Valmet M76 non-restricted 5.56 build?

Jakestinson

Jakestinson

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Just curious if anyone has ever done a Valmet Hunter conversion build and turned it into a M76 styled rifle but chambered in 5.56? I have seen .308 builds and they look really good.
 
I'm pretty sure I've seen a couple on the EE over the years, but like Suputin said..They were worth a pretty penny or two
 
I fully expect that a rifle in that configuration and being non-restricted would run me a small fortune. Collecting guns is not a cheap hobby lol. There is one currently for sale in the EE for 5k but it is .308. None the less, a very nice looking rifle.
 
Tex sent me a couple pics of his. Very nice rifle, but it's the AK styled M71. I'm more interested to see a Galil styled NR variant. Speaking of the M71, how rare are M71s or M78s chambered in 7.62x39?
 
Jakestinson said:
Tex sent me a couple pics of his. Very nice rifle, but it's the AK styled M71. I'm more interested to see a Galil styled NR variant. Speaking of the M71, how rare are M71s or M78s chambered in 7.62x39?
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M78's in 7.62x39 are rare, and thus super expensive. Expect to pay north of $4K for even a 5.56 version. To do what I think you want, best bet is to buy a 5.56 Hunter and source the parts to turn it into a Galilish/M76ish clone. A 5.56 Hunter can also be converted to 7.62x39, (as can a .308 Hunter can also be converted to 7.62x39, but it's more work.)

Mine started out as a .308 Hunter:



 
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What you have there Cobra, is basically the direction I would be interested in going, but chambered in 5.56 (mainly because I have thousands of rounds of 5.56/.223 and currently only one rifle that shoots it). Now to build a 5.56 Hunter to look like an M76, I would need a Hunter with the same type of gas block and bolt assembly as your 7.62 rifle, correct? Do they make a 5.56 Hunter with that style of gas block?
 
Just start with a .223 hunter - no need to change the barrel or bolt or gas block - you can simply change the front sight to galil style (drop in part)

You will need a stock and an adapter/spacer to make it fit, a pistol grip and some part for the trigger mechanism to move it forward (ak parts fit) then modify the trigger guard and it's all done.

Here's mine that started out as a .223 hunter but I went a bit further and converted to 7.62x39 (extra work to replace the barrel and bolt)

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more here http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1372315-Valmet-Hunter-ish-7-62x39
 
I could be completely wrong because I am in no way an expert on Valmets, but the gas tubes really look different between a 71 and a 76. You all have done Valmet builds so you know what you're talking about, so I must be missing something lol
 
The difference you are seeing is the difference between a gas block mounted front sight/nothing on the tube and a gas tube mounted rear sight with a separate front sight. Since the hunter and m76 both have a gas block mounted front sight, obviously that conversion is easier (as I said, the front sight itself is easily replaceable from the simple blade of the hunter to the hooded post of m76).
 
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Perfect, thank you for clearing that up. Ok, so I would need a .223 Hunter, hooded front sight, obviously the 76 forend, stock, pistol grip. Then get a gunsmith to cut and crown the barrel and have them fit a 76 flash hider. What are some non-visually obvious modifications I would need to do? I'm not worried about being into this for an arm and a leg, I already expect to be paying a fortune. I'm more worried about availability of the parts and components I will need to complete this mean piece of hardware.
 
Jakestinson said:
Perfect, thank you for clearing that up. Ok, so I would need a .223 Hunter, hooded front sight, obviously the 76 forend, stock, pistol grip. Then get a gunsmith to cut and crown the barrel and have them fit a 76 flash hider. What are some non-visually obvious modifications I would need to do? I'm not worried about being into this for an arm and a leg, I already expect to be paying a fortune. I'm more worried about availability of the parts and components I will need to complete this mean piece of hardware.
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biggest challenge is that parts are hard to find. A real 76 receiver cover with sight, and the front sight, are probably going to be a challenge to source. You can use an AK bakelite pistol grip or Galil grip if you want, which are reasonably common, and a Galil receiver cover and front sight, but these are also hard to source. Moving the trigger forward is easy, and an AK trigger group works perfectly. AK parts aren't hard to find. Finally, Valmet .223 mags are rare and REALLY expensive.

forend handguard will also require some difficult to find parts to mount. Gunsmith will lkely be required to mount that, along with the barrel cut/rethread and filler block for the rear of the receiver. Stock may also be hard to find - I used a Galil stock, as that was the look I was going for. Also got a wood stock for mine - see below. I can set mine up as a Galil clone or a kind of weird hybrid Valmet/Galil/AK, depending on the furniture I put on it.

 
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You'll also need a receiver cover (see the difference between mine and CobraGT pictures) and an ak guide rod to latch it.

You will need an ak trigger, hunter's trigger is further back where the pistol grip will go.

Do note that if you cut the barrel down to the original m76 length you will have a prohibited (corrected, thanks fenceline) rifle.

Parts are rare - be prepared to search for a while. If you want this fast and money is not an issue, the easiest route is to get a gunsmith in the US to pick up both the hunter and m76 in the US, swap the parts you need and import the result... Looks like there's a 308 m76 on a milled receiver on gunbroker right now - perfect donor which you might be able to resell in the US when re-dressed in hunter furniture.
 
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KotKotofeich said:
You'll also need a receiver cover (see the difference between mine and CobraGT pictures).

You will need an ak trigger, hunter's trigger is further back where the pistol grip will go.

Do note that if you cut the barrel down to the original m76 length you will have a restricted rifle.

Parts are rare - be prepared to search for a while. If you want this fast and money is not an issue, the easiest route is to get a gunsmith in the US to pick up both the hunter and m76 in the US, swap the parts you need and import the result... Looks like there's a 308 m76 on a milled receiver on gunbroker right now - perfect donor which you might be able to resell in the US when re-dressed in hunter furniture.
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Cut the barrel below 18 inches and you will be in prohibited territory. You'd need to get a new barrel made to get to original M76 length.
 
Well I appreciate the input fellas, I'm going to weigh my options and go from there. I really don't want to set myself up for disappointment. As for cutting the barrel, my goal was to achieve an 18.6 length, keeping it NR. I'm gonna keep my eyes open for parts (and a rifle for that matter), but if anyone knows a good place to start looking I would appreciate the advice.
 
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