Posts: 4,287
Threads: 156
Joined: Jan 2017
So, guys. Cabin fever is setting in. I have loaded rounds, cleaned barrels... fixed a buttstock pad... thinking I need a new small-cal project... maybe a 7.62x39 bolt project? Looking for any good advice/comments/suggestions. I did try a ruger 300 BO but didn't really care for the powders it used. Shot fine, just, well, idk...
So maybe a 7.62-ey? or back into the BO realm? bolt-actions only for now.
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
Posts: 750
Threads: 35
Joined: Dec 2019
Grayfox,
besides the mini howa in 6.5 Grendel, i also have one in 7.62x39. both are the 22" std. bbl. both are quite nice. the 7.62x39 is a good shooter with good ammo. and if you want some of the most inexpensive rifle shooting ammo, the case lots of Wolf or Tula can be found for ~$0.22/round. i can't reload for that. however with that near 30 caliber bore, and petite case, there's a lot of cast bullet shooting that can be done at a much higher case loading density than on, say, a 30-06 for example. cast bullet shooting really expands the envelope for any rifle. you can load some subsonic CB rounds quite cheaply with a plain base bullet (no gas check) and a few grains of pistol or shotgun powder. makes for quiet, low recoil (even lower than normal), cheap practice. or you can experiment with CBs from 130 to 200 gr. in the russian short round for variety, if you get bored. if you're introducing inexperienced folk of all ages to centerfire rifles, i feel a lot less angst letting them shoot through a couple hundred rounds of wolf or tula steel cased plinking ammo, than i would with say one of the 200 count ammo boxes of Hornady American Gunner in 6.5 Grendel. and some times it is just nice to be able to grab some cheap plinking ammo, head to the range and enjoy an afternoon plinking and then not worry at all about all the case prep and reloading that usually is the reward for a range trip. i put my mini howa 7.62x39 into a B&C sporter stock and topped it with a Leupold FXII 4x33, which only weighs 9 oz and the whole rig with sling comes in at just under 7 lbs. pretty nice light rifle. i'm looking forward to receiving HokeyPokeyKid's flush bottom metal to make the both rigs look much classier and not have to constantly worry about loosing a magazine when carrying the rifle about. So, yes a 7.62x39 mini bolt rifle has a lot of utility, just like the mini bolt rifle in 6.5 Grendel does. i know wolf also sells some steel cased Grendel ammo, but when i peruse the sporting good stores, i never see that but wolf and tula russian short are in stock in quantity at modest prices, though you do get what you're paying for. the cheap steel blasting ammo doesn't group as well as the Lapua factory ammo i got some of. that stuff groups under 1 MOA. but Lapua has been loading that caliber(7.62x39) for ~70 years now so they probably have the bugs worked out of it, and it shows. if you like to reload, the russian short has the same appeal as the Grendel or the 223 in that the powder appetite is much less than "normal" full power ammo. so your powder budget stretches a bit further. not quite as many bullet selections for the 0.310"-0.312" as there is for 6.5 or 30 but still enough to work up a variety of loads. some hornady 85gr. XTPs (32-20 or 327 bullets) for varmitting, quite a few 123gr. types, soft nose and fmjs from most of the major makers, and i've even experimented with Sierra 174gr. 0.311" match kings, both at full power and as a subsonic load. Hornady makes a steel cased 123gr. vmax or sst if you want a better bullet than wolf/tula but want cheaper ammo than that Lapua factory stuff i found that groups <1MOA. and lately i've found that Hodgdon's CFEBLK powder is "the" goto for the russian short. best velocities. and cleaner barrel. thows pretty accurately. what's not to like. yep the mini in 7.62x39 is a good utility round/rifle. not the same performance league as the Grendel, but a nice utility rifle / caliber none the less.
-tdbru
Posts: 1,238
Threads: 51
Joined: Dec 2017
04-04-2020, 05:38 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-04-2020, 05:45 PM by Harpoon1.)
My Howa 7.62x39 Mini shoots Speer 125 TNT & 130 HP .308 bullets as well as regular .310-.311 bullets, sub-MOA. Plus its is 1 MOA with Wolf FMJ and just over 1 MOA with Wolf SP and Golden Tiger FMJ, which were all around 18-20 cents a round before this last run on ammo. Handloading with CFE BLK gets you another 100-150 FPS over regular typical AK powders. Very little recoil, with a brake its almost laughable. Starline and Lapua Brass, Gold Dot and SST hunting bullets, along with some other cheaper soft point options. Inside several hundred yards its neck and neck with the Grendel. Should be good Pig medicine once we get this virus behind us.
Posts: 4,287
Threads: 156
Joined: Jan 2017
Nice info. Guess I'm looking for a good short-barreled (16-20") rifle as a new project.
Looks like ruger or howa are the 2 main mfrs...
howa, much as I sold off its grendel model I had, might be the better choice.
I don't have a 7.62x39 so maybe that's the one to go with.
You know, sort of non-prepper-but-be-prepared sort of thing...
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
Posts: 104
Threads: 2
Joined: Jul 2019
I have not played with it much, but my 527 7.62 shows some potential. It does not like any steel cased ammunition though. Synthetic stock that will some day be replaced and an 18.5 barrel. From what I recall it shot better than my 527 6.5G when using Hornady brass cased ammunition in both.
