Model 12 308 to 7.62x39

[mattri]

Great looking rifle, good work.
The mag issue isn't the end of the world but I know its a problem for the AR guys so figured it would be with us too.

[Newtosavage]

I just finished a savage axis in 7.62x39.
Bolt head
Barrel (not a .308 but a .310 bore is ideal)
savage makes factory magazines in 7.62x39 and factory .223 mags will feed it but work better if you open the feed lips just a hair.

savage axis
22" savage sporter profile Mcgowen barrel (strongly recommend this brand) proper .310 with a 1-10 twist
factory savage 7.62x39 magazines with axis floorplate.
Boyds pro varmint stock
SWFA SS 10x42 MOA in vortex rings on a egw base.

stays between 1.5" and .75" with wolf at 100 yards consistently. Makes for a perfect rifle for sub 200 yards or (like for me) a cheap option to learn MOA calculations and scope dialing.
https://imgdump5.novarata.net/2gh54t.jpg
https://imgdump5.novarata.net/xl2v38.jpg

Obviously i say go for it. Even with the ammo ban. I was thinking of rebarreling this to a .308 due to the ban. That said i can buy us made brass 7.62x39 for around the same cost of .223. No that is not happy news, its nearly double the usual price. But i would rather have this over a .223. Obviously being as this rifle started out as a HB .223 axis.
Fantastic rifle. I bet you love shooting it. I know my 7.62x39 bolt guns were the most coveted at the range anytime I brought them. I lost track of the number of guys and gals who I let shoot them over the years. Everyone said they were going to consider getting one after shooting mine. They are just so much fun and like you said - inside 200 yards very deadly for deer and pigs.

Great fun to shoot at 300+ too.

[nathantc]

Fantastic rifle. I bet you love shooting it. I know my 7.62x39 bolt guns were the most coveted at the range anytime I brought them. I lost track of the number of guys and gals who I let shoot them over the years. Everyone said they were going to consider getting one after shooting mine. They are just so much fun and like you said - inside 200 yards very deadly for deer and pigs.

Great fun to shoot at 300+ too.

480 yards is all the reach i have here at home. For things with a heartbeat i keep that rifle under 200 yards though. For water bottles and crawfish mounds, its game on lol. Going to really miss picking 1000 rounds of 123g HP wolf for only $350 locally. Makes me cry knowing ill be spending closer to $600-$800 for 1000 rounds now and possibly forever due to Obiden. That said its my favorite little rifle. Had a guy recently offer me $600 for it. He thought i was making it up when i told him have more than twice that invested into this build. Adding up my receipts its a touch over $1500. That was starting with a new rifle, custom one off barrel, ptg bolt head and bolt parts, egw rail, rings, scope, magazines, and boyds stock. Its crazy how fast a "cheap" rifle build will nickel and dime you right up over the cost of just buying something. That said, the guy who owns the local range and i made a bet that my build will 100% out perform the 7.62x39 ruger american AND the 7.62x39 cz he has in stock. Just waiting on us both to have the time to let him shoot them head to head at his gun range. I've owned both, and i can tell you this is the most accurate 7.62x39 rifle i've ever seen. Then again it its headspaced tight, on the ammo i chose for it. So if using anything else, the bolt may or may not even close. That has a lot to do with why it shoots so nice. Really breaks my heart that i may not ever see cheap ammo again for it.

Anyway, sorry to hijack, sorta. To the OP, build it, you will love it. There is no better practice rifle than one that has actual recoil, noise, and feel of your main rifle. 22lr will never compare, and on game .223 fall way short of x39.
Keep in mind though, OEM savage magazines only hold 3 rounds. Currently im working on a conversion that fits the oem savage magwell, that will accept the SINGLE STACK ak magazines. 10 rounds. They are an odd duck but cheap and available. The savage axis feeds them flawlessly in my testing, just need a way to lock the magazines in. I know i can attach the mag to the oem mag much like i did in the "15 round .223 axis magazine" i did on here years ago. This time i really want to make it accept unmodified magazines. Keep in mind i do not have a CNC machine so its all bench grinder, drill press, and dremel tool lol. Ill make it happen though. Planning to use cheap airsoft ak trigger guard with mag catch to cut up and use only for the mag catch in my conversion. Anyway, the magazines look like this. NOTHING feeds 7.62x39 like a magazine designed only for it.
https://imgdump5.novarata.net/jgoa0m.jpg
https://imgdump5.novarata.net/c9ruki.jpg

[Dave Hoback]

“Going to really miss picking 1000 rounds of 123g HP wolf for only $350 locally.”

