I was wondering what cartridges can be made from the 7.62X39 caliber ?. I was cleaning out a corner of my shop when to my delight as well as surprise . I found two wooden cases 2880 rounds of Lapua Boxer primed !. So I'm wondering what accurate hybrid cartridge could be made from them ?.

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

220 russian, 22 ppc, 6mm ppc come to mind.

there was also a 9x39 or 9.3x39 used in finland and/or china.

Thanks a 6mm ppc , I'll look into that caliber .
As I'll have empty cases and don't particularly care for the 7.62X39 round and would like to recycle them this is a possibility . Again thanks for the info .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

6.5 Grendel, .30 PPC... Oh sweet, you lucky man.


FYi, many manufacturers here at the SHOT show are gearing up for the 7.62 x 39 on the AR platform, including the likes of Armalite. I shoot both a Colt Ar and a custom Sako in 7.62 x 39, and must differ with your opinions... I like it!

How many rounds of empty's? Fill a flat rate mail box and I'll find something worthy to trade you!

put a match grade barrel .311 barrel on an action and make a great ultralight rifle in 7.62x39

I've already caught a lot of " Flack " from another posting on 7.62X39 !, as not being a viable caliber IMO . I've lots of AK's & SKS as I collected them from VN . I still consider the original round a Pray & Spray cartridge !.

One can't deny that's exactly how it's used WORLD WIDE !.

I've never been fond of it , then again I don't own a Quality Bolt weapon for this cartridge either !. I don't see them at BR matches either . Not that I'm looking for a BR shooter , just a more accurate weapon would suit me .

This is why I was hoping to turn those empty cases into something else , once I fire them that is .

So a 6.5 Grendel, .30 PPC. ? I'm not up on this caliber .I always try and keep an open mind though and seek the advice of those who know .

jeffeosso; I do sincerely appreciate your input , I just don't care for the caliber in it's stock form . Some people Like 458 Lott some like .17HMR . Personally I don't care for either of them !.

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

The 7.62x39 IS a pray and spray round in the original use for which it is designed and manufactured today, all the way back to 1947. Kalasnikov was not looking for accuracy, he was working the reliability side of the equation, and the Russians had already decided that pray and spray worked with their PPSH series of "burp guns". It takes an American market and American gun nuts to take a volley cartridge and force it into a tackdriver. Aren't you happy that the AK-47s in the field are pray and spray, and not tack drivers???
LLS

Hey Dr. K, I can remember thinking they were not all that accurate too. Then about 25-28 years ago an old MARINE buddy of mine had bought two of the plastic stock ones for maybe $59 or $69 each, at a Gun Show along with a case or two of ammo. Didn't have much in the entire mess of stuff.

I happened to be visiting him for a fishing/shooting trip and of course a Hurricane was cranking up where we had wanted to go. So he suggested we go on to the Public Range and do some shooting.

We got there and were having a fine time shooting various firearms. All of a sudden up pulls 3-4 guys in a BMW, a Jag and a Mercedes convertable. They rolled out some really fine looking firearms and a HUGE Swarvoski Spotting Scope.

We decided to walk down and look at their goodies and you would have thought we were carrying the Plague. They weren't too friendly and I knew my buddy well enough that I was sure their attitude was bothering him.

An hour or so passed and we were about ready to leave. My buddy noticed they were trying to hit a "full" Soda Can they had placed at the 100yd berm with their super snazzy firearms.

Everyone had stopped firing and they were doing all kinds of adjusting when my buddy asked them if he could shoot at their can with his AK.

They looked at each other, chuckled a bit and told him to go right ahead. He then told me to come over and catch the Cases in my hat.

So we walk to the left end of the Benches and he slips into the rattiest looking sling I've ever seen. Kind of like a totally worn out military Class-A Belt.

He slips in a magazine and dances the can Off-Hand for about 3-shots, cuts a look at me, winks and procedes to blow it all apart with the next shot.

Then he said just loud enough for them to hear, "That is close enough until you can work on the trigger."
-----

It sure caught me off-guard about just how accurate "some" of those old realllllly cheap ones shot.

Dr K
fair enough.. i don't care for the 270 winchester, though it is an outstanding round.

Say,tell you what.. let me send you a couple boxes you could fill up and send my way. which would remove those offensive cases, and you wouldn't even have to see the nasty casehead

i seriously think a good ruger, or rebarreled one, with a great barrel, would be the cats A$$$$$$$ er, meow for a light rifle... and i mean5# rifle.

i don't get the spray and pray part, as they tend to be minute o' jug head to 200 yards... better than the average ape can shoot them... my personal "Accurized" sks is a sub 2 moa, FAR better than most thudy thudys...

So, let me know where to send a couple flat rate boxes, and i'll get those out of your hair... guess i am the garbage man!!
jeffe

jeffeosso; The Pray & Spray for me came from VN !. Others will now argue it's a Mid Eastern ritual !. Either way I'm sure you can see it .

Anyone of us who Has really shot any " Surplus Ammo " in any service grade weapon would know that term well !. 06 Korean boxer ring any bells or Wolf steel 7.62X39 , the Bulgarian Sardine Tins aren't bad for Bulk Surplus , best I've found so far . As I haven't shot the Laupa's yet .

