Why no bolt gun in 7.62x39 ,or 5.45×39mm?

[jimmyraythomason]

If you're paying 30-40 round trip with shipping.. you could possibly want to shop around.

Shop where? In my town there is only USPS. I can drive 30-40 miles to aUPS terminal but no savings there. I sent a barreled action from my house in Oneonta,Al.to a smith in Selma,Al. for $25 each way including insurance. I can get a finished Savage barrel in any other caliber for sub $200,why not one in 7.62x39?

 

[scythefwd]

I've not seen a finished aftermarket savage barrel for under 200. That said some smiths will actually get a break on shipping if you have it shipped to them (especially if ups or fedex can ship to your smith). Why cant you get one under 200.. cause its a custom barrel. Savage doesnt do that chamber, so there aren't going to be takeoffs. Since it requires a new bolt face.. after market doesnt do it either.. because you would have to get a .223 bolt face modified...

 

[jimmyraythomason]

The simple answer is for Savage or Mossberg,etc. to offer a production rifle in 7.62x39. I BELIEVE the shooting public would be more receptive now than in previous years.

 

[scythefwd]

Not sure.. other than milsurp.. x39 rifles dont sell particularly well. The x39 AR.. not a top seller.. they exist in factory format.

The Mini 30 - same deal

Then there is the logistics of x39. Thats new tooling to deal with. Unless you're gonna make your barrel too tight for most ammo (by boring .308), you're gonna need to bore a lot of barrels for .311.. new tooling time, since those same companies aren't releasing anything else in that diameter either.

So thats buttons, deep hole boring tools, hones, etc... In rugers instance, its machining a whole bolt for the new rifles (savage has the advantage of just opening up the bolt faces on the bolt heads.. much less of a commitment so to speak).

 

[jimmyraythomason]

The Mini 30 - same deal

Don't know about other areas but in my neck of the woods Mini-30s are as rare as hen's teeth and sell for $800 plus if you can find one(I wouldn't sell mine for that). Even the NEF handi-rifle in 7.62x39 sells for upwards of $300 IF you can find one.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Have you tried reloading jacketed .308 diameter bullets in it?

I did

Same bullet same load 308 v 311 no measurable difference.


http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-185447.html

 

[R.W.Dale]

What do you think of the 154 Wolf stuff as 100 yard or less deer load?

Best there was at the time before the advent of TSX loads for the caliber

 

[HankC]

I would do it today but the lack of reasonably priced barrels has it at a standstill.

Maybe it is time for a group buy! If I remember correctly, there was a place to buy aftermarket Savage 7.62x39 barrel for around $250. I did not get one since Numerich 7.62x39 small ring mauser barrel was only $100 when I built my rifle! From time to time, there are folks making 7.62x39 Savage barrels and sell them at forums. There was a guy selling them at around $170 at AK forum. I missed it! I bought couple virgin Yugo SKS barrels, thinking I maybe able to make a sleeve and fit to my Savage. Yugo barrels are cheap and still available from internet places like Centerfire Sys last time I check.

Went Shooting with my 7.62x39 Small Ring Mauser today. Rifle built from Numerich 7.62x39 barrel with original military 2 stage trigger and an extended extractor for the smaller x39 case. Pictures below are 2 groups at 50 yds with cheap steel case Wolf Military Classic HP (Ulyanovsk factory marking) and cheap Tasco 3-9x32 scope. Not as consistent as Remington 799 in 7.62x39 that I sold last year but good enough for me. Don't see much reason to keep the more expensive 799 while its weak extractor does not handle steel case well. I chipped the 799 extractor but was lucky enough to find a replacement extractor. 7.62x39 steel case ammo may not be consistent, but is accurate enough for plinking.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I have seen a few .308 Savage barrels shortened and rechambered to x39 but they require a shortened barrel nut as well. Not too sure about those.

 

[AKElroy]

AKElroy, You said the 30/30 was "more anemic" than the 7.62x39 and it simply is not. I didn't say it was a great deal more powerful than the 7.62x39 but equal to or less than it certainly isn't. The 30/30, even when handicapped with a flat tip bullet, has an definite advantage at short and medium range, almost 500 foot pounds at the muzzle. Shoot pointed Leverevolution ammo out of a lever gun or pointed reloads out of a bolt action 30/30 and the 7.62x39 will never catch up, the 30/30 will just pull further ahead. Plus, the 30/30 is able to handle a lot more bullet weight than the Soviet round, about 30%..

You are the one making the claim that the mini Russian is a comparatively weak round. I am pointing out that it is nearly ballistically identical to a cartridge responsible for taking more American game than any other. In addition, my comparison is between the most commonly used loadings in both. The Russian passes the .30-30 at 150 yards or so. It is hardly weak.

 

[Dthunter]

I have been shooting my Ruger M77 Hawkeye 7.62x39 for 4 years now.
All rounds have been reloads and .308 dia. (Except cast, which is sized .310").

