I've been debating getting an ak-47 for plinking. I have an AR-15 which is great fun, but even cheap jacketed boolits get spendy at the rate my kids go through them. So how is the ak as a cast shooter?

I suppose a mdl 94 thutty thutty would be as good or better, but the boys seem to dig self loaders

quote:

Originally posted by Paul H:
I've been debating getting an ak-47 for plinking. I have an AR-15 which is great fun, but even cheap jacketed boolits get spendy at the rate my kids go through them. So how is the ak as a cast shooter?

I suppose a mdl 94 thutty thutty would be as good or better, but the boys seem to dig self loaders

Paul,

I think one of the Yugo SKS's would be better served for cast plinking. I have one and it shoots the Lee 312 155 quite well.

I have found that the military 7.62x39 rifles seem to do better accuracy wise with cast then the surplus jacketed military stuff or the Wolf ammo. I was toying with the idea of picking up an AK 47, but one of my friends talked me out of it stating it's nothing but a bullet hose.

Joe

Paul H

Get them the M94 30-30 and teach them that only the hits count. The kids will be far better off in the future if they learn marksmanship and that only the shot being fired counts. I learned all that years ago with my own M94. I've access to all the AKs I want to shoot (I teach about shooting AKs as part of my contracting job) but never get any enjoyment out of shooting them myself. I usually grab one of the SKS or RPKs and shoot 400+ meters with it. That really impresses the Marines and Soldiers. It isn't too long before they all want to shoot the SKS and RPK at long range. Seems they see the value of accuracy and marksmanship vs spray and pray real quick.

If the kids want to spray and pray then a 10/22 will be far cheaper in the long run and will give you more time to cast and load quality ammuntion for the 30-30 and other cartridges. The AK will be pretty hard on cases (finding them is half the battle!) and casting the bullets and loading them will eat up your time and grate on you when you see the kids just blaze away with your hard earned loaded ammo. However if you must do it then the Lee C312-155 is your best bet with H4895 powder. BTW; the GC will cost you almost as much as .22LR ammo these days.

Larry Gibson

They don't just spray and pray, and your right, a 10/22 is the fun and cheap way to play.

I was pretty proud of my older boy when he was shooting his new rifle. After punching paper for a bit, he lined up shotgun hulls at 100yds and was hitting them pretty consistantly.

Notice that I myself didn't say they were spray and pray, my friend did. Larry Gibson knows who he is too as he was once a castboolit forum member. I will say they aren't set up for conductive accurate shooting though. I will also say that some of the new breed of AK's shoot much more accurately then they use too.

My AK47 is my built AR15 in 7.62x39 and it shoots cast more then just good or better.

Joe

Paul H

My apologies, no offense meant. I was just using it as a figure of speach to describe the general accuracy of an AK (please AK owners, don't send me a lot of 'groups" to look at).

It speaks well of your boy to shoot his new rifle (looks like a very good set up!) that well. Speaks well of his father too. I'm not sucking up here and will still stick to my advice on the 30-30 lever gun. They can be lots of fun with cast bullets for a boy growing up and learning to shoot, even to reload for it especially with cast bullets. A good M94 or Marlin will be much more shooter friendly than an AK.

Larry Gibson

I agree too on the 30-30. I also like the same rifle in 32 Win Special also, although the cast bullet selection isn't as vast as it is for the 30 caliber. If I went with 30-30 I'd try to get a rifle with conventional rifling, not to say that Micro-Groove isn't any good, but the conventional is a tad easier to get good results with. With peep sights or scope the lever actions can be quite accurate with cast especiall at the distance used for taking deer.

The 7.62x39 in a bolt rifle is also a really friendly cast caliber and going to be pretty close to the 30-30 in performance. Just to give you an idea my AR15 with 20 inch barrel in 7.62x39 using the Lee 312 155 bullets is getting between 1900-2000 fps in my normal loading. My best group to date (and consistent) is 3/8 inch at 100 yards. Mine you know it's not the run of the mill AR's. It's target all the way and scoped.

Joe

Does your son get harassed by other kids at school for being a gun owner? Does his involvement in shooting garner the interest of the other boys? When and where I went to school, we all had guns and we all did a lot of shooting. I hope he doesn't have to face criticism because he's a shooter...

Have any of you experienced any problems with the gas ports clogging on the AK or SKS when using cast bullets? I don't shoot cast in my SKS and do not have an AK but have always considered the possibility of getting lead shavings in the gas port as something likely to happen.

Alan

Oh, Homebrewer, I know you didn't ask me the question but, in our schools shooting and hunting are status symbols. Most kids do all of the above when it comes to shooting, gun ownership, hunting, fishing, etc.

Alan

quote:

Originally posted by Alan R. McDaniel, Jr.:
Have any of you experienced any problems with the gas ports clogging on the AK or SKS when using cast bullets? I don't shoot cast in my SKS and do not have an AK but have always considered the possibility of getting lead shavings in the gas port as something likely to happen.

Alan

Me thinks it is not a good idea.
SKS and AKs are very robust, I don't think it will fail soon, but if you continue to do it all the time, it will fail.

So you shoot some Lead, and then some FMJ.

quote:

Originally posted by Alan R. McDaniel, Jr.:
Have any of you experienced any problems with the gas ports clogging on the AK or SKS when using cast bullets? I don't shoot cast in my SKS and do not have an AK but have always considered the possibility of getting lead shavings in the gas port as something likely to happen.

Alan

It's pretty easy to clean up the gas system on AKs and the SKS if they become a bit sluggish.

I would recommend shooting some lead bullets through these guys!

I find shooting round ball (OO Buck) gallery loads quite amusing at 25m using .22 LR rated metallic silhouette targets or "duelling trees".

quote:

I've been debating getting an ak-47 for plinking. I have an AR-15 which is great fun, but even cheap jacketed boolits get spendy at the rate my kids go through them. So how is the ak as a cast shooter?

Well, since others have answered a question not asked - I'll join them. I have found a lever gun 357mag to be a brilliant cast bullet plinking gun. I think - and that is only my opinion - that your kids would get a lot more enjoyment from such a gun. The accuracy potential and the ease of casting 358 bullets and loading for that caliber are all in it's favour. A 44mag lever gun would be fun too, but I think the 357 has more range (and recoil can get painful when shooting that hard butt from a bench - from the 357). But I suppose a 30-30 wouldn't be that different but bigger are easier and quicker to cast and no gas checks are required for the 357. Another plus for the 357mag is that with suitable powders, the case gets filled completely and simply cannot be overloaded.

Just a thought!

I don't know why I never seem to go through with getting a 357 lever gun. I've got plenty of brass and dies, and in a strong gun it's a suprising performer. I also have a couple hundred 357 max cases, so with the right gun re-chambered that's another avenue to persue.

if you go here. There doing a group buy on what should be a great mold for them http://castboolits.gunloads.co...owthread.php?t=39054