hey guys if i purchased a bullet extractor would that enable me to pull a 150grain sp and then put it into a 7.62x39 sks case? or vice versa could i put a nice light little 123 grain 7.62x39 bullet into a 7.62x54 case? both rifles that fire these rounds are made by russians so would the bullet diameter be the same. i wanted to play around with bullet weights and have never reloaded so i thought i could start with this, is this dangerous?
7.62x54 bullet into sks case
- Thread starter olympia
- Start date
Not recommended.
There might be powder charges that work with a heavier bullet on a 7.62x39R, even some commercial ammo with 150gr bullets, but any basic reloaders guide will quickly point out the dangers of replacing a heavier bullet onto a case/charge designed for a lighter bullet.....it's a good way to blow up your rifle.
I"ve heard of ppl pulling 7.62x39 bullets to carefully remeasure the powder charges to match each round and re-install the bullet (it might vary by as much as half a grain of powder between cartridges) or replace the FMJ with a soft point bullet. With more research, I'd consider pulling 7.62x54R ammo to replace the bullet with a 123 gr Hornady soft-point (essentially making a lighter, faster round), but not before doing more research on the matter. Different bullet weights work better/worst with different powders that burn at different speeds.
There might be powder charges that work with a heavier bullet on a 7.62x39R, even some commercial ammo with 150gr bullets, but any basic reloaders guide will quickly point out the dangers of replacing a heavier bullet onto a case/charge designed for a lighter bullet.....it's a good way to blow up your rifle.
I"ve heard of ppl pulling 7.62x39 bullets to carefully remeasure the powder charges to match each round and re-install the bullet (it might vary by as much as half a grain of powder between cartridges) or replace the FMJ with a soft point bullet. With more research, I'd consider pulling 7.62x54R ammo to replace the bullet with a 123 gr Hornady soft-point (essentially making a lighter, faster round), but not before doing more research on the matter. Different bullet weights work better/worst with different powders that burn at different speeds.
Your best bet is to read the reloading manuals. I've pulled the 123 gr. from 7.62x39 and successfully loaded them in .303 cases. No problems as the manuals have the powder specs for bullets as light as 100 gr. for the .303.
There are loading specs for the 150 gr. bullets for the 7.62x39, and I've done this safely also.
I don't deveate from the manuals in any way shape or form. What you're suggesting can be done.
There are loading specs for the 150 gr. bullets for the 7.62x39, and I've done this safely also.
I don't deveate from the manuals in any way shape or form. What you're suggesting can be done.
Pathfinder
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I heard of Mexican Match....I would not do it this way unless I knew what powder it was and having checked data.
Mexican Match ... do it all the time, but you have to be smart about it. First, if you haven't done this, look twice, cut once.
First,
Remove the operating rod in your SKS.
Next,
Pull out 40 123gn bullets. Now, dump the powder for 10 of them and get an avg charge weight. Now dump out ALL of the powder from all 40
This is the serious part!!!!
Since you do not know what the powder is or its characteristics, charge the first 3 cases with a charge weight a FULL 5 GNS below the avg charge weight you calculated when you weighed the first 10.
Charge the rest of the cases in batches of 3, increasing in .5gn increments. You should not get to the original charge. YOU MUST STOP AT LEAST 1 GN SHORT OF THE ORIGINAL CHARGE WEIGHT (AND EVEN THEN i DON'T GO THAT FAR)!!!
Now, go shoot your work-up loads watching constantly for sighns of pressure. Since you have removed your operatinig rod, the rifle will act like a bolt action, you will feel a hard extraction if you get it. Look at the primers, case bulging, bolt marks, etc...ALL OF THE NORMAL PRESSURE INDICATIONS.
This is not a recommendation ... Having done this hundreds of times now, I settle somewhere in the vicinity of removing less than 2 gns of powder to give me what I want. That doesn't mean that that will automatically work for you.
First,
Remove the operating rod in your SKS.
Next,
Pull out 40 123gn bullets. Now, dump the powder for 10 of them and get an avg charge weight. Now dump out ALL of the powder from all 40
This is the serious part!!!!
Since you do not know what the powder is or its characteristics, charge the first 3 cases with a charge weight a FULL 5 GNS below the avg charge weight you calculated when you weighed the first 10.
Charge the rest of the cases in batches of 3, increasing in .5gn increments. You should not get to the original charge. YOU MUST STOP AT LEAST 1 GN SHORT OF THE ORIGINAL CHARGE WEIGHT (AND EVEN THEN i DON'T GO THAT FAR)!!!
Now, go shoot your work-up loads watching constantly for sighns of pressure. Since you have removed your operatinig rod, the rifle will act like a bolt action, you will feel a hard extraction if you get it. Look at the primers, case bulging, bolt marks, etc...ALL OF THE NORMAL PRESSURE INDICATIONS.
This is not a recommendation ... Having done this hundreds of times now, I settle somewhere in the vicinity of removing less than 2 gns of powder to give me what I want. That doesn't mean that that will automatically work for you.
I need to add that when I'm using the powder from the pulled surplus, I do not replace with bullets of an other weight, or change how much powder in each round.
I do this when I replace FMJ with soft points in the 7.62x39. I replace the 123 gr. with 125 gr. V-Max.
If I use 150 gr. soft points, I replace the powder with something I know.
I do this when I replace FMJ with soft points in the 7.62x39. I replace the 123 gr. with 125 gr. V-Max.
If I use 150 gr. soft points, I replace the powder with something I know.
I have a quantity of reloadble brass for 7.62x39 and several thousand 147 gr Russian bullets. I load them all the time. they don't shoot any better than the 124's.
If you want to pull the original bullets and load 150's, no problem, but you would use less powder. Rookie wildcat explained the process well.
If you want to pull the original bullets and load 150's, no problem, but you would use less powder. Rookie wildcat explained the process well.
