Well I finally made it out to the range to try out my 7.62 x 39 AR build. It has been snowing and cold lately but today was a balmy +4 so off I went.
The gun is fun to shoot although the recoil is much more noticeable than the 5.56 round. It isn't bad though. I had a 13 year old helping me with the testing and he got to shoot it after the serious stuff and couldn't get enough.
I was using the Hornady 123 gr. SP, brand new WW brass, with a variety of powders. AA 2230 worked not too bad and turned in a 5 shot group at 100 yds of 1.80 inches. Not fantastic but ok. Using Ball C-2 I shot 3 groups and they averaged 1.62 inches at 100 yds. I did notice what appeared to be unburnt powder on the bolt carrier, however. Maybe magnum primers will help that load.
Best groups were with Reloder 7 as suggested by another CGN member, Yippert. I used 24.0 and 24.5 grains and Federal LR Match primers. I fired a 3 shot group that measured 1.198 inches and a five shot group that was under an inch until I fired the fifth shot and that stretched it out to 1.68 " Aaargh! My fault.
I was able to get some Hornady 123 gr. V-Max bullets and things got real interesing here. After getting it sighted in because although it was the same bullet weight, the POI was quite different. Anyway I shot the best group ever with the V-Max bullet, 24.5 grs. of Reloder 7 and the Federal Match primer. The five shot group measured .914 inches. Considering it is being fired out of a 16" barrel and I never intended it to be a bench rest gun I am quite satisfied. One of my original goals was to have a gun that shot the same round as the SKS or VZ but would shoot it much better for close to the same price. I think that part of the project was successful. Also, the brass ends up in a nice pile ahead and to the right of the gun and the brass isn't beaten to death like it is with the SKS.
Some people have asked for more details about the gun. I am not really certain what you would like to know but it is attached to a Colt lower, uses a DPMS 16" barrel on a Cerro Forge upper (these are the uppers made for RRA, DPMS and others). I had to substitute the bolt (DPMS) but it fits in the carrier so I didn't have to buy another one.
The project hasn't been without it's problems. The gun frequently jams at the moment. I believe it is because the bolt hasn't mated to the carrier yet. If I thoroughly clean and heavily lube the bolt it works flawlessly but not for long. A very knowledgable friend who advised me on this project feels that it will eventually work itself out but in the meantime it is the only downside to the project and is a bit annoying.
As an aside, the ACOG clone works vey well on this gun but I will probably put on a Holosight and return the ACOG to it's 5.56 barrel. I seem to have one of the good ones but I don't know how much pounding it will take with the 7.62 x 39 round.
Now if only you could hunt with it . . .
Below is the 5 shot group with the V-Max bullet.
The gun is fun to shoot although the recoil is much more noticeable than the 5.56 round. It isn't bad though. I had a 13 year old helping me with the testing and he got to shoot it after the serious stuff and couldn't get enough.
I was using the Hornady 123 gr. SP, brand new WW brass, with a variety of powders. AA 2230 worked not too bad and turned in a 5 shot group at 100 yds of 1.80 inches. Not fantastic but ok. Using Ball C-2 I shot 3 groups and they averaged 1.62 inches at 100 yds. I did notice what appeared to be unburnt powder on the bolt carrier, however. Maybe magnum primers will help that load.
Best groups were with Reloder 7 as suggested by another CGN member, Yippert. I used 24.0 and 24.5 grains and Federal LR Match primers. I fired a 3 shot group that measured 1.198 inches and a five shot group that was under an inch until I fired the fifth shot and that stretched it out to 1.68 " Aaargh! My fault.
I was able to get some Hornady 123 gr. V-Max bullets and things got real interesing here. After getting it sighted in because although it was the same bullet weight, the POI was quite different. Anyway I shot the best group ever with the V-Max bullet, 24.5 grs. of Reloder 7 and the Federal Match primer. The five shot group measured .914 inches. Considering it is being fired out of a 16" barrel and I never intended it to be a bench rest gun I am quite satisfied. One of my original goals was to have a gun that shot the same round as the SKS or VZ but would shoot it much better for close to the same price. I think that part of the project was successful. Also, the brass ends up in a nice pile ahead and to the right of the gun and the brass isn't beaten to death like it is with the SKS.
Some people have asked for more details about the gun. I am not really certain what you would like to know but it is attached to a Colt lower, uses a DPMS 16" barrel on a Cerro Forge upper (these are the uppers made for RRA, DPMS and others). I had to substitute the bolt (DPMS) but it fits in the carrier so I didn't have to buy another one.
The project hasn't been without it's problems. The gun frequently jams at the moment. I believe it is because the bolt hasn't mated to the carrier yet. If I thoroughly clean and heavily lube the bolt it works flawlessly but not for long. A very knowledgable friend who advised me on this project feels that it will eventually work itself out but in the meantime it is the only downside to the project and is a bit annoying.
As an aside, the ACOG clone works vey well on this gun but I will probably put on a Holosight and return the ACOG to it's 5.56 barrel. I seem to have one of the good ones but I don't know how much pounding it will take with the 7.62 x 39 round.
Now if only you could hunt with it . . .
Below is the 5 shot group with the V-Max bullet.
