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Posted: 8/10/2025 8:37:27 PM EDT
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Recently got a few more barrels to play with and one is in 7.62x39 Already have a carrier I can use just need a complete bolt assembly. Any suggestions that are a good value / budget friendly? Barrel was an NBS brand sub $40.00 (you read correctly - UNDER $40...) barrel so would rather not spring for the most expensive bolt that can be had.   Even with shipping both of those were only a few cents over $100...  NBS being a 'brand' that does not 'make' barrels - Did not know much about this one until it arrived and I got to look at it closely. Ended up being a DelTon (DTI) 1:10 twist, 16" heavy, phosphate, NON-chrome lined, CMV, M4 feed ramps... First thing I did after running a few patches through it to clean out the preservative stuff was run my borescope down it. Knowing full well what to 'expect' from a $40 barrel... Both of the barrels I received are pretty darn flawless inside. Everywhere... Whatever tooling they used must have been new (or very close to it) and someone took their time. Gas port in the 7.62 barrel is damn near centered in a groove even.  Was pleasantly surprised to say the least with how they both looked inside. While the 5.56 barrel was not DTI marked I can't help but wonder if it is not also a DelTon barrel judging from the the way they both look and the barrel extensions on them. Both barrel extensions have an ever so tiny step in them right before they make it all the way inside an upper receiver. About the last 1/4" or so on both extensions ain't going in there without a nut and a wrench... Have not measured them but it is definitely consistent with both extensions and definitely a tiny, tiny bit bigger that last little bit. Plan to feed it quality brass cased ammo that I will be loading myself (no garbage comblock stuff). |
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Originally Posted By Phillbilly: Man I love low budget projects! Good luck, bump. Originally Posted By Phillbilly: Man I love low budget projects! Good luck, bump. I is lucky that now seems to be a good time to be shopping for anything related to AR parts. Inventory is good on a LOT of stuff, sales are not hard to find... MOA Guarantee – All barrels 16 and longer are guaranteed to hold 1 MOA or better using properly weighted match grade factory ammo and shooting from a rest. The last 7.62 AR upper I had was a 16" Colt assembly and sadly all I ever fed it was cheap ass comblock ammo. Cheapest shit I could find at the time. And then I got upset because the absolute best that thing would ever do at the range was 'minute of milkjug'.  I would not be surprised if this DelTon barrel does better than that if I feed it better ammo. |
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Found a Faxon bolt on sale at Primary Arms for just under $50.00 https://www.primaryarms.com/search?keywords=faxon%207.62%20bolt That and a flash hider from PA. Got all my reloading dies for 7.62 stuff and a good pile of Hornady bullets that should be showing up this week as well. Only thing I am lacking there now is the brass cases. Seriously debating Starline brass but not done enough homework yet to decide... |
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Originally Posted By SyberSniper: I've picked up several hundred brass x39 cases from local ranges... most are Norma brand (IIRC made by PPU) - migh check the local ranges - look at 1pm in the grass. I is pretty stoked about reloading for this round. :) I got exactly zero experience making 7.62x39 ammo... |
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Originally Posted By Aaron56: I is pretty stoked about reloading for this round. :) I got exactly zero experience making 7.62x39 ammo... Just full length resize it is all. It’s like anything else. I make more subsonic rounds than I do anything else. I interchange some of the .300BO data occasionally. I will tell you, I can’t make a load for my 527 that does as well as Tulammo and other steel case. I can keep it around 2” at 100. My reloads get close, but I can’t dial them in tighter. The 10.5” KS-47 does well with steel also. This is a five shot group at 50 with the irons, unsupported prone. Yes, there are four holes due to a dead primer in one round. These rounds were all various steel case range pickups from previous trips. Three FMJ and one HP. I think the barrel is a BCA. 
