7.62x39......is the idea still alive & kicking?

Talk about things other than the Model 8's and 81's
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Katieboots29
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Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2018 6:55 am

7.62x39......is the idea still alive & kicking?

Post by Katieboots29 »

The first time I saw a Remington Auto Loader quite a few years ago I instantly knew I had to have one someday, but the thought of paying upwards of $30.00 a box for 20 rounds made, and makes, me cringe and so purchasing one of these beauties was put on the back burner. Fast forward to recently and while doodling around on the web I typed in an idea that had been rattling around in my brain for a bit....something along the lines of rechambering an 8 in 7.62x39.
Low and behold the discussuon of just such a thing from 6-7 years ago popped up in this forum

viewtopic.php?t=1776

which I've got to tell you thrilled me to no end. After reading the comments and then having my gunsmith read them over I've decided I want him to try and duplicate what has already been accomplished by the gentleman from the original post.
My question(s) are:

Is the original member still on the forum and if yes would you be so inclined as to tell us how the AK8 has performed since completion

Has anyone else attempted the same conversion in the 7.62 calibre or another clambering and if yes what is the prognosis

Do we still feel as is .35 Remington or .300 Savage are the only two calibre to try this in or will .30 or .32 do just so well. I've got my eye on both a .30-30 Remington Auto Loader and a .32 Remington Model 8.....would like either of them if the members feel those calibre are feasible candidates.

So, there it is in a nutshell and I do look forward to reading your replies.

Regards,
Katelynne.
LyingBastard
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Re: 7.62x39......is the idea still alive & kicking?

Post by LyingBastard »

Well, from my thread (viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5215) on the caliber and the thread you mentioned, you will need

1. The 35Remington/300Savage bolt because of the rim diameter
2. The 35Remington/300Savage recoil spring
3. To make a barrel. This IMHO is the hardest part of the show.

AFAIK the rest of the rifle is the same.
Katieboots29
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Re: 7.62x39......is the idea still alive & kicking?

Post by Katieboots29 »

Thanks for the response LB.....Gun Parts has new in the white 59/66 SKS barrels for $85 and the gas port is not yet drilled out therefore eliminating one step on the barrel process. My Smith says he can make the barrel so we're gonna give it a shot once I've found the suitable parts and/or rifle!
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81police
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Re: 7.62x39......is the idea still alive & kicking?

Post by 81police »

I'd recommend trying to match the weight of an original 8/81 barrel! Perhaps one type or grade of steel at the same length and same diameter carries the same weight...but then again maybe not. Also the contour/profile is very important with the barrel literally recoiling between parts. If you've got a 300Sav barrel that would be a good weight to aim for.
Cam Woodall
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LyingBastard
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Re: 7.62x39......is the idea still alive & kicking?

Post by LyingBastard »

I do agree about matching the weight: if you need to match the barrel spring anyway might as well get close to a known quantity. What I think will be the hardest, unless you want to sacrifice a barrel (I would love to get a sewer pipe barrel to start with), is the area the bolt locks to. I need to take mine out again and take a more careful look at.

Katieboots29, if you have a SKS check if the end of the barrel is at least as thick as the Model 8's one. If you do not, remind me and I will look. That will determine whether starting with that barrel is a good idea. Otherwise, what's wrong with going to green mountain and getting a blank? The Model 8 barrel is pretty boring most of the length and then has some crazy bits on the breech side.
TRX
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Post by TRX »

Mine is in .30 Remington. I looked at caliber conversion for a while, but eventually I decided there were only two reasonable choices:

A) sell the .30 and buy another Model 8 in .300 Savage (the local Wal-Mart carries .300 on the shelf!)
or
B) reload .30 Remington

.30 brass is only intermittently available from Remington, but a forum member fixed me up with a bag of new brass. I bought a set of RCBS dies, and all the rest of the bits are ordinary reloading stuff.

