Quoted: Just wondering if there is such an animal?

Yes, Colt and IIRC Olympic Arms made them.

I'd like to build/buy an upper in the short russian, but here in NY we have the AWB to deal with. Were there any magazines made prior to 09/04?

Your biggest issue will be finding reliable feeding magazines that are pre-ban.  The hybrid AR/AK franken mags were the best feeding (but looked terrible) but are getting tough to find.

I'd also point out as long as the lower (or original rifle) was pre-ban you can add a 7.62x39 or 6.8 or whatever caliber you want upper on the lower and not effect it's status as a 'pre-ban'.

Quoted: I think(therein lies the problem) that I'm able to build a 7.62SR upper on a new lower as long as it doesn't have any "evil" features.

You can.

I guess I'd be more concerned with being limited to a 10 rd. magazine.

Pre/Post ban does NOT effect the kind of magazines you can use.  You can only buy 'standard capacity' (20-30rnd) magazines that were MANUFACTURED prior to Sept 94

I haven't been able to find much info on the availability of 20 rd. "pre-ban" mags.

They are there - but they feed like crap (I only got them to reliably feed 15 rounds - load any more and they would jam).

Magazines have always been the bane of the 7.62x39 uppers.  The best of the pre-bans were the AR/AK hybrids as I mentioned earlier and they were 30 rounds IIRC.

The NY AWB is a mirror of the Clinton AWB so I would need pre-ban mags.

Yes you would, but those mags were not the easiest to find back in 1994 out here.  I had issues in the 1997-1999 range when I had a 7.62x39 upper.

I've read about regular AR mags working OK with the SR round as long as they're only loaded to 6-8 rds.

Keep it to 5-7 and you're good to go.

If I can't find reliable, legal 20rd mags, I won't bother. I may just look at an AK if I could find one from pre-94.

If you want reliable then look for the 30 round hybrids.  Otherwise I'd say look for a pre-ban AK.

But if you're going for Yote's why not just get a 5.56?  Lots of guys hunt them with 5.56 - you'll get better and accuracy with 5.56 anyway.

Quoted: There is a company out there called MWG Company they are the ones who make the ugly 90roudn mags for the AR.  They make a new polymer 10 round mag for the 7.62X39 AR. for around $15.00.  Again I have not tried them myself but maybe someone else has and can give some feedback.

I had one of those.  Usually it fed fine (not 100% though); the bolt hold open never seemed to work with that magazine.

Quoted: Yotes? huh? Actually, I do hunt coyotes but you lost me as to how you know that...lol

Secret Mod powers or senility (I may have confused this 7.62x39 thread with another).

I use a bolt gun to hunt with as precision is my real passion

If you want precision - than a 5.56 AR-15, or one in 6.5G should be what you need to look at if you want 1000y performance.  ARs are an extreamly accurate rifle with a good barrel, you have to spend a pretty penny to get a bolt gun that will keep up with an AR varmint or match rig.

I'm just looking for a bit more "punch" in a defensive carbine.

[Yoda Voice] A 6.8 is what you seek [/Yoda Voice]  Better accuracy, range and terminal performance than the 7.62x39.  Cost is higher, but good 10 round magazines are available.

I guess I may be better off to look for a pre-ban AK, although I have no idea how to find one.

Talk to the guys on the AK Side (the button between AR-15 and HANDGUNS above.  They can tell you what you need to look for and where you might find one.

Quoted: ...The main reason I haven't gone with a 6.8 is that there's no surplus ammo for that. ...

I haven't been seeing much surplus in any caliber other than 5.45x39 lately.

If you reload it's a non-issue.  If you don't then yeah ammo gets expensive fast.