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Brand new 7.62x39 PPU ammunition

Reloading for SKS or AK – is it worth it?

Geoff Leave a comment

The SKS is one of very few semi-automatic centrefire rifles that allow for cheap and cheerful shooting in New Zealand. The rifles themselves are amongst the cheapest autoloaders around and the steel-cased ammo is a bargain compared to other centrefire rounds, as detailed in a previous post on the venerable 7.62×39.

However, what about reloading for the SKS or an AK? is it worth it? Every armchair shooter in the world will want to quickly chime in on why it’s simply not worthwhile reloading ammo for these rugged rifles. Here’s my take on it.

You will lose some brass

There is no question about it. With almost any semi-auto rifle, you should be prepared to lose a few casings. Even bolt action rifles in military service rifle matches will sacrifice some brass here or there for the sake of speed. But the SKS really loves throwing brass away. The video below perfectly illustrates what I mean.

However, even with the brass being flung in every possible direction known to man, you will still get a healthy return if you have patience (and the grass isn’t too long). The majority of your shells will land between 1 and 3 O’Clock, within a few metres of your shooting position – but not all of them. On my last trip to the range I shot some brass-cased PPU with some friends, and we recovered 55 out of 60 ejected cases. That’s over 90 per cent of your brass coming back to you – not bad.

The other option is to have a brass deflector or catcher attached, but these render your rear sights useless. Therefore, this only really becomes possible with a scoped SKS, which, as we all know, is not the most worthwhile pursuit in the world.

You will damage some brass

Again, this is a given. Autoloaders are hard on brass and the SKS is no exception. There are extractor marks from rough ejection, and if you’re shooting over a concrete floor, under a roof or near any kind of structure, chances are your brass will hit it and could possibly get dented.

At the end of the day, a small level of attrition is to be expected – it’s the cost of doing business with the SKS or an AK.

It is not a super-accurate rifle

Look, handloading is not going to turn your 1 – 3 MOA SKS into a 1/2 MOA super rifle. It just won’t. Usually handloads can be made to be incredibly accurate, and this works because you develop ammunition that is suited to your rifle’s chamber. The SKS is an intermediate-cartridge fed battle-rifle with very loose tolerances, which aid its reliability. Remember, cheap, reliable, accurate – you only get to choose two.

If you’re reloading the 7.62×39 for a CZ bolt action or a  modern semi-auto, then you’re talking about a whole different ball game.

The economy isn’t quite there

The price of 7.62×39 ammo means it’s not really worthwhile buying brass-cased stuff, plus your other components and dies. It will end up costing about the same in the long run, and your accuracy won’t be much better.

Generally speaking you can pick up steel-cased ammo at one of the major gun stores for around $16 or $17 per 20 rounds. If you buy in bulk, you can save a lot more too. Realistically, if you’re cost conscious and like doing a lot of shooting, buying in bulk would be a better solution than reloading. Plus, who doesn’t like opening the safe and seeing a wall of ammunition?

M43 ammo on stripper clips
What to feed a hungry SKS?

But I’d still do it

However, I’d still do it. And the reason is, because I enjoy shooting and I enjoy reloading. Brass cased ammo costs $8 more per packet (if you know where to shop – $15 if you don’t). When thinking about the cost of the brass, I account for the fact that I get the value of one factory pack of ammunition regardless. In other words, the brass is costing me $8 per 20, even though the pack of ammo costs $25, because I shot $17 worth of factory stuff. I say $17 worth of shooting, because that’s what a box of Tula SPs would set you back.

So, I can expect to retain about 18 cases, and I might get 5 or so reloads out of them. Throw in the cost of primers and powder (which I use for other loads anyway), and projectiles. Now, this lot I’m going to reload with Hornady’s Z-Max. In 7.62×39 the Z-Max is a SST projectile, with a different coloured tip according to Nathan Foster – whose research I would definitely rely on.

Why the Z-Max? Firstly, let’s be honest, a green-tipped bullet kind of looks cool. But also, as Nathan’s research suggests, the SST or Z-Max round is probably one of the better choices of bullet for what the SKS is designed to do – wound effectively within a limited range. I could save a few cents per round by going for a soft point projectile from another manufacturer, but I’m keen to give the Hornady bullets a whirl.

As for the cost of the dies – well, hopefully that gets absorbed over time. If not – I’ll just have to shoot some more until they’ve paid for themselves.

