I was going to ask if anyone had ever improved a 7.62x39 and opened it up to .35 but wanting to use bullets in the 170 - 200 grain range, I realized that I would be using pistol bullets that were generally shorter and figured a longer case could be used. The only problem here is that the 7.62x39 is extremely tapered and magazines for this cartridge are curved. If I keep the OAL constant, the mags would need to be altered (substituted), but if i shorten it (and leave the taper in the body, forcing me to headspace off the mouth) enought to use the mags, I am afraid that the longer jump from the back of the mag to the chamber might create a feeding problem. I was thinking about doing this on a Mini-30, if the mag well is the same between the 30 and 14, I could adapt Mini-14 mags for it.

Has anyone played with this idea?

If I can find some used 35 Remington dies cheap, I might just have 10mm taken of the bottom and see what it does. A 6.5x52 Carcano case could be trimmed and sized to get the shape witout having to cut a chamber to fire-form 7.62x39 brass.

Don't want to sound negative, but why are you, a) doing this, b) on the 7.62x39 case?

the russians did this 20 years ago....

there was an article in SOF on a way chopped down AK shooting 9mm and a silinced subsonic load....

IIRC it was a 160gr at 750-800 fps, and a 120 at 1500

jeffe

Yeah, why? Everyone knows the 7.62x39mm is the perfect 6.5mm case!!

Good question, I should have confessed this to be a theoretical little game that spun out of my obsession for firearms that fire the .451" and .452" dia bullets after trading a Charles Daily Field Grade for a Colt Trooper Mk III in .357 mag. First the more sensible obsession, the .452 thing:



I have a Winchester Trapper and 2 Blackhawks (a stainless Bisley and a blued Convertible) in .45 Colt, one of which also has a 45 ACP cylinder. I can still spew out a lot of 45 ACP playing around with my SIG P220 which is also my traveling companion affectionately dubbed �Brother SIG�. Some day when they are available and I can afford one (I also have several irons in the fire, priority being my 20ga ultra slug project), I would like to get Beretta's little carbine in .45 ACP and I am looking at Rhineland Arms 45 ACP kit for a tired old Enfield of mine. That may be soon as the kit is inexpensive, though I need a reamer cut for a wildcat I have already developed (which approaches 45-70 potentials) that will be shot in my Encore Rifle (and who knows, a .450 Express barrel too, to exceed the 45-70). The only thing not covered in this (pending) collection is a semi-auto carbine as handy as my Trapper chambered in 45 Colt or 45 Winchester Magnum (better for an auto-loader) and I am working out some ideas on that.



Well, back in the Spring, I picked up a Glock 26 for deep concealment and/or as a back-up for Brother SIG. I thought little of it at the time, trying to convince my father that he needed a 38-40 in revolver and carbine to go with his pair of 40 S&Ws (a Ruger P94 backed by a Smith & Wesson CS40) and who knows, he may like that little Beretta carbine.



I ran into a guy that liked my Charles Daly and offered his Trooper for it. Now, a .357 magnum can be useful: though I despise it as a house gun and that 6-shot cylinder makes carry something else; it would do in a pinch as a glove compartment gun or light trail gun (though the Blackhawk travels the trails with me). The thoughts of a 9mm/.38 battery played in my mind. There are several 9mm carbines on the market and they fill the low end of the power range in autoloaders. There are a number of lever guns in .357 mag and single shots that could take that, or 357 max, etc. The 35 Remington is a good Southeastern large game load and if there were some reason to want a full-sized auto-loader, I am sure an FAL could be easily converted to .358 Winchester (35 Whelen Remington 7400 more practical) though I am very happy with mine in .308. Still, I don't see an auto-loader that out-performs the .357 mag yet fits a compact sub-caliber (read .223 or 7.62x39) carbine. When I get serious about the 45 WinMag, I will likely try a Ruger Deerfield with a custom box mag, re-worked bolt, and the barrel bored to .451. It would be simple to do a .357 Auto Mag on the same, but I also saw the Mini-30 and wondered if this would work without messing with the bolt.



Reading my first post, it certainly looks like I am serious about doing this sometime soon. I apologize. It is largely theoretical, as I am already having thoughts about seeing if anyone would trade my Trooper for a S&W 459 or a Taurus Tracker in 45ACP....

FWIW, the gun I'm refering to was a semi-auto, I think a Mini-30. All it took was a rebore (back when that was an affordable option) and new chamber.

Come on, Dan. There is no "Why" in any firearms aquisition rules that I am aware of, only spousal opposition philosophies.