Reloading for 7.62x39 suggestions

[BrokenWheel]

I recently purchased a "higher end" bulgarian SLR101 AK47 and I would like to start gathering reloading components for. One of the first things I will need to get is brass, I'll probably buy loaded boxer primed brass and save the empties.

Since reloading for this caliber is not common, I'm getting conflicting information about primers - small rifle or large rifle in specific brass, which brass manufacturer (i.e. winchester, Remington, etc) has which one?

 

[MikeOBWan]

I have a ton of 7.62x39.. All my Winchester is Large Primer, all the Remington, and Fiocci is also. The only small primer i have seen is S&B..

 

[Hungry1]

I have a ton of 7.62x39.. All my Winchester is Large Primer, all the Remington, and Fiocci is also. The only small primer i have seen is S&B..

Any reloading issues with the brass getting beat up on ejection?

My AKs and SKSs do a number on the cases.

 

[elwoodm]

remington also makes small rifle primer brass. sometimes its hard to see the difference between them so just clean primer pockets every time and you will find them. i am getting good results with RL 7 and 123gr .310 bullets from midway when they have them. the case is the limiting factor most loads will fill the case so there isn't much play room so just brew up something that works good and leave it at that. i load this round because of the steel cases and bimetal jackets of crap ammo are not going in my guns anymore.

 

[rbernie]

Remington brass in 7.62x39 was traditionally small primer - dunno if they've recently switched to large. I had best accuracy with the small primer brass (Remington, Lapua), although I doubt that an SLR will really reveal any meaningful accuracy differences between small and large primered brass.

Lots of folk love AA1680 as the 'go-to' powder for 7.62x39, but I tended towards H322 (174gr RN, 150gr SP) and H4198 (123gr-125gr) powders. I could get solidly MOA performance from most all of my 7.62x39 ARs and bolt guns using Remington brass, Sierra 125gr ProHunters, and H4198.

 

[MikeOBWan]

Yeah the brass gets a good sized ding in it just below the neck. But the case is fine, maybe just a hair less powder capacity.

Also i'm using X-Treme plated 123gr, bullets and AA2200 and 27gr. The load seems pretty good, but I have to find an appropriate seating depth for that bullet since it's kinda a flat nose. Good cheap load for plinking..

 

[HOWARD J]

I don't waste money on reloads for our AK & it is very hard on cases.
I use Russian ammo---cheap & works great.
On my Mini-30 I use brass ammo or brass reloads--- easy on cases .
I can't believe how acurate that AK is even with open sights.

 

[thump_rrr]

I'm using IMR 4198 along with Hornady 123gr 3142 V-Max or 3140 SP in my SKS when I shoot indoors otherwise I use Czech or Chinese surplus for outdoors.

 

[mokin]

Remington used to make brass with small primer pockets but changed to large primers several years ago. I had a really nice load using small rifle magnum primers and BLC-2 (I think). I was very disappointed when the supply dried up. I'll go look for some of the S&B brass.

Yes, the brass does get dinged up but it usually isn't anything the sizer can't fix. One thing I noticed is that my handloaded cases usually end up in a neater pile (if I hold the rifle still) than do the import factory loads.

As the price of bullets has risen and .310 diameter bullets are pretty much only available through the mail, I usually find myself going with the imported ammunition.

 

[BrokenWheel]

OK, so what your saying is that any store brought brass (winchester/ R&P etc) is going to be large rifle.

 

[carbine85]

Mu brass uses small primers and my Chinese AK isn't too bad on the brass. I haven't reloaded anything for the AK or SKS since the surplus ammo is cheap, and given the limited accuracy of the rifles I don't see any real benefit right now.
I find AK brass at the gunshows.

 

[HJ857]

Another thing to consider is modifying steel cased ammo. That ammo is incredibly inconsistent. Powder charges, bullet weight and neck tension is all over the place.

However, you can pull the bullet, weigh a consistent powder charge (you can use the factory powder or replace it with something else, I like IMR 4895), then either weight sort the bullets or just use a better bullet, neck size the case and re-seat.

It's a great deal less work than prepping brass cases, for a minor overall cost, and you won't ever need to spend hours picking through the grass looking for your brass.

I experimented with a fully customized handload for SKS a number of years back and found no accuracy difference between using brass casings vs. steel casings. I still have a few hundred new Winchester cases laying around, but you can't have them. They are definitely small rifle.

The Lee data sheet says 7.62x39 could be either large or small depending on the manufacturer.

 

[Terry Vincent]

I've been reloading the 7.62x39 for ten years. Reloading allows the cartridge to achieve its ballistic potential far beyond factory loads and even safely exceed the Russian military ammo that can often chrono 2400 fps. For a reference look at Paco Kelly's article, "Unintended Consequences" that describes his experiences with reloading the 7.62x39 in a Ruger M77 and CZ 527.

My experiences and data arrived at from chronographing loads in my CZ 527 and AR-15 clearly indicate AA 1680 powder is the go to propellent to realize maximum performance within safe pressure limits. As an example, working up to 29 grains of 1680 in my AR-15 yielded 53,000 psi and a velocity average (more than 100 rounds tested) of 2620 fps from a 16" barrel. The barrel diameter is .310 on my AR, and the projectile for this load/pressure data is a .308, 125 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip fired in a Remington case with a Remington 71/2 bench rest primer. Large primers with the same load demonstrate a 100 fps velocity loss, so I generally try to purchase small primer brass.

Pictures submitted to the recent poll on which caliber to use for big game hunting demonstrate the impact ballistics with the Nosler on big game (antelope). You can find it in the search files.

Of course, if you are about saving money on ammo (aren't we all), reloading will help you realize this goal as well as give you excellent ammo for target and hunting applications. My groups with both rifles never exceed 1.5 moa in real world hunting/shooting positions and reliably take deer, antelope, and elk to three hundred yards. The above load still carries more than 1,000 lb/ft of impact energy at 300 yards.