I do own two pristine AK's and alot of SKS all Russian ( 1947-1959 ) Only missing two years models . I shall also admit with Hand loads a couple shoot well enough , not tack drivers but do the job they were intended to do, VERY WELL .

I simply wanted to utilize the future empty cases for another caliber which was more in the accuracy realm . I did some reading on the 6.5 Grendel and that seems to be a viable candidate !. Accurate power full with excellent flat range trajectory .

Does anyone see any objections in that choice ?. As I've often stated before , I respect everyones opinion and I'm open to suggestions .
I don't ask then post the next day I ordered the rifle or barrel . I like to Dwell on the subject for a few weeks before committing to Purchase .

Thank " ALL " of You , who have sounded off !.Because that's what this Forum is all about INFO .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Hey Hot Core,

Back in the day, some buddies and I had the chance to "bench test" a sampling of AK's that we had liberated from the opposition. Some grouped just as well as our M16's.

With the bolt action stainless Ruger, one must get around that long leade to the rifling. I use a .308, 200 gr. Sierra BTSP w/20.0 gr. of IMR 4198, oal= 2.500". (Had to install a .308 Win follower.) Floated the bbl and achieved 3/4 moa. I get 1770 fps. I have killed many large hogs and large deer with this program.

With the Chinese SKS I shoot a Lyman .309 200gr, cast bullet @ 2.540" in length, with 5.0 gr. of Bullseye, with the op rod removed because the long cartridges won't fit the magazine. I single load 'em, and get 1.5 moa. Haven't chronoed it - would guess circa 1000 to 1100 fps. With this I've killed some time and one squirrel.

The long leade is the rub that must be overcome.

Lot of fun.

These loads were safe in my stuff; but may explode in yours and kill someone, according to my attorney.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
put a match grade barrel .311 barrel on an action and make a great ultralight rifle in 7.62x39

I would go with a .308 dia barrel. More and better bullets to choose from in .308 as opposed to the .310-.311 dia bullets.

I had a .308 dia 7.62x39 barrel installed on my Ruger Mini-30. Not done testing loads yet, but it looks as though .5 inch groups at 100 will not be a problem.

Steve
sure enough, if there wasn't a trillion surplus and/or cheap "hunting" ammo out there, i would do a .308 barrel ... but not as a solution for this problem

7.62x39mm brass will not form into 6mmPPC with a 6mmPPC sizing die, the shoulder just collapses.

SKS actions do not take well to a case full of H110 and 180 gr Sierra jammed into the lands. It's not your father's 98 Mauser. It blows the firing pin right out the back of the bolt.

They were such pieces of Crap that worked when you pulled the trigger.When the M16 first made it to Nam ,they would jam if you tried to run a full mag through your piece.They told us we didn`t clean them often enough.We would pick up disscarded AK`s.They worked all the time and out to 300 yds were far superior to the 223.Shot them semi auto in a SKS and they totaly out shot the M16 accuracy wise.I have a Mark10 Mimi Mauser in 7.62X 39 that is an honest 300 yd Deer rifle. Just my thoughts OB

I have never figured out why the Russians saw anything wrong with the 7.62x39, the military has long claimed real fighting is close in ie 300 yards or less so the .22 cal will work at these distances, thats funny but wouldn't the 7.62x39 work even better at these ranges. for fighting inside 300 yards I will take the 7.2x39 every time, I went out shooting a 12" steel target it was clear how much harder the commie round hit over the 223.

1) Winchester 7.62x39mm brass is large primer.
2) Remington 7.62x39mm brass is small primer, and is no longer manufactured.

1) 7.62x39mm brass has an extractor groove of .372"
2) A Mauser brass case head has an extractor groove of .4"
3) A large primer pocket is .21"
4) A small primer pocket is .1775"
5) The inside thrust diameter of a Mauser is .389"
6) The inside thrust diameter of an SKS is .36"

The Mauser case head reaches it limit at ~65kpsi chamber pressure.
That translates to 85ksi compression stress and 36ksi hoop stress to the brass around the primer pocket.

If I [crudely without AssClown's help] extrapolate strength from that for the 7.62x39mm Boxer cases, I get:
1) Win cases 62,000 psi max usable chamber pressure
2) Rem cases 90,000 psi max usable chamber pressure

But experimentally, when I give them the same overload:
22.5 gr W296, 180 gr Sierra bullet 2310 .311", 2.190"
1) The extractor groove expands .012" in the Win.
2) The extractor groove expands .005" in the Rem.
3) The Kopp steel Berdan case extractor groove expands easier.

What does it all mean?
The Win brass should be much weaker, but it is ok.

Ok Will admit you guys have it all over me in the technical arena! However here is a fun load using the old Accurate Arms 2200 powder and hornady xtp 90 gr hollow point bullets. They say 30 cal but are 309 dia. Using a 308 sizer die load to 1890 overall length. I use 31 grains of 2200 powder and is an accurate load to 100yds. I took the gas piston out of my sks to retrieve brass and made it a single shot. Use a mag large rifle primer for better results. Dont know how fast they are going but im thinking pretty fast for a 762 39. Imsur other powders would work too