7.62x39 in AR?

[WestKentucky]

I’m considering an upper to use for a lightweight, shorter range, freezer filler. Primary purpose would be whitetail, but with a few conditions. I reload everything I shoot. I may buy factory ammo just to get brass, but for serious work it’s hand loaded and built to be accurate.

For those of you who hunt with a 7.62x39 I’m interested. I hear it’s the semiauto 30-30.

For those that reload 7.62x39 what’s the quirks? What bullets are good in .311 diameter? Is there a decent hunting bullet that’s readily available? Is boxer brass really all that hard to find?

For 7.62x39 AR specifically, what are the quirks? One brand barrel or upper surprisingly good for the money? Should I anticipate changing out buffer springs or is it just as simple as other upper swaps where you slap on an upper and a new magazine and roll with it?

I’m open to ideas, and I’m not yet tied to the concept, but it sounds good in my head.

 

[Show Me]

First it's not a 30 30. It is a hotrod 300 blackout. The Russian round will kill deer but lower sholder shot will really test a conventional 123 so. Been there several times.

 

[d2wing]

Yup, not a 30-30. Light recoil close range deer killer. I have used it, I prefer the .223 for flatter shooting and more tissue damage but the 7.62x39 has a little better penetration and lots of guys prefer it.

 

[Mk-211]

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[Show Me]

I use the same ppu bullets from Graff in a ruger bolt, an AR and a mini thirty. Shooters world tactical rifle powder and an assortment of LR primers. That's cheep shooting and with the mini cheep spraying at 125 yards

 

[JohnMc]

With the right bullet, it's a good deer round that can work in an AR. I wouldn't say it's optimal for the platform.
.300 Blackout or .300 Ham'r fit the AR better and aren't bad choices if you reload.
Without reloading, both are more expensive than the 7.62x39, last time I checked.
.300 BLK can be very interesting with heavy bullets, a friend regularly takes deer with 220 grain or so subsonic rounds, running a suppressor. He calls them "flying lead pencils" - all handloads.
The 7.62x39 needs special mags and a different bolt, aside from the barrel. .300 BLK can be a problem in some mags, I've had no trouble with standard Lancer mags. No idea about the Ham'r.

 

[valnar]

There are much better choices, especially if you're going to reload.

 

[troy fairweather]

I feel the little high speed of the 123~ range preform as well as the slower bit heavier 3030, not sure why but I always feel more comfortable using a 7.62x39 over a 3030. 308-311s will work you may loose a few fps but shoot what it likes, being a ar-15 most likely it's a saami chamber so American factory ammo maybe shoot better then cip spec ammo.

Cfe -blk is your friend.

 

[navystang]

my 7.62 upper has not disappointed me yet, I hand load 123 Hornady sst bullets usually in steel cases i have pulled down. it has put meat in the freezer for the last 4 or 5 years

 

[Navy87Guy]

I recently picked up an NIB Radical Firearms RF-15 in 7.62x39 for $400. I’m very impressed. It’s a very soft shooter and dead accurate out of the box. It’s nice to have more than one 7.62x39ption in the safe.

 

[illinoisburt]

The round certainly can work well in an AR with appropriate magazines (c-product duramags). No worry about accidentally sticking a standard mag loaded with it into a 556 rifle and going kaboom like can (and occasionally does) happen with 300 blk. I have killed hogs with 123 HPs without issue from ARs. Preference for my wife's mini30 hunting rifle has been 154 SP though those are.getting scarcer. It's works quite well so far on a few deer and some hogs for her.

The 154 load is about the closest you will get to 30-30 equivalency with factory ammo though its still a bit shy mostly due to bullet construction. Now if someone was to offer a better bullet in the x39 like an old school flat point superx or corelock at 2150 fps...

