Anybody reload 7.62x39 for ak or sks

[snowman357]

The last caliber I use I dont reloaded for since its an ak rifle steel case ammo was fine. Last time I did the math it would cost around .33 cent/round for me to reload. I would assume my reload would be more accurate than wolf steel case stuff. Shooting an ak with iron sights figured it was never worth it. Like a couple of ammo shortages back it became more economical to reload 9mm after the permanent price increases (it just never goes back to what it used to be). Steel case being .40 cent now I doubt it will go back to .27. I have enough steel case to last a couple of years and dies for 7.62x39. I dont have the brass or bullets, will not get them until things get normalized. Wondering if anybody can load it cheaper than .33 (still have velocity around 2200fps)? Hard to price things with the current prices. The berrys bullet said max 2000fps anybody try them faster?

 

[FROGO207]

There is a speed limit on the Berrys bullets for a reason. They will not shoot good at a faster speed. You have to go to a jacketed bullet to increase the speed. Only time will tell if reloading will be cost effective going forward. The prices on both ammo and components are up about the same amount. Where they end up???. My first thing would be buying reloadable brass ammo for what you shoot going forward. Usually about the same as brass cost in X39 in the past. Also the better quality the bullet the better accuracy you get. But now the per round cost goes up as well. Sorry, more to think about!

 

[AK Hunter]

After seeing this shortage coming I stocked up on reloading components. I can & do reload 7.62x39 for about 25 cents per round. It's not cost effective if the price of steel case is down but right now around here they are asking about 80 cents per round.
I do shoot some through my AKs but most of the reloads are for my 7.62x39 AR.
Like Frog said the first step is to buy reloadable brass ammo, I got lucky & found a bunch of brass ammo at an auction. And I have been picking up once fired brass when I can find it.

 

[Hugger-4641]

"My first thing would be buying reloadable brass ammo for what you shoot going forward"

Fortunately I did this for a little while because the only thing I've seen on shelves in the last 3 or 4 months is wolf steel.
I have enough stock that I haven't started reloading for this yet and I haven't bought dies, but I've read that you can use .308 dies. Is this true?

 

[vongh]

I switched to casting gas checking and powder coating 24 grains aa2460 accuracy was good in a sks gas checks 2 cent's each lead was range scrap. I haven't chronod yet.

 

[FROGO207]

No to using 308 dies. You can use .308 bullets in appropriate weights. For AK's and SKS's the .308 bullets might or might not work with accuracy as some barrels are .311 to .323 depending on who made them and wear. You will be wise to slug your barrel and find out the size. The Lee dies I purchased had both a .308 and .311 decapping pin included. My Mini 30 has a .308 barrel and shoots .308 bullets well.

 

[EricBu]

The last caliber I use I dont reloaded for since its an ak rifle steel case ammo was fine. Last time I did the math it would cost around .33 cent/round for me to reload. I would assume my reload would be more accurate than wolf steel case stuff. Shooting an ak with iron sights figured it was never worth it. Like a couple of ammo shortages back it became more economical to reload 9mm after the permanent price increases (it just never goes back to what it used to be). Steel case being .40 cent now I doubt it will go back to .27. I have enough steel case to last a couple of years and dies for 7.62x39. I dont have the brass or bullets, will not get them until things get normalized. Wondering if anybody can load it cheaper than .33 (still have velocity around 2200fps)? Hard to price things with the current prices. The berrys bullet said max 2000fps anybody try them faster?

