My DPMS Sportical AR chambered in 7.62X39mm Russian...yes the AK round

[fightingquaker13]

I haven't figured anything out for a sling yet.

As far as BUIS goes, the front is probably a Yankee Hill Machine, ....the rear might be too.  I have or had a Wilson combat rear one around somewhere too. 

At one point I had been experimenting with canted AR sights.  For 3 gun matches/rifle side matches, that 3 to 9 power Nikon was too much power, so I would roll the rifle over to the side and use the canted AR sights...long before Barry Dueck of Team Surefire started making/marketing his own:


one of the flip up rear BUIS's I was using didn't have enough windage adjustment to it, so I bought the Wilson Combat.

So you're holding it gangsta style? Sorry, couldn't resist. Seriously, if you (or anyone) have some BUIS lying around PM me. I need a standard rear and a gas block front.
FQ13

[Bic]

Good choice Tyler, I looked long and hard at the Sportical and would have bought one if a local company hadn't started having lower receivers built with my home town address on the side    - maybe I'll go that route next time.

[alfsauve]

Excellent Tyler.   Those are excellent out of the box groups for a lower end rifle.   Must be the great marksman behind the trigger.  If I had the need for 7.62x39, I'd take this over the Mini-30 any day.

[Tyler Durden]

thanks guys!

flattery will get you nowhere!
 

besides reloading the brass cased stuff for it (I can get 147 grain .308 caliber "pull down" bullets locally very cheap, about 11 cents each)....the other thing I had in mind was...

I think there is a growing current or school of thought in the 3 gun competition world.   if you shoot a major power factored rifle, you only need to put one hit on each target.

if you're using a .223 chambered rifle (an AR most likely) then you still have to put two hits on paper.

so depending on the match and their rules, I might be able to zip through a stage with just one shot/hit on each target. 

maybe....

[kilopaparomeo]

besides reloading the brass cased stuff for it (I can get 147 grain .308 caliber "pull down" bullets locally very cheap, about 11 cents each)....the other thing I had in mind was...

Is the bore .308 or .311?  I was under the impression that most AK/SKSs out there where .311 and the AK bullet was sized for that.  .308 may give slightly poorer accuracy (may not matter though depending on your application)

[Sponsor]

[Badgersmilk]

http://www.dpmsinc.com/firearms/category.aspx?id=6

Hmmm.  ?   



I think Ruger is the only idiot to ever taint the 7.62X39 world with an incorrect bore size.  Sorry, I like most Ruger products, but...  IDIOT.

[Tyler Durden]

when I called DPMS last week the technical guy on the other end of the line said that they were shelving...err...back burner'ing ....their 7.62X39 items because of the mag availability issue.

which, of course, sucks!

anywhooo....I ran through some IDPA style field course rifle stages on Sunday with that rifle.  whoopss...let me back up a bit.... I went to a gunshow on Saturday, and I checked out steel cased ammo prices for .223 and 7.62X39 for a friend.  I even took pictures of the prices.  The ammo was going for right around $210 to $235 per 1,000.  so about 23.5 cents each.

I can get 147 grain .308 FMJ bullets, pull downs, originally meant for the military, for 11 cents each.  I have to figure in my powder and primer still, and then my time doing case prep...ugggh....

is reloading bottlenecked rifle cases really worth it?   

and of the 30 rounds of my .223 reloads I shot on Sunday.  I only recovered like 15 of them.  Of those 15, 4 of them had split case necks.

So it looks like annealing my cases is in order....

great...more work.


this is one way to do it:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgD5D0Wzu-c

[billt]

is reloading bottlenecked rifle cases really worth it?

Yes. But you need good equipment and have to shop for your components, and buy in bulk. Primers, bullets, and powder can be had for much less if you shop around. The Internet makes this a lot easier. You can store a lot of places in your favorites, and get on their E-Mail lists, and they'll contact you when they have sales and deals on certain items. Be prepared to buy on a moments notice, so have some cash saved up, and on hand for that purpose when the time and need come up.

