might never do it... but then agian, i might..
it would be interesting, to me at least, to do a pistol in 7.62x39.. just thinking outloud, .. a 10 or 15" TC setup, .311 bore, and either a 2x or irons on it..

probably no meaningful difference than a 10 or 15" 30-30..

jeffe

No experience with it so far but I should have my MGM sale barrel here within the next 2 weeks in (14 in) 45 Colt and (14 in)7.62 x 39(30 x 39). I hope to give it a good ringing out. I guess I could have gone with a .311 bore but it seemed easier to go with the .308 bore. Some people ask why did I go with the 7.62 x 39mm,(you know how it is) I guess it all boils down to "If you have to ask you'll never get it"
I'll have to post my results.

Steve E........

The owner of Mary's Pistols out here has an
AR-15 type pistol in 7.62x39. If I remember correctly he has a 10" barrel on it. He said it is a lot of fun for just making noise and spraying lead. Other than that, it doesn't serve any practical purpose. If you shoot it at dusk, he said the fireball is nothing short of blinding.

I thought the caliber might be interesting in a Contender, just like you mentioned. I went with a 30-30 though. The 30-30 seemed like it would be more flexible with different bullet weights and powders. I don't know if that's really true though.

The 7.62 x 39 is a very manageable caliber in the T/C Encore.....I had Fox Ridge build me a 15", it has a .308 bore (not .311), tons of 30 caliber bullets to shoot, even to 240gr & best of all, that's the parent case for the PPC family of BR cartridges. I don't believe the mil. surplus will shoot good at all and .311 bullets in a .308 bore would be chancing it. r in s.

When the Encore was introduced T/C offered a factory 7.62x39mm barrel. I imagine it had the SAAMI chamber and the .308 bore. Don't suppose many folks bought 'em when you could get a couple three SKS for the price of a barrel...

I had a 10" Contender 300 Whisper barrel and rechambered to 7.62x39. I think the pressure is too high for the Contender and should be saved for the Encore. The brass would stick most of the time and the extractor got bent more than once. With lower pressure reloads it behaved though. The recoil wasn't bad at all and shot the surplus ammo fairly well(1.5" ish at 100 yds-mostly surplus Russian HP). I sold it though as I wanted it for shooting surplus ammo. I have a 30-30 barrel for reloads that would be more flexible, longer neck, bigger capacity, rimmed...

The .311 in a .308 bore shouldn't cause a problem as long as there is enough room for the neck to expand and let the bullet go.
If the chamber is too tight in the neck, you could always run a neck reamer in to adjust it. ???

I think it would be a great contender round. I looked into it a few years back and everyone was saying it was more suited for the encore and not my contender due to pressures. Even though the 7.62x39 and 30-30 are comprable!

Let us know what you do and how it does if you get one.

thanks guys.. just what i needed most.. more enablers!!

with the 7.62 being slightly smaller, i was thinking it might be more effecient than the 30-30.. and there's a bazillion of the rounds floating around.. and would be a great close up deer/hog round, with iron sights.. yeah, sure, it's not a bigbore for what i think of, but it would be a very nice handcannon for when you are out on the quad, and cabable of taking just about antyhing... and light enough that i wouldn't mind...

I might have to make a pistol like a remmy rolling block!

and then the atf gets involved with AP ammo and makes it into a pistol round

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
and then the atf gets involved with AP ammo and makes it into a pistol round

Huh?
there's already
7.62x39 pistols, available for sale, with 30 round mags
223 pistols, with 100roud drums
308 pistols...
etc etc etc

all military calibers, that is to say, that have AP rounds available.

Then again, a 3006 with hard ball ammo defeats almost all "bondy armour" , as proven by myth busters.

jeffe

Got my MGM 14 in. 7.62x39mm in yesterday. The workmanship is top notch and the weld appears to be flaw less. Not sure what brand blank they use but it looks highly polished in the bore, maybe that will help with ease of cleaning and less copper fouling. Now to find some range time. UUUHHH Boss, I feel bad I think I need to go home. LOL. Might work.

Steve E........

Got my 2 long awaited MGM Sale Encore pistol barrels in 7.62x39 & 45 Colt. Made it to the range today, after about 8 rounds to sight in the scope(T/C 3x9)I fired a few 3 round groups and best one so far was 11/16 of an inch for the 7.62x39mm @ 100 yds. I only shot the 45 Colt at 50 yds(forgot most of my ammo, damned CRS Syndrome) out of what few rounds I took the best was Cast Performance 300 WFNGC which went into one ragged hole @ 50 yds. (about 3/4 to 1 inch). Might have to get another barrel.

Steve E.........

nice... .688" ... I wonder what the chrono results would be when compared to say an sks or ruger bolt gun?

i expect you used reloads for this?
jeffe

Not sure about the speed but I'm sure it is on the low end, the 123 gr. load was 23 gr of AA1680 and the 150 gr load was 20 gr of AA1680.
The 45 Colt load was 20 gr of H110, it had a slight wallop to it, probably wouldn't even slow down going through a Blacktail.

Steve E........

MGM sale encore? I tiried to find a site or info. Who are they and do they have a web site?

http://www.matchgrademachine.com/

Top quality, fantastic accuracy. The next sale will probably next year.

Steve E.........

Thanks Steve

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
might never do it... but then agian, i might..
it would be interesting, to me at least, to do a pistol in 7.62x39.. just thinking outloud, .. a 10 or 15" TC setup, .311 bore, and either a 2x or irons on it..

probably no meaningful difference than a 10 or 15" 30-30..

jeffe

Not to make the decision any harder but...

I always thought the .358 x 39 made a lot of sense in a Contender. A short, efficient 35 Remington. One-step case forming in a fl die with tapered expander, all the good 357 pistol bullets and the 35 caliber rifle bullets from the 180-220 35 Rem bullets to 35 caliber solids.