Handloading the 7.62X39mm

Bench Topics by John Haviland Handloading the 7.62x39mm y rifle buying may have reached a new high (or Mlow, depending on your outlook). I rationalized the recent purchase of a CZ 527 Carbine 7.62x39mm as necessary to utilize the six boxes of .310- and .311- inch bullets and a couple of pounds of powder I already owned. That reasoning has worked out quite well, and I’m somewhat dismayed I waited so long to buy a rifle in 7.62x39mm Russian. Autoloading rifles, such as the imported SKS, are by far the most popular rifles and carbines for the Sierra .30-caliber, 110-grain hollowpoints shot accurately from the CZ 7.62x39, despite being cartridge. At best, these guns are .003 inch narrower than the CZ rifle’s .311-inch bore. precise enough to shoot 3- or 4-inch groups at 100 yards. There is little tion is well worth the time. Various For years foreign surplus ammu- sense investing the time handload- handloads shoot pretty well through nition was so cheap barely anyone ing only to see a rifle spray bullets the CZ, even though it weighs only reloaded the 7.62x39. Most of that across an area like a hose watering a couple of ounces on the light side supply has dried up. Russian com- carrots in the garden, but handload- of 6 pounds and wears a thin, 18.5- mercial ammunition was all that was ing for the cartridge in a bolt ac- inch barrel. found locally. The TulAmmo and Hornady 7.62x39mm dies come with two expander balls for sizing Federal ammunition (left) is assembled with brass cases suitable the inside case neck diameter to hold either .308-, .310- or .311- for reloading; the two imported cartridges with gray steel cases are inch bullets. unacceptable for reloading. 1 LoadData.com The 7.62x39mm CZ shot accurately with handloaded bullets of dif- This group was fired at 100 yards with Hornady 123-grain, .310-inch ferent diameters. These bullets shot well (left to right): Speer 125 TNT Spire Point bullets and W-680 powder. (.308), Hornady 123 Spire Point (.310) and Speer 125 spitzer (.311). Wolf cartridges cost 46¢ per round. Hornady lists its bullets for the shot just as accurately through my I got ripped off, though, because a 7.62x39 as “7.62 Cal.” with a di- CZ’s .311-inch bore as the slightly friend says he buys those loads for ameter of .310 and Speer “303 Cal” larger diameter bullets. Those dif- about 29¢ each at the big box store with a diameter of .311 inch. A ferent diameters and brands provide across town. That is a pretty good friend said regular .30-caliber bullets a lot of bullet options for the little bargain, as a jacketed bullet for re- shot accurately through his CZ rifle, 7.62. loading costs about that much. so I loaded and shot some. They The Russian is no longer-range These two brands shoot about 2-inch groups at 100 yards from the CZ, but their steel cases are unsuit- able for reloading. Most American ammunition is made with brass cases suitable for reloading. The CZ commonly shoots Federal 123-grain Power-Shok soft- point loads under an inch at 100 yards. However, those loads cost over $1.00 a shot. With those Federal cases, some new PMC cases begged from Lee Hoots of Wolfe Publishing and a set of Hornady Custom reloading dies, I set to work handloading the 7.62x39. The Hornady sizing die comes with two expander balls for sizing the inside case neck diameter to the proper diameter to hold .308- and .311-inch diameter bullets. Bullet Options The CZ’s bore measures .311 inch between opposing grooves, but the bores of many American rifles, such as the Ruger Mini Thirty, measure .308 inch. That’s to take advantage of common .30-caliber bullets. Federal Power-Shok 123- grain softpoints measure .308 inch in diameter, so the loads can be safely fired through both diameter bores. LoadData.com 2 cartridge. At their relatively mild velocity, once bullets from the cartridge reach 200 yards, they plunge like a rock off a cliff. Sierra 110- grain bullets at slightly over 2,511 fps should be a good choice for small game and varmints. Hit- ting on aim at 100 yards, they drop nearly 7 inches at 200 yards. Heavier 123- and 125-grain bullets with a muzzle velocity of 2,300 fps drop only an inch more. The These bullets were shot while developing handloads (left to right): Sierra 110 (.308) hollow- Nosler 125-grain Ballistic Tip has point, Speer 125 TNT (.308), Nosler 125 Ballistic Tip (.308), Sierra 150 spitzer (.308), Hornady a sleek shape, and with a velocity 123 Spire Point (.310), Speer 123 FMJ (.311) and Speer 125 spitzer (.311). of 2,460 fps it drops about an inch less than the Sierra 110-grain bul- rifle. It has given the highest veloci- treme velocity spreads for three shots let, but an inch of drop either way ties and about the best accuracy of ranging between 15 and 30 fps. at 200 yards is splitting pretty fine all the propellants tried, but I’m out hairs. of luck once my meager supply is Handloading The 7.62x39 is commonly re- burned up, because 680 was discon- The 7.62x39 is a battle cartridge de- ferred to as somewhat less power- tinued 30-some years ago. Accurate signed to positively cycle through ful than the .30-30 Winchester. My 1680 is similar to 680, and data in an autoloading firearm. The result CZ shoots Sierra 150-grain pointed various reloading manuals shows is a case body with a relatively large bullets at 2,190 fps, while Sierra comparable powder charges and ve- amount of taper. That taper resulted 150-grain flatpoint bullets leave the locities – but darned if I can find in quite a bit of case neck stretching muzzle of a 20-inch, .30-30 barrel at any 1680. after firing Federal factory loads and about 2,300 fps. Both bullets have Fortunately, other powders work new PMC cases with reloads. After about the same trajectory out to 200 nearly as well. H-4198 and Reloder cases were trimmed to a length of yards. The pointed bullet does catch 7 were the best paired with 110- to 1.518 inches, loaded, fired and sized up to the flatpoint and even slightly 125-grain bullets. Relatively slower again, their necks stretched no more exceeds it at that distance. burning powders, like H-322 and than other cases, such as the .30-06 VV-N130, provided the highest ve- or .30-30 WCF. Still, I prefer to Propellants locities with 150-grain bullets. All trim cases each time after they are Winchester 680 was the powder on powders listed in the load table pro- sized, because it’s just as fast to run hand that forced me to buy the CZ duced uniform velocities, with ex- cases through an electric case trim- mer as it is to measure each one with a micrometer to make sure it is not over maximum length. No peculiarities to reloading the cartridge come to mind. So far I’ve loaded the Federal and PMC cases six times, and they are still going strong. I’m also attempting to think of more purposes for the Russian cartridge to further justify buying the CZ rifle. Its economical reloading cost and mild recoil have made it a great plinking and practice cartridge. The rifle is about the same weight and length as a Winchester Model 94 .30-30 carbine. So I have loaded a batch of cartridges with Hornady 123-grain Spire Points and Three good powders for loading the 7.62x39 include W-680, H-4198 and RL-7. Too bad W-680, waiting for this fall to hunt W-680 was dropped years ago. whitetails in the river bottoms. 3 LoadData.com.

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