SKS and Cast Bullets

[robertbank]

SKS rifles have taken off up here in value. You still see the odd used deal go for around $350 but most Russian and Chinese go for arounf $450 - $550.

I have used cast in my SKS and wonder if any others have gone down that particular rabbit hole. Surplus ammo is still available but retail prices have gone up substantially from what the surplus stuff sold for not long ago.

Take Care

Bob

[Adam Helmer]

Bob,

All my SKS arms like my Lyman #311410 boolit cast from WW, sized .310" and propelled by IMR4198.

Adam

[robertbank]

Hey Adam thanks for that. Would you PM me your load details. Thanks.

Take Care

Bob

[Adam Helmer]

Bob,

Yessir! I will send my load details. I cast my boolits from OLD wheel weights, add a dash of tin and drop them from the mould into a bucket of water. The boolit is a RN plain base, so all I do is size and lube with alox.

Hope this helps. I need to go to my reloading room and get the data. Watch for your PM.

Adam

[robertbank]

Hey thanks Adam for the load data I will try your load when I get back home. Give me a few weeks and I;ll get back to you on this thread with my results.

I have a half a case of Norinco Mercury free cartridges and I do use the Lyman 311291 bullet in mine as well. Been awhile since I had my SKS out so I am reluctant to say what worked well and what did not. I had both my shoulders replaced over the past three years so the long guns have been unseen orphans until now. That will change with our summer in full flight.

Thanks again for the info.

Take Care

Bob

[Outpost75]

Ancient history. The Lee C312-155-2R bullet was designed for the 7.62x39 and original functional work was done in the SKS and AK. Start load about 12 grains of Allliant #2400, work up as needed to get reliable function. About 13.5-14.5 grains works in most. Alternately 14-16 grains IMR or H4227.

[robertbank]

Ancient history. The Lee C312-155-2R bullet was designed for the 7.62x39 and original functional work was done in the SKS and AK. Start load about 12 grains of Allliant #2400, work up as needed to get reliable function. About 13.5-14.5 grains works in most. Alternately 14-16 grains IMR or H4227.

Thanks for the info Outpost.

Take Care

Bob

[Bloodman14]

Using appropriate powders, my Yugo shoots the NOE 316299, Lee 155 and 160, and the accurate 316215B quite well. Made some single-shot plinkers using Red Dot and the Lee 314-90 grain SWC. Will post the data asap.


Edited; my info is based on Junior1942's work with his SKS and hog hunting. Mr. Gibson did some follow-up work in another thread. I use LeveRevolution with the heavies, and Reloder 7 with the Lee boolits.

[turtlezx]

big writeup cb military 8 spots above this posting lotta info on 762 x39

[richhodg66]

I did a little about 20 years ago and was very pleasantly surprised how easy it was and how well the rifle shot them. Best one I tried was the Ed Harris design Lee makes.

The SKS is a better rifle than it is usually given credit for. Not really my thing, but I was curious about them back when they were cheap.

[Larry Gibson]

For cast in the SKS [Russian make] I use the Lee C312-155-2R cast of COWWs + 2% tin, GC'd with Hornady GC, sized .312 and lubed with 2500+. I load them in Winchester and IMI cases using WLR primers and 27 gr H4895. Velocity is 1875 fps and accuracy is excellent. The psi, as measured in a Mini MKX via Oehler M43 runs only 36 - 38,000 psi which is 10k psi less than Soviet milsurp 7.62x39. 25 gr Rl7 works very well also.

[robertbank]

Larry how long does your brass last? My cases get dinged up pretty much all the time. I have not shot enough of my reloads lately to comment on how many reloads the cases will withstand.

Take Care

Bob

[Bigslug]

Bob, give this a read, and then click on the link to see the 7.62x39 version of the bullet: https://noebulletmolds.com/smf/index.php/topic,585.0.html

The mold designer commonly known as Ranch Dog designed three flat nose bullets specifically for the short necks and throat profiles of the .300 Savage, .308 Winchester, and 7.62x39. I've been running the .308 for a couple years and LOVE IT as my practice bullet - it makes milk jugs go away! Ranch Dog is a feral hog hunter and the SKS/AK round is his favorite for the job.

[hoodat]

I've got a soft spot for the sweet SKS's, and have messed around considerably loading for them. I've used the Lee 312 bullet that's been mentioned above with gas check.

I like that at 12 grains,(2400) the rifle won't cycle, and I don't have to chase my precious loadable brass. Accuracy was decent (minute of squirrel) at fifty to 100 yards. I think I took this bullet up to 16 grains, but don't trust me on that.

I even made a piston replacement rod to convert an SKS to manual bolt operation for shooting my reloads. Easy to swap out for changing over to steel cased stuff. Had a lot of fun with the Simonovs for awhile, and still do occasionally. jd

[Larry Gibson]

Larry how long does your brass last? My cases get dinged up pretty much all the time. I have not shot enough of my reloads lately to comment on how many reloads the cases will withstand.

Take Care

Bob

I got an extra gas tube and modified it so the brass is just ejected with about as much force as with M1/M14/m1 carbines. Make it easier to find also and doesn't ricochet off other shooters on the firing line. It was a Chinese tube but was easy to fit to the Russian as it only took a bit of filing on the front end to pivot into place. The mod is easy enough to do, just have to be careful is all. Since doing that I've not lost hardly any cases to can't find them or to being too dinged up for reloading. After the mod the 7.62x39 cases aren't dinged any more than '06, 7.62 or 30 carbine cases. If you're interested in how to modify the gas tube I can post it? I believe I posted it here years ago but the pics won't show if you find it.

I did back the FL die out so I only FL size enough for positive chambering. That has reduced case stretch due to FL sizing so trimming is only needed every 4-5 firings. So far I've not run into any incipient case separation. I loaded and fired 5 W-W cases with my milsurp duplication load 20 times w/o a case loss so that was close enough for me.