I’ve never held a Valmet M76 but I knew from reading comments online that I had to have one.
The 7.62x39s are out of my league but I’m happy to have found one in 223

What should a guy know ahead of time ?

I know original magazines are worth more than most people’s houses. I’ll be very carefully modifying Weiger magazines to fit.
I know NOT to use Galil mags.

I’ve read the barrels aren’t chrome lined which id prefer they were chrome lined but I’ll survive.

I’ve read they are chambered for 223 and NOT 556

Anything else to know ?

I have a FA 71s and love it.

great handy AK inspired rifle.

I
know nothing of of value to help you. Sorry

I have an M76 in 308.  You think the 223 mags are pricy...

I also have an M71 in 223 with 3 mags.  One of those are a Galil so it's a nogo.

I should have the rifle saturday or early next week.

I just ordered three East German 223 Weiger mags. Looks like I’ll have some careful filing to do to fit them to the rifle

Where did you order them from,

i think you can file Galil mags also...?

I got them from Apex gun parts website.

Galil mags are a HUGE no-no from everything I read. The feed angle is wrong which jams the bullet further into the case causing higher pressure issues

So is it true that you can only run 223 ammo through the valmet and NOT 5.56x45 surplus ammo ?

Back during the BJ Bill ban days, Tony Rumore of Tromix used to convert the Weiger magazines to fit Valmet 76s.  I have no clue if he still provides this service today.

Unfortunately, everything ive read on online forums says he stopped doing this quite a while ago, or that would be the route I would take for sure.

You cannot.  Feed ramp angle is all wrong.

1:12 twist so 55 gr or its tumble city.

I love my M76F

I've run commercial and surplus ammo through mine; no issues

Can you tell me more about your rifle?

Have you heard about the firing pins being prone to breakage ?

Sure.  I picked my Valmet up NIB, unfired for $1100.00 shipped to NC from a dealer in Prescott, AZ about 12 years ago.  I had just gotten a nice bonus from work and was doing some late night perusing of Gunbroker when I saw this Valmet auction about to end.  I put in a lowball bid, which did not meet the reserve, shrugged my shoulders, and forgot about it, until, the next morning, I got a message saying "Would you like to purchase this rifle for your top bid of $1100 shipped?".  You bet I would.

It arrived at my FFL and he said "Did you know this thing is unfired?  I mean seriously unfired...i moved the selector and put the first mark on it..."  It came with 2-30 rd and 1-15 round factory mags.  The bayonet was missing.  The sling and manual were not :)

It also came with a couple "modified" .223 AK mags.  They were bakelite, and painted black.  They snapped in, and fed fine, but I didn't trust them, so they're held in reserve.  I made some modified Weigar steel .223 mags (about 10 or so) and some Bulgarian Waffle mags (about six) with a bit of Dremel work.  We considered building a jig and doing it "right", but both mags were fairly easy to do by hand.  Both the Weigar and Bulgarian mags feed well.

The M76 is a joy to shoot.  Low recoil and more accurate than you'd think an AK should be.  The front sight is a bit wide, so that's a hinderance to accuracy, but the rifle itself is mechanically accurate.  As stated before, 55 grain fodder is best.  62 grains make the bullets tumble and make neat boat shapes on the target.  1:12 twist.  The trigger is a decent one.  Sights are easy to adjust, the gun is robust, and reliable.  It gets attention everywhere it's shot.  I've wanted a Valmet since I was a kid and saw Robin Williams use one in "The Survivors"!

I haven't had any issues with the firing pin but I don't beat this gun for thousands upon thousands of rounds at the range either.  It's been shot a decent amount, but like my G43, they aren't making them anymore, so I'm wary of "hard use" or abuse.  YMMV


Factory, Weigar, Bulgarian

Thanks Pitbull  !

I hope to be able to hit the range this weekend with it, if it makes it to my FFL in time.

I have 5 Weiger 223 mags on the way that I will carefully modify

No problem!  Post pix when she arrives

Got it ! Attached File

Sweet.  You'll like it a lot.  Maybe even enough to investigate replacing the tritium in the night sights ...oooh a project!   Lol

Enjoy

My M76 digests everything I feed it including steel case ammo. I picked up a couple Arsenal 106 mags for mine and they were easy to modify to fit. function is 100%.

While these rifles were generally designed and marketed as "commercial" firearms, they were chambered to "military" specifications. You may, without any fear, shoot any SAAMI spec .223 ammunition or mil spec 5.56x45 ammunition in your Valmet. Assuming your rifle barrel has a 1:12 twist rate, you'd probably be best served to start with ammo using 55 grain bullets.

Check gun shop loose magazine bins. I lucked out a few years ago and scored (3) 30 round Valmet 3 rivet mags for $10.00 a piece! That's about 5% of what they run these days. The shop owner had written "$10" with a white paint marker on each mag and I was happy to pay that.

Outstanding.  I picked up two 30 rd at a pawn shop mid-marked as "SKS Magazines" for $15 each a few years ago.

Magazines are like a really fun and frustrating treasure hunt for Valmet owners...but when you do find one for a great price you'll fall asleep with a smile on your face for a month.
There's a guy over on the Galil forum on Uzitalk who is talking about making new Valmet .223 mags.  He's already made some .308 Galil mags that look alright.  
Depending on their quality they may make Valmet owners some very happy campers.
OP...Grab a shell deflector or two as well as spare extractors and firing pins.  Or you can just buy an entire spare rifle like some of us with transferables tend to do...
If your rifle has its original butt plate, and it hasn't cracked yet, pull it off and buy a reproduction to use and abuse.  Those original butt plates are delicate as hell.  And be careful when tightening any screws and bolts on the wood stock they tend to crack and chip as well.  They don't need to be muscled down.
Use any quality .223 or 5.56mm you want, it will handle 5.56mm just fine.  Lighter bullets will stabilize better than heavier, but try some 60+ grain match rounds and see how it does.  
It should have about the crispest, best feeling factory AK trigger you will ever have the joy of pulling.  
Welcome to the addictive world of Valmet ownership!
Some of us have been collecting them for a while...

Attached File

The one on the left has 3rd pin privilege.  

Attached File

.308 Valmet mags are the rarest of the rare...this rifle came with five.  

Attached File

My higher end AK's...

I owned a M76 35 years ago. It had a 1/7 twist barrel. I had nothing but trouble with it when trying to shoot m193 ammo.

It would eject so violently it literally threw empty cases completely over top of a ranch style home. The bolt carrier hammered the hell out if the rear trunion.

Buy an AK buffer right out of the gate. If you reload trying 52/53 grain match bullets and fast burning powders.

AA-2015
RE-10X
VihtaVuori N130
H4198
H322 are all great powders for lightweight bullets in .223.