Reloading for 7.62x39?

[Josh45]

Had a question about reloading 7.62x39.
I am using RCBS dies, FL sizing them.
My question is regarding the bullet I am trying to use for it. I do have the expander ball for .308 and .310. In this instance, I used the .308 ball for the bullets I have. I use these bullets in my 30-06 and my fathers .308.

There 147 Gr M80. The reloads are for an AK-47. Being this is a semi-automatic, I know your suppose to crimp for the rounds or I could get bullet set back. But then I remember that case neck tension comes with the resizing die.

I could not load these to the cannelure as it would have not let the rounds fit into the magazine. So, I kept going down until I found where they will fit in the magazine. Which was at 2.220. And yes, I did trim the brass to length.

Is there any problems using this bullet in this firearm / caliber?
I am going by the Hornady 8th edition manual. I know it is not a Hornady bullet or the equipment they used but it never hurts to make sure to ask about these things. In case, The powder I am using is IMR-3031.

Probably be buying some bullets that are more matched for this caliber but for time being, Do you see any problems using these bullets and without a crimp? These are just for plinking and to get the hang of reloading for the AK-47

 

[FROGO207]

Most on here don't bother load for the X39 as the Russian ammo is so cheap. I am doing some with 123 grain SP bullets. Those are shorter and they are more like the original loadings. The 150 or so grain bullet is to heavy for my SKS's or AK's and is inaccurate. Also you should slug your bore first and see if it can use a .310 bullet, if so that one will be much more accurate. If you do not check Lee says to treat it like a tight bore and use starting loads only in their lit with the dies. I just purchased some X-Treme plated bullets that are 123 grain FP and am trying to find a good plinking load with them. I am trying IMR 4198 to see if it works well. No shooting weather yet.

BTW I do not crimp them and the ones I have tried are GTG in that respect.

 

[David Wile]

Hey Frogo,

Speak for yourself about reloading 7.62X39 ammo. I load my own and would not think of using the imported stuff. In fact, I also cast my own 150 grain Guy Loverin design round nose bullets for most of my shooting. I had a whole bunch of different rifles (SKSs, AKs, Ruger Mini 30, AR-15) that used the 7.62X39, and most of them had .310 bores. For those with .310 bores, I would simply lube them in my Lubrisizer using a .311 or .312 die, and that would really just lube them without sizing them at all. They usually drop from the mold between .311 and .312, and that is a good size for the .310 bores.

I also use RCBS dies to full length resize the cases, but I always use the .308 neck expander button even though I plan to load .311 bullets. This gives me greater neck tension, and I do not have to crimp the bullets to keep them from moving. I chamfer the inside of my case necks to aid in seating bullets with little or no need for belling the case mouth. This works even for my cast bullets.

I doubt if Josh will get good results using .308 bullets if his bore is .310. I agree with Frogo that Josh should slug his bore and use a bullet that size or even larger if it is cast.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

 

[elwoodm]

watch that col at 2.22. the throat on ak is not that long usually. 2.195 2.200 depending on the style of bullet. a bullet that heavy im surprised you have enough room for the powder. this round works best with fast powders. .310s and .311s depending on what the bore slugs out to are the best in the 120grs or a little more. the most you can expect is around 2200 fps in an ak.

 

[viking499]

BerrysBullets has some good plated bullets to reload the 7.62 with. They came highly recommended by a few locals. But, we are shooting them in bolt guns and not semis.

 

[armoredman]

I've been reloading 7.62x39mm for a few years with jacketed, plated and cast. First things first - what is your bore, .308 or .310? If your bore is, (most likely), .310 or .311, that .308 bullet isn't going to give the greatest accuracy. The weight is a wee bit high for the caliber as well, but if you bought a lot of them with nowhere else to use them, go ahead and try it, but don't expect too much.
I second the Berry's plated bullet, excellent bullet. I have had great luck with it in my CZ 527M bolt rifle, and a friend had good shooting with it in an SKS.
I am the opposite in that I use the .310 expander ball, and then use the Lee FCD die at the end for neck tension. Lightly, with plated and cast, of course. I load cast with the great .314 129 gr Spire Point mold from NOE.

