Howa mini 7.62x39 testing@ 100yards.

[joshb]

I bought a bunch of brass and projectiles for my sisters Ruger, I have quite a bit so been thinking about buying a CZ chambered in 7.62x39 looks like yours is doing well, by the way nice stock my friend
Wayne

A CZ might shoot better, being a higher quality gun.

 

[lotech]

A guy who used to work for Ruger claimed theirs were bored at .308 and would shoot the cheap Russian stuff just fine. If I had a Ruger I'd slug the bore just to see.

Ruger's first 7.62x39 rifles were the M77 MKII stainless guns they made as a limited production run of 3,000 for Davidson's, a wholesaler around 1990 or so. I bought two of them to shoot cast bullets in. I called Ruger and they confirmed that groove diameter was .310". Whether this was changed in later years, I don't know but the .310" barrels would shoot any jacketed bullet from .308" to .312" very well. Cast bullets of .311" also were quite accurate. Ruger recommended in their paperwork that came with these rifles not to shoot the cheap foreign junk ammo.

 

[kujuak]

Ruger's first 7.62x39 rifles were the M77 MKII stainless guns they made as a limited production run of 3,000 for Davidson's, a wholesaler around 1990 or so. I bought two of them to shoot cast bullets in. I called Ruger and they confirmed that groove diameter was .310". Whether this was changed in later years, I don't know but the .310" barrels would shoot any jacketed bullet from .308" to .312" very well. Cast bullets of .311" also were quite accurate. Ruger recommended in their paperwork that came with these rifles not to shoot the cheap foreign junk ammo.

Is there a valid reason for that recommendation. I have RUAG 7.62x39 ammo and it is certainly not junk.
Thanks!

 

[joshb]

Is there a valid reason for that recommendation. I have RUAG 7.62x39 ammo and it is certainly not junk.
Thanks!

A lot of it has corrosive primers and/or a shellac like coating to keep the steel cases from rusting.

 

[kujuak]

A lot of it has corrosive primers and/or a shellac like coating to keep the steel cases from rusting.

Thanks. If that is the problem then I will continue to shoot cheap milsurp 7.62x39 in my Ruger M77 (I think it must be from the Davidson run, paddle stock with wood panel inserts).Hot water and Hoppe's deal with the corrosive primer residue quite nicely.
Cheers!

 

[joshb]

Thanks. If that is the problem then I will continue to shoot cheap milsurp 7.62x39 in my Ruger M77 (I think it must be from the Davidson run, paddle stock with wood panel inserts).Hot water and Hoppe's deal wh the corrosive primer residue quite nicely.
Cheers!

“The coating can gum up a chamber.” I have heard this from a few people. Maybe a thing in hot AK chambers and mag dumpers? I don’t know. I bought a case of the cheap stuff just before the Covid shut everything down. It sits on a shelf and I shoot brass cased reloads.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

I carry a 7.62 X 39 Mini 30 Ruger wherever my truck and I go. I'd like to step up the accuracy a bit. Been thinking about The Howa mini in 6mm ARC or 223. Looks like your doing fine in the mini truck gun accuracy department.

The EASY Way to, "step up" , the ACCURACY, would Be to, Buy a Tikka, T-3X, in 6.5 Creedmoor and shoot 130 grain ELD-M's at, 2.800+ fps ( or 143 ELD-X's @ 2,720 fps for, the Bigger stuff ).
Truck Gun = a 20 inch Barrel, IMO. ( Tikka's are About, 6.5 lbs, Un-Scoped,.. IIRC )
Thank Me, Later as, Mine "Clover Leaf's", 3 shots of, the 130 gr., M's,.. in the 3's.

 

[DGP4]

Most of the steel cased ammo that came out of Russia and Ukraine in the decade before the sanctions in 2014 is non-corrosive steel case commercial ammo that has no coatings of any kind and shoots quite well. Most of it was branded Wolf ammo. The corrosive ammo was usually 1950s-80s surplus military ammo in spam cans made in a variety of Soviet Bloc countries. Military ammo with corrosive primers were made for long term storage reliability issues. Quality of the corrosive military ammo is all over the place, with some very well-made stuff in Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia to some very nasty stuff from other countries. Since I collected SKSs from various countries, I have shot a lot of both types and never had any ammo that gummed up or was otherwise unreliable. That's just another internet fairy tale from people that shot dirty ammo and never cleaned their guns IMHO. The most accurate ammo I have shot out of my Howa Mini was the Hornady steel cased ammo with 123 grain SST bullets, which sadly is no longer available. I still have about 1K rounds of it and save it for hunting.

 

[lotech]

Is there a valid reason for that recommendation. I have RUAG 7.62x39 ammo and it is certainly not junk.
Thanks!

Ruger seemed to think there was a valid reason for the recommendation and I'll take their word over something from the Internet. I hope you don't think this was just my opinion.

On the front of the owner's manual are two stamped warnings. One advises against the use of corrosive primed ammo. The other has to do with certain lots of foreign military ammunition that have primers much harder than US industry specs. Use of this ammo may result in misfires and is not recommended.

I'm unfamiliar with RUAG ammo.
.
Contact Ruger for additional information.