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Originally Posted By Dakota_Don: Just full length resize it is all. It’s like anything else. I make more subsonic rounds than I do anything else. I interchange some of the .300BO data occasionally. I will tell you, I can’t make a load for my 527 that does as well as Tulammo and other steel case. I can keep it around 2” at 100. My reloads get close, but I can’t dial them in tighter. I am avoiding buying any bullets in bulk just yet and plan to experiment with a few different kinds and see what happens and how the particular barrel likes them. So far I only have 400 of the .310 Hornady 123 grain FBSP's. Need to find a good deal on a small pile of cheaper pills to get at least a hundred or 2 rounds on the barrel before I try to see how good it can do (or not do...). I got 4lbs of IMR 4198 powder that is destined to get used up first. Still need to check and see if any of my other powders are compatible here... |
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Nothing current... several years ago I lucked into a garage sale that had 2.5k of .310" 123 FMJ for $10 and I've been shooting those ever since. I tried AA-2015, AA-5744, AA-2230, Re-7 and 1680 was the best. There are other powders I haven't tried so YMMV... Any ~123 FMJ will work... of course you will want to know if your barrel is .308 or .311 first... |
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Sorry for the long post... I recently acquired a Sig Spear LT 7.62x39 11.5" so I could retain the ability to shoot the cartridge, in a modern platform, via needing to store potentially only a barrel/bolt/handguard. I have one AK (likely for sale) and a small stash of old Wolf/Brown Bear. I also acquired 200rds of new production brass cased Norma. Here is what I've found so far. Reloading the cartridge is also new to me, and definitely has some quirks you likely don't normally worry about, surrounding the different caliber bullets you might use (308 vs 311/312) In terms of ammo: I've actually been really impressed with the old Russian "crap". My batches of it are not crap at all. If you could still get Wolf at (inflation adjusted estimate) ~$350/ case, I would just be buying that for blasting, especially given the scarcity of actual brass to reload. Some specifics: From the early 2000's: Wolf 122gr FMJ: 2325fps, SD 21, 3-4" 10rd groups. Very consistent. Brown Bear 125gr soft point: 2291 fps, SD 21, 3" groups, very consistent. Current production (all this from a 200rd sample): Norma 124gr FMJ: 2158fps, SD 23, however, it doesn't group for me at all, I'm talking WILD fliers 7+" away, and plenty of them. The brass also sucks: Many flash holes way off center, inconsistent rim thickness, and I had one round that did chamber, did pop the primer, but did not fire. Also had to be pogoed out. Got home, pulled the bullet, found no flash hole at all. And was oversized on top of that. In my experience, the Norma is the garbage, barely worth buying even just to harvest the brass. I rejected probably 10% before loading it one time. Reloading: I have tried the following bullets so far: -Berry's 123gr plated (they mic .312) -Midway 2nds 123gr FMJ, .310 -Sierra Pro Hunter 125gr .311 The first thing I found is that I want to use a .310 expander ball with all the above bullets (my Hornady die set came with two, and that is the larger one). Using the smaller one, which I assume is meant for .308 bullets, was giving measured neck tensions of ~007, which is too much. Powder: I've only tried AA1680 so far (already had it on hand for 300blk subs). It is doing the job, but is very flashy, and also I'm only getting velocities up to about 2100fps. Above that and the primers start to show signs of flattening. Not sure if this is just due to the primer itself vs. the factory ammo, but the factory Russian stuff is so far, significantly faster without flat primers. I may look to see if there is a slightly slower powder I could try sometime. With my lot of AA1680 I've settled on about 25.2gr, giving 2050-2100fps with all of the above.... I as said, above that, primers start flattening. With all bullets, I'm also getting higher SDs than the Russian stuff, in the 30s/40s. However, all the reloads are grouping just a little better in the 2.5-3" range (all 10rd groups) Only other comment; with the Berry's bullets, you'll have to make sure your case neck expansion/inside chamfering is good, or you will shave some copper when seating. They work for me, but the jacketed bullets are a little more forgiving during seating. I got some Starline brass as well; it is definitely more consistent than the Norma in every way, but I have not spent much time at all with it so far; just 20rds for a sanity check... will wring it out a bit next up. Hope this helps, good luck. |
