Author Topic: Help me understand wanting a 7.62x39mm? (Read 3009 times)

Dinny · « **Reply #30 on:** February 01, 2011, 06:45:01 AM »

Quote from: petemi on February 01, 2011, 02:21:49 AM

Dinny, thanks for the clue on that rifle. That was superb of you.
Pete

No problem, I'm always glad to help others! I'll have one someday myself.

Thanks, Dinny

gcrank1 · « **Reply #31 on:** February 01, 2011, 08:17:23 AM »

DeerHunter#1, you gotta get a 45-70 (its kinda a 'rule')

.

S.E.Ak · « **Reply #32 on:** February 01, 2011, 08:46:51 AM »

I know as a vet that I will take a 7.62X39 over a 223 any day

Dinny · « **Reply #33 on:** February 01, 2011, 09:14:50 AM »

Quote from: S.E.Ak on February 01, 2011, 08:46:51 AM

I know as a vet that I will take a 7.62X39 over a 223 any day

+1 There's no doubting they work.....unfortunately.

Thanks, Dinny

petemi · « **Reply #34 on:** February 01, 2011, 10:10:21 AM »

I imagine you guys dodged your share of them. Thanks to all of you again. They aint such a sweet round coming in. They may not be the best deer round, but they wreck havoc on humans.....Dinny, I'm sure has seen enough of that. Yes, I'll take a 7.62x39 over a .223 any day dealing with a human agressor. I have no idea why our military went to the the .223 over the .308 except for light weight and economy. In my opinion, the .308 would be my combat round. It'll destroy an engine block and/or the guy sitting behind it.

An added thought: The .223 may have an advantage in close-in jungle fighting as in Nam, but it can't pick off an enemy at 1000 yards in the mountain and desert fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. The .308 can and will.

Pete

Dinny · « **Reply #35 on:** February 01, 2011, 10:19:04 AM »

Quote from: petemi on February 01, 2011, 10:10:21 AM

Dinny, I'm sure has seen enough of that.
Pete

Enough is right and I don't want to see anymore either.....but I will if I have to. Can't let the troops down.

Thanks, Dinny

S.E.Ak · « **Reply #36 on:** February 01, 2011, 10:57:51 AM »

It sucked in Nam also and realy sucked in the bush.I was lucky and we could carry what we wanted as long as we had at least twenty full mags of ammo. Few carried the AR,heck I carried a M-2 carbine as a much prefered weapon because it always fired and brings use back to 30cal.

petemi · « **Reply #37 on:** February 01, 2011, 11:04:58 AM »

Dinny, Patty's dad was a Chief Hospital Corpsman, the ship's doctor, on the most damaged, unsunk U.S. submarine in WWII. USS Hallibut. I'm sure he had his hands full as I'm sure you have had. I never had the honor of meeting the man as he was killed in an auto crash when Patty was 14. Patty was with him and spent 3 months at Bethesda. They were parked, asleep, when someone came off the road and took them out. Patty never knew her dad was dead til they released her from the hospital. She's still scarred from it at almost 70.....both physically and emotionally.

I have the greatest respect for what you do. I'm not a strong enough man to do it. but I thank God you are.

Pete

Dinny · « **Reply #38 on:** February 01, 2011, 11:27:33 AM »

Quote from: petemi on February 01, 2011, 11:04:58 AM

Dinny, Patty's dad was a Chief Hospital Corpsman, the ship's doctor, on the most damaged, unsunk U.S. submarine in WWII. USS Hallibut. I'm sure he had his hands full as I'm sure you have had. I never had the honor of meeting the man as he was killed in an auto crash when Patty was 14. Patty was with him and spent 3 months at Bethesda. They were parked, asleep, when someone came off the road and took them out. Patty never knew her dad was dead til they released her from the hospital. She's still scarred from it at almost 70.....both physically and emotionally.
I have the greatest respect for what you do. I'm not a strong enough man to do it. but I thank God you are.
Pete

Thanks Pete for the gratitude.

I wish the US military would switch to the 7.62x39. All we would need is a 110gr-125gr bullet at about 2400fps. That would alleviate alot of the problems we have with the smaller 5.56 bullets. We have DM rifles for longer range shots, so range is not much of an issue. Most our shots are 100yds or less.

Thanks, Dinny

petemi · « **Reply #39 on:** February 02, 2011, 03:22:36 AM »

Dinny, that's a great idea. We could get the 7.62x39 ammo from them cheap and shoot it back at them .

