I would look at weight as a major concern when hunting. Even one pound makes a difference. Accuracy is not a big concern if you chose the right hunting round for all of them. If budget is no concern, yes CZ Bren (but all of them have aftermarket barrels if NR), otherwise the WK181 gen 2.
If you were looking for a semi auto 7.62x39....
- Thread starter Joel
- Start date
My M+M has been reliable and accurate.
I only run Barnaul through it tho. I’ve got enough stock of the quality Russian stuff to last me a long while feeding that rifle its ammo of choice.
I also run numerous type 81’s and like them - they chew up anything.
One of my favorite guns is an old Chinese SKS in a Tapco stock with a Kodiak rail and dot. I run the magazines with the paddle and have done the bolt modification to allow mags to be inserted and removed with the bolt forward. It’s a great rifle! It might be a sin to do such mods but I’ve got enough unissued, numbers matching, SKS rifles to sacrifice one. It’s fuddy and fun.
I don’t own a Bren.
It’s a shame the VZ58 is prohib. Because that would make your decision pretty easy. My 21 year old restricted VZ58 was bought from Milarm during a sale. It was $350 and looked like it had been beat to heck (new manufacture
). Good rifle. Hard to mount an optic on tho.
I only run Barnaul through it tho. I’ve got enough stock of the quality Russian stuff to last me a long while feeding that rifle its ammo of choice.
I also run numerous type 81’s and like them - they chew up anything.
One of my favorite guns is an old Chinese SKS in a Tapco stock with a Kodiak rail and dot. I run the magazines with the paddle and have done the bolt modification to allow mags to be inserted and removed with the bolt forward. It’s a great rifle! It might be a sin to do such mods but I’ve got enough unissued, numbers matching, SKS rifles to sacrifice one. It’s fuddy and fun.
I don’t own a Bren.
It’s a shame the VZ58 is prohib. Because that would make your decision pretty easy. My 21 year old restricted VZ58 was bought from Milarm during a sale. It was $350 and looked like it had been beat to heck (new manufacture
). Good rifle. Hard to mount an optic on tho.
Well I am going to be one of the "early adopters" of the CSC-warrantied Gen 3 M10X 12" Carbine. I reckon CSC and their Gunsmith are good for their word and have worked the kinks out of the platform's operating system. A modernized, SIG 550-based "Krink" (of sorts) ought to be good fun as a range gun! We shall see in due course as I plan to share my findings, good and bad, in a dedicated thread...
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Dorian Gray
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Currently, I own 2 Type 81's and a Russian SKS. A side folder from the first import, an underfolder from the last and the SKS is a non-refurbed but somewhat beat up Tula from 1954.
The T-81's both have red dots on them and with good ammo (Hornady Black, Federal Fusion and PRVI SP's) I can get around 2-3 MOA 5 shot groups. Some tighter but not always.
The SKS, in its stock form with irons, has me between 4-5 MOA with everything from good stuff, down to cheap M43 ball.
I guess it all really depends on what your end usage plan for the gun will be. If you're looking for MOA accuracy as a primary driving factor, most, if not all, options on the market will likely leave you disappointed, and you'll wish you bought a CZ 527.
If you're looking to hit minute-of-man out to 300-400 yards, then most of what's on the market now will do you just fine. I guess it all boils down to what the end usage is likely to be for you and how much you're willing to pay for it. Bren 2's are beautiful rifles. They're reliable and combat tested. But so is an SKS. What features of a semi auto 7.62x39 rifle do you want and what are you willing to pay for it? Something to think about anyway.
The T-81's both have red dots on them and with good ammo (Hornady Black, Federal Fusion and PRVI SP's) I can get around 2-3 MOA 5 shot groups. Some tighter but not always.
The SKS, in its stock form with irons, has me between 4-5 MOA with everything from good stuff, down to cheap M43 ball.
I guess it all really depends on what your end usage plan for the gun will be. If you're looking for MOA accuracy as a primary driving factor, most, if not all, options on the market will likely leave you disappointed, and you'll wish you bought a CZ 527.
If you're looking to hit minute-of-man out to 300-400 yards, then most of what's on the market now will do you just fine. I guess it all boils down to what the end usage is likely to be for you and how much you're willing to pay for it. Bren 2's are beautiful rifles. They're reliable and combat tested. But so is an SKS. What features of a semi auto 7.62x39 rifle do you want and what are you willing to pay for it? Something to think about anyway.
Looking forward to your report/review. I've always wanted to try one but then I'd make myself go back and read a couple reviews and put my wallet away, haha. It would be great for their to be a reliable 7.62-commie semi that easily accepts optics and WMLS, etc without spending Bren money.
I have about 150 cases of surplus 7.62x39 ammo to draw experience from... But I have almost zero experience with more modern x39 platforms like the M+M etc
I had multiple x39 AR 15's and they worked pretty good but never as good as a 5.56 AR15. Not that those are an option anymore anyway.
I've had multiple SKS rifles and they are...well SKS. No surprises there.
