Reloading 7.62x39

[max384]

I was going through my ammo supply and realized I was dangerously low on 7.62x39 and need to reload some. I have the dies and have reloaded in the past, but only 20 rounds. The ones I did reload were done using someone else's die set that I assume was set up for .311 caliber bullets (that I am no longer in contact with to ask him about) - as that is what I used (when I was new to reloading and didn't realize there were two different diameters). I have a redding die set with a .306" neck-sizing pin (for .308 cal bullets). I will be shooting them exclusively out of a Romanian made AK-47 (WASR-10/63). I have not slugged the bore and do not know for sure what the groove diameter is. I have a few questions before I start reloading these again - this time done right.

1. Is it safe to assume that a Romanian produced AK has a .311" groove diameter? If not, is there an easier way of measuring the groove diameter than slugging the bore?

2. I measured the diameter of the bullets in the cheap steel cased ammo to be .311." I had no problems with them and I also had no problems firing the few reloads I made. Does the three thousandths of an inch matter much? I am worrying that firing a .311 caliber bullet through a barrel with a .308" groove diameter will increase the pressures too much (worried about wear and tear more than catastrophic failure as I've already fired many through it). I know that, for example, ruger uses a .308" groove diameter on their mini-30s. I assume that people have fired .311" ammo through them without catastrophic failures. But, could it be hard on the gun and affect accuracy?

3. Currently I only have .306 neck-sizing pin. Do you think that I will be able to seat a .311 caliber bullet using that pin? Or would I have to get a neck-sizing pin for a .311 caliber bullet?

4. Is it even worth it to reload for these? I notice that my cases are pretty dinged up and I wonder how long they'll last. So far I haven't found any cheap brass... which leads me to:

5. Where in the heck do you find cheap brass and bullets for 7.62x39???

Thanks in advance for the help! I feel like I'm a newbie again with this caliber! I'm just glad I didn't hurt myself when I reloaded these before without knowing nearly enough about them.

[Bama Man]

I was going through my ammo supply and realized I was dangerously low on 7.62x39 and need to reload some. I have the dies and have reloaded in the past, but only 20 rounds. The ones I did reload were done using someone else's die set that I assume was set up for .311 caliber bullets (that I am no longer in contact with to ask him about) - as that is what I used (when I was new to reloading and didn't realize there were two different diameters). I have a redding die set with a .306" neck-sizing pin (for .308 cal bullets). I will be shooting them exclusively out of a Romanian made AK-47 (WASR-10/63). I have not slugged the bore and do not know for sure what the groove diameter is. I have a few questions before I start reloading these again - this time done right.

1. Is it safe to assume that a Romanian produced AK has a .311" groove diameter? If not, is there an easier way of measuring the groove diameter than slugging the bore?

2. I measured the diameter of the bullets in the cheap steel cased ammo to be .311." I had no problems with them and I also had no problems firing the few reloads I made. Does the three thousandths of an inch matter much? I am worrying that firing a .311 caliber bullet through a barrel with a .308" groove diameter will increase the pressures too much (worried about wear and tear more than catastrophic failure as I've already fired many through it). I know that, for example, ruger uses a .308" groove diameter on their mini-30s. I assume that people have fired .311" ammo through them without catastrophic failures. But, could it be hard on the gun and affect accuracy?

3. Currently I only have .306 neck-sizing pin. Do you think that I will be able to seat a .311 caliber bullet using that pin? Or would I have to get a neck-sizing pin for a .311 caliber bullet?

4. Is it even worth it to reload for these? I notice that my cases are pretty dinged up and I wonder how long they'll last. So far I haven't found any cheap brass... which leads me to:

5. Where in the heck do you find cheap brass and bullets for 7.62x39???

Thanks in advance for the help! I feel like I'm a newbie again with this caliber! I'm just glad I didn't hurt myself when I reloaded these before without knowing nearly enough about them.

I would say it's safe to assume that the Romanian bore is .310 or .311.
I have yet to see a foreign AK system that is 7.62X39 that is not .
Are you reloading the steel cases? Aren't they berdan?
Lee sells the neck pin you need at a very reasonable price, and, if you get a set of thier dies, they will send both pins, the .310, and the .308.
I really don't believe that it is worth reloading the brass ammo yet at this point. Not for a semi-auto, where you will probably lose 1/3 to 1/2 of your brass each range trip. Even if you don't lose brass, I think that it still runs neck to neck on the cost of surplus vs reloads.
Graf & Son probably has the best assortment and best prices on brass and bullets for 7.62x39.
I am currently beginning to reload this cartridge for a Mauser I had rebarreled for it.
I would never even consider reloading for my SKS. I lose too much brass

[max384]

I would say it's safe to assume that the Romanian bore is .310 or .311.
I have yet to see a foreign AK system that is 7.62X39 that is not .
Are you reloading the steel cases? Aren't they berdan?
Lee sells the neck pin you need at a very reasonable price, and, if you get a set of thier dies, they will send both pins, the .310, and the .308.
I really don't believe that it is worth reloading the brass ammo yet at this point. Not for a semi-auto, where you will probably lose 1/3 to 1/2 of your brass each range trip. Even if you don't lose brass, I think that it still runs neck to neck on the cost of surplus vs reloads.
Graf & Son probably has the best assortment and best prices on brass and bullets for 7.62x39.
I am currently beginning to reload this cartridge for a Mauser I had rebarreled for it.
I would never even consider reloading for my SKS. I lose too much brass

No, I'm not reloading the steel cases. They are indeed Berdan primed (at least all that I've used).
I've never actually been to Graf and Son. Thanks. They have quite a selection.
The more I look around, the less I am inclined to reload - as I only shoot for my AK.