I gotta love it.

Pete

Deerhunter#1 · « **Reply #40 on:** February 02, 2011, 11:27:11 AM »

gcrank1, Headed to the wilderness of pa in 2 weeks. hoping my 7.62 will be back but I dont think it will. My buddy has a 45-70 that I will be shooting. He also said once you shoot one you will have to get it even if it beats you up the power is addicting.

gcrank1 · « **Reply #41 on:** February 02, 2011, 11:31:09 AM »

Sweet thing is you can load that puppy to basically 45C on up to Level II and have no worries, or abuse, just let a big, heavy bullet do the work; high velocity not required.
Have fun; and

, we do expect a report (pun intended).

beaverslayer · « **Reply #42 on:** February 03, 2011, 04:20:20 PM »

I would love to own a Handy in 7.62x39 some day. My daughter and I have killed 50 or 60 deer with the SKS over the last 20 years, and can testify it is a superb whitetail round. I hand load my hunting rounds. I use Hornady 123g bullets, 27gr of Rel 7, CCI br2 primers and Win brass. I've fired literaly thousands of these rounds and love it. Right now I'm putting my oldest daughter through college so it'll have to wait.

Dweezil · « **Reply #43 on:** February 09, 2011, 07:58:37 AM »

To the original poster:
I have a Handi in x39...and love it. That said, about the only way the x39 is better than the 30-30 is if you intend to load subsonic loads to shoot through a suppressor. The lower case volume helps shot consistency because the powder takes up more room in the case. Realistically though, using a bulky, fast powder like Trail Boss in the larger 30-30 case makes this less of an issue. Also you'll have greater bullet selection for the 30-30 as there are many more options with .308 bullets than .311 bullets. What do you intend to DO with it?

OBXPilgrim · « **Reply #44 on:** February 09, 2011, 11:06:51 AM »

Quote from: Dweezil on February 09, 2011, 07:58:37 AM

Also you'll have greater bullet selection for the 30-30 as there are many more options with .308 bullets than .311 bullets.

That's really not much of a problem. One of the best loads I ever had for a .303 British was using .308" bullets. You can use .308" bullets in it with no problems.

I love loading mine with a 180gr cast bullet with H4895 powder - velocity is 1850 fps. It's been plenty good enough for deer on a couple of them - they didn't complain.

Deerhunter#1 · « **Reply #45 on:** February 09, 2011, 11:53:20 AM »

dweezil, my omly intent is to have it so in 2 years or so hopefully my daughter would be able to use it as her first deer gun for shots under 100 yards. Have a 223 and 22-250 that i was thinking of loading with some 60 grain partitions but started to think maybe a lit to small. This year she will start shooting my 17hmr and next break her into my 223. then the 22-250. if and when she can handle them I figured the 7.62 with125 grain bullet would be fine for deer. I was thinking of the 30-30 but the recoil is almost double that of the 7.62 with its larger case compas and heavier bullet. I have plenty of larger calibers she can use once she gets use to this one . ( 243,270,7mm-08)

Dweezil · « **Reply #46 on:** February 10, 2011, 04:10:17 AM »

Deerhunter.
Makes sense. If you can't find an x39, a .357 might fit your needs as well for deer in those ranges. Or, you could use lighter bullets and reduced loads in the 30-30. Do you reload? The Lee reloading manual has lots of reduced loads for the 30-30.

bagdadjoe · « **Reply #47 on:** February 10, 2011, 04:25:36 AM »

Why do they make anything besides a .22 LR? Help me understand that one. I mean that's all I had for the first 23 years I was on the planet, and I still have fun shooting one. And hey...85 cent gas..what a rip! I've seen it as low as 14 cents! Remember the "gas wars" filling stations used to have? You'd be driving along and run into a pod of stations who were battling each other to have the lowest price. Now them wuz the days!

