heavy bullets for 7.62x39?

S

Shadow9mm

New member
So I have run across a few interesting things I am looking into. Was curious if anyone else has tried these. Granted these are both .308 options and I am not sure how nicely these will play

First off a Hornady interlock, 150g, kind of a very blunt round nose. I would have initially discounted these. however I bought some 123g PPU soft point round noses that fed well in my rifle, so these may work ok as well. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010477433?pid=382697 per hornadys data this bullet is supposed to work in the 1800-2500fps range. so it should function properly in the AK's velocity range of around 2100fps at the muzzle. (the dedicated 7.62x39 sst bullet is rated for 1900-2500fps)

Secondly is the berrys .308 220g plated bullet. Was toying with the idea of building a subsonic load, just because I could. found this article from ultimate reloader on their workup. https://ultimatereloader.com/2020/03/31/subsonic-ak-berrys-220-grain-plated-bullets-starline-brass/

Anyone play with heavies or subsonics in their 7.62x39? I have 1680, 335, and h110, BL-c(2) to tinker with.
 
I was using a powder coated Lee 160gr in my CZ for a number of years but recently switched to the Lyman 115gr. Really the main problem is balancing seating depth, powder charge and chambering issues.

Also understand the x39 uses a .311 diameter so accuracy may be affected slightly.
 
150 gr

I have experimented with Hornady 150 gr flat nose soft points intended for the 30-30 in the x39mm cartridge and I suspect it is the same bullet you describe.

My usual powder for the x39mm is H4198, but my notes show that the only load I have chrono records for is RE7. A reasonable charge got me 1900 fps in the bolt rifle, and 1800 fps thru the Mini. I have no doubt that 2000 fps in the bolt rifle was entirely possible. I had no feeding problems in either rifle, but I don't show any accuracy records.

I've not hunted the 150gr bullet, as I found the 125 gr SST shot lights out in the bolt rifle and easily exceeded 2100 fps. My initial projectile for the x39mm cartridge was the now defunct 135 gr Speer SSP bullet, intended for the .30 Herret. The SSP seemed the perfect blend of bullet weight and acceptable velocity and gave satisfactory accuracy. I still have a small quantity of them loaded and hunt them in the Mini if I ever carry it.
 
Heavy bullets for 7.62x39 has difficulty similar to heavy bullets for .30 carbine. The difference between max. COAL and brass length is too small to allow many choices in bullet designs. That's why there are bullets specially made for those 2 cartridges. Venturing outside the boundaries usually causes feeding issues. It opens up if you don't mind manual single feeding.

I have loaded with Hornady 150gr SP .312" diameter, originally for .303 British. MV 1800 - 2000fps. Powder is N135 and IMR4198. Rifle is SKS. Then I went back to lighter bullets and saved the 150gr for the other calibers.

-TL

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One thing I know about.308 bullets in 7.62x39, they work great in early production Mini-30’s. I’ve heard a couple different reasons for this and not sure which is the truth. Either the barrels were bored for .308 or I’ve also heard they tapered down to .308 towards the muzzle. I learned this when shooting any Com Bloc ammo that was .311, I noticed substantially more recoil and muzzle blast compared to my handloads with.308 bullets. The rifle action and ejection was also much more violent.
 
Bullet diameter is different issue. One would need to slug the bore to find out for sure. My yugo SKS has groove diameter of 0.311". 0.308" bullets don't shoot well. That further limits bullet options.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Use .312 bullets. Hornady amkes a 150 gr .312 Interlock. I have fired this bullet through my 7.62X39 rifle and it works pretty well, ballistics come up a little short of 30-30 velocities.
 
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