7.62x39 bolt gun which one?
- Thread starter Tinybear
- Start date
I bought a used Ranchx39 rifle a few months back. Unsure how many round the previous owner fired (all non-corrosive he stated). Since I've owned it I've probably put ~300 rounds of assorted milsurp corrosive through it without issue. 90% of those rounds were the copper-washed variety, with about 10% grey lacquer coated. Off a bench with a cheap Vortex on top it's printing about 3" groups which I think is what you could expect of surplus
Thats about what mine did with Chinese surplus too.
The Norinco non corrosive shot like dog shi*t and was sticky on extraction sometimes.
Ganderite was able to shoot quite a bit better with milsurp ammo in a bolt action, heavy barreled rifle he put together, with 10 shot groups even, here in the stickies. I've never been able to get it to perform any better than 3" in a predictable fashion.
Expecting more out of "surplus" ammunition, built at the lowest possible price, to shoot acceptable battlefield accuracy is like chasing pots of gold at the end of a rainbow.
Ganterite knows his stuff and he also knows that every lot of ammunition made under government contracts is supposedly mandated to shoot within specified parameters, NOT MATCH QUALITY PARAMETERS, but MINUTE OF CENTER OF BODY MASS at a specified distance with firearms manufactured to those same standards.
After a specified time, that ammo was checked by someone to be sure it was still functioning within it's mandated parameters. When it failed to meet that mandate, it was put on the market as surplus.
The only way to find a shootable quantity of ammo that is exceptionally accurate is to purchase different lots and test them yourself, in your rifles. Your rifle may like a batch another doesn't.
It would be very nice if this weren't the reality of this situation, but when you look at it with open eyes, even commercial offerings will change their performance in your rifles from lot to lot. It's always a crap shoot.
Some brands of ammo seem to be able to maintain very close tolerances and their product is quite consistent from lot to lot, but even then, it's a crap shoot.
Presently, I have 4 cases of 7.62x39 on hand that shoot well in my Howa 1500. By well, two inches or under at 100yds is about as good as it gets.
One is Chinese, one is Russian and the other two are South African.
The South African ammo is the best of the bunch, consistently under 2moa but never under 1moa. It shoots into less than 3 moa consistently from an SKS.
I don't know how many crates of ammo I tested/sold off to find those cases of ammo. I just don't know of any other way to find which case or lot will produce the best accuracy.
It's not unusual for those in the military, with specific accuracy requirements, to shoot offerings from several different lots and set aside a specific lot or lots that shoot well in the rifle they're using the ammo in.
There's no guarantee that ammo will shoot well in another rifle.
Yep, I know 
But I think its nothing short of incredible that he had several nationalities of 7.62x39 milsurp shoot well, well under 3" and a couple under 2" with 10 round groups no less, not 5 or 3. Even if someone scoured the Earth for the best cases of commie ammo extant and sprinkled fairy dust on them, that's pretty amazing to me.
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/776009-Range-Report-8-different-7-62x39
But I think its nothing short of incredible that he had several nationalities of 7.62x39 milsurp shoot well, well under 3" and a couple under 2" with 10 round groups no less, not 5 or 3. Even if someone scoured the Earth for the best cases of commie ammo extant and sprinkled fairy dust on them, that's pretty amazing to me.
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/776009-Range-Report-8-different-7-62x39
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Sounds good to me. I don't really expect any tight groupings with surplus but I'm just more concerned if there is any firing issues that I've read that plagues some people with the RAR. I'm just looking for a fun bolt action that goes pew! And I'm starting to look around for any deals o-o Thanks for the reply!
Yeah I've read that we can contact gravel agency or whomever to get that magwell swap. However those LAR mags seems to be OOS everywhere. Definitely something I'll keep in mind though as a future upgrade if I do pickup a RAR
Yep, I know
But I think its nothing short of incredible that he had several nationalities of 7.62x39 milsurp shoot well, well under 3" and a couple under 2" with 10 round groups no less, not 5 or 3. Even if someone scoured the Earth for the best cases of commie ammo extant and sprinkled fairy dust on them, that's pretty amazing to me.
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/776009-Range-Report-8-different-7-62x39
Remember, Ganderite had a rifle with most of the issues that would create inaccuracy not built in from the factory. That would make a huge difference.
You can't compare your out of the crate rifle or the results to those achieved by Ganderites experiment.
My Mosins will shoot every type of factory ammo commercial or surplus into 3 inches or less, if I do my part.
I have a couple of cases of Yugo with heavy bullets that will shoot slightly over 1 moa out of two PU snipers and slightly better with the rifle mounted with the PE scope.
My SKS rifles were always considered to be acceptable shooters if they maintained three inch or better groups, with most ammo.
My Howa 1500 is a completely different game. It shoots proprietary handloads into sub moa groups consistently, with one load that mimic the POA/POI of surplus fodder, but needs the scope to be adjusted for the handload, as it shoots high and left.
For those who have handled the gen 2 and gen 1, do you think its worth the $200~ price premium? I'm looking at gen 1s around 790-800 and it seems theres only a few stores carrying the gen2 in 7.62 atm and its about 999. I don't really care for the fluted barrel and I don't mind mini 30 magazines, but if the stock quality of life is worth it and I've read some people said the bolt is smoother action...any feedback would be appreciated.
The Ruger 7.62x39 rifles come with MIM extractors...which have been known to fail. "AD Arms Custom Rifles" in the USA is planning make billet extractors. They are gauging interest so drop them an email if anyone is interested. They ship to Canada.