Just a disclaimer....I don't shoot any living critter bigger than a feral cat with a .22 My Handi's are .22 Hornet and .223 and yep...I'd love to have a 7.62x39..and a bunch more!!

gcrank1 · « **Reply #48 on:** February 10, 2011, 04:43:01 AM »

Aint it so, Joe......wuz the days, aint no more!
I love my .22RFs, even tried to sell my CFs and just stick to them, but (but,but) my CFs are 'fun too', and aint that what most of our trigger time is about. And hey, this is the USA where its what we what, NOT JUST what we need.
Ive heard repeatedly that the 44-40 or 30-30, has taken more deer in the world that anything else (cartridges, that is), but I would guess its the lowly 22RF. Not that I advocate it for such; Im lonng past wanting to see how small a caliber I can 'get away with'. Nowdays Id rather be 'over-calibered' but medium velocitied.
Unless I had a lot of surplus ammo in the Com-Cal. that actually worked in the gun I would prefer the 30-30 and load whatever .30cal. bullet and weight I wanted, from 32-20 equiv. to 170 or even 190s.

petemi · « **Reply #49 on:** February 10, 2011, 05:37:59 AM »

gcrank1, I've gotta agree with you. I too am long past wanting to see how small a caliber I can get away with. I rely on my Handis in.45-70, .445, and .357 Maxi. My .500 will be put together today. I like big, slow and fat.

My 7.62x39 is not only pretty in her nicely matched and grained pallet wood stock, but she's a dependable and accurate shooter too.

Deerhunter, I'd stay away from the .22s for her to start deer hunting with. All she needs is one bad shot to take her off hunting forever. They're not bone busters. A lot of us have been hunting over 50 years and know how and where a bullet has to go. A young girl doesn't.....and we don't want a bad first experience. I'd go with the biggest she can handle.

Pete

Dixie Dude · « **Reply #50 on:** February 10, 2011, 06:22:27 AM »

Someone on this Forum was using 150g cast lead bullets in his 7.62x39 for hogs in an SKS.

petemi · « **Reply #51 on:** February 10, 2011, 06:46:48 AM »

I've owned 3 Russian SKSs, chrome bores and not stamped parts. They worked well, but were far from tack drivers. My Handi is a much better shooter. One of them occasionally would fire a 3 or 4 round burst on a single trigger pull. Not fun. Don't need no more a dat Commie Semi Auto crap.

Pete

carbineman · « **Reply #52 on:** February 10, 2011, 01:12:23 PM »

Quote from: Deerhunter#1 on February 09, 2011, 11:53:20 AM

dweezil, my omly intent is to have it so in 2 years or so hopefully my daughter would be able to use it as her first deer gun for shots under 100 yards. Have a 223 and 22-250 that i was thinking of loading with some 60 grain partitions but started to think maybe a lit to small. This year she will start shooting my 17hmr and next break her into my 223. then the 22-250. if and when she can handle them I figured the 7.62 with125 grain bullet would be fine for deer. I was thinking of the 30-30 but the recoil is almost double that of the 7.62 with its larger case compas and heavier bullet. I have plenty of larger calibers she can use once she gets use to this one . ( 243,270,7mm-08)

I think you are comparing apples to oranges. If you look at the 30-30 with 125 grain bullets you'll find the difference to be very little. I think there is a factory loaded 125 grain 30-30 round. I have 3 semi autos in 7.62x39mm and recoil is about the same as my 30-30 toppers when I use comparable bullets. Kinda like a 22 on steroids from what I can tell.

I have a buddy with a 10 year old daughter take several nice whitetails with my .223 superlight and a Barnes X bullet. So the .223 stigma is a wives tale as far as I'm concerned. With the limited recoil his daughter gets right on target and is dead-on with that rifle loaded with the TSX and W748. If you want a light recoiling rifle the Superlight is the way to go and then buy another barrel later as she wants/needs more ballistic thunder.

Deerhunter#1 · « **Reply #53 on:** February 10, 2011, 02:16:51 PM »

Well my 7.62 is confirmed on its way back me. I know this has been talked about what bullet diameter is best for this gun as some were using the 308 if my memory serves me rite or should I stick with reloading 311 diameter bullets. Also any powder selections would be great as I have 4350,760 and 4064 which are all to slow unless someone can tell me they have had success with one of them which would be great.

gcrank1 · « **Reply #54 on:** February 10, 2011, 03:24:36 PM »

Check the reloading manuals or online from the powder mfr's to see if they list loads with those powders. Be cautious with any data not therein.

carbineman · « **Reply #55 on:** February 10, 2011, 04:32:28 PM »

Quote from: Deerhunter#1 on February 10, 2011, 02:16:51 PM

Well my 7.62 is confirmed on its way back me. I know this has been talked about what bullet diameter is best for this gun as some were using the 308 if my memory serves me rite or should I stick with reloading 311 diameter bullets. Also any powder selections would be great as I have 4350,760 and 4064 which are all to slow unless someone can tell me they have had success with one of them which would be great.

