https://photos.app.goo.gl/bhFMF6NkNhJhn2N87

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vjaBzrQtuL1cFqh4A

Finally got a chance to shoot and zero my Ruger American Ranch In 7.62x39 yesterday, figured I’d post the results. Glass is a a Leupold VX-R 2-7 illuminated, so nothing super precision. Rest was a table with a Caldwell Rock Jr and a shooting bag. Next time I’ll put her in a sled and she how she does. Gun has a little more kick than I anticipated, but it’s totally manageable, gun overall is super light and handy which is great. My zero was without any prep using basic Wolf WPA. An old box of basic Amercican Eagle was the clear winner, but I was very surprised with the Hornady Black...was expecting a real tight group out of that. I’ll do it again a second time and see if I get the same results. Shots where taken is pretty quick succession with no measurable cool down period.

Thanks for posting your results. A 7.62x39 bolt gun is still on my Want List, either a CZ 527 or Ruger American Ranch.

If you get a chance, give Hornady SST and/or Federal Fusion a try.

Those are my go-to 7.62x39 hunting rounds, and in my x39 rifles, they're noticeably more accurate than bulk Russian steel-cased ammo.

They both work well on hogs.

100yds?

I have never viewed that round as highly accurate. Seems pretty good for the x39 rd.

There are so many better calibers for the bolt action's in that bullet weight class.

Yes 100 yards. Warm day, not enough wind to worry about. I already have a CZ 527 in x39 that’s a 1 MOA gun, it’s just so pretty I don’t shoot it much. The Ruger intrigued me since I have a Mini-30 Tactical already and it’s very basic...perfect a rack in my side by side. I have .308’s as well, but it’s just so easy having a bolt gun that runs surplus ammo. Good point on the Fusion, I need to run some of that through this one. I should also have a mil-spec comparison and see which cheap steel cased runs best.

JonDaddy, if it likes the American Eagle then it may be worth your while to try any PPU and Sellier & Bellot loads that may be available in your neck of the woods. The PPU softpoints have been known to surprise people.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
I have never viewed that round as highly accurate.

You do know that lies somewhere between an old chestnut and an urban legend, right?

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
I have never viewed that round as highly accurate.

You do know that lies somewhere between an old chestnut and an urban legend, right?

It may be the ammo, or the bullets, or the way the chambers are cut on specific guns, or the quality of the barrels, or the quality of the optics on the rifles, or the skillsets of the shooters -- but...

I don't see targets with purdy little cloverleaf groups for 7.62x39 on the internet. In my somewhat limited experience with rifles shooting the 7.62x39 round, I have never personally seen very accurate results. I don't know of any 7.62x39-chambered rifles that are used in any competition which places a high value on accuracy.

So....if it's an urban legend that 7.62x39-chambered rifles are not accurate, then it seems to me those urban dudes are pretty spot on with their legends.

Really? Google CZ 527. You might want to google Howa Mini-Action while you're at it.

As for the competitions of which you speak, what cartridges designed to deliver comparable weight bullets at comparable velocities are used in them?

I have googled them before. A few people get groups a little under 1" at 100 yards. Usually only 1 group, however. I don't see 5 shots by 5 group accuracy tests. Or 10 shot groups. I see a lot of people saying their best 5-round group at 100 comes in at 1.25", 1.5", or maybe even 2".

My least accurate bolt action is a 1948 vintage Model 70 in .270 Win. A hunting rifle at best, in a model design not the best for precision work. Accuracy at 100 is pretty much 3/4" to 1", day in, day out. When the moon and tides were right, it's done .4" and .5" groups with Federal Fusion 130.

My bolt action .308 Win is pretty much a 1/2" gun in my hands on any given day, but it has done groups down to 1/4" when I'm on. With factory ammo.

My bolt action 6.5 Creed is pretty much a 1/2" gun in my hands on any given day, but it done groups down to .2" when I'm on. And with two different barrels. Looks like barrel #3 will be installed soon. With factory ammo.

My AR-15s in 223 Remy are pretty much 3/4" guns in my hands on any given day. When I'm on my game, most of them will produce 1/2" to 5/8" groups. The best one does .3" to .4". With factory ammo. Multiple uppers, multiple chamber types, multiple barrels.

The guys with great rifles and great skills regularly produce .2" or less groups at 100 yards. These aren't bench rest rifles, but tactical-type guns for shooting at steel.

The competitions I compete in have limited rules on ammo. Usually the MV is limited to 3000 fps, no steel tips or cores, bore size limited to 308/7.62. This is all done to minimize damage to steel targets. It's all about hitting the target reliably. A hit anywhere counts. A heavier bullet (or one with more kinetic energy) helps, as the impact moves the target more, making a more reliable verification of an impact. I suspect the best opportunity for a 7.62x39 chambered rifle is in 3-gun comps -- but AR-15s and their variants rule here.

Hey, tell me that a .308, 6.5 Creedmore or an AR in .223 can be accurate, and I believe you. But there's a world of difference between the development they've gotten (so far) and the development the 7.62x39 has gotten (so far). You're also talking about cartridges designed to carry momentum over a lot more distance - which means they're bound to be more developed for target competition than the 7.62x39. None of that proves that urban legends about the 7.62x39's being inaccurate are true.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
None of that proves that urban legends about the 7.62x39's being inaccurate are true.