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Originally Posted By RedSev13: Faxon is solid. I was going to recommend them or Fail Zero. I have a Fail Zero BCG on my 16" and it hasn't had a problem. Lots of suppressed shooting with it. I also have a BCA 11" upper that I shoot almost exclusively suppressed. All I use is cheap comblock steel and they both run fine. I am probably getting 2.5" groups at 100 yds. |
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Everything you need to know about the left was on display during covid . -RC03
Everything you need to know about the left was on display during covid . -RC03
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Faxon seems to be a good name, so your probably ok... a lot of AR x39 bolts seem to break, so it pays to spend a little more and get a quality brand over a budget item. Don't try to hotrod it either... Stay within factory performance in your rifle. Depending on what type of rifle and Ammo your using... Since the OP asked about reloading... In my guns, OEM Tula, Wolf and Golden Tiger run 2330~2440 out of the 2 Polish AK's (with USA barrels) and 2370~2480 out of the BCA Side Charger. OEM Winchester runs 1980 fps... pathetic. Out of the AK's, Milsurp Chinese is about 2200~2300, German M43 is 2300 and Russian Ulyanovsk is 2350 but from the BCA.SC its in the 2380 range and the BCA.bolt is about 2430 probably due to no gas... So what type of gun your shooting will make a difference on your oem baseline numbers... 25.5 of 1680 is giving me about 2300 fps... a load of 26.8 AA1680 s about 2360 from the AK's but is a little too hot for my liking in the BCA, so I reduced it... my std load is 26.5 for about 2400 fps and 1.25 MOA or sometimes less at 100yds. Without an ejector swipe, I don't see any pressure signs on the head. I don't recommend going any higher. |
Back when I built my 7.63x39 AR there were a lot of bad bolts out there because of the thinning of the bolt wall due to the larger case diaeter of the 7.62. That may not be as much of an issue now that the cheaper ones may not be in business anymore. I went with the Red X Arms bolt. (Red X Arms Bolt) Pictures below illustrate the issue.  
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Originally Posted By SyberSniper: Nothing current... several years ago I lucked into a garage sale that had 2.5k of .310" 123 FMJ for $10 and I've been shooting those ever since. I tried AA-2015, AA-5744, AA-2230, Re-7 and 1680 was the best. There are other powders I haven't tried so YMMV... Any ~123 FMJ will work... of course you will want to know if your barrel is .308 or .311 first... THAT sir, was a damn score! Have not slugged it but used some dial calipers at the muzzle an got .308 between 2 grooves and .301 between 2 lands (they are pretty near opposite of each other so was not hard to get the caliper points in the middle of the circle for my measurements) The Hornady 3140 bullets I got so far are .310 (123gr SP flat base with cannelure) Bought Hornady dies mostly because I really like their seating dies and the bullet alignment sleeve thing they have. Have not used my good calipers to measure the expander balls yet but my elcheapo dial caliper gave me a heavy .307 on the single expander that came with the 7.62 Hornady dies. (Hornady expander in my .308 dies measured .306 with the same caliper and looks like I can use it with the 7.62 die body / decapping stem if I want to without issue) Thinking hard about getting some of the berrys plated bullets but would rather not if I have to buy a special expander die to be able to use those bullets without shaving the plating. Would kill the tiny savings those bullets would offer unless I loaded a bajillion of them... Not really sure how those particular bullets would work with the Hornady alignment sleeve thing and if they would get started straight enough to not shave plating... Aside of the hornady 7.62 die set I also got the Lee 7.62 FCD. |