I loaded 7.62x39 for a few years. First, you got to slug your barrel and see what you got. It is not uncommon to find that they are barreled .308, instead of .311 as god intended. And yes, you can always load .308 bullets in it.....and I've ran .311 bullets in a .308 barreled gun with no ill effects, but surprising accuracy, but running .308s in a .311 barrel will reduce accuracy even more than normal AK accuracy. The main gun I loaded for was a PTR-32 (HK 91 clone in 7.62x39 that used AK mags) and with home rolls, it was a sub MOA gun. None of the AK's I owned made one rat difference in accuracy. The main problem is brass life...the AKs and the PTR both beat the crud out of the brass. My best loads used powders like Lil Gun, RL 7, H110, and CFE Black. Think 300 BLK super load data. There is more load data now than when I started loading for it many many years ago, so you shouldn't have any issue. My best luck was with Starline brass...I just bit the bullet so to speak and bought a 1000 pieces brand new...was cheaper in the long run that buying a case of loaded ammo in brass. Before I found Starline I was using a few other brands, and none of them lasted very long. I used a lee FCD and a medium crimp. Most of the time I loaded to book COAL. I did experiment with some big sub loads, and they worked well. In the interest of full disclosure....once I went full bore with 300 BLK, I quit shooting all my commie guns, and in fact last year sold all my 7.62x39 ammo, reloading dies, conversion kits, and every 7.62x39 rifle/pistol I owned. If you load 7.62x39, it's really a labor of love...you'll not save money, and not gain anything in accuracy unless you have a gun that can leverage it.

 

[denton]

The key is having a wayback machine. I have 123 grain FMJ bullets I bought for $.10, and Boxer primed Lapua ammunition for $.20. I'm still working on that hoard. Reloads run me about $.22.

LOL.....bought my 1954 Tula SKS with the idea that it would be an adult 10/22. Rifle was $150 and cheap ammo was $.08. It's not like that anymore.

 

[armoredman]

I have a baggie full of primed 7.62x39mm brass I can't use after I lost the rifle. Long story, sad ending. No ideas how many, 30, maybe 60 or so? No clue.
Yes I loaded cheap because I cast my own bullets, either the Lee 160gr slug or the incredible NOE 129gr, sized down to .311. I will still use the 129 mold for my buddies .308, but the 160 is just gathering dust.

 

[Reloadron]

I still have about 5 or 6 boxes of it's either Winchester white box or Remington UMC 7.62 x 39 and the early 90s we were selling it for $7.00 a box. Before Clinton ended the great Chinese stuff we were buying a 1200 round case of the steel stuff for about $90 delivered. Granted that was some time ago. I only reloaded some of the brass stuff and back then it was hardly worth reloading since the steel stuff was so cheap. The irony is after all of that stuff we sold I kept one SKS and still have about 2,000 rounds of steel cased stuff. I have not shot that rifle in maybe 15 years. I sold my dies years ago. Today I see a box of Winchester white box, boxer primed brass is $23, over a buck a bang.

I'll load and shoot .308 Win before I mess with that stuff again. If I did I would just as mentioned, buy a thousand pieces o0f Starline brass and be good for a long time.

Ron

 

[Mark_Mark]

I have a baggie full of primed 7.62x39mm brass I can't use after I lost the rifle. Long story, sad ending. No ideas how many, 30, maybe 60 or so? No clue.
Yes I loaded cheap because I cast my own bullets, either the Lee 160gr slug or the incredible NOE 129gr, sized down to .311. I will still use the 129 mold for my buddies .308, but the 160 is just gathering dust.

how did you lose your rifle... I let me brother barrow my MAK90 RPK once, and 8 years later he still has it

 

[HankC]

I reload 7.62x39 with Nosler .310 bullets for my bolt guns and x39 AR. Don't have an AK anymore, my RPK shoot better with reload as well, but I leave it and my SKSs to steel case.

 

[mokin]

I have reloaded 7.62 x 39. It's been a long time since though. Back when Remington made brass with a small rifle primer I remember I had a load that was scary accurate out of one SKS. Being as those rifles are hard on brass I've allocated my time and components to other cartridges.

 

[armoredman]

I think I still have one or two of those Remington SRP brass around here somewhere. I have 107 primed brass in baggies. The rifle went to an ongoing issue - medical bills. The wife has many issues, some of them hard to pronounce. It was the best damn bolt action carbine I ever owned in my life.
Edit to add - I found one of those old Remington SRP brass still hanging around.

 

[joneb]

18-20 gr of H-4198 work well with 123gr Extreme plated rated for 2k fps out of my SKS.
At 18gr the cases will fall a few feet from your feet which is a nice change from the "where the heck did the brass go" with a standard load.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

I bought a Chicom SKS for $88. And a case of Chinese ammo for $20. Pie plate accuracy. Then my range caught fire and they banned steel jacket bullets. So I had a bunch of steel case berdan primed rounds. Started tearing down rounds and loading 150 gr JSP .311 dia. with 4227. With a 4x scope I got down to groups that I could cover with a quarter. For the cost of bullets and powder, I have an accurate SKS.