Match quality rounds reloaded for half the price of factory ammo.

How to save money on reloading

Geoff 3 Comments

Reloading not only allows us to create accurate rounds tailored to specific rifles, but also helps to keep down the cost of shooting. Components can be costly in New Zealand, especially powder which accrues charges for dangerous-goods handling.

The cost of reloading of in New Zealand can be high compared to buying components in the States, and unfortunately a lot of this does come down to those handling charges. Whether it’s the shipping, handling and import charges on bullets and brass or the explosives handling fees on powders and primers, there’s always something that makes it more costly to assemble your own ammunition at this end of the world.

Fortunately there are a couple ways to reduce the cost of hand loading your own ammo. Here are two that I recommend.

1. Shopping around

There are numerous gun stores in Auckland and the rest of New Zealand that sell reloading components. There may only be a few major ones, but there are also plenty of local shops that stock what you need.

In order to find the most cost-effective way to produce match-accuracy rounds I put together a spread sheet comparing the cost of the primers, brass, powder and projectiles at around eight different stores. By comparing prices around the country I managed to shave off more than 50 cents a round. That’s $50 per hundred rounds. Not bad.

When shopping around, don’t forget to account for courier fees. For example, when purchasing some Sierra projectiles I found that the cheapest store in the country was around $10 cheaper than my nearest gun store. Given the $4.50 courier charge and the time it would have taken to reach me, I opted to go the slightly more expensive route.

2. Economise where possible…

…without sacrificing quality. In some areas you may wish to spend a tiny bit more. For example, Federal Large Rifle Match primers cost me less than a dollar more per 100 than less consistent primers. That’s an area where I don’t mind spending a tiny bit more.

When it comes to economising, not everyone can afford to buy vast quantities of powder at a time. However, you can increase your powder economy by 10 per cent very easily.

ADI Powders are manufactured in Australia, and as a lot of shooters know, many Hodgon powders are produced at the ADI plant. In fact, ADI provides a handy sheet that lets you find the Hodgon equivalents of their powders. There is also info for other manufacturers as well.

The reason this is such a bonus for New Zealand reloaders is that not only can you support a company that is kind of local (across the ditch is better than across the world), but if you buy their 500 gram containers, you’ll be getting 10 per cent more than an American manufactured equivalent 1lb which is 454 grams. Usually at the same price too.

There are always ways to make your reloading cheaper, hope these two help!

 

PPU brass and Federal Large Rifle Match primers.

Accuracy in reloading

Geoff 3 Comments

Just how important is accuracy in reloading? Well, it depends how accurate you want your rounds to be. The key to achieving consistently good rounds is removing every source of variance possible – you are going for repeatability. In other words, to get your bullets in the same hole every time, you need to make sure that all  the variables that go into making them are as controlled as possible.

Match vs. Plinking ammo

If you’re reloading ammo to burn at the range, you can afford to take a “set and forget” approach to your reloading. Once you have your powder trickler set to the right volume, you should be getting fairly consistent charges. You’ll also only need to measure your COAL a few times to ensure that the rest will be coming out the same. This is good enough for general ammo production, and will be as good or better than factory ammo at a third of the cost (depending on your components, etc.).

However, for match ammunition or for working up a load for a new rifle, a lot more precision is required. I tend to weigh every charge on a scale before seating the projectile. Every round is exact. If it’s not, I pour another charge and start again. Because the powder trickler goes off volume and the scale goes off weight, some standard deviation is to be expected.

Resized case in shellholder.
Match performance is the result of repeatable procedures.

I also measure the COAL of every single round. Not because my settings have changed, but because slight variations in even the most expensive bullets do happen. Those that aren’t exactly the same get pulled or used for target practice. Why be so pedantic? Because we’re eliminating every possible variation to make sure our ammo production is as uniform as possible from round to round.

I know of people that do this to the extreme. The weigh every bullet they use. They have a log for every casing, rejecting ones that produce inferior accuracy due to differences in metal hardening or other aspects that are beyond the average reloader’s comprehension. This is for the accuracy fanatics. And more power to them, but I enjoy a fine level of accuracy for the amount of effort I put in. It’s each to his/her own. If I had to be as pedantic about my reloading, I probably wouldn’t enjoy the actual shooting as much. But everyone is different, and for some of the shooting fraternity, ultimate accuracy is the ultimate goal.

