Author Topic: 7.62 x 39 in Contender (Read 1177 times)

fyrepowrx · « **on:** September 12, 2004, 08:31:47 AM »

Just wondering if anyone has tried one of the 7.62 barrels offered by SSK with a .308 bore (.30 x 39 as they stamp it)... ran into Ed again at our local show and he somehow wrestled me to the ground and forced me to buy more barrels like he always does, including this one... (how dare he offer good products at reasonable prices!!!) Always wanted one of these barrels since i also have one of the little Interarms Mini Mark X Mauser rifles in 7.62 x 39, which after all is more than enough reason to buy a contender barrel in the same caliber ...

I would never consider being without a 10" herrett; it is one of my favorite barrels, am just wondering if anybody else has toyed with the .30x39 chambering. The SSK barrel i got is a 12", and is well finished like all their other stuff i have had over the years. Just curious as to whether it will offer any significant improvements in accuracy or velocity over the herrett; although i have had 4 different herrett barrels over the last 20 years i have never had one that i could call exceptionally accurate... most averaged about 2-3" inches at 100 yards, with an occasional group below 2" with selected loads..

Also curious as to whether anyone has seen any good load data for the 7.62 cartridge when topped with .308 diameter bullets & loaded to contender-safe chamber pressures.... Thanks & good shooting!

Doc T · « **Reply #1 on:** September 12, 2004, 02:50:58 PM »

I came on here to make a similar post. This weekend, I bought a 10" 7.62x39 barrel that is a rechambered 300 Whisper T/C barrel. Dealer said to either reload or stick with American ammo such as Remington or Winchester to get the .308 bullets instead of .311 like the ammo from overseas. I bought some Remington ammo in 125gr SP. Any one have any experience with this round in a Contender? How close am I going to be to a 300 Whisper with the same bullet weight? Pretty close I figure. I'll bet the critters I am shooting at won't be able to distinguish between the two. I just hope it is as accurate. Thanks!

Jim S · « **Reply #2 on:** September 16, 2004, 04:29:28 PM »

I'm glad you two guys got those barrels so I can hear the tales about reloading them. A well known custom barrel maker talked me out of making a 7.62x39 for me. I wanted one but I have known this guy for 20 years and let him talk me out of it. I think the custom barrel makers are worried and probably rightly so about making a 7.62X39 with a .308 bore.
The question of power ,in my opinion, would fall between a 30/221 and 30 Herrett. The 30 Herrett will reproduce, approximately , the 125 gr 7.62X39 rifle velocity out of a 10" TC barrel. I think the deer shot with a 30/221, 7.62X39 & 30 Herret using a 125 ballistic top and a well placed shot wouldn't know the difference. I think it is a neat case and should have good potential from a TC . Post your shooting results I would like to read about them.

Graycg · « **Reply #3 on:** September 17, 2004, 04:37:14 PM »

Gents,
I have an SSK 7.62x39 barrel in stainless but mine has a .311 bore. I use reloading data from the 30 herrett and find this to be quite the fun gun to shoot. A while back, I got a pile of 100 grain Remington 100 grain jacketed soft point bullets for the 32-20 and use then in this barrel over loads of H110 and IMR 4227. These are just plinking loads, but at over 2200 fps, those 100 grain bullets are a kick! If I ever get a few days Off, I'll try to shoot some ground hogs with them. They blow a jug of water to smithereens!
I have fired winchester, remington and federal factory ammo in the barrel and it has handled them well, with the winchester being especially accurate grouping at 1.5 inches at 100 yards very consistently.
The directions I got from SSK were very plain and simple: You can use sensible reloading data from recent american reloading manuals, you can use American made factory ammo. Never, under any circumstances, NOT EVEN ONCE should you ever fire foreign factory ammo, especially steel cased. They said one round would ruin the frame.
So, like I said, using 30 herrett reloading data, i'm safe, accurate, hard hitting and don't have to form cases, the SSK chamber is sweet and I can either full length or neck size the cases without difficulty. The cases last for many many reloadings, I have some winchester cases that have been reloaded at least 10 times and they look new....as a matter of fact, I've never lost a case in this pistol. If I didn't have a pile of those 310 bullets, I'd have gotten it with a .308 bore, but I'll have a few bullets to shoot in this barrel for a while.
I'm a pretty conservative guy and I feel very comfortable with this barrel...It's fun. If you are concerned about my using the Herrett data, try this trick: Run a 30-30 case into a 7.62 die and then compare it to the 30 herrett case....and see what you think.

regards,
graycg.

fyrepowrx · « **Reply #4 on:** September 18, 2004, 06:50:05 AM »

Gray;

thanks for the response on this one, at first i was wondering if i a had wasted my money on this barrel since i already shoot a herrett, but i think this one may prove to be an interesting addition to the arsenal.. while it may not blow the herret away in terms of ballistic performance, i am hoping it will prove to be a bit more accurate...

also makes me wonder about some neat little wildcats based on this case.. say a .25 caliber "improved" version with slightly less case taper, somthing like a .25 PPC? hmmmmm.... ya cant have too many barrels.

will try to get out and shoot the 7.62 barrel next week, will post some reports here if i do. thanks again for the feedback.