Tips on reloading 7.62x39???

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tango2echo

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I am going to start reloading for my Dad's mini-30. I have several hundred once fired Remington cases. Any tips? There's not a whole lot of data on this round in my manuals.

Thanks alot.

T2E
 
1. Know your bore diameter so you know what bullets to get, and which neck sizer to use.

2. AA1680.
 
Yes, check bore diameter, so you know what caliber bullets to get. If it's .311 I like the sierra 125gr prohunter over H335. But i'm running that through an SKS.
 
T2E, it's worth trying .308 bullets. My AR15 in 7.62x39 has the same bore/groove as your Mini30, and it shoots 308 just as accurately as 311 out to 100 yards. Then you can see the groups open up very slightly at 200 and beyond.
 
If you have no problem with .308 dia bullets in that rifle then get them. Unlike the .310 or .311 dia bullets the .308 are available and cheaper than the others I mentioned.
Also check the Rem case. They should use small rifle primers, Problem is I've come across a few Remmington cases that have large rifle primers.
 
Hey folks,

I have seven rifles in 7.62X39: two Russian SKS, one really good Norinco SKS, two AK-47s, one Colt AR-15, and one Ruger Mini-30. The SKS and AK rifles all have standard larger bores, and both the Colt and the Ruger have .308 groove diameter bores. Yes, I measured barrel slugs from each. I would point out that all of these rifles were purchased nearly 20 years ago, and that may be the reason the Colt and Ruger rifles have .308 bores.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile
 
First, let's clarify the bore diameter of the Ruger Mini-30. The bore diameter of the Mini-30 was originally .308 with a tapered throat. Ruger changed over to the larger .310-.311 back in 1994 I believe. A simple phone call to Ruger with your serial # will tell which barrel you have.

Whichever your barrel the Mini-30 will shoot both diameters safely. Ruger designed the original .308 bore with a tapered throat to safely accept the larger more common .311 bullets.

As Krochus has pointed out, many 7.62x39s with a .310 barrel shoot the .308 bullet as well if not better than the .310 bullets. So, it all boils down to what you want to shoot and what your rifle likes best.

What do you want to shoot with these handloads??? Paper, Self Defence, Plinkin Fun or Hunting? All of these may a different type and style of bullet. If accuracy is your goal then cheap bulk bullets are not the answer. The Mini-30 sufferes from enough accuracy concerns without adding a POS bullet to the equation.

As for tips, First and foremost, always Full Length size your brass. Second purchase a Lee Factory Crimp die and crimp your loads. Third, gather as much data as you can. Forth, select a powder that is not too fast. Very fast powders may not produce enough port pressure to cycle the action. Stick with powders like AA 1680 and slower. Me I like 1680, H 4198, N 130 and H 322. What manuals do you have? There is a lot of loading data for the 7.62x39 on the web. Here are just a few.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/RecipeList.aspx?gauge=&gtypeid=2&title=Centerfire Load

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

http://www.lapua.com/fileadmin/user_upload/esitteet/VihtavuoriInternationalReloguide2008.pdf

http://www.handloads.org/loaddata/d...39&Weight=All&type=rifle&Order=Powder&Source=

http://www.reloadersnest.com/frontpage.asp?CaliberID=66
 
I heard on another forum that Ruger used .308 bores for about the first few thousand Mini-30's, then switched to .310 due to concerns about foreign ammo. I do not know if this is true.

I do not have any .308 bullets light enough for the 7.62x39 on hand at the moment. The Remington cases I have use small rifle primers.

The load I will be developing will be a "budget" load that I can reload cheaply, but still will be a good deer round out to about 125 yards. Any bullet suggestions? I have some H335 on hand, so I will likely use this as a starting powder.

Thank you.

T2E
 
Why full-lenght size instead of just neck sizing? The brass I have was fire-formed in this rifle. Do you think it will not feed well in the action without full-lenght sizing?

T2E
 
Hey Tango,

Most folks will full length resize all cases used in semi-auto or full auto rifles to insure the reliability of the reloading action. If you are concerned about extending case life, medium loads will last a really long time as opposed to hot loads which may only last a few loadings. If you are concerned about getting the tightest groups, neck sizing may help, but you risk jams in the semi-autos. Besides, most of us are not good enough shooters to see a difference between neck sizing and full length sizing.

As far as bullet weight goes, I normally use 150 grain bullets (cast and jacketed) in all my 7.62X39 rifles. A 150 grain bullet is certainly a good bullet for deer hunting, and you should be able to use it beyond 125 yards.

No disrespect meant to Steve, but I never found a need for a Lee Factory Crimp Die. I simply use my seating die to set a small amount of crimp in my loads, and I never have any problems with bullet movement from recoil. Besides, this caliber really is not a big recoil cartridge anyway.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile
 
I use the Hornady 123gr SP .310, over AA#1680 powder, best stuff yet in the vZ-58. I have not tried any 308 bullets yet, but I am getting geared up to use some home cast lead ones, 160gr gas checked, Lee mould, LLA lubed, WW metal.
Just gotta get casting again.
 
No disrespect meant to Steve, but I never found a need for a Lee Factory Crimp Die. I simply use my seating die to set a small amount of crimp in my loads, and I never have any problems with bullet movement from recoil. Besides, this caliber really is not a big recoil cartridge anyway.

