I would appreciate your advice about the 7.62x39 caliber for an AR I am considering.  I would like to use it for target shooting, and reload that cart. for two other rifles I already have, an SKS and AK.  I have been reloading for auto pistols, but buying affordable ammo, or other calibers are not good options for me due to my location in the middle of the Pacific.  hinking
Does anyone have any comments or opinions about their experiences with this caliber in an AR?  I am amazed at how many sites sell parts for these rifles.  It appears that you can swap calibers easily with new uppers and magazines, right?

I saw an upper for sale on the Model 1 site.  Is there another site I should check also? hinking.gif

Are you sure it is 7.62x39 and not 7.62x51 (aka .308)? I thought only Colt made rifles chambered in 39, and that only for a limited time...

Yes, 39.  See this link for the upper:

http://www.model1sales.com/item-detail.cfm?ID=USO207&storeid=1&image=upoststd27.gif

Interesting! Thanks for the link... Learn something new every day.

I built a 7.62x39 AR for my step-father with a Kit from Model 1, It's not bad, as far as fit and finish, the problem is finding mag's that will work 100%.

DPMS also makes a 7.62x39 Upper or BBL, and there 30rd Frankenmag's I bought are OK, but still not 100% reliable.

It is a good shooter, but not as good as a .223.

Just my .02 cents, hope this helps

Ultimately an AR-47 lower would be the best way to go. It will accept AK mags. However, they are expensive and you'll likely not find one locally.

I have a Colt 7.62x39 upper. I just mount it on one of my regular AR lowers and use USA "Franken mags" which are AK47 mags grafted to the top of an AR mag. DPMS sells these also and a company named Gtech is supposed to make them although I've never seen anyone selling Gtech mags.  Standard AR mags will not work.

Do a search for "7.62x39" or "Franken" and you'll see some more info.

The AR-47 link didnt work for me.  I did find the franken stuff.

Oh, Oh.  I did find this link about the Colt.  Does not sound too good with either mag....

http://www.oregonfirearms.d2g.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=28

Maybe this is not so good an idea for an AR.  Perhaps its no wonder Colt doesnt make them anymore.  hock.gif

Mark, I mean to post this before I left this morning, but late is better than nothing at all.

First off, the bores in ak/sks are .311 and not .308.  The reason that I bring this up is if you plan to reload for all three rifles, you want the bore on the AR to be .311 as well. This will save you from having to buy .308 and .311 bullets.

Now on to reloading,

First off, all of the steel case Russian ammo is berdan primed.  This means if you are saving the steel cases to reload, throw them away.  Standard primers will not work in berdan primer pocket cases, even after you have went to the effect of picking/ hydro punching them out (read a stander resizing die with deprimer tool will not work to for these cases.  

That brings us up to the next points, which are brass cases. Only USA produced ammo in brass cases use boxer primers.  This means when you do buy ammo/cases to reload, it's going to be on the very spendy side.  When you do go to reload the new/once fired brass cases (read buy all the components), you are going to see that the price of the gunpowder, the primers, and the bullets often cost as much as the price of the Russian ammo already loaded.  So in regards to reloading, the only satisfaction that you will achieve will be that you should be able to load more accurate ammo than what the Russian ammo has to offer. But again, depending on the condition of the AK and SKS, the only payoff may just be in the AR platform alone.

Now myself, If say I had shit load of 7.62X39 spent brass cases, and was looking to use the cases in the 24" AR rifle, it sure in the hell wouldn't be the ballistic challenged round stated above.  Instead, a given amount of the cases would be resized in either 22PPC or 6PPC (read the PPC is based on the 7.62x39 case). So to recap, the PPC rifle (built on a AR-47 receiver to use AK mags) would use the same bolt and mag as the 7.62X39, and only the barrel/chamber would need to be PPC. As for wither to go 22 or 6, it just depends on what is being shot. And, if you have to ask why the PPC, you just need to do some research on the PPC, and figure this one out for yourself.

Whoops, we're getting a little too technical now. hey
Still, Im pretty freaked.  hink
In that case, I might as well go for a complete rifle from somebody.  Any suggestions for medium to good quality around mid cost level?

Quoted: Whoops, we're getting a little too technical now. I did find a DPMS rifle in 7.62x39 for $750.  But they are not selling it on their site, so it must be a discontinued item, which does not forebode well.  But that would seem the best option I have found in this caliber, compared to putting it together myself, with respect to reliability. Still, Im pretty freaked.    I am beginning to think that if I can get some steel ammo, I might be better off with the standard .223 caliber.  So I have a couple emails out for availability.   In that case, I might as well go for a complete rifle from somebody.  Any suggestions for medium to good quality around mid cost level?

