Anyone load for 7.62 x 39?

[superduty]

Just wondering if anyone has experience with it-

 

It really seems like it would be a break-even (or less) with the price of x39 to load for it, with the price of Russian steel case being what it is.

Gotta get the brass too, or at least brass-cased ammo to begin with.....

 

Thoughts?

[austin7.62]

Not really sure why people load it. Yeah, you can load some soft point rounds, but not sure why people would load it to plink with. I've also heard that the guns that shoot x39 are hard on brass too, so not sure how many times you could reload.

[austin7.62]

Also it's better just to buy loaded brass ammo because last time I looked unprimed x39 brass was .40-.45 per.

[ttocswob]

I've thought about it, even have dies - but would only be practical if I had a bolt gun in that caliber. Or if imports are banned...

[Guest shifty_85]

They are nice if you need lead core rounds to run a 3gun event steel shoot or shoot inside as the mill surplus rounds are steel cored and you will be paying for steel targets or trying to explain to the range why they have .30 cal holes in the back stop.

 

if you are just plinking and do not shoot steel or inside id say to just shoot surplus.

 

i agree with buying live ammo for the brass it is crazy what new brass cost's and you get no fun in shooting it the first time either!

[zombiehugger]

I do. I've saved up about 450 cases. I got everything to powder coat cast boolits for the ak. AA1680 is my flame of choice.

[dlm37015]

I load steel cases as long as they are boxer primed

[Guest Haw36]

I found a reloading company near me that collects brass from indoor and outdoor ranges to reload and sell back to them.  He did not reload 7.62x39 so I bought 1000 brass boxer primed cases for $40 and have reloaded all of them. I got 1,000 steel cases from him for almost nothing.  I've reloading about 200 of them, but it is slow and the USA primers don't always work the first time the firing pin strikes them.  I did find 20 brass Berdan primed cases at our range and the anvil in them must be larger because they have fired the first time when I shot them.  I've reloaded them twice so far.  I have an unissued SKS that I bought almost 2 years ago that my 5 grandsons, son and I shoot.  We've put about 1,000 rounds through it so far.  I would put a picture of it on here, but I'm new to the forum and don't see the usual info on how to do that.  I would include what powder I use, but it slips my mind.  It is IMR though.  I reload 30-06 for my 1943 M1 Garand and 7.62 x 54R for my Mosin/Nagant 91/30 that was made at Tula three years after I was born.  I'm sure it saw action in WWII like the Garand did.

[Clone]

I reload for a Savage 10FCM to good effect. Found a good deal on 700 once fired brass at the local range for $20. He said he couldn't give the stuff away, as no one reloads for it. My reloads run about the same price as the cheap stuff (.25 cents per round), and shoot a whole lot better. My Yugo SKS can easily run as a strait pull bolt, so no worries about losing or mangling brass there either. AA1680 powder, and trail boss are my powder of choice.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I used to buy steel case ammo to tear down then put quality powder and bullets in it. At the time it was cheaper than buying brass cased ammo. You would be surprized at how much variation in charge weights and bullet weights there are in the factory stuff.

[stumpy]

Sup[erduty, you did not mention the rifle you are using, also whether this is a recreation load or an accuracy hunting load you need.  As for the cost factor, you will save $$$ loading for both applications.  The down side is finding the correct components, at an agreeable price, in your quantities.  Such is the nature of the industry at this time. 

 

I am loading hunting loads for a scoped AR upper (unknown manufacturer, was an estate find) over a Rock River lower.  After comparing H4198, BLC2 and H335 at the range, the clear choice was H335 for this project.  My load detail is a Hornady 123 grain .311 diameter bullet, Hodgdon's recommended top load of 31.5 grains of H335, and care in COL so the bullet will chamber (short leade in this barrel).  Groups routinely hover at 1-1.2 inch 5-shot groups if I do my part.  You will find a lot of reloading data on the Hodgdon web site (data.hodgdon.com) to give you options for powder, given the current scarcity issues. 

 

Some time in the future I will work with cast bullets in this rifle, Lyman mold 311410. This is just one of the many projects on my to-do list, along with so many others.   If you wish to dive into casting, the best resource for support is the Castboolits website (castboolits.gunloads.com).  I spend more time on this site than any other. 

 

Good luck with your project.

 

Stumpy

[gregintenn]

I load steel cases as long as they are boxer primed

How do you go about sizing and trimming them?

[Jonnin]

I looked at it but there isnt much brass to be had, 99.99% of the ammo is steel apparently.   If you want to reload, use an AR (223, 300  BO, something like that) that performs similarly but has readily available brass casings. 

 

Thought #2 would be to pull and reassemble the steel junk.  As in take them all apart, get an average weight of the powder charge they used, and put em back together with dead on consistent powder charges.  That might get you some match grade ammo cheaply.  Might even slug your bore, a .311 or 312 or something bullet may actually engage the rifling better and shoot tighter groups (??).   You could probably sell the pulled projectiles if you did that.

 

Thought #3 is you can reload steel if you really want to go there.... people have done it.   I think you can reuse it in the gun that fired it without resize or trim, right?  Not sure, but it should be possible, just clean it so it is slick, and if stored, maybe coat it in something to prevent rust (?).

Edited November 5, 2013 by Jonnin

[superduty]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

I'm set up to reload for .223 and 9mm, and thought I'd investigate whether it was worth it to look into x39.  I guess I'm trying to determine (for a recreational load only, not hunting- FYI)  if it would be at all cost effective

to try to load for this caliber.

 

Buying at retail, the Russian steel-cased rounds are $.30c or less, so I'm very happy just buying rounds assembled, but, like a lot of guys, there's a bit of 'what if' built into my head after going through the events that have transpired since 2008.  Don't want to use the word 'prepper', but you know what I mean. Forethought and planning.

 

I havent even seen bullets, brass, etc available for the x39 round-  I'm sure they're out there, but they must not be really common. If it would cost $.40 -$.60 per round to load one, it would probably just make more sense to buy a little extra factory made ammo.