 

[entropy]

I reloaded 7.62x39 after I got @ 500 Lapua cases when some friends and I cleaned out an LGS near us when we ran out in the middle of an all-day shoot. (about 12 years ago.) It was the only 7.62x39 he had, and I was the only one of the bunch who reloaded, so I got the brass, (After much searching. We fired it from SKSs as well as AKs.) I also have a couple hundred Win. brass found at the range I loaded. tested a few and reloaded them, and they sit in their ammo cans, waiting. (I'm down to one 7.62x39 rifle, from 3, and have plenty of steel case from back then, too.)
They were very accurate out of my Yugo SKS, and even made my AMD shoot better.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have dies to load 7.62x39 but have not loaded any in a couple decades. I have not bought any in a couple decades either. I have a supply of cheap combloc ammunition in inventory. I have a supply of new IMI brass on hand that i bought a couple decades ago.

I have not shot my SKS rifles in a couple decades either. But, I'm all set if I need to.

 

[Trent]

I've reloaded a couple hundred rounds of 7.62x39, the accuracy wasn't really any better or worse than factory ammo, so didn't see (at the time) any compelling reason to keep doing it. Given the state of things today, kind of glad I have some components sitting around just in case.

One thing to watch for with lead (non jacketed) bullets is keeping your feed ramp and chamber clear. Most AK feed ramps are rather sharp and the cycling is a bit on the abrupt side. It might make sense to check and (if necessary) smooth that feed ramp lip to keep from shaving bullets as they chamber. Some of my AK's have feed ramps sharp enough to shave a bit of copper from jacketed bullets as they chamber (or did, prior to me honing them), I'm sure they'd shave quite a bit of lead off, enough to be a problem after a while.

Because of the softness of lead alloys and the aggressive chambering you would probably want to use a good lead solvent in the chamber if you shoot a bunch of lead through it. I mean, the barrel itself is a concern too, at those velocities, but you surely don't want your chamber getting leaded up and messing with headspacing.

 

[armoredman]

That's why I powder coat. I never had any leading issues in CZ 527M, BREN 2 MS, or vz-58. Cast bullets rock.

 

[Trent]

That's why I powder coat. I never had any leading issues in CZ 527M, BREN 2 MS, or vz-58. Cast bullets rock.

Probably wouldn't hurt the accuracy either! AK barrels are notoriously loose. I've slugged plenty of them and they are so widely inconsistent! Snug fit is better!

Can you get .308 dia up to .311 or .312 when powder coating? Or is it too thin of a coat?

 

[HOWARD J]

I been reloading for about 45+ years. Never reloaded to save $$$ since I got rid of the UZI-it has become a hobby. I have over 3000 reloads for 7.62 x 39-2000 new factory ammo.
I used standard load from many manuals for the 2 SKS's I have. I put my Mini 30 away & us my Ruger american ranch 7.62 x 39.
Enjoy your reloading ( if you have components)
Happy Easter

 

[Mark_Mark]

I think I still have one or two of those Remington SRP brass around here somewhere. I have 107 primed brass in baggies. The rifle went to an ongoing issue - medical bills. The wife has many issues, some of them hard to pronounce. It was the best damn bolt action carbine I ever owned in my life.
Edit to add - I found one of those old Remington SRP brass still hanging around.

what was the bolt carbine? was it 7.62x39?

I got tons of russian walmart stuff, and looking to light off a few

 

[Ironicaintit]

I load the 7.62x39. Several times I got used brass at DiamondK, so I have a pretty good mix of head stamps. Mostly Winchester and S&B.
I’ve never loaded cast lead or plated... just .311, 125gr SP, 130 grFMJ (I think they were originally chi-com) and 150 gr SP.
all worked up with IMR4198 for a WASR.
Not terrifically accurate, but less than 2 MOA ... except for the 130 FMJ, they’re flying turds.

All I have left for it are .308, but I haven’t tried them yet

 

[armoredman]

what was the bolt carbine? was it 7.62x39?