Printable View
Tried a search sorry if this has been covered.
Have a model 12 SA in 308, currently running AICS mags.
Kicking around the idea of converting to 7.62x39.
Other than a barrel/bolt head swap anything else needed?
Will 7.62x39 feed from reg mags?
Thanks, Matt.
Why would you want to convert from .308 to 7.62X39?
Would you need to swap bolt heads?
.308 (.4709)
7.62x39 (.447)
Why on God’s green earth would compel you to do this? :noidea:
Bolt head is NOT the same. You need the PPC/ARC bolt head. Magazine likely will not work either. As is anyway. Would need a mag block.
Thanks guys, bolt head is mentioned in first post.
Looks like a new mag as well.
Why not? Seems like it could be a fun project.
Did I mention.... WHY??
“Excuse me waiter. Could you please take back this American Prime Rib back & exchange it for some Russian CHUCK BEEF?”
You know I’m just kidding Matt. Of course it’ll be a fun project. Any gun work I do is fun! Barrel swap, accurizing, machining custom parts... all fun. But in all seriousness, why 7.62x39? Why not a target cartridge if you are looking for a shorter cartridge? Something like a 6BR would be my choice... but if you’d rather stick with 30cal, a 30BR maybe?
7.62 used to be a great go to for feeding our AKs an ENDLESS supply of of crazy cheap ammo! No longer the case! My first bit was building AKs... right after the Clinton AWB expired. And I built many! They were fun, and cheap! Just not the case anymore. Crappy comm block 7.62 with wasted steel cases, costs as much as reloadable brass vases 223!
Maybe I'm russian, hmm comrade?
LOL! I doubt it. Aren’t Russians EXECUTED if they’re caught with a 308 chambered gun? Isn’t that considered treason against the State?
ahh wait... are you one of those Russian Informant sent by Donald Trump, the Left is always harping about? Maybe your real name is Mattrovawich!!
I was really asking a question more than anything else. I would have thought that the .308 bolt head would have worked.
Then again I am probably just defining the limits of my knowledge again.
Yep, defining the limits of my knowledge and exposing my laziness again. Should have just done a little research.
ahh wait... are you one of those Russian Informant sent by Donald Trump, the Left is always harping about? Maybe your real name is Mattrovawich!!
I could tell you, but then....
It really would just be a project for fun- we can't hunt with anything like 308/7.62 anyway here.
Comrade.....Put rubles toward 300 Black Out, 223 bolt head, bottle cheap
vodka and ugly girl friend. Maybe 2 bottles.
Ah no dude! Vodka does not fix ugly...Tequila fixes ugly. Thought everybody knew that.
Dunno man no matter how much I drink they still say I'm ugly.
Yeah, I got that same problem. My own wife doesn’t even like me anymore! Now that sucks! When your own family hates you!
Not the worst idea in the world. I enjoyed every bolt action 7.62x39 rifle I owned and will probably have another someday. Good cheap fun and a great deer/pig rifle within limits. I actually killed quite a few deer with a 7.62x39 bolt action the past 5 years and never had to track a single one.
Barrel, bolt head and magazine should do it. Don't listen to the naysayers. It is fun to tinker and that's what makes Savage rifles so interesting. I say go for it.
You could always go "cloak and dagger" and download the .308 to 7.62X39 performance and velocity with 125gr bullets and H4895. You cant do this with just "any powder" but data on youth/ reduced loads using H4895 is available from Hodgdon.
Easy Peasy and anything you shoot with them wont know the difference and your rifle functions just as it always did.
Or you can use cast bullets in your .308 :) Light recoil and they work really well. If you want expansion you can make a hollow point and use softer alloy. For more penetration you can use harder alloy and heavier bullets. My target load is a 210gn bullet at 1800fps. I shoot a subsonic load using a 170gn bullet and pistol powder. 900-1000fps. 2" at 100yd.
Of course, you can do the same thing with a 7.62x39. Difference is you can't change to a 168gn jacketed at 2800fps for those 1000yd shots. :)
Definitely things to consider- thanks!
Remember a BAN on import of ALL Russian ammo is supposed to go into effect on Sept. 7th. Another one of Biden the FRAUD’S attacks on gun owners. So 7.62x39 will become far more expensive & difficult to acquire.
That's true, Not the main reason I would go with a x39 but something to think about for sure.
I hand loaded for my 7.62x39's for years and was able to produce some incredibly accurate and lethal rounds with my handloads.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Hoback
It's a great cartridge to reload for. It's the parent cartridge for one of the most accurate cartridges ever created and loaded correctly in a good rifle, the 7.62x39 is a VERY accurate round.
And I would certainly handload for this rifle as well, but if a sanction is going to cause components to become even more difficult to come by than usual that is worth considering.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Newtosavage
Sure, any cartridge hand loaded is capable of being accurate. That is the beauty of hand loading. Just some very simple case prep & attention will produce more accurate ammunition than any of the mass produced stuff off the shelf. The problem as I see it, with 7.62x39 is the bullet selection is left wanting. The .311” bullets just don’t offer the Ultra High BC availability of the .308” counterpart.
I’m sorry, off the top of my head, I’m not sure what cartridge you are referring to which uses the the x39 as a Parent Case? But I would bet money it’s something using the super high BC 6mm or 6.5mm bullets? I’m hoping you’re not alluding to the 6.5 Grendel? Or perhaps the PPC? Actually, both use the 220 Russian as their parent case.....but, yes the 220 Russian ultimately is parent cased bu the 7.62x39. LOL!
You seem determined to dismiss the 7.62x39 without apparently knowing that much about it. You can use .308 bullets in a 7.62x39, and in fact many 7.62x39 barrels are actually .308 (like the Savage factory barrel). I always loaded .308 bullets in all my 7.62x39 bolt guns (2 Savages and 2 Howa Minis) and always had great results. The .308/.311 concern is completely overblown and worried about by people who apparently haven't spent much time actually loading either or both.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Hoback
CFE BLK changed the game with handloading the 7.62x39. But you surely know that too.
If the OP wants to build a 7.62x39 I say he should do it. It will very likely become the most fun and most used rifle in his collection. Bolt action 7.62x39's have a way of doing that.
If someone was ever clever enough to build a lever action 7.62x39 with a DBM, like a shorter compact BLR or Henry Long Ranger with an 18" barrel, I wouldn't be able to get my wallet out fast enough.