[bfox]

Hello
Soon to get a Sar-1
I was wondering what bullet diamater they use?
Is it .308 or .311 ?
Thanks

[bogie]

Why?

You're not going to get an exceptional increase in accuracy - the rifle isn't capable of that.

AKs tend to tear up brass. You're not gonna be able to reuse it a lot.

Decent bullets, just by themselves, are gonna cost you, what, 8-9 cents each? You may be able to find pulls cheaper. Add in $20/thousand for primers, and then several pounds of powder...

How much is a case of 1,000 rounds?

If you're gonna use it as a Bambi Blaster, I'd just recommend American-made store-bought softpoints.

[griz]

I have loaded for an SKS but not an AK. They both take .311" bullets. Since the imported ammo is so cheap I use that for everything but hunting. I do handload hunting rounds, but used a bolt action instead of the SKS for that application.

[goon]

I am on my third AK, so I am familiar with their faults.
I have wondered about loading 150 GR bullets for them, only because that is what all of the .308 caliber tracers that I have seen weigh. I know that the bore of an AK is .311, but I have checked, and I think that a .308 bullet may be close enough to work.
Anyhow, has anyone tried this?

[braindead0]

Yikes, perhaps if you push it slowly it will not strip the rifling? Seems to me that if you've got the reloading gear, I can't see any reason not to try it.. of course YMMV.. and the usual disclaimer

[Poodleshooter]

You can shoot either .308 or .311 ammo in most AK's. They use .310 or .311, so you won't get great accuracy with the .308 bullets as a general rule. They work quite well in most Mini-30's due to bore diameter differences. Make sure that you use the proper expander ball when reloading. Most die sets include both .308 and .311 expander buttons.
BTW, another option for tracers is 110gr tracers from .30 carbine ammo. They're available surplused.

[Mylhouse]

I don't understand why an AK can't be accurate. The bores on the ones I've handled look as good as most rifles that I know can shoot MOA.

If you measured the bore diameter of your particular AK, and used the right sized bullets, why couldn't you get MOA or close to it?:confused:

[AZ Jeff]

The main impediment to getting good accuracy in an AK (other than finding/making good ammo) is that the AK action is not designed with features to enhance accuracy. This includes:

1. sheet metal receiver that is relatively flexible, particularly during the action cycling
2. barrel attachment to receiver is not particularly rigid, resulting in lots of flexure in that joint during firing/cycling
3. short sight radius with poor sight picture decreases overall consistency potential due to increased operator induced errors.
4. barrel, while short, is not particularly stiff in section, and thus tends to vibrate relatively excessively

Keep in mind that all of this is relative, and needs to be compared against other rifles/actions to appreciate why the AK is a relatively mediocre performer in the accuracy dept.

[Mylhouse]

Thanks, Jeff. I hadn't thought about those aspects of the AK. Does all that apply to the SKS then too?

[AZ Jeff]

The SKS is actually a bit better. Although it suffers from similar sight issues, it's barrel attachment and receiver rigidity is more conducive to good accuracy.

By the way, my comments about the SKS do NOT apply to the Chinese versions with the pressed-in and pinned barrels, only to those with the threaded in barrels.

[goon]

30 carbine tracers...
I hadn't thought of that.
Now I have yet another set of dies to buy...

[Gewehr98]

I've run nothing but handloads in my milled-receiver Bulgarian SLR-95. Build the right ammo, instead of that cheap surplus steel-cased stuff, and you might just get decent groups out of that AK:


http://www.mauser98.com/26sepaktarget.jpg

[Poodleshooter]

Jeez, Gewehr, I'm too cheap to even run Federal Match primers through my .308, much less my AK! :D
1" @ 50yds ain't too shabby...
Now if I can squeeze that out of a stamped receiver, I'll be amazed.

[Gewehr98]

But when folks have diarrhea of the mouth, and categorize firearms as being inaccurate without benefit of trying decent ammo in them, I take that as a personal challenge.

Nobody in the precision rifle or benchrest game would run cheap-a$$ steel-cased surplus ammo through their guns and expect to see decent groups. I knew the hammer-forged barrel, milled-receiver AK variants had a potential for accuracy. So the above group wasn't too much of a surprise to me. It was to others who didn't realize the potential of the gun. :D

[HSMITH]

What does it do at 200 and 300 yards. A 50 yard group to me indicates a good start........

EDIT: BTW, I am not trying to be a jerk, but I have a 4" 357, a 6" 357, a $50 Winchester 94 in 30-30 and a couple contender barrels that will match or beat your AK at 50 yards. The other rifles I posess are quite a lot better at 50 yards. 200 is getting started and 300 is getting definative for determining how a particualr rifle and load shoots IMO.

[Gewehr98]

Although it's still somewhat transparent, trying to bust my chops and all... But c'mon, it just torques you that an AK can shoot inside 2 MOA, don't it? Or does it peeve you that I would waste the time to assemble decent ammo and feed it to a Warsaw Pact autoloader? Truthfully, I haven't grouped the gun over 100 yards, where it hovered at the 2" mark. Once I get off this deployment, and back to a place that has a range longer than 100 yards, I'll be more than happy to group it out to 200, 300, 500, and 1000, if not for my edification, at least yours.

I'm being facetious, if you didn't notice. I'm under no delusions that no gun shoots tighter than 1" at 50 yards. I have several pistols, including my Wichita Silhouette and Desert Eagle, that'll do that.

I have many rifles, including autoloaders, that'll go inside 1/2" at 50 yards. I have a couple that'll shoot inside 1/4" at 100 yards, and one that drilled a golf ball at 500 meters. But they ain't Kalashnikovs, nowhere did I ever equate a Kalashnikov with a benchrest or precision bolt rifle. Nor did I state that I have guns that'll beat your Winchester 94.

There are better guns out there with respect to accuracy than the AK. Even I know that, and I ain't the sharpest tool in the drawer. My point in the above postings was that before you rule out a certain weapon system as inaccurate, factor in what the gun is being fed. You may be surprised. Some folks DO handload for their AK's. I do, and responded to the poster of the original thread. But I also reload for 24 other chamberings, and have seen positive results that enhance the accuracy of even "proven" poor shooters. Even if you own a Mini-14. ;)

[HSMITH]

OK, thanks for the info. Nothing torques me BTW, just looking for info is all. I have an "unissued" Russian SKS that shoots some of the cheap surplus into an inch at 50 yards but is totally whacked (over 8") at 200 yards. Some other ammo will only do 2" at 50, but still shoots to 8" or a tad less at 200 yards. I still have some ammo from a lot of Russian made HP ammo from the mid 80's that will stay at 2 MOA or less all the way out to 300 yards, bu I have darn little of it left. Nothing else even comes close in this gun.

I was just curious as to what you had found, I reload for a dozen or so calibers too and know the impact it can have, or not have.