and it was put to the high road: 7x62.39 loads with .308 tracers

[trickyasafox]

so im sick enough of the shortage of affordable ammo that im picking up components for 7.62x39. i was going to use .308 bullets, as i thought some others have tried it here with no ill effects, if im mistaken please correct me and disregard the rest of this post.

the cheapest ones to be found are tracers. i have access to a private property range, so range regulations arent a consideration with this ammo. my concern is does shooting tracers work your barrel harder then regular bullets? is there any reason not to load these and shoot them in an sks?

 

[DWARREN123]

Just make sure they fit your bore, some non American 30 calibers are as big as .314. May need to slug your barrel to find it's size.

 

[Cosmoline]

7.62x39 bores are usually about .310" to .311", with the Ruger Mini-30 running to .308" I believe. .314" would be a seriously messed up bore. You may be thinking of Mosins.

The big question is, what WEIGHT, not what diameter. .308" diameter will work in all 7.62x39's. But the cartridge gets touchy when you load heavy. I've done it up to 180 grain at 2,000 fps, but that was out of a mini-mauser, and would have likely damaged a AK clone.

 

[trickyasafox]

good call cosmo, i should have mentioned: i think they were either 150gr or 145gr. i figured the weight would be fine as wolf offers 154gr sp ammo, and no one has reported ill effects with an sks that i am aware of using that ammo

if it matters, the sks's are both yugos, a m59 and a m59/66.

i was thinking either shoot these tracers, or start ordering lead.

 

[rbernie]

I can't run reliably .308 bullets in my SKS or my AR's; the actions short-stroke, presumably due to the pressure loss caused by the undersized bullets.

 

[Car Knocker]

Be aware that some states/counties prohibit the firing of tracer or incendiary rounds. They are prohibited in National Forests.

 

[Cosmoline]

145-155 is possible with a semi, but dicey. Wolf does OK because it's a mild load, while Cor-Bon has figured out just the right powder combo. You've got to study the load manuals carefully (e.g., watch what kind of rifle they used for their tests) and watch for pressure signs. The biggest problem is the impact on the gas system of the semis, which can be too much depending on type of powder even if you're within PSI limits.