7.62 x 39mm dead?

[Gideon]

I sure hope it's not a dead caliber, I just started shooting it! I don't want to have nightmares of reloading rusty steel casings with a brick while sitting in the street.

Considering how many other people own SKSs/AKs, it'll be around as long as those rifles are...which is to say, at least another couple of hundred years.

 

[1mathom1]

I just bought my first sks yesterday, got a good deal on it from reddog1 on here. Im going to my uncles farm this weekend and may bring the gun along. What is the best place to get 7.62x39mm ammo? Any particular brand I should go for? Im with bitterdaze I just got into it and havent even shot it yet I sure hope its not dead!

Back when I owned an SKS, I tried the cheapest stuff I could find and I tried the Remington and frankly it all was about the same in terms of accuracy out of the SKS. I would recommend the cheapest stuff you can find that is not corrosive for just banging around but use better grade if you hunt. I still shoot Wolf and Bear steel case FMJ for plinking but switch to better grade when I carry the Mini 30 in the woods hunting. Have yet to kill anything with it but my buddy has taken several nice deer using Wolf soft points....154 grainers I believe.....all less than hundred yards though.

 

[hullxsm]

Does anyone know of a 7.62x39 round that is not mixed metal meaning there is no steel in the bullet? I would like to shoot my AK at Tulsa Firearms but they won't let me shoot steel which is all I can find. Thanks for any advice (besides not shooting at TFA. I do belong to Oil Capitol but that is not convenient for a lunch time outing.)

 

[ssgrock3]

think I saw some winchester white box in x39 at walmart, it is not near the cheapness of russian. lol

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

No, but it's dying a very very slow death.

It's both the cartridge and the platform, but mostly the cartridge, as good cartridges will transcend a platform and be put into others (witness aks in various calibers including .223, and ARs in various calibers).

But in the long long run, I don't think there's ANY reason to pick 7.62x39 over 6.8 spc or .30 RAR or 6.5 Grendel. In the short run, there's no reason *except* inertia and the consequences of inertia (cheap ammo and existing platforms and nostalgia). And certainly, the platform is inferior with the advent of the "improved kalashnikovs" (such as the Robinson XCR, VEPR 'Super .308', etc.). Both will be overcome eventually, but inertia is extremely powerful, and thus it will likely take another 75 to 100 years before its considered dead or obsolete.

 

[30BulletHoles]

No, but it's dying a very very slow death.

It's both the cartridge and the platform, but mostly the cartridge, as good cartridges will transcend a platform and be put into others (witness aks in various calibers including .223, and ARs in various calibers).

But in the long long run, I don't think there's ANY reason to pick 7.62x39 over 6.8 spc or .30 RAR or 6.5 Grendel. In the short run, there's no reason *except* inertia and the consequences of inertia (cheap ammo and existing platforms and nostalgia). And certainly, the platform is inferior with the advent of the "improved kalashnikovs" (such as the Robinson XCR, VEPR 'Super .308', etc.). Both will be overcome eventually, but inertia is extremely powerful, and thus it will likely take another 75 to 100 years before its considered dead or obsolete.

I can think of several reasons not to pick 6.8spc, .30rar, or 6.5 grendel over 7.62x39.

1. The cost of the platforms is more than double what an AK or sks is.

2. The cost of the ammo is substantially more than 7.62x39.

3. The availability of said ammo is far less in comparison to 7.62x39.

4. If you want a new toy then buy an expensive rifle in an oddball caliber and bang away.

5. Better is the enemy of good enough. If one has to defend his life/property then its the small details that are no longer relavant. The basic AK variant and SKS are cheap, fun to shoot and will kill effectively if needed.

 

[buck45]

Literally millions of rifles in various configurations have been made using the 7.62X39 round, most notably the AK-47. I don't see it going away anytime soon; much like the 1911 in 45 ACP.
________________________________________________________________
Ah that I were young enough to have focus now that I see the use of it. - Me

 

[iriediver]

i have two, which is why i am selling one.....any takers?????? great guns, cheap ammo and fun to shoot. anyone else bump fire them?

 

[hullxsm]

I asked because I recently purchased a Century GP1975 "sporting" rifle chambered in this round. It was cheap (<$400), American made and brand new in the box. it may not be anything but for that price and low cost "food" it will be a fun shoot.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

But in the long long run, I don't think there's ANY reason to pick 7.62x39 over 6.8 spc or .30 RAR or 6.5 Grendel. In the short run, there's no reason *except* inertia and the consequences of inertia (cheap ammo and existing platforms and nostalgia).

I can think of several reasons not to pick 6.8spc, .30rar, or 6.5 grendel over 7.62x39.

1. The cost of the platforms is more than double what an AK or sks is.

2. The cost of the ammo is substantially more than 7.62x39.

3. The availability of said ammo is far less in comparison to 7.62x39.

4. If you want a new toy then buy an expensive rifle in an oddball caliber and bang away.

All those are short run problems due to inertia that will eventually go away. As I said, in the long run, there will be no reason to pick it. The very very long run is what I'm speaking of here - 50 to 100 years. For now, certainly there is, as you point out, and as did I.

5. Better is the enemy of good enough. If one has to defend his life/property then its the small details that are no longer relavant. The basic AK variant and SKS are cheap, fun to shoot and will kill effectively if needed.

Well, yes and no. Perfect is indeed the enemy of good enough. But "way better than mediocre" is not the enemy of good enough - and that's what 6.8 SPC and 6.5 grendel give you at longer ranges, over 7.62x39.