Thanks for the advice.

[smitty56]

1)With ammo at less than 20 cents a round, why reload 7.62X39?
I make enough effort to take care of all the rest of the calibers by reloading so I would not worry about 7.62X39.
2) Loaded ammo is available and the reloading components for 7.62X39 are harder to get than the regular American calibers.
3) How do you find boxer primed cases (reasonably priced too?) for 7.62X39? I think Wideners had them at one point but I don't see them now.
4) Oh yeah, that "losing the cases" issue.


http://www.classicarms.us/

http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.c...dir=18|830|852

Of course, that is just me. Even if corrosive, I just have to clean the gun and it's ok.

Smitty

[max384]

1)With ammo at less than 20 cents a round, why reload 7.62X39?
I make enough effort to take care of all the rest of the calibers by reloading so I would not worry about 7.62X39.
2) Loaded ammo is available and the reloading components for 7.62X39 are harder to get than the regular American calibers.
3) How do you find boxer primed cases (reasonably priced too?) for 7.62X39? I think Wideners had them at one point but I don't see them now.
4) Oh yeah, that "losing the cases" issue.


http://www.classicarms.us/

http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.c...dir=18|830|852

Of course, that is just me. Even if corrosive, I just have to clean the gun and it's ok.

Smitty

I haven't found any reasonably priced 762x39 cases yet. The twenty pieces that I loaded before were once-fired from some fiocchi loaded ammo.

It looks like my attempts to save any money by reloading this caliber are futile. I concede...

[Tim Ault]

1)With ammo at less than 20 cents a round, why reload 7.62X39?

Smitty

Simple .Because the accuracy of most imported ammo in that caliber absolutely sucks! quality reloads in that caliber will do wonders .


Max384 have you looked into casting for the 7.62 soviet? Lee makes a great 155 gr mould for it. and both the SKS and AK are rather cast bullet friendly weapons .



Tim

[max384]

Simple .Because the accuracy of most imported ammo in that caliber absolutely sucks! quality reloads in that caliber will do wonders .


Max384 have you looked into casting for the 7.62 soviet? Lee makes a great 155 gr mould for it. and both the SKS and AK are rather cast bullet friendly weapons .



Tim

I don't do any casting. In fact, I only reload jacketed or plated bullets except in .38 SPL. The only reason I was going to reload was to save money, I don't care about accuracy in this caliber - not for the gun it's being shot out of. Thanks for the advice though.

[smitty56]

Simple .Because the accuracy of most imported ammo in that caliber absolutely sucks! quality reloads in that caliber will do wonders .


Max384 have you looked into casting for the 7.62 soviet? Lee makes a great 155 gr mould for it. and both the SKS and AK are rather cast bullet friendly weapons .



Tim

Hey Tim,
Fair answer!
It just never occured to me that anyone would need a more accurate bullet with 7.62X39 shooting in AK and SKSs. If I were going for accuacy, the AK would never have been on my list to start with. High powered bullet and lots of them, yes. Sniper rifle? No.
Thanks,
Smitty

[Tim Ault]

Hey Tim,
Fair answer!
It just never occured to me that anyone would need a more accurate bullet with 7.62X39 shooting in AK and SKSs. If I were going for accuacy, the AK would never have been on my list to start with. High powered bullet and lots of them, yes. Sniper rifle? No.
Thanks,
Smitty

Your right in as much as the AK and SKS series of rifles has a reputation of less than stellar accuracy (But so does the Mini 14!!!) but they can and will shoot better with good ammo, But I look at it this way why do I want to shoot a 5 or 6 moa group/pattern when I can shoot 2 or 3 moa with the same rifle and better ammo . I just like to hit as close to were I'm aiming as possible no matter what rifle it is.

[daschnoz]

1. Is it safe to assume that a Romanian produced AK has a .311" groove diameter? If not, is there an easier way of measuring the groove diameter than slugging the bore?

Go with either 0.310 or 0.311 bullets. If you find bullets that are 0.312 at a good price, you can use those too.

2. I measured the diameter of the bullets in the cheap steel cased ammo to be .311." I had no problems with them and I also had no problems firing the few reloads I made. Does the three thousandths of an inch matter much? I am worrying that firing a .311 caliber bullet through a barrel with a .308" groove diameter will increase the pressures too much (worried about wear and tear more than catastrophic failure as I've already fired many through it). I know that, for example, ruger uses a .308" groove diameter on their mini-30s. I assume that people have fired .311" ammo through them without catastrophic failures. But, could it be hard on the gun and affect accuracy?

Most of the Wolf, Barnaul, etc. that I have measured has 0.308 bullets. A couple of thousandths in either direction isn't a big deal. Your barrel makes a great bullet sizing die (within reason).

3. Currently I only have .306 neck-sizing pin. Do you think that I will be able to seat a .311 caliber bullet using that pin? Or would I have to get a neck-sizing pin for a .311 caliber bullet?

You can use the 0.306 neck.

4. Is it even worth it to reload for these? I notice that my cases are pretty dinged up and I wonder how long they'll last.

Load them with a good stiff charge and some 120gr-135gr bullets, then add them to your SHTF stash. If you ever need to use them, you won't care about saving the brass.

5. Where in the heck do you find cheap brass and bullets for 7.62x39???

Brass: Look around on the auction sites, or the classifieds on this and other gun boards. Be warned: Remington brass uses small rifle primers. All other brass manufacturers use large rifle primers.
Bullets: If you're just looking for plinking loads, you can use any 0.308, 125gr-ish bullet. I use 125gr Speer TNTs for mine.

BTW, if you're looking for a light plinking (Sunday afternoon) load that will keep the brass in the same time zone, try 15gr of 2400 under a 125gr-ish pill.