 

[FL-NC]

I would much sooner get one of the PSA uppers in 300 blackout. So many options in that caliber whether you reload or buy off the shelf- and from what I've seen 300 BLK is cheaper than x 39 now. The blackout will also use standard AR mags and standard AR everything except the barrel and flash hider.

 

[Buzznrose]

I’m considering an upper to use for a lightweight, shorter range, freezer filler. Primary purpose would be whitetail, but with a few conditions. I reload everything I shoot. I may buy factory ammo just to get brass, but for serious work it’s hand loaded and built to be accurate.

For those of you who hunt with a 7.62x39 I’m interested. I hear it’s the semiauto 30-30.

For those that reload 7.62x39 what’s the quirks? What bullets are good in .311 diameter? Is there a decent hunting bullet that’s readily available? Is boxer brass really all that hard to find?

For 7.62x39 AR specifically, what are the quirks? One brand barrel or upper surprisingly good for the money? Should I anticipate changing out buffer springs or is it just as simple as other upper swaps where you slap on an upper and a new magazine and roll with it?

I’m open to ideas, and I’m not yet tied to the concept, but it sounds good in my head.

If you want a very good AR like carbine, I have had excellent results from my PSA KS-47

https://palmettostatearmory.com/ks-47.html

They were on a great sale lately and I see today they are basically out, but without question this is the only 7.62*39 semiautomatic I will own. Mine is very accurate with crappy steel ammo, and at some point I will try quality rounds.

5 round groups with Wolf 123 HP at 50 yards from bench. Rainy day, not my best performance but the gun shoots very good out to 200 yards.

Never took it past that personally.

 

[js8588]

Get this

AR15 Enhanced Firing Pin For 7.62x39 & 5.45x39 | Red X Arms

www.redxarms.com

And this

Steel-Cased AR Trigger (For Steel Case Ammo) - Velocity Precision Engineering

The Velocity AR Trigger "Steel Case" version features a stronger hammer and hammer spring to improve performance with steel case ammo, but can be used with traditional brass ammo as well including .22 rifles - If you shoot a lot of steel case ammo this is the trigger for you! Available in 4lb...

velocitytriggers.com

Also, check out this deal on what should be a pretty good barrel.

 

[Buzznrose]

I would much sooner get one of the PSA uppers in 300 blackout. So many options in that caliber whether you reload or buy off the shelf- and from what I've seen 300 BLK is cheaper than x 39 now. The blackout will also use standard AR mags and standard AR everything except the barrel and flash hider.

Agree, and I missed the part where OP was buying an upper versus a new firearm. If buying an AR upper to hunt deer, I'd go with either 300 BO or 6.5 Grendel. There are issues with a lot of 7.62*39 uppers...and from what I've seen, are finicky with magazines.

 

[Lefty38-55]

My favorite AR cartridge! I call it the '308 Short'!

MUST HAVEs ... to me, an adjustable gas port (I use JP Enterprises) and good magazines (recall mine are early ASCs, but I could be wrong there, lol ... as been shootin' too much BP lately!). As yes, many mag brands can really be #$##$$ bad!

Tuned to bulk ammo it likes (Golden Tiger) all the empties would land in the cover of a trash barrel placed off to the right and behind me @ 4-5 o'clock.

LOVE it! Same MSR shoots 1-1/4 MOA using PMC soft-point hunting ammo out to 200-yards, so with that and a Trijicon AccuPoint 1.25-4X scope ... it's my bad weather/don't take out the Win 70 deer rifle.

 

[AK Hunter]

I own an AR in 7.62x39 & it's great for short range accuracy but for anything past 250 to 300 yds the round drops fast after that. But at 100yds I was surprised to get 10rd groups like this with cheap black box Wolf ammo.

 

[sevt_chevelle]

Bcm stripped upper
Satern barrel
AO precesion...not Aero bcg
Bcm handguard
Vltor A5 buffer system
Solgw stripped lower
C products or duramag magazines
ADM scope mount
Currently swampfox 1-8 scope.