I have used BL-C2 (not ideal) and AA1680(ideal) also used WC680 which is milsurp and uses AA1680 data. There are a couple of Accurate propellants that work and also some Ramshot that work well but I have no experience with them. The AA1680 works very well as did the WC680 which I can't buy in bulk anymore for the price I paid. I now purchase AA1680 in 8lb. bulk containers.

beaverslayer · « **Reply #56 on:** February 10, 2011, 05:05:52 PM »

Try Rel 7 and I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with it. I started out with the A1680, and I didn't much care for it. It's really fine and didn't do very well with my Lee powder thrower. I use 27 gr of the Rel7 with no pressure signs and the velocity in my automatic seems to be matched perfectly with the speer and Hornady bullets. Whenever I recover the bullets, they are mushroomed perfectly. My daughter shot a 185lb buck broadside at about 90 yards with one of the Hornadys and it went completely through and left an exit hole larger than a golfball. Busted ribs going in and coming out. When I size my brass, I only partial size it and haven't had to even trim it the last three firings. The brass is on it's fifth firing now. When you load some of these, get you a set of the lee pacesetter dies with the factory crimp die and crimp your rounds. The neck on the brass is so small that if you don't crimp, you can almost pull them out with your fingers. You'll see what I'm talking about when you load them. One other note on the 1680; it seemed to burn a lot dirtier than the Rel 7. Left lot's of carbon and soot. As far as primer, I use CCI exclusively. In this round, I've used both the bench rest and regular cci 200 with no difference in accuracy or point of impact. These loads were for the SKS, but I don't see it beeing any different for your single shot. You will probably pick up some velocity.

Quote from: Deerhunter#1 on February 10, 2011, 02:16:51 PM

Well my 7.62 is confirmed on its way back me. I know this has been talked about what bullet diameter is best for this gun as some were using the 308 if my memory serves me rite or should I stick with reloading 311 diameter bullets. Also any powder selections would be great as I have 4350,760 and 4064 which are all to slow unless someone can tell me they have had success with one of them which would be great.

carbineman · « **Reply #57 on:** February 10, 2011, 05:47:37 PM »

Beaver slayer, You probably already know this but I'll ask anyway. What expander ball in your sizer die are you using with the diameter of your bullet? If you are using .310 diameter bullets or smaller you might need to use the expander ball with your Lee sizing die that measures the smallest in dia. or your bullet will be loose like you indicate. I think it measures .3075. As a matter of fact the larger expander ball .310(which I couldn't figure out what to do with) I spun in a drill press while holding emery cloth to reduce it's size to .306 so as to be able to use .308 diameter bullets if I wanted.

What grain bullet are you using? I see you listed the propellant charge but no bullet weight to go along with it.

I had the exact opposite of your experiences with AA1680 with my RCBS Uni-flo. The Uni-flo doesn't work well with extruded propellants. I have quit using them, but the Uniflo is spot on with ball type propellants. Looks like the Lee works way better with extruded propellants. I think someone else reported that awhile back as well.

beaverslayer · « **Reply #58 on:** February 11, 2011, 03:46:52 AM »

Good points. I use the Hornady 123gr bullets (0.310 diameter). Yes, I am using the smaller expander ball. Just seems those little bullets with their small base don't hold nearly as tightly as rounds with thicker walled cases and bullets with longer shanks. Course, I'm loading for a semi automatic so I would crimp anyway since the bullet could possible be set back in the magazine from recoil. You could probably get by without crimping in a single shot, but I like to crimp those just in case they get treated a little rough. Don't want anything moving.

Quote from: carbineman on February 10, 2011, 05:47:37 PM

Beaver slayer, You probably already know this but I'll ask anyway. What expander ball in your sizer die are you using with the diameter of your bullet? If you are using .310 diameter bullets or smaller you might need to use the expander ball with your Lee sizing die that measures the smallest in dia. or your bullet will be loose like you indicate. I think it measures .3075. As a matter of fact the larger expander ball .310(which I couldn't figure out what to do with) I spun in a drill press while holding emery cloth to reduce it's size to .306 so as to be able to use .308 diameter bullets if I wanted.

What grain bullet are you using? I see you listed the propellant charge but no bullet weight to go along with it.

I had the exact opposite of your experiences with AA1680 with my RCBS Uni-flo. The Uni-flo doesn't work well with extruded propellants. I have quit using them, but the Uniflo is spot on with ball type propellants. Looks like the Lee works way better with extruded propellants. I think someone else reported that awhile back as well.