7.62x39 AR Upper...

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  • ar15dave

    AR15Dave
    Jun 10, 2008
    2,226
    Monrovia, MD
    I am considering putting a 7.62x39 upper on my AR. I was told recently, by a dealer, that it is not reliable. Only about 30% reliability if you can find the right combination of magazine and upper with bolt.

    Anyone have any experience with this? Is he full of crap-o-la or is his input valid?

    Thanks,

    Dave
     

    Lex Armarum

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 19, 2009
    3,450
    Were you talking with a fella at Chantilly today? I had a guy there tell me the same exact thing. I told him he was full of sh!t. The 7.62x39 upper works fine but sometimes has issues with hard military surplus primers. I've never had a problem shooting brass cased ammo.
     

    j8064

    Garrett Co Hooligan #1
    Feb 23, 2008
    11,635
    Deep Creek
    I've heard 7.62x39 uppers work well. I don't have one, never fired one.
    My SIL has been looking for one to complete a build he's working on. Any sources you know of please let me know.
     

    Jerry M

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 13, 2007
    1,688
    Glen Burnie MD
    Guy next to me at the range on Thursday had one and it would not fire two rounds without jamming. It did not look reliable to me. Everything I have read indicated there it too much taper in the cartridge to fit into a magazine that will feed in an AR. The AK mags are curved, but that curve is too severe for the AR magazine well. Look at another platform if you want to shoot 7.62x39; or look at another cartridge.

    Good luck

    Jerry
     

    Jimbob2.0

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 20, 2008
    16,600
    I am getting into this game, my understanding is they can be reliable with the right combo of parts. Mags are of course, as with the AR platform in general, a huge weak spot, as there are not PMAGs for 7.62.

    I have an upper (kies) but havent had a chance to try it, but am impressed with the build quality.
     

    ar15dave

    AR15Dave
    Jun 10, 2008
    2,226
    Monrovia, MD
    Were you talking with a fella at Chantilly today? I had a guy there tell me the same exact thing. I told him he was full of sh!t. The 7.62x39 upper works fine but sometimes has issues with hard military surplus primers. I've never had a problem shooting brass cased ammo.

    Yep, that is the guy. For some reason he is always rude to me when I stop by his booth. I ask a question and he asnwers like a prude then ignores me like i am not worth his time. To bad I had serious money to spend today. He has a good assortment of AR parts but is not someone I prefer to deal with because of his customer service skills seem lacking to me.

    The only issue I ever heard about the 7.62 AR was the primer issue mentioned above there is a comapny tha makes an enhanced bolt that is suppose to eliminate that issue and allow you to run any ammo you would run in an AK.

    Dave
     

    ar15dave

    AR15Dave
    Jun 10, 2008
    2,226
    Monrovia, MD
    I am getting into this game, my understanding is they can be reliable with the right combo of parts. Mags are of course, as with the AR platform in general, a huge weak spot, as there are not PMAGs for 7.62.

    I have an upper (kies) but havent had a chance to try it, but am impressed with the build quality.

    I do not have an upper yet but for giggles I picked up two AR 7.62x39 C Products magazines today while down there. I use C Products for my AR 9mm and they are great. Have seen some good reviews about their mags so i thought I would give them a try.

    Dave
     

    Lex Armarum

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 19, 2009
    3,450
    I do not have an upper yet but for giggles I picked up two AR 7.62x39 C Products magazines today while down there. I use C Products for my AR 9mm and they are great. Have seen some good reviews about their mags so i thought I would give them a try.

    Dave

    I bought 2 today as well. Who'd you buy from? How much did you pay?
     

    Lex Armarum

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 19, 2009
    3,450
    Guy next to me at the range on Thursday had one and it would not fire two rounds without jamming. It did not look reliable to me. Everything I have read indicated there it too much taper in the cartridge to fit into a magazine that will feed in an AR. The AK mags are curved, but that curve is too severe for the AR magazine well. Look at another platform if you want to shoot 7.62x39; or look at another cartridge.

    Good luck

    Jerry

    The mag issue is fixed when you buy 7.62x39 AR mags. C-Products or ASC seem to work pretty well. There's no reason that the 7.62x39 can't work in an AR platform; you just have to have to right combination of parts - its the same with every machine. :thumbsup:
     

    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    They will work with the right parts.