I've had a number of SKS with magazine conversions done by Hi- Cal and modern polymer stocks and those were pretty good but a bit heavy. Bit they also had rails and scopes on them.
One of my favorite SKS rifles had the Hi Cal mag conversion and it also had an excellent aperture sight at the rear but an otherwise standard SKS stock. Was a fabulous iron sight rifle that dealt with the 2 main SKS problems- poor sights and magazine capacity in Canada. I would have used it anywhere I would have used any other iron sight rifle.
Currently my x39 rifles are all T81's and I can certainly attest to their reliability. One of mine has about 7 cases of surplus though it and been cleaned about twice per case. Yes, I know it's corrosive ammo and if I listened to every corrosive ammo guru on the internet it should be a rusty seized up lump. But it still goes bang and accuracy is no different than when I first got it.
My truly biggest complaint about the T81 is the sights. They are way too close together and sure I know there is a flimsy dust shroud at the back but dang wouldn't it have been nice if they could have figured out a nice 0-500 yard peep sight to fit back there somehow.
My most recent T81 is a SR. I added a TI side mount and rail and LPVO, one of Murrays little Mlock adapters for a bipod and since I had to mount the LPVO so far back to keep the brass from stovepiping I also added a MD buttstock extender. No question the rifle looks pretty cool in a commie way.
But all that being said- If I really wanted to hunt with a x39 rifle, I would just buy a Ruger American, toss a scope on it and be done with it. It will be cheaper, lighter, easier to set up and more accurate than most x39 semi versions and presumably you could use 10 round XCR magazines in it too.
I had multiple x39 AR 15's and they worked pretty good but never as good as a 5.56 AR15. Not that those are an option anymore anyway.
I've had multiple SKS rifles and they are...well SKS. No surprises there.
I've had a number of SKS with magazine conversions done by Hi- Cal and modern polymer stocks and those were pretty good but a bit heavy. Bit they also had rails and scopes on them.
One of my favorite SKS rifles had the Hi Cal mag conversion and it also had an excellent aperture sight at the rear but an otherwise standard SKS stock. Was a fabulous iron sight rifle that dealt with the 2 main SKS problems- poor sights and magazine capacity in Canada. I would have used it anywhere I would have used any other iron sight rifle.
Currently my x39 rifles are all T81's and I can certainly attest to their reliability. One of mine has about 7 cases of surplus though it and been cleaned about twice per case. Yes, I know it's corrosive ammo and if I listened to every corrosive ammo guru on the internet it should be a rusty seized up lump. But it still goes bang and accuracy is no different than when I first got it.
My truly biggest complaint about the T81 is the sights. They are way too close together and sure I know there is a flimsy dust shroud at the back but dang wouldn't it have been nice if they could have figured out a nice 0-500 yard peep sight to fit back there somehow.
My most recent T81 is a SR. I added a TI side mount and rail and LPVO, one of Murrays little Mlock adapters for a bipod and since I had to mount the LPVO so far back to keep the brass from stovepiping I also added a MD buttstock extender. No question the rifle looks pretty cool in a commie way.
But all that being said- If I really wanted to hunt with a x39 rifle, I would just buy a Ruger American, toss a scope on it and be done with it. It will be cheaper, lighter, easier to set up and more accurate than most x39 semi versions and presumably you could use 10 round XCR magazines in it too.
I should have just bought the 81M fixed stock while it was $1,199 and it didn't mean supporting a grifter's habits for $1800 haha. They seem perfectly huntably accurate with an optic on them.
The WK 181 sounds really interesting too, for the price point.
The WK 181 sounds really interesting too, for the price point.
Not in a million years would I consider plunking down $2k on one of those things. The trail of unhappy customers and semi-functional rifles that came out of M+M is very long.
The Type 81 is probably the most cost effective choice and the Bren2 is possibly the best choice ... if cost is not such a factor.
redshooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Central Ontario
Buddy has a T-81, just shoots it stock, I watched him put 400+ rds through it first day, not one stoppage. As far as I know it's around 1k, still no problems. He can hit the 6" gong at 100m 3-4 of 5 with irons supported, it's a good rifle, I would have bought one myself if they had the fixed stock available when I had the cash.
I 200% agree with your post having tried/owned all of the mention guns except the M10X(the latest version may be fine but I just can't get past all the previous negative owner experiences). That said IMHO the Bren 2 is absolutely the best 7.62 option if money is no object. If money is tight SKS is awesome. I have an decent optic on one mine and have hunted it with good effect, great guns. T81, love them, own several but they are full of quality and functional compromises especially when it comes to optics mounting/ergos. Just got this from Dlask a couple of days ago. This is the complete Dlask 7.62 x39 NR drop in barrel conversion with long gas system for Bren 2 you mentioned vs the original 11 inch barrel short gas assembly in the bottom picture.
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Familiarizing myself in this gun space as well. This was very informative. Thank you.
This is an excellent rundown and very informative. Great post!
