AnotheR hunting rifle, but in 7.62?

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tangodownvr6

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So I had it in my head the other day to get me a new hunting rifle. So I went and shoped, and shoped, and look some more online. Bolt actions, levers, pumps, break actions even semi autos. Nothing of the traditional way was doing it for me.... Then the woman called asking me to teach her how to shoot and use my AR. Then the light came on AR build! So then I went caliber shoping, not a 5.56 already got one of them, 6 mils never been a fan of, 300 black outs lol I'm not that rich lol. Nice bullet tho. So wheres that leave me..... 7.63x39, the hated AK round. Lets see .311 caliber good to about 400m, can be very accurate up to 400m, has 550+ pound feet of energy at 400m. Cheap easy to find both ammo and build parts. So this is what I built, a fun hunting rifle. It will do the business anything from varmint, to Bore and Coyotes, up to most big game here in the lower 48.

Upper: Bought off GunBroker.com
DMPS Flat Top Upper
DPMS Dust Cover
DMPS Charging Handle
Rock River(RRA) Bolt Carrier Assembly Chrome- Lined
16" 4140 Chromemoly Lined Barrel 1/10 Twist Chambered in 7.62x39mm
Carbine Length Gas Tube
EMOD Free Float Hand Guard
Vortex Optics CrossFire II 3-9x40 Hold Over BCD / MagPul Flip Ups
No Name Muzzle Break

Lower: built it myself this last week in my hotel room
Anderson M4 Lower
Anderson Mil-Spec 5lb Crisp Break Trigger
Anderson Mil-Spec Buffer Tube
M4 Buffer Spring
Spikes Tactical ST-T2 Buffer 4.0 oz
UTG PRO Model 4 S3 Mil-Spec Stock
Customized Anderson Pistol Grip- i did the customization myself
Upper_zps6chtgnzx.jpg
 

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Nice upper. I'm currently addicted to large game hunting (deer) with AR's. Probably has to do with my bad shoulder and they don't kick hard and are very accurate. I don't see why people who are doing AR's for deer size game don't just buy a R-15 in 30 Rem AR and have the best round for deer to 400yds in the AR-15 platform and have factory ammo available.

Wish it would've caught on but Remington just didn't support it like they should've
 
as someone who has used 7.62x39 for many years id advice against it, the 123 grain bullets drop like a rock after a couple hundred yards and lose energy way too fast, the bullets in the 154 grain loads are designed for 7.62x54R and typically wont expand at x39 velocities... wound channels for this cartridge are very poor resulting in little better than a 30 caliber hole straight through

in the AR platform youre going to have more issues.. relating to a bolt face that has been machined out a bit too much to fit the cartridge, potential extractor problems, the fact x39 is a highly tapered cartridge that is being stuffed into a straight magazine well causes feeding issues, its one of the reasons the AR crowd has developed alternatives to it for the AR-15, .300 blackout if you handload for a 16" barrel will match 7.62x39 ballistics, 7.62x40WT will actually surpass 7.62x39, and by being able to use .308" bullets you can use those designed for the .30-30 which will give you much better performance for hunting at the lower velocities

.300 blackout is not expensive, not even in the slightest, learn to make your own, youre just cutting down 5.56 brass and running it through a die and loading it with your oh so common caliber of choice, given how much cheaper brass 223 casings are vs brass, boxer primed 7.62x39 cases, you could make 300 blackout cheaper than you could 7.62x39, and most the cheap steel cased ammo is nothing to write home about
 
exactly, for hunting id limit myself to 123 grain SSTs or hot cores designed to expand at those velocities and keep it within 200
 
So an AR47 is going to give me feed issues? It's going to be a disappointing weapon if I am hearing you correctly?

Well now lets look at this from my POV: 1 its not your money, 2 its not your weapon build, 3 sometimes its just fun to build a gun, 4 it will not give me feed issues seeing as they now make designated mags, and barrels for these builds, and BCGs, 5 I polished out my M4 feed ramps to spec, 6 this mutt of a build has gained almost a cult following over the last few years. And uppers, bolt carrier groups, mags, and a whole host of other parts have been made specifically and refined for adventurous persons such as myself. So while your line of it being a problematic weapons platform would have been correct about 5 to 7 years ago, the fact is the kinks have been worked out, with quality parts of course. And you can almost build one of these "AR47s" for as little or cheaper than a parts bin 5.56.

However you are right about the 7.62x39 123gr FMJ surplus round falling like a rock, good thing quality ammo manufactures now make that bullet in hunting loads and much grain weights..... And who takes a 400 yard shot in the woods of upstate NY? 400 yards is a range thing, i.e. controlled environment shooting
 
Ok, no one said not to do whatever it is you want to do. Justin just said that in some cases, mostly the older 7.62x39 shoehorned to fit in the AR15, you might run into feeding issues. No need to get defensive. He was absolutely correct, as you are correct that the new mutant breed AR47 appears to have solved those issues.

Build it, shoot it, have fun with it and make sure to post pics.
 
Tangodown, Justin is giving you bad info. I have a few 7.62 39 ar's and they work and shoot great. Justin says the 300 blackout is better but it is a weaker round, less energy. You can load any 308 hunting bullet you want in the russian case and they work great. I am giving you actual facts from my experience not 'internet hearsay'.
 
You came here bragging about your new rifle and get mad when people give you advice or comments. If you don't like it why would you post? I have had two bolts break in the last year with less then 500 rounds fired. I was told by many to keep spare bolts as this is still common. I have seen the fix some use for the feed ramps and it is not to make them in mil-spec, but to open it up and make them wider or to make it one fairly large feed ramp removing the center portion between the two. I like the round and the AR combination, but mine has been so much of a problem I am thinking about getting rid of it and getting a different brand and starting over. I hear good things about the Windham Weaponry uppers. I hope yours works better then mine and good luck.
 
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i wasnt aware he had an AR47 lower, his post says he built the lower and ive seen neither stripped nor 80% lowers for AK magazines, only STANAG
 
"Hated" AK round?

What? It's a great round for up to 300 meter engagements... what it was designed for.
 
I considered a 7.62x39 AR build, but decided against it in favor of the .300 Blackout.

As stand alone weapons, engineered from the ground up, the x39 ARs seem to work, like the CMMG Mutant. But as drop in uppers, I've heard all the same previously mentioned problems concerning feeding and busted bolt locking lugs. Certain x39 AR mags seem to solve the feeding issue, or at least alleviate it.

For general plinking, range toy, fun gun, a x39 AR should be a lot of fun. Wouldn't be my first, second, third or fourth choice for hunting medium sized game. For one, steel cased bulk FMJ x39 is inexpensive, which makes it a great range burner. But for hunting applications, a good brass cased x39 with a properly expanding bullet drives up the price to be less economical to factory .300 BO.

I know it wasn't mentioned, but I wouldn't want to rely on a x39 build for HD, either.

For my own purposes, a .300 BO build makes more sense, as I've already got spare parts left over from 5.56 builds. 5.56 BCGs are abundant and inexpensive compared to niche bolts. Aside from the barrel, the rest of the parts are standard off the shelf 5.56 parts which are plentiful. I'm also not invested in 7.62x39 in other rifles, so I'm not trying to adapt a new build into a structured ammunition stock.

I genuinely hope you prove the naysayers and internet hearsay wrong, and your x39 AR works great. Pleased post some pics and a range report when you can. I'd like to be able to at least pass on some first hand info to a buddy who is still on the fence between a x39 upper and a .300 BO upper.
 
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