1000rds for $350? When I first started building AKs, I was buying that same 1000rds for $89! But that seems like a lifetime ago now.

[nathantc]

i still have an sks i picked up new in cosmoline for only $75 at a local gun show. I know how you feel.

[Newtosavage]

Not sure if they still carry it, or if it's even been seen for a while, but Academy Outdoors used to carry some steel case hollow point x39 with the "Monarch" brand that was insanely accurate and very hot. I used it a lot for target practice and pig hunting. Those hollow points to the head dropped a lot of pigs in their tracks. I would buy those for $6/box which was cheaper than I could load for.

[nathantc]

Not sure if they still carry it, or if it's even been seen for a while, but Academy Outdoors used to carry some steel case hollow point x39 with the "Monarch" brand that was insanely accurate and very hot. I used it a lot for target practice and pig hunting. Those hollow points to the head dropped a lot of pigs in their tracks. I would buy those for $6/box which was cheaper than I could load for.

yup, repackaged/labeled russian import. I found barnaul 7.62x39 to be the most consistent. Some Monarch, wolf, and a few others where just repackaged Barnaul. When you find it, in the 123g HP its HOT but shoots great. Out of my 22" barrel using https://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi to make myself a dope card (don't own a choro just yet) to get the computer to match reality i have 2660FPS entered. with all other data being correct.

[Dave Hoback]

$6 for a box is still $300 per 1000. Not really a huge savings at $0.30 cents/rd for steel cased, Berdan primed. Just last month I found Norma TAC 223, 30rd for 14.99. That’s $0.49 cents/rd...and I get the awesome Norma brass for reloading. I’m talking about the good times... $0.09 cents a round! At that, we didn’t care about the steel/Berdan primed cases.

Im very hopeful this intended embargo either WON’T happen or is cut short. The GOA is looking looking at it now. I imagine lawsuits & possible Federal Judge BLOCKS to happen. At least I hope so. I don’t think people quite understand how bad it can get if let standing. 7.62x39 will become UNUBTANIUM. And with an overnight smaller allotment, the laws of supply/demand will take hold. Only the wealthy will have it, as it will become the most expensive caliber. Same will apply for brass, and of course it will quickly spill into the entire market.

Waiting with bated breath.

[Newtosavage]

yup, repackaged/labeled russian import. I found barnaul 7.62x39 to be the most consistent. Some Monarch, wolf, and a few others where just repackaged Barnaul. When you find it, in the 123g HP its HOT but shoots great. Out of my 22" barrel using https://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi to make myself a dope card (don't own a choro just yet) to get the computer to match reality i have 2660FPS entered. with all other data being correct.
Actually I thought it was Serbian ammo. It was hot though.

Huh, I wonder if the Monarch stuff is Serbian, if that will still be available. That would be cool.

[Newtosavage]

$6 for a box is still $300 per 1000. Not really a huge savings at $0.30 cents/rd for steel cased, Berdan primed. Just last month I found Norma TAC 223, 30rd for 14.99. That’s $0.49 cents/rd...and I get the awesome Norma brass for reloading. I’m talking about the good times... $0.09 cents a round! At that, we didn’t care about the steel/Berdan primed cases.

Im very hopeful this intended embargo either WON’T happen or is cut short. The GOA is looking looking at it now. I imagine lawsuits & possible Federal Judge BLOCKS to happen. At least I hope so. I don’t think people quite understand how bad it can get if let standing. 7.62x39 will become UNUBTANIUM. And with an overnight smaller allotment, the laws of supply/demand will take hold. Only the wealthy will have it, as it will become the most expensive caliber. Same will apply for brass, and of course it will quickly spill into the entire market.