The only real problem with reloading is that the Model 8, being an autoloader, throws its empty brass to the winds, which is a hassle when shooting at some ranges.

There's one potential cartridge conversion that might be practial without too much work:

If you have a shot-out or spare barrel, there is one possible conversion you might want to consider: 6.8 SPC. That's the .25-30-32 Remington case shortened a bit and necked to .277. (same bullet as .270 Winchester) It's a bit shorter than the original, but it should feed through an unmodified magazine. 6.8 SPC ammo isn't all that popular (it was one of those fad AR conversions a while back) but it's still in production, and you can buy new brass from Remington and Starline.

TJ's Liners will sell you a .277 liner for about $100. Brownell's has the piloted drill to open up the barrel for about $110, and reamerrentals.com has 6.8 SPC reamer for $39 and headspace gauges for $8. Back in the old days gunsmiths soldered liners in, but nowadays it's common to use slow-setting super glue, like what people use to build model airplanes.

You'd have to recrown the muzzle; it'd probably be cheaper to have a local smith do it than to buy the tool. To open up the extractor cut, use a Dremel and needle files to cut the liner away there, following the original cut on the barrel.

Finally, you'd want to put a spacer block in the magazine to make up for the shorter SPC cartridges. A piece of plastic cutting block or hardwood would probably work fine, along with some epoxy to hold it in place.
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Phyrbird
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Re: 7.62x39......is the idea still alive & kicking?

Post by Phyrbird »

Why not just use a saboted projectile in a 300 Sav? It could be rather impressive.
Why not :?: :?:
Phyrbird
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LyingBastard
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Re: 7.62x39......is the idea still alive & kicking?

Post by LyingBastard »

Katieboots29 I finally got around to take pictures... just to remember I have some spare Yugo barrels doing nothing. So I took said pictures.

Here are them side by side
Remington_SKS_Barrels_01-sm.jpg
Remington_SKS_Barrels_01-sm.jpg (200.25 KiB) Viewed 9428 times
I lined them up about where the barrel ends on the breech side; it looks like they are pretty close in length.
Remington_SKS_Barrels_02-sm.jpg
Remington_SKS_Barrels_02-sm.jpg (168.56 KiB) Viewed 9428 times
The threads on the SKS are slightly smaller in diameter. Yoy will need to make a new nut thingie that fits on those threads. On the bright side, the thread size is well know and available (14x1) whereas the Remington is... what?
Remington_SKS_Barrels_03-sm.jpg
Remington_SKS_Barrels_03-sm.jpg (215.52 KiB) Viewed 9428 times
So it seems I can only put 3 pictures.
Katieboots29
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Re: 7.62x39......is the idea still alive & kicking?

Post by Katieboots29 »

Sitting here at work contemplating the Universe, and this conversion, and a thought popped in my head. Now understand I have zero knowledge in gunsmithing so if this idea seems silly you know why.....
Instead of going to all the trouble of a new barrel and new parts and cutting and yadda yadda yadda, wouldn't it be easier (if feasible of course) to line the existing barrel to 7 62x39 and that be that. Or am I missing some part of the equation that makes it much more difficult than that!???
LyingBastard
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Re: 7.62x39......is the idea still alive & kicking?

Post by LyingBastard »

Based on what I read about relining Mauser C96 pistols, how well done it will be really depend on the gunsmith. On the C96 case, it's barrel is 4" or longer and one of the main issues people have is the hole for the relining was not properly centered. The Model 8 barrel is a bit longer, but straight wall, so it might be easier on the lathe.

Second is keeping the liner in place. AFAIK it is glued in, which in my book means proper surface preparation is in order.

Which one is easier? I honestly do not know; I am no gunsmith. Which one is cheaper? You are asking the wrong bloke, buddy. If you have the skills and access to a lathe, I assume starting with the SKS barrel or a blank from green mountain, profiling and cutting threads on both ends, then swapping the "barrel extension" (think AR) and reaming is nothing special. But, YMMV.
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