This rifle will do .75 moa with cheap Wlof steel cased ammo.

 

[TonyAngel]

If you're thinking of getting into a .30 cal AR, without going .308, 7.62x39 and 300 BO are it.

Personally, 300 BO never did anything for me. I don't have one and likely never will. I already had an AR in 7.62 when BO came out and it didn't offer anything that I didn't already have. Although BO doesn't quite pack the punch of a 7.62, it does have some advantages.

All you need is a barrel. Everything else is the same as it is for a 5.56. You can even form BO brass from 5.56.

The reason I went with 7.62 in the first place was due to ammo cost and ease. Back when you could get HP and SP ammo for .30 a round or cheaper, it made a lot of sense. You'd be surprised at how well steel cased HP and SP can perform.

I'm sticking with 7.62 for now because relatively inexpensive ammo can still be had and I have enough of the "good stuff" to last me a good long while. 7.62 steel is also a very accurate ammo. My AR shoots 1.5 MOAish and my Ruger American is MOAish. Even the ball ammo is pretty destructive.

The downside to 7.62 is that in addition to the barrel, you'll need mags and a bolt (unless you're just gonna get a complete upper or rifle). When it comes to the barrel, you're gonna want to confirm your bore diameter. I believe PSA and Diamondback are .310/.311 whereas Ballistic Advantage and Faxon are .308. I may or may not be mistaken, but as a hand loader, you'll want to look into it.

I like the 7.62. It has a bit more oomph. I've had my 10" AR out to 300 and my bolt gun out to 400 making center hits on 8" steel. I think I could have gone farther, but I ran out of reticle in my scopes and I'm not dialing an LPVO. It does drop like a brick past 200 or so.

I'd imagine that it would apply to BO as well, but it's really neat that the zero on the 7.62 is 50/100, which is handy down in South Louisiana. Getting set up out to 300 was easy. Zero at 50, confirm at 100, verify windage at 300, done.

I was finally able to arrange a place for my reloading rig amd have been doing some reading and checking out YouTube. Apparently, you can get over 2500 fps out of a 123gr bullet using CFE/Black, I believe it was called.

 

[Ironicaintit]

I really like the 7.62x39.... in an AK derivative.
Loading one in an AR seems counterintuitive somehow. Like taking a mid 70s smogged up Ford 302 into a Mercedes.
To each their own though.

But if I were loading that round specifically for deer, I'd likely load them with 150 gr soft points and drive them as hard as I would dare.

 

[cfullgraf]

I'd prefer 300 Blackout over 7.62x39. It maybe a bit less in power, although it was supposed to match 7.62x39 performance, it uses 223 Rem bolts and magazines. Easier to replace parts if necessary.

But, if you planning to shoot ComBloc surplus ammunition trying to save money, then you need the 7.62x39 barrel, bolt and magazines.

Just my opinion. I like my 300 Blackout rifles.

 

[valnar]

To me, the appeal of the 7.62x39 cartridge is the cheap ammo and the desire to use its main platform - AK47, SKS, Vz.58. Outside of that, and especially if you are going to reload, I don't know why anyone would choose it for an AR15. It's ballistically not that great. My choice would be the Grendel or SPC II, whichever is easier for you to get brass for.

 

[Armored farmer]

I like my ruger American Ranch in 7.62x39, but if I were still in the consideration stage.....I would consider a .300BO or .350Legend in case I got an opportunity to hunt in a "straight-wall only" state.

 

[Lefty38-55]

To me, the appeal of the 7.62x39 cartridge is the cheap ammo ... Outside of that, I don't know why anyone would choose it for an AR15. It's ballistically not that great.

It's easily twice more accurate in the AR platform than in any other ... , which is fun for those who like cheap bulk ammo and the AR. But I get what you're saying too.

 

[DesertFox]

One of the only upper calibers not represented currently in the safe. Have Norinco milled SKS for 7.62 commie launching...