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Originally Posted By DVCNick: Reloading: I have tried the following bullets so far: -Berry's 123gr plated (they mic .312) -Midway 2nds 123gr FMJ, .310 -Sierra Pro Hunter 125gr .311 The first thing I found is that I want to use a .310 expander ball with all the above bullets (my Hornady die set came with two, and that is the larger one). Using the smaller one, which I assume is meant for .308 bullets, was giving measured neck tensions of ~007, which is too much. Powder: I've only tried AA1680 so far (already had it on hand for 300blk subs). It is doing the job, but is very flashy, and also I'm only getting velocities up to about 2100fps. Above that and the primers start to show signs of flattening. Not sure if this is just due to the primer itself vs. the factory ammo, but the factory Russian stuff is so far, significantly faster without flat primers. I may look to see if there is a slightly slower powder I could try sometime. With my lot of AA1680 I've settled on about 25.2gr, giving 2050-2100fps with all of the above.... I as said, above that, primers start flattening. Hope this helps, good luck. I am an idiot. I incorrectly posted that my Hornady dies only came with the one expander ball because I did not look well enough.  It was hidden under the piece of foam and measured at .309 in my better micrometer.  Ive got CCI 200 LRP and CCI 34's to use here. Plan to experiment with both and see what happens. My bolt did not come with a firing pin. Not a big deal as I have plenty of spares and can tune one for whatever FP protrusion that I want but... Want to get my brass in hand first so I can measure the primer pocket depth. I understand the thing about having an 'enhanced' (one modified for a slight bit more protrusion length than what the normal spec calls for) firing pin for harder comblock primers but... Not sure If I 'need' or want a FP with an overly long protrusion if I am not planning on shooting any of that.   |
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Make sure you full length resize that Norma stuff. I had bought a bunch that stuff that didn't pass the case length gauge test. Was .012" over spec. Not over all, but the distance from the shoulder, back to the rim. If you had a round chambered, and didn't fire it, you had to pry the bolt carrier open. I've had zero issues with Belom, or Winchester brass, and even mt crappy Russian brass was ok... Norma quality has turned to ca-ca in the last 5 years, and the 7.62x39 is coming out of Hungary. |
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Just an FYI, if you can't find a pin or other part you need for a 7.62x39 AR from Faxon, check out Black Rifle Arms for bolts, barrels, or other parts. My deer rifle is built with their barrel and bolt parts, works great. |
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Originally Posted By SyberSniper: I've picked up several hundred brass x39 cases from local ranges... most are Norma brand (IIRC made by PPU) - might check the local ranges - look at 1pm in the grass. Big wide plastic rake, and I have been known to run grass down with STIHL string trimmer too... took me almost 2 week to find 2 full box of LAPUA x39, folks here shoot whatever and leave it. Found some WIN that maybe coming out of old stash ammo ? x39 is mine if I find it, they'll wash in FART just fine & dandy |
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Originally Posted By Aaron56: I is pretty stoked about reloading for this round. :) I got exactly zero experience making 7.62x39 ammo... Go for it, easy to load. Sizes easy, trim it, chamfer, and load. You'll want to block empties from flying all over out front, I cant stand to lose them |
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Originally Posted By SBR7_11: Go for it, easy to load. Sizes easy, trim it, chamfer, and load. You'll want to block empties from flying all over out front, I cant stand to lose them Started loading x39 30ish years ago for my dad's mini30. Used T680 which was 1680 manufactured by Thunderbird. It works well. As said, it's an easy caliber to load, very similar to 300blk except you can increase charge weight by around 3gr over 300blk. I have a couple LMT bolts with the double spring lobster tail extractor. Haven't had any problems with them yet, but they're not budget friendly. KAK has a X39 BCG for $110 that might be a good fit for your needs. It's chrome lined phosphate. Avoid a melonite bolt and go with phosphate for better strength. KAK has a good reputation with X39 AR's. They've been at it awhile... The bolt lugs on X39 are known to break with the cheaper made bolts. |
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