Buye-- er, Builder's Remorse
[Karma fronting]
I'm having some regrets about my 7.62x39 AR Upper build. It's proving to be fairly accurate, don't get me wrong.
A.) All those people who say you can handload 7.62x39 with .308" bullets have apparently done something different with their sizing die, since every time I try, there's too little neck tension to even keep the bullet seating die from just hanging onto the bullet, let alone seating it, often against the tension of the powder, consistently. Yes, there are some .311" bullets that are probably worth a damn. Which leads us to the next problem.
B.) The magazines I got are shit. C Products was on the list of magazines that were not shit, and whoever put them on that list was wrong. They're 10 round magazines, but if I put more than six in, it will misfeed every single time with FMJ. If I put more than three JSP bullets in, it will misfeed every single time, and might misfeed even that top of three rounds. Yes, I know, there are other magazines out there I can try. In theory. I'm going to try and find the Stoner ones, but they just don't seem to be out there. I may try modifying these magazines (no loss, since they're shit) as well, since the problem seems to be that the anti-tilt follower tilts and the top round ends up catching its nose or the case mouth on the front edge of the magazine.
C.) While it's no fault of the gun's, the scope is broken. The reticle has started to rotate. The only "spare" I have is a 2x Leupold I took off of my Ruger 10/22.
Am I ever going to use this as a defensive gun? No. Reliability isn't critical in it.
Am I ever going to use this as a hunting gun? No. I have other, better guns for that.
Am I ever going to use this for anything but putting holes in pieces of paper, where taking the time to load two or three rounds into the magazine at a time is perfectly acceptable? Almost certainly not.
So, yes, it's flawed performance is good enough for what I'm going to use it for.... but I still want it to run right.
I'm just thinking I should have just gone with an AK Variant or SKS and told myself to stop being an accuracy snob and accept that it'll never be a 100 yard gun (by my criteria, not yours).
I might be happier with it if the magazines worked worth a damn, but I can't be certain that cutting the front lip down will do anything but change what the nose/mouth of the bullet is getting stopped by.
Either way, here are my options, as I see them.
A.) Keep the gun, seeing if the magazines can be fixed/replaced. I have two magazines, so I can always fuck one up and have a backup. If magazine repair/replacement doesn't work, the gun still functions well enough for my purposes.
B.) Sell the whole upper, minus the charging handle that I borrowed from my .223 Rem upper. If I'm honest about it and don't sell it for much, I won't have enough to replace it with an AK, but possibly could replace it with an SKS.
C.) Dismantle it and sell the barrel, bolt and magazines, and turn that stripped upper into something else.
I'm having some regrets about my 7.62x39 AR Upper build. It's proving to be fairly accurate, don't get me wrong.
A.) All those people who say you can handload 7.62x39 with .308" bullets have apparently done something different with their sizing die, since every time I try, there's too little neck tension to even keep the bullet seating die from just hanging onto the bullet, let alone seating it, often against the tension of the powder, consistently. Yes, there are some .311" bullets that are probably worth a damn. Which leads us to the next problem.
B.) The magazines I got are shit. C Products was on the list of magazines that were not shit, and whoever put them on that list was wrong. They're 10 round magazines, but if I put more than six in, it will misfeed every single time with FMJ. If I put more than three JSP bullets in, it will misfeed every single time, and might misfeed even that top of three rounds. Yes, I know, there are other magazines out there I can try. In theory. I'm going to try and find the Stoner ones, but they just don't seem to be out there. I may try modifying these magazines (no loss, since they're shit) as well, since the problem seems to be that the anti-tilt follower tilts and the top round ends up catching its nose or the case mouth on the front edge of the magazine.
C.) While it's no fault of the gun's, the scope is broken. The reticle has started to rotate. The only "spare" I have is a 2x Leupold I took off of my Ruger 10/22.
Am I ever going to use this as a defensive gun? No. Reliability isn't critical in it.
Am I ever going to use this as a hunting gun? No. I have other, better guns for that.
Am I ever going to use this for anything but putting holes in pieces of paper, where taking the time to load two or three rounds into the magazine at a time is perfectly acceptable? Almost certainly not.
So, yes, it's flawed performance is good enough for what I'm going to use it for.... but I still want it to run right.
I'm just thinking I should have just gone with an AK Variant or SKS and told myself to stop being an accuracy snob and accept that it'll never be a 100 yard gun (by my criteria, not yours).
I might be happier with it if the magazines worked worth a damn, but I can't be certain that cutting the front lip down will do anything but change what the nose/mouth of the bullet is getting stopped by.
Either way, here are my options, as I see them.
A.) Keep the gun, seeing if the magazines can be fixed/replaced. I have two magazines, so I can always fuck one up and have a backup. If magazine repair/replacement doesn't work, the gun still functions well enough for my purposes.
B.) Sell the whole upper, minus the charging handle that I borrowed from my .223 Rem upper. If I'm honest about it and don't sell it for much, I won't have enough to replace it with an AK, but possibly could replace it with an SKS.
C.) Dismantle it and sell the barrel, bolt and magazines, and turn that stripped upper into something else.