Well, I haven't seen anything which proves the 7.62x39 is accurate.

I have an 11.3" upper in 300blk. From my reading, it was not primarily developed with accuracy in mind. In my experience, SBRs can be a challenge when accuracy is the goal. But with a 125 HP factory ammo and mid-power scopes, I have 5-round groups at 100 yards of .80", .84", .88", 1.04", and 1.19" and 1.25". At 250 yards with crosswinds, it holds vertical of 2.25" to 2.62". At 370 yards in winds it holds vertical of 2.5" to 4.0". I've never seen a 7.62x39 do such accuracy. Especially in a semi-auto platform.

In the overall scheme of things 300blk hasn't been around very long -- a whole lot less time to develop ammo, chambers, and barrels than 7.62x39. And yet 300blk, with fairly similar muzzle velocities and bullet weights, has pretty good accuracy with supersonic loads.

I think it is a chicken or the egg conundrum. No accurate 7.62x39s because nobody has tried it first (and why would they)?

Why couldn't a match barrel, match chambered 7.62x39 with high quality handloads loaded in good brass shoot tight groups? I'm sure it could, I just don't know why that caliber would be chosen for such a project...

quote:

Originally posted by Strambo:
I think it is a chicken or the egg conundrum. No accurate 7.62x39s because nobody has tried it first (and why would they)?

Why couldn't a match barrel, match chambered 7.62x39 with high quality handloads loaded in good brass shoot tight groups? I'm sure it could, I just don't know why that caliber would be chosen for such a project...

The other problem is that 7.62x39 isn't actually the same as our 7.62, the nominal bullet diameter is .311-.312" vs. .308".

So if you use a .308 barrel so you can shoot match grade .308 bullets, is it really a 7.62x39? And can you safely shoot actual 7.62x39 ammo?

And if you find a match grade .312 barrel, where are you going to find match grade .312 bullets?

There doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in loading 7.62x39 for accuracy use. Most of guns chambered in it are minute of man, and most of the ammo shot in them is cheap plinking fodder. But I don't doubt that a quality rifle and ammo combo would perform very well.

It's not a bench rest rifle, nor did I buy it as one. It's a cheap, handy, durable little ranch gun. One can have 20 rounds of 7.62x39 in a fast handling carbine length weapon that is legal pretty much anywhere, not scary looking, and simple. Perfect for carrying in my SxS or other such farm or "ranch" use.

I have a Citizen Arms AR in x39 that can shoot MOA groups with steel ammo. It has a match barrel.

My CZ 527 Carbine will do the same...also has a 2-7 scope just a different manufacturer.

A 7.62x39 bolt gun is a lot of fun and a real killer on deer. We killed a lot of varmints, coyotes and deer with ours. That was back when case lots of 7.62x39 was something like 80 bucks!

I had a CZ 527 and really liked it except for the poorly engineered magazine/feed system. Mine was never fully reliable and I had to get rid of it. I might add that CZ was very helpful and sent mags and springs, etc, but the engineering of the mag to action is such that the stock must be perfectly machined in order for the thing to feed 100% reliably, and if the dimensions are off just a bit as they are with some guns, the thing will never be right.

That was years ago, and maybe they have solved this problem by now I don't know. Regardless, they are really neat little rifles if they feed.

As for accuracy, I don't shoot off the bench or rest much at all. 99% of our shooting is from field positions as we use our rifles on the ranch and mountains around here all year, all seasons, all conditions and our range shooting is spent maintaining those skills.

We did a very interesting Challenge over on arfcom which involved 15 shots in 3 minutes from any unsupported position {except no prone and no sling allowed}. It was very interesting that the rifles producing the finest accuracy did not necessarily show up in the top spots.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 3/4Flap,

My daughters boss has a cz 527 in 7.62 x 39. We sat down at my 100 yds range and it grouped well. We had some interesting results. what i considered good quality ammo. Federal american eagle, winchester would group 4-5 inches. Geco in two weights was 8-9 inchs. Fiocchi was 2 inches. Shit tula, wolf was 1 inch with some of the groups just a shade under. So, he now runs wolf/tula soft point. They seem to group about 1 to 1.5 inches. I like the gun, it is a ton of fun to shoot.

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:
My daughters boss has a cz 527 in 7.62 x 39. We sat down at my 100 yds range and it grouped well. We had some interesting results. what i considered good quality ammo. Federal american eagle, winchester would group 4-5 inches. Geco in two weights was 8-9 inchs. Fiocchi was 2 inches. Shit tula, wolf was 1 inch with some of the groups just a shade under. So, he now runs wolf/tula soft point. They seem to group about 1 to 1.5 inches. I like the gun, it is a ton of fun to shoot.

FWIW: We, too, had good results with Wolf steel-cased stuff. Can't say it was consistently MOA but it shot well and we killed a lot of varmints and whatnot with it. In fact, that big buck pictured in the other thread was killed with a 123 {124?} gr Hollow Point.

Part of the CZ's edge over other bolt actions was always that it could digest ammo from the old ComBloc - not just >.308" bullets, but steel cases and all. There are AKs and SKSs out there that will consistently shoot Russian ammo better than the alternatives, I kinda wonder if CZ didn't simply design the rifle in that chambering for Eastern European ammo from the start.

Still, the "wow"-est groups online all seem to come from using Finnish Lapua ammo.