What caliber????

If the 7.62X39, then the best bet is a full Kit, and buy an AR-47 lower to put the kit on (read this would be a complete rifle).  This would allow you to use the same mags in it and the AK-47.  As for putting a kit and receiver together, It's a walk in the park, so don't think you have to buy a completed rifle.

If you going to go 223 and run Russian ammo, then you just want a basic rifle since your going to end up with 4" MOA groups at best (About the best the ammo is going to do in any rig). If you want better groups than that, then the options open up with better ammo and a better rig.

As for finding wolf ammo, just drop them a email and ask them who stocks it near you  or can order you a few cases at a time.
http://www.wolfammo.com/wheretobuy.htm

Also, try cabelas to see if they can delivery ammo to you.  The shipping may be a little more than the lower 48, but it sure in hell will beat any local guys mark up (unless someone has a smoking deal going on it near you).
www.cabelas.com

Quoted: Ultimately an AR-47 lower would be the best way to go. It will accept AK mags. However, they are expensive and you'll likely not find one locally.

Here's another possibility, but it's not out yet: LINK.  Interchangeable mag wells are a cool concept, IMO.  Time will tell whether or not it works in practice.

For a while I wanted to build a 7.62x39 upper for plinking and hunting small deer at reasonable ranges, but eventually gave up on the idea.  I've thought of building a "hunting upper" in 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC or another wildcat, but for the same money I could buy a basic deer rifle.

If you like the idea of staying with the same round as in your other two rifles, go for it.  You already know how the round ranges out so there will be no mental math with the new round.  I say to go for the AR in 7.62x39.  You won't find buttloads of build options for it at the moment because it's not  the hot item at the moment like a 5.56 M-4 carbine is.  Still, it's a good caliber.  Don't worry about reloading, the ammo is less than 10 cents a round.  Cheaper than 5.56 even!  I haven't lived on Oahu for a few years now, but is there a mag cap limit?  If you don't try using the 30 round mags and stay with the 20 round USGI stuff you can get a good 10 rounds in and they will work pretty reliably at that capacity.  I think they only will take 12 anyway with that size case.  Other than the limitations of the round itself (and you seem to like Ak's) the magazines are the only problem.  Personally I don't need 3 billion rounds of ammo per magazine and if you're not taking it tactical then that isn't something that would hold you back from building one.  Just bring more loaded magazines and have fun with rapid reload drills.  Oh, I just remembered-the bolt's are machined out 5.56 units that are a little weaker since they are thinner at the lugs.  You may break a bolt every 1500 rounds or so.  I say give the rifle a try anyway, you'll probably like it.

Quoted: Quoted: Ultimately an AR-47 lower would be the best way to go. It will accept AK mags. However, they are expensive and you'll likely not find one locally. Here's another possibility, but it's not out yet: LINK.  Interchangeable mag wells are a cool concept, IMO.  Time will tell whether or not it works in practice. For a while I wanted to build a 7.62x39 upper for plinking and hunting small deer at reasonable ranges, but eventually gave up on the idea.  I've thought of building a "hunting upper" in 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC or another wildcat, but for the same money I could buy a basic deer rifle.

Thanks for the link....been looking for a pic....



By the way, I have a 6mm PPC.  Haven't really done much w/ it since I have to get a form die for the brass.....

www.del-ton.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=63

They have a few options in the link above.

A friend of mine has an ARski and it's fun to shoot.  Bowling pins are no match for it as the .223 just zing right through them.  When I first shot it I loaded 5.56 in it and I was wondering why I was getting these wierd pops from it and the casings were all ruptured.  No harm done.

Quoted: www.del-ton.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=63 They have a few options in the link above.

Didn't know they had parts......

i have an ar15 in 7.62x39 i built it on a dpms lower with a complete parts kit from model 1 sales. i have had no problems with the gun just the mags. i got 2 20rd and 2 10rd the 10rds only problem is the spring is not strong enough to lock the bolt back everytime. the 20rds had several problems but after a little moding they work pretty good. the bigest thing is to keep the gun(bolt/carrier) oiled real good. i love mine, puls you can always get a .225/5.56 upper and just use the same lower. the lower is the same. if you want to see any pics i can post some. if you want to know anything else just drop me a line.

oh and i forgot, you cant purchase a lower or complete gun from dpms's web site you have to contact a dpms dealer to get one.

Anyone know if that Wilson barrel is .311 or .308?

Does/did anyone make a chrome lined 7.62x39 barrel?  Stainless?