 or 500 or reloadable and buy the screen or get a strap on.

Just about have mine ready to go and will get the stuff to load it and see how it goes.
 
My most accurate loads for my SKS are with 150gr .308" bullets. far better than light weight factory ammo or reloading with lighter .311 bullets.

Your statement is repeated a lot, and I'd just say don't knock it 'til you've tried it.
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I didn't try it with 7.62x39mm, but some of the most accurate 7.7x58mm and 7.62x54R loads my family have run were stuffed with .308" projectiles. And the 7.62x54Rs have groove diameters of 0.314" or more.

The small bore diameter makes up for it, I believe. There's a lot of copper displaced by shoving a .308" projectile into a 0.300-0.302" bore.
 
I have a bolt action No.4 Mk1* in 7.62x39 that I load 125 gr Sierra .311 bullets for. Great for deer from a pop-up blind. I use a single stage press to load for it.
I also have an AK and an AR chambered in the same. I use my Load Master to load for them.
Some years ago, I managed to find bags of 1,000 new IMI cases for sale at Widener's and bought one. Adding reloadable range pickup to that has left me with enough to load and shoot when I like. I use a brass catcher on the semi-autos.
Sierra makes bullets for the .311 (303 Brit) in 125,150,174 & 180 gr weights.
I've only seen load data for the 125's and 150's for the 7.62x39.
 
Would love to if I could find any free brass for it. Never even seen that brass on the ground here. Just a ton of the steel stuff.
 
Oh yes I sure do. For two reasons for sure.
#1 I will always have ammo no matter what.
#2 I can still do it cheaper that steel cased ammo.
Not sure any more exactly what my cost is. some were near or south of $3 per 20.
Might be allot less since I reclaim my lead from a bullet trap. Re melt, Re cast, and reload.

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I have to agree with the .308 bullets. I have a bolt action and my best load is a 150 grain .308 bullet. Use it for deer. Getting the brass cheap may be a different story. Back in March or April I had a hard time finding any used on line, and as others have said, it was pretty beat up.
 
Dont bother reloading x39 in attempts to save money. As ive said before there is no true caculation equasion to tie a hard number to your reloads as the cost of the brass is a variable. I handload x39 for the challenge of added accuracy and future sustainibility. The future of millsurp x39 looks very spotty. Ive also loaded heavier 150gr .308 bullets and had excellent accuracy in my yugo o-pap.
 
As I stated earlier, cost isn't a factor when I reload. I was digging around in my ammo cabinet and found an ammo can of 7.62x39 ammo. Along with the Silver/Brown bear FMJ stuff I found 3 boxes of Privi Partizan 125 gr. RNSP and 40 brass cases, boxer primed. Forgot about them so now I gotta look up :cool:a load and refill them...
 
Cost of Brass per load is not an unknown. If you pay .25 for the case and you load it 10 times add 0.025 to your per load cost est.
Now if you really want to be a cheap skate. You can reload the steel.

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That being said. The price for loaded steel is cheaper now than it has been.
I usually shoot my reloads until gone. Then shoot Tula or what ever i have to fill out my range session.
 
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