I had a R700 in .300 BO, but when this virus crap is over I will be spending time at my parents working on the .358 barrel for it.
Posts: 153
Threads: 7
Joined: May 2018
I vote a 7.62x39 in the Howa mini. I have several and on one of them I put a .300 bushing on a Grendel reamer and ran it in a 7.62 barrel far enough to clean up the existing shoulder. A semi-improved 7.62 you can still shoot factory ammo with but load to a better potential (150 FPS or so). Gets those 125s into a nicer velocity window for performance on deer sized game IMO.
Posts: 4,287
Threads: 156
Joined: Jan 2017
One thing I wonder is, for the American design models, is it a 0.310 bullet-pipe or 308 but they call it 7.62x39 anyway?
I thought I had seen some barrels that were 308 caliber but chambered to handle 7.62x39 rounds...
A 308 actual barrel would be a problem for sure.
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
Posts: 989
Threads: 64
Joined: Feb 2019
grayfox, my understanding is that when Ruger made it's Mini 30 they used .308 barrels. You could still use .310 7.62x39 ammo as it would swage down the bullet. A lot more choices of .308 bullets than .310 so I would go the .308 route.
This looked like a fun project. http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2013...-and-ammo/
or this.
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2013...s-300-blk/
Posts: 6,193
Threads: 170
Joined: Mar 2015
grayfox Wrote:So, guys. Cabin fever is setting in. I have loaded rounds, cleaned barrels... fixed a buttstock pad... thinking I need a new small-cal project... maybe a 7.62x39 bolt project? Looking for any good advice/comments/suggestions. I did try a ruger 300 BO but didn't really care for the powders it used. Shot fine, just, well, idk...
So maybe a 7.62-ey? or back into the BO realm? bolt-actions only for now.
If in a bolt gun. I would do a cat on the grendel case necked up to 358 cal.
Make for a heck of deer hammer.
Posts: 750
Threads: 35
Joined: Dec 2019
Sounds like what Msalm came up with is the 7.62x39 Ackley Improved.
afaik the howa is a 0.310 pipe. a 308 pipe is not a big deal because those bullets squeeze down easily. but, i would think a 7.62x39 SAAMI spec throat with a 0.308" tube shooting 0.308" bullets would leave a lot of slop in the throat for 0.308 bullet alignment. may not shoot quite as tight. but probably good enough to plink. and it does allow 0.310-0.311 bulleted ammo to chamber.
as far as a wildcat up to 35 caliber, i think the Russians did that quite early on in their suppressed spec ops (Spetsnaz) rifles. 9mmx39. essentially the same purpose as the 300 Whisper applications on the US spec ops teams. if i recall the 9x39 was shooting 280gr. bullets suppressed.
good luck Grayfox.
-tdbru
Posts: 1,397
Threads: 48
Joined: Jun 2019
I have a 527 CZ in 7.62x39 carbine w/18.5 barrel. Its pretty much fun to shoot. Havent gotten into reloading for it. It does pretty well with steel case wolf and Tula. I happen to like my AR15 300 BO a lot. Whisper quiet with a 7.62 can. Its my go to hog hunting rifle.
Posts: 690
Threads: 70
Joined: Apr 2015
A5BLASTER Wrote:If in a bolt gun. I would do a cat on the grendel case necked up to 358 cal.
Make for a heck of deer hammer.
I have a guy local to me that's running an AR like that. Calls it a 35 Gunner. 6.5 Grendel brass necked up.
Posts: 750
Threads: 35
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 750
Threads: 35
Joined: Dec 2019
PPU not PPR... typo....
-tdbru
Posts: 6,193
Threads: 170
Joined: Mar 2015
1075 tech Wrote:I have a guy local to me that's running an AR like that. Calls it a 35 Gunner. 6.5 Grendel brass necked up.
I'm doing a g2 in it. With a 24 inch barrel. If I can ever finish testing other things.
Posts: 690
Threads: 70
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 4,287
Threads: 156
Joined: Jan 2017
A5, how you doing down there in LA? I hear the covid is hitting hard down your way.
Stay safe bro.
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
Posts: 4,287
Threads: 156
Joined: Jan 2017
I think if I were to do anything like a wildcat I would try this new 6 ARC first...
even in an AR. I have a lower I can swap it onto.
but these are all interesting ideas.
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
Posts: 6,193
Threads: 170
Joined: Mar 2015
grayfox Wrote:A5, how you doing down there in LA? I hear the covid is hitting hard down your way.
Stay safe bro.
It's not bad business as usual in my part of the state. The virus isn't that bad down here. They just acting it up. LSU released a statement saying the reason LA looked like it was getting the virus so fast was because everyone started getting tested all at one time.
In Sabine parish we have 1 confirmed case, and strange part is she didn't give it to anyone she was in close contact with.
Posts: 1,238
Threads: 51
Joined: Dec 2017
tdbru Wrote:PPU not PPR... typo....
-tdbru
FYI, you can hit the edit button at the bottom of your OP and fix it. 
|
