Reloading cast lead in CSA VZ58?

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G.Mitchell

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I am planning out my future CSA VZ58 purchase. I have the gun all spec'd out; now I am starting to think about ammo.

I plan to buy surplus ammo, of course, but with the current firearm related issues ( in the USA and possibly Canada ) I have been thinking about alternative methods of feeding my rifle.

I know 7.62x39 brass isn't common or cheap, but it is available. Does anyone here reload for their VZ58?

Specifically with cast bullets? Do guys hard cast or just standard casting methods? Gas check?

How many reloads might you get out of one piece of brass? 5-10?

Reloading components add up, the bullet costs seem to be high too. Since the VZ is a gas piston system I am curious if lead cast rounds would be an issue.

Any feedback will be helpful.

Thanks
 
well slug your gun get a good fitting mold thats .002 over bore size and cast i use wheel weights in the sks and a gas check works good enough

brass for the 7.62x39 is cheep and is just about everywhere ive got quite a few reloads wih cast

BTW i only reload ammo for all of my surplus guns and keep surplus ammo for who knows what
 
antiqueguy said:
well slug your gun get a good fitting mold thats .002 over bore size and cast i use wheel weights in the sks and a gas check works good enough

brass for the 7.62x39 is cheep and is just about everywhere ive got quite a few reloads wih cast

BTW i only reload ammo for all of my surplus guns and keep surplus ammo for who knows what
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That is my plan as well. Stock up surplus and shoot reloads using cast projectiles.

Where should I look for once fired brass?

How many reloads per brass are you getting?
 
Just a quick question, what are you stocking up on surplus for if you don't shoot it? Possible value increase in the future? Did I miss something regarding an ammunition drought in the foreseeable future? Or are the current cheap prices for surplus ammo going to increase dramatically?
 
Preparing for Red Dawn or a zombie apocalypse? Lol
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Actually something much worse,politicians with there fingers stuck up in the media hyped winds. In reality I stock surplus or cheap Russian or other countries ammo for all my Mil-surplus rifles and handguns just in case imports are ever cut off. Here in the states we don't get anymore Russian or Chinese SKS rifles,Russian SVD's or cheap surplus Chinese or Czech X 39 ammo anymore.

I shoot cast loads in my Yugo and Chinese SKS rifles and the cost is much cheaper than even the Russian commercial ammo. Both the groove to groove dia. on my Yugo and Chinese rifles measures .312" My Lee .312" 160 gr. TL mold drops a bullet right at .314" your mold may vary but Lee molds generally cast on the fat side.

Bullets are cast from WW alloy and water quenched for extra hardness so they make the transition from the magazine to the chamber without peeling off lead,plus WW alloy makes a more mandible less brittle bullet material than Linotype. I tumble lube once an apply a gas check with the Lee .314 push through sizer then TL once more before loading.

My powder of choice for X39 in semi-auto rifles is Alliant 2400 The Min. starting load is 11.0 grs. with a Max. of 15.0 grs. I started with the 11.0 gr. load and increased the charge weight by 1/2 grain till I get reliable cycling. In my Chinese 12.5 grs. is good to go all day long and drops the brass right at my feet,in the Yugo however it requires the Max. load of 15.0 gr. to cycles and on occasion even that doesn't work. In the case of the Yugo I finally settled on 18.0 grs. of Reloader #7 and that cured the problem it also shoot just as accurate as the Alliant loads,brass gets flung out around 10 to 15 feet. I'm up to seven loading on some brass I have. Cast loads shoot at a much lower pressure than commercial or surplus ammo,most of the wear and tare on brass come for some actions that beat it up,my SKS rifle seem to be pretty easy on the brass.

Leading in the gas port is not an issue in AK and SKS rifles as long as you don't get into a lot of rapid fire secession and heat up the rifle barrel. The gas piston and cylinder will foul over time which can affect functioning if it's neglected. The gas piston should be removed and cleaned with Break Free, Marvel Mystery Oil or Dexron IIe ATF and 000 steel wool after each use,and the gas cylinder scrubbed with a shotgun bore brush. Liberally lubricating with Break Free,Marvel Mystery Oil or Dexron prior to reassembly eases the fouling problem.
 
Ahh, thanks for the clarification SKS, I just figured out what you guys mean by "Prepper" as well. Now I get it, but reloads will work just as well if not better in that situation as any surplus you might aquire. Stocking up on supplies for reloading would just as wise.
 
Stocking up on supplies for reloading would just as wise.
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I have that covered as well,some of my rifles and handguns have never seen more than one or two boxes of factory ammo. I've always had the full intention of reloading for ever single centerfire weapon I own right from the start and enough components to not have to worry about it for a long time. Being that I've been reloading for 30+ years it was pretty easy over the years to do just that,components were much more plentiful and cheaper back then and stored properly they last a very longtime.

Now that I've been casting for several year bullets are not a problem either I smelted enough pure lead and wheel weight over the weekend into ingots to cast over 25K bullet with average weights in the 150 gr. range.
 
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