Non taken. I crimp with the Lee Factory Crimp Die for all of my auto-loaders. My use of the LFCD has nothing to do with "bullet movement from recoil". It has to do with the bullet moving forward due to the violent slamming of the cartridge into the chamber.
Without sufficient neck tension(crimp) the bullet can and will move forward when the round is chambered by the action. In some cases the bullet can actually come completely out of the case, what a mess. Run a test for yourself. Load a round with no crimp, measure the OAL then cycle it trough the action hard. Measure the OAL again and see if it grew. Odds are your OAL has grown. This is not good for accuracy and may not be good for safety.
As you said, you can crimp with your seating die. With this type of crimp, the first thing you need is a cannelure, without it, the crimp feature of your seating die is about useless. The LFCD can be used on bullets with or without a cannelure.
Lee claims the their FCD will increase accuracy. I my experience in semi-autos as well as bolt actions, I would have to agree with Lee.
 
I use FCD in my 7.62x39mm loads, too.

I agree

If you're going to bother crimping ANYTHING you're doing yourself a big favor by spending $15 on a FCD die. No more ruined cases because the length was slightly longer, more constant bullet seating due to crimping becoming a separate operation and last but not least a far superior crimp
 
I heard on another forum that Ruger used .308 bores for about the first few thousand Mini-30's, then switched to .310 due to concerns about foreign ammo. I do not know if this is true

Back in the 80's Bill Ruger tried again for another Govt(Military) contract with the Ruger XGI. As with his failed Mini-14 the XGI suffered from some serious accuracy issues. Once again his dream of a defence contract was shattered.
Now Bill Ruger was stuck with a **** load of .308 XGI barrels that nobody wanted. As a way to get rid of these barrels he and his design team came up with the Mini-30. In other words the Mini-30 was nothing more than a way for Old Bill to dump his inaccurate POS .308 XGI barrels on the American public.
Well it worked and the American public bought this inaccurate POS by the millions. It wasn't until about 1994 that they switched over to the .310-.311. Ruger's conversion to the .310 had absolutely nothing to do with concerns about foreign ammo, he just ran out of POS XGI barrels.
 
Don't hold back, Steve. You're among good company. Tell us what you really think about Ol' Bill.
 
Tell us what you really think about Ol' Bill.

No that's OK, This is a public forum and I wouldn't want all the young eyes and ears to have to suffer with my four letter rantings about Bill the Left Wing Ruger!
 
Win, Rem and Hornady make .310 dia 123 gr slugs, either FMJ or SP.
Hornadys .310 VMax is soon to be discontinued but Graf's still has AFAIK.
I load for a Mini30 also and the loads I make useing the Win slug shoot better than the factory Win loads. I use a light crimp with a Lee FCD on my loads. the factory Winchester laod is heavily crimped and I wonder if this isn't detrimental to groupin size. the Hornady VMax is a flat base - it shoots better than anything I've made so far - even as good as Lapua match X39 ammo.
 
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I've had great results in my AKs and SKS' with the .310 Hornady 3140 123 gr Soft Point over IMR 4198.
Dan
 
The load I will be developing will be a "budget" load that I can reload cheaply, but still will be a good deer round out to about 125 yards. Any bullet suggestions? I have some H335 on hand, so I will likely use this as a starting powder.

In selecting a Deer bullet for the 7.62x39 you need a bullet that will both expand and penetrate at slower velocities. In the .308 size bullet, that puts you in the 30-30 class or a Ballistic Tip class. Most other bullets are just to hard for the 7.62x39 and will not expand, they will most likely just pencil trough. If you go with the .310(7.62x39) bullets you should be fine. Just make sure they are for the 7.62x39 and not the 303 and 7.7 Jap. These are to hard.
A few years ago I worked up a very accurate load for my Mini-30 with Sierra 125gr Pro Hunters. This was going to be my Deer hunting load. That is until I talked to a few techs at Sierra. Turns out that the 125gr PH was designed for very fast velocities and is ultra hard. I was told that this bullet would not be a good choice and would just pencil through at 7.62x39 velocities.
I also talked to Hornady about their 110 and 130gr .308 SP bullets. I was told that the 130gr would be a good choice for Whitetails. While the 110 would be a bad choice, he said that the 110gr SP was designed for Varmints and may to too soft. I have worked up loads with both of these bullets and they are very accurate, just haven't tried them on game yet.

For a Mini-30 Deer bullet out to 125 yards I have found non better than the Hornady 150gr 30-30 RN. This bullet will knock em dead and is extremely accurate in my Ruger. I have also had good luck with the Speer 130 and 150gr 30-30 FN, another excellent Deer bullet, just not as accurate as the Hornady.

If you need to increase that 125 yard max, I would give the 125gr Nosler Ballistic Tip a try. Very accurate and deadly on Whitetails out to 200 yards.

If you have H 335 then that is a good place to start. You may find that H 335 requires some serious compression, 31.5gr of H335 is a lot of powder to cram into that little 7.62x39 case. Don't get me wrong, I like compressed loads, I'm just not a fan of heavily compressing ball powders when there are better choices out there.
 
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