.308s in AK bore

hal becker · March 25, 1999, 01:00 PM

bookie you gave me web address for some really cheap military pulled bullets, thanks
now heres the thing I want to reload 147 gr.
.308 pulls into 7.62x39 ammo for AKs or SKS,
I know bores are .310 to .312 in these rifles
I just wonder will accuracy be total crap or
good enough for informal target job? I've tried to push a .308 down a AK barrel and theres alot of resistance, had to beat it out with a wood rod, it left some deep grooves in bullet, any comments? thanks

James K · March 25, 1999, 04:09 PM

I see a few problems, but nothing major or dangerous.

One is that that bullet is a little heavy for the 7.62x39 and will probably protrude into the powder space when loaded to fit the magazine. Try light loads to start, then work up. The accuracy will problably be fine for informal shooting.

A second concern if you are going to shoot those bullets a lot is that that bullet has a heavier jacket and is made to upset in the bore with a cartridge running more pressure, so it might not expand to fill the grooves of the slightly larger barrel. See if you can find some fired bullets and look for good groove engagement; bullets that don't upset to fill the grooves allow gas blowby and resultant erosion, but that takes a lot of shooting.

hal becker · March 26, 1999, 08:59 AM

I'm going to try 27 gr.s BLC-2 with the 147
gr. bullet,I use 24grs with a lead gas checked bullet and opperates action, no signs
of excessive pressure, I never thought of
gas blow by because of smaller bullet,I do
wonder how that would effect throat of barrel
after a few rounds, its not like a match
grade rifle, but I'd hate to ruin it just to
get cheap reloads.you got me thinking now.

James K · March 26, 1999, 08:37 PM

Gas blowby does cause erosion. A few rounds-no problem. A few thousand would be another story, especially if rapid fired. (A hot barrel erodes faster than a cool one.) Try and see if you can recover a bullet and see if the jacket is expanding to fill the grooves. You can tell this under a magnifying glass if the land markings (the grooves in the bullet) appear to be cut in sharply and there is no blackening at the edge of the land markings.

I am not sure I can describe this kind of erosion, but if you look at any .45 Auto that has had a lot of GI FMJ fired through it, you will see dark areas on either side of the lands. That is erosion, caused by gas at high pressure passing through the gap created when the jacket does not expand to fully fill the groove. (The .45 is notorious for this because of the heavy military FMJ bullet and the low pressure. Think of trying to push dough into a bread pan and not pushing hard enough to get it into the corners.)

dundee · March 26, 1999, 09:54 PM

something I have had reasonable success with is 110 gr 30 carbine bullets. You can get them at bulk prices and for plinking are just fine. they are undersized for the bore of my SKS but perhaps they are being slightly expanded by the higher pressure of the SKS over the carbine. Something I have read about but not tried is using 85 gr. JHP designed for the 32 mag pistol.

hal becker · March 30, 1999, 12:02 AM

went out this weekend and fired 100 rds of
147 gr FMJ thru a Romanian Wum-1, AK semi,
I used 27 grs BLC-2 with winchester brass
and primers, I was a little afraid of slam fires but none happened, some one dumped a
truck bumper and used it for target, against
a burmed hill,100 yards, bullets went thru
1/4 inch steel, and groups where in 6 inch
range with 4x scope,thats as good as I can
shoot even with russian ammo,only found a few
bullets after digging alot, pretty deep
rifling for bullets under sized, I did shoot
some fast, i can;t see any gas cutting in
barrel,maybe the chrome is harder, bullets
were all seated so they'd work in mag, but
theres alot of room with powder charge,over
all I was pleased with this load, I don't
own a chronograph, I should then we'd all
know FPS with this bullet,its not a hunting
load, just a plinking load, oh and I brought the bumper home to show wife,

March 25, 1999, 01:00 PM	#1
hal becker Member Join Date: March 19, 1999 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 15	bookie you gave me web address for some really cheap military pulled bullets, thanks now heres the thing I want to reload 147 gr. .308 pulls into 7.62x39 ammo for AKs or SKS, I know bores are .310 to .312 in these rifles I just wonder will accuracy be total crap or good enough for informal target job? I've tried to push a .308 down a AK barrel and theres alot of resistance, had to beat it out with a wood rod, it left some deep grooves in bullet, any comments? thanks

March 25, 1999, 04:09 PM	#2
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	I see a few problems, but nothing major or dangerous. One is that that bullet is a little heavy for the 7.62x39 and will probably protrude into the powder space when loaded to fit the magazine. Try light loads to start, then work up. The accuracy will problably be fine for informal shooting. A second concern if you are going to shoot those bullets a lot is that that bullet has a heavier jacket and is made to upset in the bore with a cartridge running more pressure, so it might not expand to fill the grooves of the slightly larger barrel. See if you can find some fired bullets and look for good groove engagement; bullets that don't upset to fill the grooves allow gas blowby and resultant erosion, but that takes a lot of shooting.

March 26, 1999, 08:59 AM	#3
hal becker Member Join Date: March 19, 1999 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 15	I'm going to try 27 gr.s BLC-2 with the 147 gr. bullet,I use 24grs with a lead gas checked bullet and opperates action, no signs of excessive pressure, I never thought of gas blow by because of smaller bullet,I do wonder how that would effect throat of barrel after a few rounds, its not like a match grade rifle, but I'd hate to ruin it just to get cheap reloads.you got me thinking now.

March 26, 1999, 08:37 PM	#4
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Gas blowby does cause erosion. A few rounds-no problem. A few thousand would be another story, especially if rapid fired. (A hot barrel erodes faster than a cool one.) Try and see if you can recover a bullet and see if the jacket is expanding to fill the grooves. You can tell this under a magnifying glass if the land markings (the grooves in the bullet) appear to be cut in sharply and there is no blackening at the edge of the land markings. I am not sure I can describe this kind of erosion, but if you look at any .45 Auto that has had a lot of GI FMJ fired through it, you will see dark areas on either side of the lands. That is erosion, caused by gas at high pressure passing through the gap created when the jacket does not expand to fully fill the groove. (The .45 is notorious for this because of the heavy military FMJ bullet and the low pressure. Think of trying to push dough into a bread pan and not pushing hard enough to get it into the corners.)

March 26, 1999, 09:54 PM	#5
dundee Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 1998 Location: mytown,mi,usa Posts: 162	something I have had reasonable success with is 110 gr 30 carbine bullets. You can get them at bulk prices and for plinking are just fine. they are undersized for the bore of my SKS but perhaps they are being slightly expanded by the higher pressure of the SKS over the carbine. Something I have read about but not tried is using 85 gr. JHP designed for the 32 mag pistol.

March 30, 1999, 12:02 AM	#6
hal becker Member Join Date: March 19, 1999 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 15	went out this weekend and fired 100 rds of 147 gr FMJ thru a Romanian Wum-1, AK semi, I used 27 grs BLC-2 with winchester brass and primers, I was a little afraid of slam fires but none happened, some one dumped a truck bumper and used it for target, against a burmed hill,100 yards, bullets went thru 1/4 inch steel, and groups where in 6 inch range with 4x scope,thats as good as I can shoot even with russian ammo,only found a few bullets after digging alot, pretty deep rifling for bullets under sized, I did shoot some fast, i can;t see any gas cutting in barrel,maybe the chrome is harder, bullets were all seated so they'd work in mag, but theres alot of room with powder charge,over all I was pleased with this load, I don't own a chronograph, I should then we'd all know FPS with this bullet,its not a hunting load, just a plinking load, oh and I brought the bumper home to show wife,