It shoots my 150 grain sierra prohunters at 2100fps (16" barrel).
This load bagged a nice 350-400 pound black bear boar 2 years ago. I guided My 95pound Filipina sister-In-law to that on her first hunt for big game.
1 shot, 125-150 yards ran 5-10 steps and piled up. More than adequate.

I am presently shooting cast #311299, 200 grain bullets at around 1850fps! They print 1.5" or better groups at 100 yards reliably. Awsome performance in my book!
The cast bullets are seated to the bottom of the neck, which places this bullet firmly into the rifling when the bolt is closed.

I replaced the magazine follower/spring/box to a full .308win size, and it allows the long seated cast bullets to flawlessly feed through the magazine. Awsome fun!

Later this year I plan to rebarrel this rifle with a 16", Match, 1:10" twist, stainless barrel.
The muzzel will be about .875(7/8") diameter.

I will mount a 5-15X40 tactical scope on it. This will be a fun gun to play around with, and give me good practice at range estimation and elevation adjustment practice at distances out to 4-500 yards, instead of the long ranges that the .308win/300win Mag shoot at.
It should be a riot! A carbine length heavy barreled sporter! Makes me smile!

This caliber isnt better or worse than the 30-30 or any other similar caliber.
But every bit, or more interesting to me!

This little Ruger sure likes shooting the 208grain A-Max at subsonic speeds! I have managed four or five 1/2-1""groups at 100 with them! That was sure unexpected for sure! I didnt expect the 1:10" twist to stabilise them at those velocities.

The cheap surplus ammo doesnt shoot any better than 2-3" at 100yds, and just doesn interest me in the least! My intention is reload a small cartridge that has very serious potential for accuracy in a basic miniature heavy barreled carbine sporter. I say this cartridge has potential because most 7.62x 39 ammo is made to function through spray and pray SKS's,AK47 type fire arms. There is absolutely no reason why this caliber cant be very accurate. Put quality components together, and the game changes (as it does with most all calibers).
And lest we forget, the most accurate/successful short range bencrest caliber ever developed was based on (essentially) this case. Thats the 6mmPPC.

Extreamlly small powder charge, easy to reload, and super light on recoil. I dont see so many negatives about this choice as many here seem to.

They are all fun to shoot!

 

[armoredman]

No, Bushpilot, I have never tried .308 dia bullets in my CZ 527M...I figured being that undersized they might not give good accuracy, plus my reloading dollar has to stretch, so I don't buy a box of expensive projos I may not be able to use at all. I'll ask a reloading buddy of mine if he has a few I can try, for grins and giggles.

R.W.Dale, is that in a CZ 527M or another rifle?

 

[R.W.Dale]

The 308 v 311 was using a cz527 carbine

 

[Dthunter]

Armouredman:
Be
Sure to size your cases using a .308" expander. This will hold the .308 cal bullets properly, and help the powder to get a better burn. Otherwise the .308" bullets will be loose.
Have fun you guys!

 

[R.W.Dale]

Armouredman:
Be
Sure to size your cases using a .308" expander. This will hold the .308 cal bullets properly, and help the powder to get a better burn. Otherwise the .308" bullets will be loose.
Have fun you guys!

Back when I loaded the cartridge the .308" expander was all I ever used irregardless of diameter

 

[armoredman]

Ah, I use the .311 expander die...

 

[s2brutus]

I'm kind of stumped with all the folks who say "Why?" to the idea of a 7.62x39 bolt action rifle.

Hell, why NOT?

Probably *ALL* of us have rifles, shotguns, and handguns that aren't all that practical, but we love shooting them. What about the M-1 Carbine? People love owning and shooting those and they're not particularly "good" for much. At least, there are other things usually less expensive as both gun and ammo that will do any given job better. So why own or want an M-1 Carbine?

Because it's fun!

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

I'm kind of stumped with all the folks who say "Why?" to the idea of a 7.62x39 bolt action rifle.

Hell, why NOT?

Probably *ALL* of us have rifles, shotguns, and handguns that aren't all that practical, but we love shooting them. What about the M-1 Carbine? People love owning and shooting those and they're not particularly "good" for much. At least, there are other things usually less expensive as both gun and ammo that will do any given job better. So why own or want an M-1 Carbine?

Because it's fun!

You tell em s2brutus...

I scoured the earth for mine (trolled texas gun trader for like 4 or 5 months)

And I'm incredibly happy with it.



BUT, I don't think I saw any mention of 5.45 x 39 Bolt gun... I got all hyped up in the 7.62.. I forgot this thread had both posted... That's certainly an interesting idea.

 

[HankC]

Another group of 22 shots at 50 yds, bipod, from my 7.62x39 Small Ring Mauser. Wolf MC HP.

 

[scythefwd]

Just to let ya know.. ran across a factory savage x39 bolt gun listed on their site. May have to special order it.. but they're making one.

 

[Col. Plink]

CZ-527.
You'll be happy whatever you paid.