7.63x39 bolt accuracy?

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Steiner

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Just wondering if anyone knows how accurate surplus 7.62x39 might be out of a bolt action rifle (like the JW-103 Norinco bolt or the Ruger M77 MkII). I was thinking if the accuracy was decent this would be a good plinking cartridge due to cheap ammo. Was that 7.62x39 Ruger even made? - it's on their website but no production noted.
 
Unless there has been another run, there were 5 000 77 Mk.IIs made for one distributor. These were stainless synthetic, but with wood rather than plastic inserts in the stock. Some of the rifles experienced misfiring and other problems because of hard primers in military ammunition, and there were headspace issues, as well. There was also the Mini-Mauser made in 7.63x39 as well. Don't know about accuracy potential, but the folks who do the accuracy conversions on Mini-30s report close to moa with selected lots of Chinese ball.
 
Depending on the ammo more than on the rifle. Milsurp isn't very accurate, you get what you pay for. Plus your choices are carbines, not rifles. Do not expect 1 MOA groups from them.
 
Thanks for the info on the Ruger's. I guess the only othe option is the Norinco Jw-103 whenever that becomes available. I read about guys rebarreling Mausers but it seems there are some feed problems. I myself don't really want to go through the effort to re-barrel a milsurp. I also heard about the Charles Daly mini-mauser but I think it's more than I want to spend on this. Yes, I do not expect great accuracy, but thought it would be nice to have a plinker bigger than .22. My main motivation was cheap ammo, and perhaps more accuracy than with my SKS (which does shoot reasonably accurately).
 
I have a Ruger M77 mk2 in 7.62x39... bought it here on the board. It is great, a fantastic cheap plinker with surplus ammo and the accuracy is not bad. It will hit clays and 200m no problem and knocks the steel rams over at 500m if you hit them in the upper half. I clean it well after shooting surplus ammo through it and the fack that it is stainless should help somewhat in that aspect. I do get some miss fires but the second strick always sets them off and it doesn't happen enough to bother me. I figure it makes a great training rifle as well due to the cheap ammo and low recoil, for new shooters and will be fine for limited range shots on deer for new hunters. To be honest I bought if for my wife but it is too much fun not to shoot it myself ;)
 
If you take a look at www.surplusrifle.com, they have an article on the site about a Spanish .308 mauser that they converted into 7.62x39 by using an insert. I recall seeing pictures of groups that while decent, were nowhere near moa. I wish that I had bought one of the inserts before getting rid of my Spanish M93 several years ago......
 
I saw the CZ also. Definitely quality guns, but more than I wanted to throw into this venture.

Regarding the inserts, I'm kinda neutral on that. I don't have any stuff that would be insert suitable anyways. If I recall correctly, wasn't there feed problems on that project?
 
7.62x39 mini mauser

I have one of the mini mausers in 7.62x39, it shoots milsurp ammo very well. Doesn't have a preference fpr any particular origin of country, but shoots almost everything into 1 1/2 inch at 100 yds. beautiful little rifle to carry and shoot. Just fine for deer and black bears out to 150 yds, with soft point ammo of course. Use a 2x Leupold on it.:) bearhunter
 
I played with a norc bolt rifle for a bit. Did the bedding, free floating, trigger tuning routine. With handloads it showed some promise to be in the 1.5 to 2MOA range. I did get the occasional MOA group so would have to say 1.5MOA as a safe average.

Surplus ammo (green and grey box Norinco) was spectacular. Shot worse then my past SKS's. don't recommend it. Also, have some stiff extractions. Again, wouldn't recommend it.

A functional rifle. Not too bad looking either. The scope bases were a bit small for Weaver rings. Overall finish very acceptable. The bolt handle was sloppy but it did feed and eject the handloads easily. Trigger a bit creepy even after tuning but pull was light.

For the money, a very fair deal and certainly a lot cheaper then any Mauser rebarrel.

I have only seen a Ruger bolt rifle in this cartridge. Very nice but not a big fan of that stock. I am sure it would shoot every bit as good as the Norc, maybe better.

As previously described, a great little plinker and fun for moving the kids or ladies into a larger centerfire.

Pity, there aren't more rifles built for this cartridge.

Don't bother with the chamber inserts. I tried one and it was horrid. Yes, it went bang. Yes, a bullet came out the other side but talk about bullet jump. Put the Russian case next to either the 308 or 30-06. That is the distance the bullet flies unattached to any rifling before it enters the throat.

A few thou is bad enough let alone 1/4" to 1/2". I had all sorts of extraction problems too. A royal pain and waste of money.

Jerry
 
Guys,
Some very informative replies. Exactly the info I was looking for. I wasn't planning on reloading for this project, as the main purpose was to use surplus ammo. Prehaps I may be slightly better off getting a Choate scope mount for one of my SKS's and using that as a plinker instead of getting a bolt gun. Thanks for helping me decide. :)
 
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