    M16 Carrier
    MGI 7.62x39 Enhcnaced Bolt Head
    Extractor Insert
    Chrome Lined Chamber/Bore Mid Gas/with M4 Ramps (20" barrels run best)
    Spikes ST-2 Buffer
    Colt Buffer Spring
    Pinned Gas Block
    CProducts 7.62x39 AR mags (Beburr the insides of the mag body)
    Rounded Hammer
    Upper with M4 Ramps
     

    ar15dave

    AR15Dave
    Jun 10, 2008
    2,226
    Monrovia, MD
    I bought 2 today as well. Who'd you buy from? How much did you pay?

    Got them from the Mag R Us place in the back right corner area. Not sure of the exact price as the $34.00 price listed, I was told, was wrong. They were $20-$24.00 something each.

    That place always has decent prices and good stuff.

    Dave
     

    Lex Armarum

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 19, 2009
    3,450
    Got them from the Mag R Us place in the back right corner area. Not sure of the exact price as the $34.00 price listed, I was told, was wrong. They were $20-$24.00 something each.

    That place always has decent prices and good stuff.

    Dave

    Damn, I overpaid. Guy in the middle w/all the magpul stuff got me for $30/pc. Oh well; live and learn. Did get a nice stripped upper for 95.
     

    Inigoes

    Head'n for the hills
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 21, 2008
    49,365
    SoMD / West PA
    Just to jump on the bandwagon, they seems to take the right mags to work well. Crumby mags will make you crazy, but when you get the right setup, the 7.63x39 AR is sweeeet.

    Out of the box, olypmic arms makes a decent upper.

    The downside side: it ships with a 30 mag. If you have a friend or relative out of state, pay them a visit :)
     

    Forest

    The AR guy
    Jul 13, 2011
    985
    Out of the box, olypmic arms makes a decent upper.
    I got to agree with this. I ran an Oly 7.62x39 upper, it needed a tweak after I bought it (had to return it) but once I got it back it ran fine using both surplus steel cased ammo and it would even cycle the plastic core 'training' ammo they used to sell (I could shoot it at Select Fire using that ammo). This was a 16" barrel, with the carbine gas system and I bought it before M4 feedramps existed outside of a Colt factory M4.

    Downside was it wouldn't run reliably with Winchester brass cased ammo and magazines were weak point. Magazines still are the weak point - if you get some that run it can be a decent rifle.

    Follow Clandestine's advice on the bolt (cheaper bolts are known for their shorter life expectancy in this caliber) and firing pin.
     

    Kies_Firearms

    Member
    Oct 7, 2011
    9
    We have sold a fair amount of 7.62x39 uppers, and what we have found to really affect reliability are the following items:

    Adjustable gas block, AR gas systems in this caliber are very finicky, and you need to be able to tune to your loads.

    full power hammer spring, and full weight hammers, no speed hammers or lightened hammers if you want to run russian or surplus ammo.

    Correctly profiled extractor, alot of companies try to run 223 extractors in their 7.62 bolts and it just doesn't work well.

    If you have the wrong extractor, or the gas system is not just right for the ammo you are using, you will have a jam-o-matic in this caliber.

    Hope this helps,
    Travis
     

    Lex Armarum

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 19, 2009
    3,450
    Took my 7.62x39 AR out for a run the other day; no malfunctions and fun to shoot. I'll tell you what, I never imagined the difference in recoil between that 7.62x39 and the 5.56 in the AR platform. You definitely notice the 7.62x39. That said, recoil was quite manageable and the rifle was pleasant to shoot.
     

    boardboy330

    Resident Secret Squirrel
    Mar 18, 2008
    12,630
    Took my 7.62x39 AR out for a run the other day; no malfunctions and fun to shoot. I'll tell you what, I never imagined the difference in recoil between that 7.62x39 and the 5.56 in the AR platform. You definitely notice the 7.62x39. That said, recoil was quite manageable and the rifle was pleasant to shoot.

    Glad to hear...I have wanted one for a while.
     

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