Next is your equipment. You'll be a lot happier if you buy good equipment right from the get go, and not "trade up" later. Don't worry about the cost. The more you shoot, the faster you'll recover your investment. With factory .223 going for around $9.00 a magazine full, it won't take long. Other calibers like 9 MM are still cheap enough to buy and shoot factory. Just save all of the brass and sooner or later you'll be glad you did. This stuff is only going to get more expensive as time goes on.

Don't get caught up in things like case annealing. I haven't annealed a case in 35 years of reloading. Most of the time other factors will cause you to chuck the brass before the necks start to split. A good press, (progressive), a good powered case trimmer, along with a good method of cleaning your cases with a large enough capacity, and you'll be up and running in the right direction.

When you first get into this it will be difficult to justify the initial cost. You will be comparing it to ammo you can buy. That will pass after a couple thousand rounds, and the savings start to be realized. Most people who say they haven't saved much by reloading haven't approached it right. They don't buy good equipment, and pay too much for components. Buy good stuff and shop wisely for it, and you will see the savings, along with how much more you'll be able to shoot. Once you get going you will find you will always have enough ammo on hand, instead of having to buy it all the time when it seems you can least afford it. That keeps a lot of guys home, instead of on the range.   Bill T.

[Solus]

If you take the time for load development your payback will be in the ultimate accuracy from your rifle.

Folks have said, and my limited experience verifies it, that each rifle will have a load that gives the best accuracy in it and it alone.

I've worked up a load for a AR15 that would print 3/4 of an inch at 100yds from sandbags with a scope.  It would not do it at it's best, this was all day.   100 rounds all through the same hole.  No flyers ever unless I sneezed.

That same load didn't do so good in any of the other rifles in which it was used.....bolt or semi.

Is that kind of accuracy necessary in other than competition?   Well, it simply extends the effective range of your rifle greatly whether you are using it for hunting or in a tactical situation.

Pick a bullet weight/configuration/brand(s) that have proven effective and buy a ton of each. 

Pick one of them and then one of the many powders that work with it and start making rounds, say 25 at each powder weight increment you choose from as low powered as you would go to as close to max as you want to try.

Take them to the range and shoot five 5 shot groups of each weight batch.  Record group size.  I used a chrono so I also had measurements of consistency with which to work.

You will soon find some loads that are dogs and some that have real potential...and most that just do OK. 

Keep tweaking the gems and you will be rewarded.

Problem is that no matter how good of a load you come up with, even if you strike it rich with a load that will do 1/4 in groups all day long, you will wonder if some other combination you haven't tried might shave a 1/32 off that size.... 

I managed to give up the quest for the Holy Grail and settled for that load that put them all under less than a 25 cent piece.

[Tyler Durden]

I have got a Dillon 650 with a casefeeder.

It is set up right now to reload .223.

I was using the Possum Hollow cutter/trimmer chucked in a drill to trim brass with:



versus other hand held methods, it seems really fast.  and I was running my .223 brass through in a batch process.  resize on the dillon 650 with the casefeeder (yay! no need to handle each case everytime).  then trim to 1.73" using the possum hollow cutter/trimmer (PHC) and tool holder.  it indexes off the datum point at the case shoulder, and there is a set screw so you can gingerly use the back end of your calipers (the pointey end that slides in and out) to creep up on where the cutter needs to be inside the black part pictured above) 

I clamped the drill in a vise with it pointing up towards the ceiling so the case neck shavings would drop out.  every now and then I would stick the skinny straw from a can of compressed air into the PHC to blow out all the brass chips.  then I would insert the normally handheld chamfering tool into the Possum Hollow toolholder to get rid of the burr and put a slight chamfer inside the case neck. 

It was mind numbing work.  I would put my mp3 earbuds in and then put my non-electronic ear muffs over my ears in attempt to make it seem not so tedious. 

Here is a video of how the Possum Hollow Cutter works:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i42nDelSKf8

and then is how the deburring works:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=volkNAxUiOo&feature=related

anywhooo.... with all my time being spent at work, I had some money burning a hole in my pocket so I bought the Dillon case trimmer.

which looks like this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L5WNOVlLAU&NR=1

I just did the math.  For .223, I am spending about 16.4 cents per round.  The imported steel cased stuff is around 21 cents each.

Decisions...decisions....