Stainless 16 Lightweight Hunter 7.62x39 build

[futurerider103]

Oh and another thing. I've been feeling a little guilty about spending so much money on this project then on valentine's my fiance talked me into going into a furniture store and spending $300 (aside of her $260 boots I got her) Bam 2 hours later she spent $3200 on a bedroom set. Guess what....not feeling guilty anymore :)

[Newtosavage]

Whoa! that will do it alright...

Okay, on another note - forget everything I said about not reloading for the 7.62x39. :D

Yes, I bit the bullet and bought dies for the round. I knew my curiosity would get the best of me eventually, and it did. So I ran up some loads yesterday and fired them today. And all I can say is holy cow! With RL-7 powder and 150-grain bullets, this is one potent little round!

I'm still trying to process what I saw and felt today at the range. My chrono was working well all afternoon, giving me much the same readings I've come to expect from several loads I have for my 7x57 and .308 and the 7.62x39 factory loads. So I know that's not an issue. What amazed me is that my handloads were exceeding 2300 fps. with 150-grain bullets. Those are the same velocities I usually get from the 123-grain factory loads. The 154 russian ammo is a constant 2200 fps. over my chrono. So these handloads were 150 fps faster than even the russian 154's, meaning they carry 1000 ft. lbs. of energy all the way out to 300 yards. I would not have thought that was possible if I hadn't produced the data myself.

Whats even more amazing is that the felt recoil is still so mild, even for just a 6 3/4# gun. It just doesn't compute. But I like it!

[futurerider103]

I wonder if you could stuff some 160grn or 180grn pills into these cases?

[Newtosavage]

I'm sure you can. One of the bonuses of having this gun with a .308 barrel is that it opens up a world of bullets (and allows me to use the same bullets as my .308).

Not sure why you'd want to use 160 or 180's in this caliber though.

[Newtosavage]

Are you thinking long range accuracy maybe?

[Ol' BW]

You could use a 180 gr round nose bullet and a fast powder to get a sub-sonic round.

BW

[futurerider103]

Bingo

[Ol' BW]

I had a post with a link to an article about subsonic shooting on the third page of this thread, about the 8th post down.

http://members.shaw.ca/cronhelm/762ProjectRifle.html

If you go to the bottom of the article and click the yellow "back" button it takes you to the main page, with a lot of info.

BW

[futurerider103]

Are you thinking long range accuracy maybe?
I wonder how far out this would be an accurate round with some heavy pills?
I don't have enough room to try but I've just got to thinking about it

[Newtosavage]

Everything I've read, seen and heard about subsonic rounds is that they are nowhere near as accurate as conventional rounds.

[futurerider103]

.22lr seems more accurate becausewhen the bullet goes transonic it wobbles. Even if you load it supersonic wroth the heavy bullets I wonder how accurate it could be

[Ol' BW]

The whole trick seems to be in bullet selection and keeping it out of the transition by keeping it sub sonic.

Supersonic is a different ballgame.

BW

[futurerider103]

Got my scope on the other day and got a new arrival from SSS ( doesn't look like $23 worth the stuff but if it make it cycle reliable whatever). I still need a Factory stainless tactical bolt knob
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/02/21/88f0d14d048ec39b92d5680a6fe22492.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/02/21/6952de8dd5e856f9479fa589d50391c5.jpg

[Newtosavage]

Cool. Believe me, what's in your hand is worth $23. LOL.

[Newtosavage]

Oh, and btw I shot my first sub 1/2-MOA group today with my 7.62x39 Savage, with handloads and my 4x scout scope. :D I'm able to push 150-grain bullets over 2300 fps. with my handloads. That's a 300-yard deer gun. Unreal. 2350 is where the pressure signs start to appear.

[futurerider103]

That's awesome. I wonder how much tighter the groups would get with more magnification

[Newtosavage]

I dunno, but I'm darn tempted to take that 2-7x33 Leupy off my Ruger and drop it on my 7.62x39 just to see if I like it better than my scout scope. That 4x Weaver is super clear, bright and sharp and the scout configuration gives the rifle excellent balance and "pointability." Plus it's just more comfortable to have that scope out there 9" away from my forehead. The tradeoff though is the 4x fixed power and the very limited field of view. So it's a tough decision.

[futurerider103]

Man I can't wait for my barrel and stock

[Newtosavage]

Just got my shipment of Lapua brass yesterday. 100 beautiful cases that I'll use for my 7.62x39. Already prepped and loaded the first batch so I can run some seating depth tests with 150-grain SST's, a bullet I really hope I can use for both my .308 and 7.62x39 rifles.

[Ol' BW]

150 gr. SST bullets, great minds think alike!

I also want to try the Hornaday 30303 150 gr. SST made for 300 Savage. It has a lower operating range.

http://m.hornady.com/store/30-CAL-308-150-GR-SST-300-Savage/

BW