Bolt action only 7.62x39 loads

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bearhunter

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Finally got around to loading up some hotter loads for my Howa 1500, chambered in 7.62x39.

I recently read a thread here on CGN that described some pretty reasonable loads, using BLK powder.

At this stage if my life, I don't need to start accumulating more/different powders. I have a very good selection that will work fine and likely last out my shooting days.

I have a keg of RL7 that is quite old. I've had it for twenty years and it was old when I purchased it. It's very close in burn rate to BLK but slightly slower. Might not be as consistent though.

I loaded up 30.0 grains, under 123 SSTIL bullets/250 CCI primers/Winchester brass. The bullets are seated as far as the magazine will allow. They still chamber easily. The throat on my rifle is deep.

The powder is slightly compressed.

Newer Alliant No 7 has much smaller granules and likely wouldn't be compressed.

Ok, here are the results.

Velocity, according to my magnetospeed, average 2570+ over ten shots, with just over 20 fps deviation between slowest/fastest.

Accuracy was very good, right around one moa.

I wasn't being especially careful. Looking for a reasonable hunting load for Black Bear and Deer out to 200 yards, from a light rifle, with almost no nasty recoil. This load seems to fit the bill just fine.

That BLK load made me think a bit. This one isn't quite as fast but it's plenty close enough and I'm sure the critter on the receiving end isn't going to be able to tell the difference.
 
I'm doing the same as you with the same rifle, don't have any Reloader 7 though. Will try H322 and H4895 as those are the 2 I have that are listed. Not as high in the velocity department but ya run what you have, most of my loading use slower powders except for the 17 Hornet and 204 which run to the faster side. On Sat at the range we had no problem hitting a steel ram at 200 yards with cheap Norinco non corrosive ammo, even got 4 out of 5 hits off hand.
 
I have a cz527 in x39. Havent reloaded using CFE Black (i use that for the 300 blk). H4198 (25.5gr) and H335 (30gr) are my go to powders, topped with whatever 123-125 gr bullet du jour.

Good luck!
 
dead meat said:
I'm doing the same as you with the same rifle, don't have any Reloader 7 though. Will try H322 and H4895 as those are the 2 I have that are listed. Not as high in the velocity department but ya run what you have, most of my loading use slower powders except for the 17 Hornet and 204 which run to the faster side. On Sat at the range we had no problem hitting a steel ram at 200 yards with cheap Norinco non corrosive ammo, even got 4 out of 5 hits off hand.
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Fyi, the H4895 is way to slow for x39, been there done that! Wasted a lot of time, money and effort. Just sayin, tryin to help a brother out.
 
rosconow said:
Fyi, the H4895 is way to slow for x39, been there done that! Wasted a lot of time, money and effort. Just sayin, tryin to help a brother out.
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It's not way too slow but it won't give you top velocities that's for sure. I tried it just last week, I can't cram enough in to break 2200fps with a 123FMJ out of an SKS.
 
A round nose 150 gr bullet is about the same length as a 123 gr bullet, and might be a better hunting bullet.

But they are rare and hard to find.

Just make sure they feed ok before getting carried away loading them.
 
Ganderite said:
A round nose 150 gr bullet is about the same length as a 123 gr bullet, and might be a better hunting bullet.

But they are rare and hard to find.

Just make sure they feed ok before getting carried away loading them.
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I tried some Remington 150 grain round nose with .308 bore diameter this afternoon. Accuracy was mediocre at best out of my Howa and they take up a bit more space in the column, so the powder charge has to be lowered. Tried 4198 in those loads.

I have some .311 diameter round nose bullets for the 303 Brit back in the locker. I will dig them out. They're the old CIL red/green box bullets, in yellow plastic, 50 count trays. All separated and upright. I remember the jackets on those being quite thick, to stand up to 303 Brit velocities.

The 123 grain SST/IL shoot under 1 moa out to two hundred yards and at these velocities should perform adequately. Some people use these bullets for light recoil loads in their 308 Win and 30-06 loads.

I'm going to take it out and look for a Black Bear Wednesday. I spotted a nice 5-6 foot Boar, in a Clover patch last week and it looks like he's been in the area for a few weeks, fattening up. I should be able to get quite close, without spooking him. Looking forward to some nice Bear roasts.
 
Bizarre as this may sound ,I found using mag primers shrunk the groups 50% with the same powder charge of H4198/123gr Privi or Hornady. I load 25-25.5gr for 1/4-1/2" groups at 100 yards out of a CZ527 topped with a 4x Leupold.Several 200lb+ AB WT's and mule deer have fallen ...........one rd per customer.
 
mbogo3 said:
Bizarre as this may sound ,I found using mag primers shrunk the groups 50% with the same powder charge of H4198/123gr Privi or Hornady. I load 25-25.5gr for 1/4-1/2" groups at 100 yards out of a CZ527 topped with a 4x Leupold.Several 200lb+ AB WT's and mule deer have fallen ...........one rd per customer.
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I don't find that at all bizarre. I don't use anything but Magnum primers for all of my reloading efforts.

Back when I started getting heavily into a few different styles of competitive shooting, most of the competitors were using Bench Rest CCI type primers or something similar. All of the primers were hotter than any "standard" primers.

Their reasoning was simple. The hotter primers gave a more consistent ignition/burn rate as long as everything else in the load was consistent.

It made a definite difference with temperature sensitive powders.

Ball powders or very small granule powders, pack a bit more densely into a case and IMHO require a bit more flame to ignite properly/consistently.

Many folks cringe at the idea of using magnum primers for anything. I finally convinced Bruce (H4831) to use magnum primers in his reloads. He was skeptical at first but for the last few years before he passed, he used magnum primers for everything. Sold off all of his standard primers at local gun shows.
 
I also use magnum primers in almost everything but cast bullet loads.On some forums heated debates ensued so I let them do their own thing.I know I'm not the only one using them.
 
mbogo3 said:
I also use magnum primers in almost everything but cast bullet loads.On some forums heated debates ensued so I let them do their own thing.I know I'm not the only one using them.
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I also use standard primers for pistol cartridges with cast lead. For rifle cartridges, I still use magnum primers with cast lead bullets, for the same reasons I use them with jacketed bullets. Consistency of ignition between rounds.

I also use magnum primers for all of my Black Powder Cartridge reloads.
 
I'm a CFE BLK believer in my howa with 22" barrel and get consistent sub moa performance and over 2600 fps with the 123 grain hornady spire point.

My experimentation with 4198,335,RL7 was disappointing and now use H4895 in my 150 grain bullet loads which also deliver great accuracy and velocity.
 
mbogo3 said:
BPC.............duplex loads?
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I've tried duplex loads in my 577-450 as well as the 577 Snider and 45-70. The next will be the 50-70.

I like duplex loads for the same reasons. They are more consistent as far as ignition and velocity goes between shots. Burn a bit cleaner as well

only takes a few grains of smokeless to get things working right.

Sounds like we're on the same page.


Bdave, my Howa loves RL7 loads and I'm getting similar velocities, with great accuracy. The only reason I didn't go to CFE BLK was simply because I have a lot of RL7 on hand and it comes very close to what I was looking to get out of the cartridge.
 
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