You can get some good results loading your own that you are not likely to get with the cheap Russian surplus ammo.

 

[FROGO207]

David Wile
I agree mostly with your post BUT if you are buying the standard .310-.311 x-39 bullets from Speer or Hornaday they cost a LOT more than home cast/plated fare. Then the Russian stuff is cost effective. Yeah I tried some .308 110, 130, and 150 grain with poor results as far as accuracy. So now the X Treme .310 bullets are the new experiment.

 

[David Wile]

Hey Frogo,

Maybe 15 years ago I had the opportunity to buy 5 thousand of the 123 grain regular Russian bullets, and they were not pulled bullets. They work real well as you would expect, but I found I could also use my 150 grain .30 caliber gas checked Loverin design bullet. Instead of sizing down for .308 use, I simply lubed it without sizing, and it worked like a charm in the .310 bore rifles.

I like casting and reloading, so I sold off most of my 123 grain jacketed bullets while using my cast gas checked bullets. I still have a few boxes of the jacketed bullets and use them on occasion. Actually, I sold most of my guns last year, and I now only have two AKs and an AR-15 in 7.62X39.

Like you, I did not do well with .308 bullets in the rifles with .310 bores.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

 

[Josh45]

Great info regarding this!
I am surprised I had room for the powder as well but to be quite honest, I am pretty sure it is compressed. Is that normal? My charge is at 23.0 Gr of IMR-3031 as listed in the Hornady 8th.

Now to be quite honest, I do not expect excellent accuracy and what not.
I only did it to get an idea on the reloading aspect for this caliber. Just like any other rifle except I never reloaded for Semi-Autos. I know that like pistol, You are restricted by magazine length and then what ever the throat of the barrel will accept.

I know 2.220 is a tad long as to 2.200 as the book mentioned. I figured I can try it like this and if not, I only made 10 rounds that would need to either be pulled or seated down further.

I was looking at the Berrys bullets. Looks like a good alternative to what I have going on now. I never did slug the bore so I cannot tell you if it is .308 or .310 but more than likely it would be .310. I also tried Pats Reloading and PolyGunBag, But were out of stock IIRC.

If you have any where else you guys know where to get .310 bullets for it, Let me know.
I know the usual places such as getting Sierra, Speer, Hornady, ETC.

 

[FROGO207]

Josh I just got some X-Treme bullets that are 123 grain heavy plated FP .310. I decided on those as there are some users that stated that the plating was 1/2 again as thick as the Berries plating. More like what Speer uses on the Gold Dots so the bullet can be used at higher speeds without problems. If the weather cooperates this weekend I plan on trying out the samples I made to see about it. I am no good with linkeys but Google X-Treme bullets and it will take you straight to the link. They come in 500 packs not 250 like Berries do either.

 

[armoredman]

Josh, PM your shipping address, and I'll send you some samples of the Berry's 125 grain thick plate bullet, if you want. I have used the Berry's bullet since they came out to good effect.

 

[Josh45]

Got back from the range an hour ago. Test fired off one round to see if it would chamber and to feel the recoil. Brother shot it. The rifle hardly moved in his hand and threw the brass about a good 8-10 ft from where we were standing.

The brass looks fine and no problems shown on the primer. I was using Federal primers for this. Surprising how light of a recoil they were compared to factory. Even at the distance I watched this happen, I could tell it was real light.

If we can get out there tomorrow, We will shoot the rest of the rounds and see how they are accuracy wise. My brother is looking for a hunting load regarding his AK-47.


Armoredman,

Thank you. I appreciate that very much.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I've loaded the 147 gr fmj for my Mini 30. it shot well at least what small quantity I loaded to shoot off a bench onto paper, and I load 150gr Speer soft point for use on whitetail. the bore is .310 does .002" make any diff? maybe in cast slugs. the 150gr shoot as good as Winny, Rem and Hornady 123-125gr jacketed sp's.
I didn't have any luck at all with Nosler 125 .308 or Seirra 125gr .311 (.303 slug)