Thread: 7.62x39 Subs

Im after any info from anyone who has loaded subs for the 7.62x39. I have a Marx X mini mauser and the last 6" of the barrel is toast, im gonna chop it down short and run a DPT on it and run subs as a handy gun on the farm. Any load info greatly appreciated, also where to source cast projectiles and recomendations on weight? will .308 cast projectiles work or do I need to specifically use .311 projectiles?

No load info but that is a rifle I’ve been looking for

Have you had a read of this one?

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....7-62x39-52876/

mate..Im just down the road in Geraldine if you come unstuck...buy some 151grn hps from @Shootersnz and use std primer and somewhere beteen 6-8grns of trailboss powder...job done. Ive got them slow enough to be subsonic and have scratched the itch so to speak.....next lot I load up will be with full case of TB so will be about same volume as a subsonic .22lr without suppressor...eg quiet bang...a little more than subsonic speed will up terminal effect majorly. I can tell you how to get more expansion/less penertration if you feel its needed.

My Suggestion would be look at the posts for subs for 300 Blackout, as this is pretty much it...

light 30 cal projectiles being a Barnes Tac-TX or Hornady in a 110gr being your go to if you don't have a 1:8 twist that can stabilise the heavy 190+ pils. You're probably looking around 8-9.5 gr of 2206h or equivalent or a 95% fill of your normal load in Trail Boss as your go to. Also used 125gr BT Hunting (green tip) Noslers with pretty good results.

Cheers

AP100 makes for awesome subsonic loads and would be ideal for jacketed bullets where you can't get enough velocity with trail boss. 2206h whilst it might be safe and subsonic at 60% case fill, is relatively slow burning which just means more pressure at the muzzle and that's not conducive to good suppression.

I used to pull the fmj bullets and replace the powder with 8 or 10 gr of W231 from memory , a little cotton wool on top of the powder and sit the fmj back on top. They worked fine on deer with chest shots as the fmj bullets tumbled on impact and always seemed to exit the rib cage side on.
Try the .311 185gr lee cast bullets. they shot fine for me but I usually just used the fmj.

@shooternz sells cast boolits.

Don't use .30 cal bullets in a 7.62x39 but rather .303 bullets. The standard rifling in an AK is said to handle heavier cast boolits well, as it has a fast twist inherited from repurposed Mosin tooling, so think beyond 150 grain. Sub loads for .303s should translate well to 7.62x39 subs as similar twist rates.

I'd try shooternz's .303 boolits before condemning the rifle to shortening.

Originally Posted by Cordite

@shooternz sells cast boolits.

Don't use .30 cal bullets in a 7.62x39 but rather .303 bullets. The standard rifling in an AK is said to handle heavier cast boolits well, as it has a fast twist inherited from repurposed Mosin tooling, so think beyond 150 grain. Sub loads for .303s should translate well to 7.62x39 subs as similar twist rates.

I'd try shooternz's .303 boolits before condemning the rifle to shortening.

It still shoots ok, but it looks pretty pitted and I want to shorten it anyhown

I am running subs in my Brno ZKK 601 rebarreled to 7.62x39. I run 200gr cast hollow point projectiles with 6.5gr Trail Boss. I have the same load for a Howa Mini but with the barrel cut down to 16" I can use 6.7gr of Trail Boss. Gives me an average 1060fps. They drop like a brick and it is really important to know their limitations. Personally I won't use them once an animal is outside 50M. I have also played with a few different .311 projectiles but find they don't mushroom and so head and neck shots are best.

Instead of working up a load you need to work down a load as you really don't want a projectile stuck in your barrel. Trail Boss is excellent as it gives you a good case full and it really works out cheap.

Sometimes its OK not to sweat the small stuff - my 7.62x39 (with a slugged 311 bore) runs perfectly fine (a smidge outside moa) with 308 projectiles, even boat-tail ones and I have a 303 that does the same with 308 projectiles as 303 ones - these examples at supersonic velocities. I'd just shoot it with the at hand projectiles and see what happened . . .