10 round mag of .223 vs 5 of 7.62x39

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CplofGrapes

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Trying to decide which to buy. Go with the cheaper SKS and its cheaper ammo which hits harder but only in a 5 round mag or buy the lighter (more expensive) .223 which can accommodate 10 round mags. Is more better, regardless of anything. Thoughts?
 
IMO, since you posted this thread in black / green rifles and not red rifles or general, I will assume you are partial towards the .223 so you should go with that.
 
I bought an SKS for $159 and if I buy my ammo in bulk .18 cents a round for corrosive if you don't mind cleaning a lot, which I don't.

and its pretty too

 
I don't have the time to completely bathe my SKS's after shooting so I've been shooting non corrosive.

I really want a NR .223/5.56 rifle though...
 
CplofGrapes said:
Trying to decide which to buy. Go with the cheaper SKS and its cheaper ammo which hits harder but only in a 5 round mag or buy the lighter (more expensive) .223 which can accommodate 10 round mags. Is more better, regardless of anything. Thoughts?
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hits what harder? pumpkins, paper or .....??? it's not like you'll be hunting with cheap sks ammo.
 
EL34/6L6 said:
I don't have the time to completely bathe my SKS's after shooting so I've been shooting non corrosive.

I really want a NR .223/5.56 rifle though...
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I clean both my sks's just like I would my other rifles, never had an issue in 6 crates. Its really not an extensive cleaning, just has to be done more often.
 
Craig0ry said:
I clean both my sks's just like I would my other rifles, never had an issue in 6 crates. Its really not an extensive cleaning, just has to be done more often.
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Yeah, with two jobs, sleep and family commitments I usually need to leave my rifles dirty for a day or two after a day/morning of shooting. I do a regular cleaning of the bore, action and gas system. Takes half the time. Being corrosive isn't the only issue, it is substantially dirtier and takes extra time versus the nonC. Corrosive is about 17 cents a round were nonC is 50 cents. I have no issue spending the extra 33 cents per round, as my time is more valuable.
I'll likely pick up 1200 rounds of corrosive though for those times I know I can immediately clean the rifles.
 
CplofGrapes said:
Trying to decide which to buy. Go with the cheaper SKS and its cheaper ammo which hits harder but only in a 5 round mag or buy the lighter (more expensive) .223 which can accommodate 10 round mags. Is more better, regardless of anything. Thoughts?
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What 223 are you thinking of getting?
Huge price difference between an SKS and just about anything else out there.
What do you want to hit harder? Does it really matter? A 124gr x39 only has about 300lb-ft more energy than a 62gr 223 at 100 yards, is that enough to make a difference? bigger hole but way worse accuracy and much shorter range with x39.

More details about what you want to do with it and what kind of budget you have would make it easier to give you a meaningful opinion.
Me personally, I'd go 223 over x39 any day and I know a 223 will do anything a x39 will do and it's also more accurate and better past 200 yards.
I've used both shooting at cars, mild steel plate, and trees and the 223 punched through everything the x39 did.
 
In a semi-automatic... 10 rounds win over 5 any day.
I find though that 7.62x39 is more enjoyable for me to shoot. I enjoy the increased recoil, the cleaning process I enjoy to some degree & I prefer a bolt gun over a semi-auto all day long in that caliber.
With all that said & taking the previous posts into account, it should be apparent that the decision is entirely up to you & what shooting platform you think will suit you better.
Both rounds are great & you won't be second guessing your decision.
(MY first post by the way & hope it helped)
 
One more thing to ponder - how long will all of this subsidized ammo last? Sure it's cheap now, but presumably you'll have the gun for a while. When the ammo dries up, what will the costs be? 762x39 that isn't surplus is far from cheap, certainly more expensive than 556/223 and reloading components for it are expensive too. Right now factory 223/556 is available new for less and the components are far cheaper and more available, if you're looking long term, 223/556 is probably a better bet
 
enefgee said:
One more thing to ponder - how long will all of this subsidized ammo last? Sure it's cheap now, but presumably you'll have the gun for a while. When the ammo dries up, what will the costs be? 762x39 that isn't surplus is far from cheap, certainly more expensive than 556/223 and reloading components for it are expensive too. Right now factory 223/556 is available new for less and the components are far cheaper and more available, if you're looking long term, 223/556 is probably a better bet
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I don't think we've even scratched the surface of 7.62x39 surplus, Also the calibre is still in MASS production. we have imported surplus from what? 5 countries?, China, Czech rep, Romania, Russia, any others? There's probably 35 more countries whose market hasn't been tapped.
 
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