In an effort to shoot economically (relatively anyway) I'm building up a 762x39 AR upper.

Budget includes ordering a case of ammo to get started with.

I'd be happy with WPA, etc. but ... the tricky part.

The range I use allows us to shoot self-provided steel at 200 yards.  Which I want to do.  A lot.  So I'm looking for ammo that is a) cheap b) will not drill a hole through my steel plate c) will not cause ricochet or other safety issues.

Will the various 122/3/4 grain "HP" loads from Wolf et al. fragment or otherwise "properly" deform and drop?  Do I just need to make sure there isn't a steel core or jacket?

Plate is properly hung from chains and has a slight down facing angle to it "at rest".  No issues with FMJ 5.56 or various milsurp 762x51, not even a dent or ding in the plate.  Just needs the occasional re-spray from a rattle can.

If your plate survives 556 and 308, 762x39 won't damage it. It's nowhere near 556 or 308 velocity wise.

Yes, but ricochet/safety is also a concern. So just avoid steel core type stuff and I should be OK with the WPA or whatever HP loads?

Either will be fine, especially at 200 yards.

Buy lacquer coated if you can help it, the poly stuff has a tendency to rust.

Ok, let's use the proper words here.

Do not use steel core.

Ok to use steel jacket.

Better to use steel hollow point. Saw some gel, looked great!

Steel case, irrelevant to conversation.

If you like America and freedom stop buying Russian ammo.

Huh?

Sure, because the market is saturated with US made 7.62x39.

My favorite x39 is any of the Barnaul manufactured stuff (Brown/Silver Bear, Wolf, Herters, Monarch).  I really like to stock the Soft Points they aren't any more expensive than FMJ in x39 and are nicer to steel plates.  At 200 yards you don't have to worry about FMJ.  If it's a good AR500 steel plate you can do 100 yards.  I go closer...........a lot closer and don't have issues.

None of the basic steel case wolf ammo, brown bear, tula, Red Army, etc.. is going to give you a safety concern shooting a 200 yards.

Lol.

Would you like to articulate a thought?

Didn't say buy American.

Your post implies that it’s unamerican to buy Russian made ammo, how is buying Bulgarian, Czech, or Taiwanese ammo any more American?

Russia is and has been actively working against the US, our way of life, and freedom in general for the last 80 years. Buying ammo from their oligarchs enriches them, and enables them to continue  to be global shitheads.

Lol, Sputnik   556.

Go away Ivan.

I'm not so concerned about something coming back 200 yards at me - it is the rest of the range.  Guess the best is to just call 'em and ask

It's not going to be a threat to anyone else on the range either.  Especially at 200 yards.  You'd be good at a 100 yards.

They're steel case, not steel CORE. Still just a lead core with a jacket, that breaks up into tiny pieces on impact with the steel target. Those pieces spread out mostly parallel with the target face, so the remnants of your bullets are all staying downrange. The only known cases I've ever been able to find of dangerous ricochets where something came BACK at a shooter from a steel target involved hardened cores that held together, improperly-angled targets that would deflect whole bullets instead of breaking them up, or damaged targets that weren't replaced when they should've been and would ricochet the spatter in other directions instead of letting it spread out normally. Lead (especially that used as cores in jacketed bullets) is very soft, and breaks apart when it hits instead of holding together and "bouncing", unless the angle is so shallow that it can "skip" like a rock on a lake.

Like the other poster above, I regularly shoot steel at much closer distances on my home range, and the only issue I have is rifle rounds leave a little more of a dimple so I have to replace targets more frequently than usual.

China has been working against us for just about as long, and you buy stuff made there every day.

With Russian steel case .223 being virtually the same price why would you build an AR in 7.62x39 to "Save Money"?

I would think that keeping a common caliber and being able to use your existing upper, mags and sighting systems would "Save Money" over buying another upper, mags, and sights to shoot another caliber.