[SSN Vet]

O.K., so there's not the greatest financial payback in doing this...
(with Wolf going for ~$3.60/box)......
but I ordered the Lee Pacesetter set from Midway (at only $18, it's a low cost venture).

I searched up several threads and there seems to be a consensus that AA1680 is "the" AK powder.

Any thoughts on trying 2400? or W748?

I'm considering a Winchester 123gr 7.62cal (.310) Power Point ($10.70 per 100 @ Wideners) and Winchester brass.

Any thoughts on these components? particularly the power points?

What primer does the Win brass take?

Any body loading plated round noses for a Kalashnikov action rifle? Any feeding probs with the RN? Are they spinning apart if you push them past 1,700 fps?

I'm loading for a Saiga sporter w/ 16" barrel.

[creekwalker]

I’ll be watching this thread to see how your results turn out; doesn’t that case take a large rifle primer? Also a number of people have loaded cast bullets in 7.62x39 with very good results, depending upon overall weight and design it would seem that the plated bullets would do as well or better.

creekwalker

[Matt Dillon]

I use Alliant Reloder 7 for my 7.62x39 rounds, and yes, Winchester takes large rifle primers. I suggest, however, that you use CCI #34 primers, as they are harder and less apt to cause a slam-fire.

[Gewehr98]

I've played with reloading 7.62x39 ammo now for about 15 years.

Note that Remington 7.62x39 brass has small rifle primer pockets, so be careful when you're reloading a batch, and separate the different types accordingly.

I've settled on Accurate Arms 1680 as the powder for that round, as it was created expressly for that loading. However, if you can't find the AA1680, I've had almost as good results with H335, which is also similar in burn rate to WW748.

As for bullets, they haven't really been available in bulk like they used to when Widener's used to sell Russian and Israeli surplus 123gr .311" bullets. However, when I set up my Dillon to crank out another batch of 7.62x39 or 7.62x45, I use bullets from Golden West Brass, they offer really good prices:

http://www.goldenwestbrass.com/GoldenWest/GoldenWestWEB/bullets.htm

I'm assuming your Lee die set includes a Lee Factory Crimp die. You will want a decent crimp on your 7.62x39 handloads if you run them through an autoloader like an AK or SKS. Bullet setback boosts chamber pressures severely, and that's something you don't want. ;)

[bender]

I load 7.62x39 and many other milsurp calibers. I've also been wondering about the "milspec" CCI primers (#34). I've never used them, but I want to try them. They say to use "magnum data" when using them... what's that mean? I mean, I use powders that specify normal lg rifle primers...

[SSN Vet]

OBTW.....

I'm interested in buying or trading for 7.62x39 boxer primed brass.........

[steve4102]

I use K&P (Lapua) brass in my 7.62x39. Best brass I have tried. It takes LR primers. You can get it here for $23/100. That's cheaper than Win.
http://www.superiorshooterssupply.com/catalog_page.cfm?queries_index=index6&StartRow=1&Advance=Ahead&Product_CatalogID=111&ProductCode=9&ProductSubCodeID=1&NewProduct=0

[jibjab]

Here's another option; http://www.pennbullets.com/30/30-caliber.html
click the 150gr.

[Gewehr98]

Cast bullets and AK-47s are a no-no. You might get lucky with gas checks, but the gas port in the barrel will lead foul. You'll also see lead accumulation on the gas piston.

(Ask me how I know...) :o

If you're running cast bullets in a Ruger 77 or Thompson Contender, that's perfect. Gas gun? Nope.

[trickyasafox]

if you have a yugo sks 59/66 they can be cast friendly, just shot off the gas valve. Swing over to castboolits, lots and lots of great info there on 7.62x39 loading

[Mikee Loxxer]

I loaded up 100 rounds of 7.62 X 39 using 123 Grain Hornady .310” soft points. As I was using mixture or Winchester and Remington cases I had to adjust the load accordingly. I was using CCI #34 primers in the Winchester cases along with 23.0 grains of AA 1680. With the Remington brass I was using small rifle primers and 23.5 grains of AA 1680. The reason that the load using the Winchester cases was reduced is that the CCI #34 primer is a magnum primer.

As Gewehr98 pointed out crimping the case around the bullet is a good idea, in fact I found it necessary. I used the Lee Factory Crimp Die.

I ran these loads through my Century Arms Yugo M70B1. They worked well though I think I could increase the charge a bit. To me it seemed that AA 1680 caused more fouling than I am used to with Wolf, Barnaul, or WWB. I also noticed that the crimp seemed to loosen when the cartridge was stripped from the magazine and chambered. The only reason I noticed this is that a cease fire was called before I finished one of the magazines I had loaded up. After removing the magazine and unchambering the round I noticed that the crimp had become loose allowing the bullet to rotate inside the case. It was not however pushed back noticeably. I did fire this cartridge later.

When I got home I started decapping my brass. I noticed that the some of the primers had backed out a little on a few of the cases. Some of the cases also were kind of sooty and showed what looked like a very slight bulge at the case mouth just behind where the bullet would have been.

I will be careful to get a stronger crimp on my next batch and monitor the condition of the cases a little better looking for signs of overpressure.

[Gewehr98]

Slightly backed-out primers are also a sign of an undercharge, as are sooty case necks. The brass isn't sealing and grabbing the chamber, causing blow-by, and the cartridge case isn't coming back against the bolt face, leaving the primer to back out just a hair. In that case, the slightly backed-out primers will appear with rounded corners and the primer dimple will look deep, as opposed to flattened primers with shallow primer depressions. ;)

(Happened a lot with my .30-30 Winchester and 8mm Mauser loads until I brought them up from the listed starting charges)

[Mikee Loxxer]

Thanks for the info Gewehr. I will certainly be bringing things up a half grain or so for the next batch.

[armoredman]

Loaded a bunch of 7.62x39 when I couldn't get anything factory, and discovered - neither the Yugo or WASR could tell the differance. :rolleyes: They worked just fine, no cycling/functioning issues, used AA#1680, 123 Hornday bullets, CCI #34, CCI LRP, CCI SRP, (for the Remingtons), and nothing changed anything. Didn't matter, I had fun doing it.:cool: Still have an ammo can with 322 of them...:)