A proper work space

Whether you’re reloading for 3-gun, varminting or 1000 yard shots, one thing’s always necessary; a properly prepared working area. A space that is free from clutter, mess and distraction is essential.

Before I learnt this lesson, I’ll admit I knocked over a few cases full of powder and so on. Everything should have its place in a reloading station. A good example of how much your work area affects your ammunition production is a mistake I made a few days ago…

Working up a load I was preparing six rounds at 1-grain intervals to take to the range. With six different charges, that’s a total of only 36 rounds, but there’s a lot of finicky business around getting the charge weights right every time. About half way through I move my scale from one bench to another to make room for something. Once settled on the other bench, the charge come up at a different weight.

Now this wouldn’t be a problem if I was using a digital scale, I would be able to hit TARE and know I was working with a clean slate. However, with my mechanical scale, things aren’t quite so simple. The difference in weight readings was because my bench was on a lean… Something had got under one of the legs and was causing the weight on one side of the scale to dip down. The difference was about 1.2 grains. Yup, I just painstakingly produced about 18 rounds that were completely useless because I had no idea what the actual charge was.

Not the worst set back in the world, but a good lesson to learn – always prepare your space thoroughly before starting your reloading procedures.

Hand loaded 6.5x55 rounds. Featuring PPU brass and 142gr Sierra Matchkingds.

Check your reloading data. Then check again.

Geoff 1 Comment

Reloaders are a unique bunch. They represent the line that divides casual shooters and members of the shooting community. Anyone that does any great volume of shooting will reload. So will people interested in achieving the ultimate in accuracy for their particular firearm. Reloading is a unique skill that takes a while to learn, and there are lessons for those who are new to the game. The first one is – check your data.

Check your data before you purchase your components

If you’ve just bought your first reloading kit, dies, shell holders, etc, etc, you want to cracking into producing some highly accurate, super cheap rounds. Hold on. Before you run to your local gun store to buy the cheapest (or most expensive) projectile for your rifle, do some research.

The internet is a vast resource for reloaders. There are plenty of forums that are overflowing with useful data and personal reloading recipes. You’ll also find that most manufacturers will have some load data on their website, or will provide you some by email. This is an authoritative source of information that you can trust.

So, start your search with the forums. Find out what people are using in your particular type of firearm. Certain models, barrels and magazines will have preferences for different weights, seating depths and powders. Once you’ve got a general feel for what would suit your purposes (cheap as chips for plinking, best round for accuracy, great wounding for hunting, etc.), narrow it down to one bullet to start with.

If you’d like some good info on what kind of round is good for your rifle, check out the Knowledge Base at Nathan Foster’s Terminal Ballistics research website.

Check your data when you buy your components

Another great resource is your local gun shop owner or gunsmith. On my last trip the gun store I learned something about conflicting data that I had. I went in to purchase reloading components for my Husqvarna M38 Swedish Mauser. I was armed with reloading data from Sierra (I was purchasing 142 gr Sierra HPBT Matchkings) and data from the powder manufacturer. However, I wasn’t sure on the figures as the powder manufacturer stated a starting load close to the maximum load recommended by Sierra. They also had different seating depths/COALs.

6.5x55 with a 32.6 gr charge and a 3.100" (78.75 mm) COAL.
6.5×55 with a 32.6 gr charge and a 3.100″ (78.75 mm) COAL.

My thought was that the powder manufacturer was trying to sell more powder at the expense of my brass and barrel, but in chatting to one of the sales guys at the local store, we quickly figured out that the powder manufacturer’s specifications were dangerously high for my rifle. The reason being, Sierra’s load was built up for a rifle of similar vintage to mine (the test rifle was Swedish Mauser M96), while the powder manufacturer’s data was figured off a brand new action with a custom built barrel. This made more sense as I realised the 0.050″ difference was to allow for the long throat of the Swede, while modern actions would be a bit tighter.

Whether these rifles were actually used to test these loads or it was done entirely withing a ballistics calculator and other software is unknown to me. Regardless, the same data for the same calibre and projectile came out completely different from two very authoritative sources. So, remember when reloading to always get as much information as possible at every step of the process.

And of course, reloading and shooting hand-loaded rounds comes with risk. Start at minimum loads and work your way up until optimum performance is achieved or pressure signs start to show. If your bolt is stiff on extraction or primers come out flattened or cratered, dial back on the powder a bit.