Question on reloading a 7.62x39 that is already super accurate

[NDAR15MAN]

I bought a complete gun , 7.62x39 AR15 from Bear Creek Arms. 16 inch barrel. I took a chance on it at $365.00 total for the whole gun ! Free shipping to FFL ! Then another $25.10 for the transfer.
I am stunned !!! The gun is really accurate with all over counter ammo. But we’re I am really stunned is that it is shooting the cheap Russian steel case ammo at 1 1/8 inch groups at 100 yards. Out of the box , I DID NOT even have to add the longer firing pin to punch those hard Russian primers like my friend did with his gun last month.
Right out of box , I did not even clean it , gave it 6 squirts of lub on it and took it to range yesterday. I shot the TULA Russian steel case 122 FMJ , it is 18 cents a round for a 1000 rounds.
I still have 5 different Russian brands and grs of ammo I am going to test this week if I can get out to range. It could even shoot tighter groups with some of this other Russian steel case ammo.
This gun is so much fun to shoot because so cheap to shoot. Not sure if all their 7.62x39 guns shoot this good leaving factory but I know 2 guns that do. Soon as I find out what brand of Russian steel case it shoots the best I am going to buy 5000 to 10,000 rounds. Enough to get me to the funeral home. ha ha ha.
NOW FOR MY QUESTION.....I never have reloaded and don’t know a lot about it. But was wondering how light a bullet could you reload for a 7.62 x39 ? If you could load let’s says 80 to a 100 rd bullet what kind of speeds could a guy get out of that shell ? Man if I guy could reload a 80 to 100 gr bullet for it , what a coyote hunting round it could be !
Your thoughts on how small of gr bullet a guy could reload in it and a estimate what the fps would it be. Thanks. Marty

 

[D-4297]

PAY ATTENTION ! TAKE NOTES !
If you are shooting Comm-bloc ammo , it is Berdan primered , and you should not attempt to reload it . Even today , most of it has primers that contain mercury fulminate which can cause rapid and severe corrosion . If you fire Comm-bloc steel case ammo in your AR , wash the barrel & bolt down ASAP with Windex , and do a dis-assembly of the bolt , and clean everything when you get home . Buy some Boxer primer cases to reload with .
The Comm-bloc steel case ammo has a primer that will cause corrosion in your barrel , so cleaning should be a immediate imperative . LIKE YESTERDAY !

I have owned and shot Comm-bloc weapons since my tours in the RVN , and very familiar with the weapons , rounds and the components .

If you want a quality 7.62x39 round to shoot , try the "Golden Tiger" brand . It is considered to be one of the premier hunting rounds for the SKS / AK . It is a 123gr bullet , and around 2,600fps . Twice as accurate as regular Surplus ammo out of the same gun .

 

[Rocketvapor]

Oh man, this is going to sound like I'm doubting you BUT
2600 sounds a little fast to me for GT.
I've also noticed that GT quality has changed over the past several years.
What changed?

And a FMJ Bi-metal jacket with steel in the jacket isn't usually thought to be a premier hunting round.
I've never been into the 'game' with a X39 but do shoot it a good deal here in the states.

OP,
I would try the Golden Tiger though. Your Bear Creek might like it.
Guns are finicky like that.
Comes back and tell us.

 

[rsmithsr50]

yeah 2600 is not happening in a 16", 2350 in a 20 maybe a little more

 

[Rocketvapor]

I get 2400 easy with Priv soft point out of My SKS's. A much better hunting round than Bi-Metal.
If I actually hunted.

 

[2506]

If you want to hand load a good soft point bullet for hunting game like deer get some Hornady 123 Gr. .310 diameter Soft Points and some H322 powder. Out of two SKS's I have they shoot sub MOA and work really well on deer. If you want a quicker opening "varmint" style bullet get some of the Hornady .310 diameter 123 V-Max. If you are getting the accuracy out of the ammo you described then hand loads will really be accurate. The ammo that you describe at best will shoot between 2 and 3 inch groups out of my SKS's and most any rifle in 7.62x39 I have been around.

 

[NDAR15MAN]

Yes I KNOW not to reload steel case. I should have made that clear in my post/question. I shot some good Winchester and Hornday ammo too Saturday and it shot very well also. But was really wondering if you could reload 80 to 100 gr ammo for this caliber and if so what would be the fps ? will try the golden tiger ammo. thanks. marty. Marty

 

[D-4297]

The info regarding the Golden Tiger ammo was passed to me by a former Russian Spetznatz NCO about five years ago . He said that was what they used to hunt with when they could get their hands on it for it's accuracy out of a SK . And my 49 Chi-com SK crony's 2580 - 2610 with it . Hardly fired . Acquired from the previous owner in "70" , who no longer needed it .

 

[Rocketvapor]

What is the proper way to disagree on this forum?
"And my 49 Chi-com SK crony's 2580 - 2610 with it"

The whole point I was trying to make is the latest lots of Golden Tiger X39 ammo come from a different process. Same U.S. retailer SGAMMO, but doesn not seem to perform the same as the stuff from 4 or 5 years ago.
My Type 56 Chi-com SKS does OK with it but reloads are better.
Have several .310" bullets, some .311" and .312".
I reload Boxer brass AND deprimed Berdan Brass (but I'm conserving hard to find Berdan primers) and
I have pulled down and reloaded Berdan Steel.

