The Sierra 135 SSP has been discondinued. This was my favorite bullet for the 7.62 x 39. When my supply runs out I think I will give the Hornady 130 SSP a try.

Is anybody making small primer cases for this round?



I just received the Lapua brass I ordered but would also like to try some small primer cases too.



Any recommendations for powders for bullets in the 125-150 grain range?



These will be used in my new cz527.



Thanks.

Remington made cases with the small rifle primer, but Federal & Winchester did not. As for powders, I believe one of the 4198's or XMP 5744 is appropriate. The 48th edition of the Lyman Reloading Handbook recommends H 335 as well.

Without a doubt the AA1680 is the way to go for velocity and accuracy. I have a 21" 1 in 12 MacMillian and a Colt AR upper i this caliber and have found it exceedingly fun and amazingly accurate. The Remington cases are made with a small primer pocket, but my best accuracy has been with Lapua and F210Match primers.

The 7.62X39 uses a .311 bullet, and most 30 caliber bullets are .308. So you ay want to get a bullet specifically made for the 7.62X39. Speer makes a 125gr. soft point just for the AK. Part no. 2213.

As noted Remington supplies small primer brass. I picked up some good Lapua brass a couple of years ago from Midway on close out, its the best. I load for a Mini Mauser-X in 7.62X39mm. Check your barrel, many are made with a .309 or .310 dia to function with either .308 or .311 dia bullets. What you may find is lack luster accuracy. My Mauser-X has a .311 bore. Sierra makes a good 125g SP in .311 dia. I picked up a good load out of Shooting Times years back - 24.0g of H-4227, Sierra 125g SP, I am using CCI BR-2 Primers. I am getting 2,432 fps out of my Mauser. At reasonable ranges it will drop a whitetail nicely.

Scout Master 54

I have a custom T/C Contender barrel in 7.62x39 (.308 bore) 1:10 twist. I have had great success with Reloader 7 for bullet weights of 110 gr Hornady V-max, Nosler 125 BT and Hornady 130 SSPB. For 150 and 165 grain bullets my gun favors H4895. May not be the fastest load on earth but sure is a tack driver for accuracy. Also, works well with cast bullets 150 grains and heavier. AA1680 was a total bomb in my gun but may do better with small primer pocket cases. I shoot large primer cases.

Thanks for all the replies.

Haven't been able to find any Remington brass but I ordered up another 100 Lapua cases. I can't believe how cheap they are. Hardly more than domestic cases.

I talked to CZ before I purchased the rifle. They told me they use a .311" bore. Of course I'll slug it to confirm once the CA gov has deemed me worth to take possession. One of the reasons I'm considering the 150 grainers is that there are several made that are .312" diameter. Oddly, most of the 125 grainers are only .310".

Seems all I can find on-line is loaded Remington ammo but not Rem. brass. Does anyone know if the Remington - UMC brass is also small primer?

7 cents each plus shipping as seen in the Remington 7.62x39mm brass ebay transaction is typical:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31824&item=3657824817



Link to my large primer vs small primer brass strength calculation



Preliminary results with 22.5 gr. W296 and Sierra 2310 180 gr .311" bullets, 2.19" OAL, [73kpsi and 2200fps Quickload]:

1) RP brass, WSRP: .005" extractor groove expansion, ruined Yugo SKS firing pin

2) Win brass, CCI200: .008" extractor groove expansion, Albainian SKS ok.



But I think I have an out of control variable with the tight Yugo chamber. The brass flowed into the extractor slot in the bolt face. I have more firing pins on order and will try again with shorter OAL.

picture of RP case head

another pic of same

yet another pic of the same case head

Thanks Clark but I'd prefer NEW brass. I'm just leary of so called "once fired" brass.

Ah, the 7.62x39! The reason I live today! Sorry for my zeal, I just never quite figured out why so many embrace the little pecker.

i'ld love a little 4.5# rook rifle in this, with a .308 barrel...

other than that, it's a decent deer down rifle, in texas.. but,then again, a huge texas whitetail is 125#

why folks love it?
1: autoloaders are fun to shoot
2: sks were 70 bucks each
3: at times, you can get the rounds for less than a dime
4: nil recoil
5: it IS a 30 caliber bullet, which the 223 aint

jeffe

I purchased 5 boxes of NEW Rem brass on Ebay for $3.00 a box with free shipping (boxs included). Some deals can be had on new brass if you get lucky. I shoot Sierra 135gr SSP .308 with AA 1680 in my Ruger Mini 30. Ruger tells me that the Mini 30 will shoot .311 and .308. I have shot many whitetails with this round, for deer under 100 yards it is deadly. It is also a great gun for the youngsters to learn the art of shooting. They can shoot for hours (very little recoil). Paintballs at 50 to 75 yards is one of their favorites.

