7.62x39

[thaHooligan]

Anyone have a good load for 7.62x39? So far I'm getting about .75" groups with Lapua brass, 123 gr Nosler Varmageddon, 27.5 gr of H322 and CCI primers, with my Ruger American Ranch.

 

[okierider]

.75 is pretty good for that bullet. I looked into a bolt action in this caliber and just did not find a lot of reload info and kept running into folks telling me to look at Grendel. I did and went that direction because accuracy is easy even in my AR platform. Clover leaf at 100 is easy and over on the Grendel forums the guys running bolt guns are getting crazy accuracy.
I know that is not helping but it is what I found in my search.

 

[HFS]

OP at 0.75 inch you're getting better groups than the staff of the American Rifleman (but looks like they were shooting a "spray-and-pray" AR platform LOL).
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2018/1/9/handloading-the-762x39-mm-m43/

I looked online for an article I remember from Shooting Times about the Ruger American bolt action in 7.62x39, but I didn't see it.
I read the magazine article a few years ago and the writer said he was getting some good groups with .308 inch bullets including the 125 grain FN HP from Speer (intended for the 30-30).

 

[thaHooligan]

OP at 0.75 inch you're getting better groups than the staff of the American Rifleman (but looks like they were shooting a "spray-and-pray" AR platform LOL).
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2018/1/9/handloading-the-762x39-mm-m43/

I looked online for an article I remember from Shooting Times about the Ruger American bolt action in 7.62x39, but I didn't see it.
I read the magazine article a few years ago and the writer said he was getting some good groups with .308 inch bullets including the 125 grain FN HP from Speer (intended for the 30-30).

I was getting 1/2" groups with Hornady Black ammo that uses the SST bullet. I'll probably get some SST's if/when I can find them. These are pretty similar and I'm happy with the results so far.

 

[thaHooligan]

ok I got some new powder, Accurate 2015, and the book says to use 28.5 gr for sst's, but when I put that in the brass theres only about 1/8" of case left. Do I go ahead and put the bullet in and compress it or back off a bit?

 

[mouthpiece]

I'd double weigh your charges on 2 different scales
Is that a 7.62x39 case? Looks 300bo to me.
I don't see anything about it being a compressed load.
Maybe back off to 27.8, that's only about 50fps loss and see how much case room it gives you.
Another thought, tap the case a bit and see if it settles the powder?

 

[thaHooligan]

I'd double weigh your charges on 2 different scales
Is that a 7.62x39 case? Looks 300bo to me.
I don't see anything about it being a compressed load.

Yep, 7.62x39 lapua brass, calibrated scale with a 50g and 10g weight. I use the small Frankford arsenal scale. My small Hornady scale ain't worth a damm.

 

[chazroh]

Lapua brass sometimes is thicker and won’t allow the same case capacity as other brass, might back off a bit and work up with a chronograph

 

[mr ed]

I don't know what an sst is but accurate lists a max about 25gr on most loads and a starting about 22gr.

 

[chazroh]

What @mr ed said above, looked it up and looks like 22-25gr is the range for that powder/bullet. Might doublecheck you book