I have pulled down and reloaded Berdan Steel.



GT bullet length, base diameter, and seating depth variations.


My main shooter (Mardi Gras themed shoot with flashing LEDs to distract other shooters )
and

 

[dolek]

I have great luck with Geco FMJ ,very accurate in two guns ...bolt and AR . Brass is worth reloading also so it's a win/win . Reloads I use CFE Black and Hornady .310 123s ,very accurate . Small changes in seating depth dialed them in easily.

 

[Zero333]

The way I deal with corrosive ammo is after I'm done shooting the corrosive stuff, I blast 20 rounds of non corrosive as fast as possible to burn off the corrosive junk.

 

[D-4297]

Now I understand why we are having a slight difference of opinion on the GT ammo . I purchased 2,000 rounds from the outlet in Okla. about five years ago , and still have one case of it un-opened in the closet . It was highly recommended at the time , and it was a "rainy day" purchase . Perhaps I got lucky , and got the better , end of run stuff before their change-over . Like those of us who got some of the 7.62 x 54r / 7N1 for a M-N before it got cut off by Obama .

I'm sure that those who shoot their SK's / AK's regularly have found many good options , and my original post to the OP was in the vein of protecting his rifle from damage due to surplus ammo . And suggesting a reasonably decent commercial substitute . I don't load for my SK as I have enough to do loading for a F-Class .308 , F-Open M-N , 2 highly modified Mosin's , and a Dragonov with a 30" Bartlein MTU . Come to think of it , I don't remember the SK has been out of the safe in 3 or 4 years .

 

[Rocketvapor]

Me too, it's easy to get distracted and forget about some of your sweethearts stuck in the back of the safe.

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

The question is if you're barrel is .310 bore or .308 bore ? If it's .310 then your stuck with 123-125 bullet's reloading. If it is .308 then you have choice's of lighter bullet's - 100 grain Lapua, 110vmax , 110 varmagedon . there is nothing lighter than 100 grain. Speed could approach 27-2800 ?

 

[Rocketvapor]

The Op is shooting Steel case Bi-metal jacketed rounds.

 

[Twicepop]

Beware of the ammo containing bi-metal bullets. I read a longevity test a while back comparing barrel erosion with different types of ammo. During the test one of the four rifles tested had to be replaced at around the 5000 rounds mark because the bi-metal bullets used had completely washed out the rifling of that particular gun. Those bullets have a steel jacket with just enough of a copper wash on them to keep them from rusting and provide a minimal amount of lubrication in the bore.

 

[SPQR70AD]

Oh man, this is going to sound like I'm doubting you BUT
2600 sounds a little fast to me for GT.
I've also noticed that GT quality has changed over the past several years.
What changed?

And a FMJ Bi-metal jacket with steel in the jacket isn't usually thought to be a premier hunting round.
I've never been into the 'game' with a X39 but do shoot it a good deal here in the states.

OP,
I would try the Golden Tiger though. Your Bear Creek might like it.
Guns are finicky like that.
Comes back and tell us.

with 30 gr of CFE blk powder you can get 2620 out of 125 gr bullet with a 20" barrel. so a 16" might be 2540 or so

 

[SPQR70AD]

Beware of the ammo containing bi-metal bullets. I read a longevity test a while back comparing barrel erosion with different types of ammo. During the test one of the four rifles tested had to be replaced at around the 5000 rounds mark because the bi-metal bullets used had completely washed out the rifling of that particular gun. Those bullets have a steel jacket with just enough of a copper wash on them to keep them from rusting and provide a minimal amount of lubrication in the bore.

that is why the AK and SKS had chrome lined barrels. I wonder if the AR the OP got has nitrite coating cause that would be the way to go

 

[CaptnC]

Started reloading for my 7.62x39 AR's last year.

Before I did, I felt the X39 was a great improvement over the 5.56...but was a limited range rifle.

That changed big time once I started reloading for mine.

I actually only had one 7.62x39 AR, but after reloading for it...built two more!

My favorite AR is about as tricked out as an AR could be. The heart of the build is a Bear Creek Arsenal 16" barrel that flat shoots!

It my NV rig with the ATN X-Sight II HD 3x15. I took it to the range last Friday and shot three different bullets...all 123gr...all with CFE-BLK and all three with same load...I pulled one and let a guy who was admiring my rig shoot it...if it hadn't been for those two shot, all shots cut other shots.

I used this AR for the entire deer season and didn't hesitate to take shots out to 150yds. I mainly used Barnes bullets but shot a hog last Monday with the new Nosler Varmageddon 123gr bullets.

Here is a video I did after I shot my buck this past year.

 

[T-shooter]

The Tula Russian SKS didn't have a chrome lined barrel. I bought an unfired SKS Chinese Type 56 years ago and it is chrome lined. It never was very accurate. At the best about 1-3/4 to 2-1/2" groups at 100 yards off a bipod. The Wolf ammo would double that size. The best ammo I used in it was Silver Bear and PPU. The Wolf was horrible. Here are some I pulled.

I cut a couple apart. The nose of the wolf is hollow for quite a ways back and the lead had a high side which would make it out of balance since it's at a larger diameter point compared to the Silver Bear.