Waiting with bated breath.
You don't think there are some 7.62x39 hoarders who are secretly hoping the ban will go through? Heck, some probably already have their listings on GB ready to go. LOL

[nathantc]

Actually I thought it was Serbian ammo. It was hot though.

Huh, I wonder if the Monarch stuff is Serbian, if that will still be available. That would be cool.

i keep my x39 lose in ammo cans after sorting them by advertised grain weight, then sorting by headstamp. Find the best consistency this way. For instance. These 4 rounds all came out fo the same sealed 1000 rd case of wolf. Can you tell which of the 4 is different. One the headstamp is different. 230+ of them were marked "wolf" the rest were barnaul. I found this to be true of monarch as well. Kind of a hodgepodge of who knows what in them boxes. I always check the head stamps of each and every round and sort accordingly due to this.

https://imgdump5.novarata.net/nclw4x.jpg
https://imgdump5.novarata.net/w2lxai.jpg
https://imgdump5.novarata.net/hs48iv.jpg

[Newtosavage]

Never seen anything but Serbian head stamps on Academy's Monarch ammo. It's not the same as all the Russian x39 stuff we're so used to.

[nathantc]

Never seen anything but Serbian head stamps on Academy's Monarch ammo. It's not the same as all the Russian x39 stuff we're so used to.

hmm, i could be mistaken.
If the Beaumont Tx academy ever quits getting panic bought out by losers trying to resell at gouging prices, ill have to pick up another box and have a second look.

GOD i wish people would just stop buying from those "people". Then the insanity would stop. That is the only way ammogeddon will end.

[Newtosavage]

hmm, i could be mistaken.
If the Beaumont Tx academy ever quits getting panic bought out by losers trying to resell at gouging prices, ill have to pick up another box and have a second look.

GOD i wish people would just stop buying from those "people". Then the insanity would stop. That is the only way ammogeddon will end.
I still have a few at home. I'll look when I get there.

[Newtosavage]

Alright - I checked when I got home. I still have about a 1/2 box of those Monarch hollow points. Sure enough, they are made in Russia, not Serbia. I think I got confused with the brass cased Monarch ammo which is made in Serbia, probably by PPU, for Academy. But the 7.62x39 $6/box stuff I've been buying the last 5-6 years is Russian. So, perhaps it will be subject to a ban if one comes around. Who knows.

I don't currently own a 7.62x39 (got talked out of every one I've owned so far by people who shot mine!) but I don't doubt I will again. However if someone - ANYONE - ever makes a lever action 7.62x39, I'd be all over that. :D

.30 cal 123/125's at 2600 fps. make a dandy deer and pig rifle, and I love lever guns for pig hunting.

[nathantc]

Alright - I checked when I got home. I still have about a 1/2 box of those Monarch hollow points. Sure enough, they are made in Russia

lol and you had me questioning myself. lol Yeah the most consistently accurate steel cased ammo i have found is the ones with the Barnaul headstamp. Unlike most AK guys, i actually shoot mine for accuracy and for destroying crawfish mounds lol. Sure going to miss my AK when ammo for it is the same as .308 in cost. My beloved c39v2 with all polish internals that consistently keeps 1.5" at 100 yards when scoped. Irons i can some times match that. I only shoot it with the irons, but scoped it to see what it could do.. This and my little savage will be shelved until ammo is realistic again. Even in the brass PPU stuff ill never understand why x39 does not mirror .223 price, yet mirrors .308 price.
https://imgdump5.novarata.net/3cst9a.jpg

[mattri]

Just got a line on a model 11 in 243, going to check it out this weekend- this project may move forward yet.

[mattri]

Anyone know if x39 will feed from an internal (staggerfeed) mag?

[nathantc]

Anyone know if x39 will feed from an internal (staggerfeed) mag?

I actually tried this on a 308 before i bought the axis to build off of. Was going to buy the older 308 if it worked but it was not at all going to. Im sure anything can be modified but it does not feed well at all if at all.

[mattri]

Well hell.