Well, let's see. In this catagory, I already have a bolt action .223, a couple of sks's, a .30-30, and finally a single shot in .32 H&R. So, did I really need it, probably not. But, with as little time as I get to reload these days, it's real nice to be able to pick up a box of 20 for $2 and have at it.

The idea that this can serve as a plinker and first deer rifle for my son when he's old enough is an added benefit.

Jeffe, where is Porter Texas? South of San Antonio they get a lot bigger than 125 lb. The last big buck that I killed field dressed 160 lbs. on a certified scale. I've killed bigger bodied deer than that, I just never weighed them. That is probably still small compared to the big northern whitetails. I hunt in west Texas now and the deer aren't as big, but, the Bobcats sure grow big out there. It's getting to where you can't afford to hunt in south Texas any more unless you're filming a TV show for the Outdoor Channel. Oh and to stay on the subject, 7.62x39 will work if you hit 'em right. Have a good day, Rojelio

Rojelio,
Porter is jsut north of houston.. and a 160 is a MONSTER for aroudn here.. in the ne corner of the state, I heard a state biologist say, the average DRESSED weight of a buck is 73#...

I grew up in west memphis, and let me tell you i was dead out ashamed of the first deer i took in texas... as I knew a 8 point COULD NOT be THAT smallNow, i was the ripe old age of 12, so don't hold this too much agasint me...

This "8 pointer buck" was about 1/2 the size of my first deer, out of a soybean field in ark.. and about 1/4 the size of what my paternal grandfather used to bring home from michigan...

and I wonder why I am not much of a deer hunter... costs 2k for a lease, and that's a cheap one, and there's nothing but irish setter sized deer running on them...

oh, yeah, a 7.62x39 will take those cleanly.

I think this is actually a crutial point in many discussions... if you decapitated a mule deer, and drove through smalltown east texas, they'd SWEAR you had an elk..

the point is, that what people call deer rifles has to be taken into context with what their DEER are... I've heard of 200# being taken in south texas.. but let's say your 160 is a bigin... that's less than 2/3 of a big in in missouri or michigan... and double the weight of a piney woods buck

jeffe

I grew up in San Antonio and hope to move back that way someday in the not too distant future. I hunted near Fredericksburg alot and once up near midland. The hillcountry deer were big if they went anywhere near 125 lbs. The Midland deer I got were bigger. For where I hope to live the 7.62 would be more than sufficient. Whether it actually gets used for that purpose is another matter but it will certainly serve as a great training tool to graduate a youngster from a plinking, low recoil rifle, to a bonafied deer getter like a .30-30, lol. Funny, all the deer I ever got but one were shot with my .30-30. The other big one fell to my .30-06.

It's true that the term deer rifle has many meanings depending on where you live and what kinda deer you have.

Thanks for that input.

Now to order up some UMC ammo. I was thinking that the 130-135 grain spitzers made for single shot pistols would be ideal for deer as would 150 grain flatpoints designed for the .30-30.

For a bolt rifle like the CZ, the max industry standard is 50,000 CUP, so the fun part is beating the pants off factory ammo that is less than 45,000 CUP. With a 123 gr bullet compressed charges of 1680 make 2544 fps and RX7 will make 2600 fps.

I live in Georgetown Texas. Last two bucks I have shot (3 years ago, we are culling does now) were 98#, and 109# field dressed. There are some larger ones out there.

Last time I took one into Smith Brothers in Belton (they went out of business for a while) there was a kid in there with a buck (12 point) that field dressed out 150 or so pounds. So he must have been over 200 pounds on the hoof. This deer was shot on a place near Granger Texas (could not pin him down on location). This was his grandmother's place and she had never allowed anyone to hunt on the place until that year, and only this grandson. But I have heard of 175 pound on the hoof deer in that area.

Every year the largest deer in Williamson County Texas is usually killed by a car on the highway (At least the deer that people tag).

I have seen larger deer where I hunt, but only fleetingly. I can kill an 8 point in the 100 pound field dressed range about any time I want.

There is a 3000 acre game ranch near where I hunt, and it costs $5000 to hunt on that ranch. This guy brings in the Easter white tail and breeds them. I am told his cull deer are once in a lifetime central texas deer. Ferral hogs will tear up his deer proof fence and maybe some of those big ones will escape.

My brother-in-law's cousin killed a 275 pound on the hoof deer on paper company land near Carthage Texas. That is hard hunting, because of the thickness of brush and trees.

My conclusions are that there are a lot of deer in Texas (over 3 million the last time I heard), and a lot of them are small. However there are some big one's that we rarely see, and that is why they are so big. I lived in Minnisota for a while and my conclusion there is that the deer are big but there are not that many, and deer season can be cold as hell.

The Hornady 130 ssp is very accurate in my 30-30 Savage 340. I get sub moa groups using an old 4x steel tube weaver scope. Rojelio.