Lee Loader

i am thinking about reloading for a Yugoslavian SKS 762x39 i have the C309-150-F bullet mold that actually drops more like a 311-155-F bullet will this give me and serious headache using it for the sks i normally size this same bullet and use it in my 30-06 and 30-30 runs fine in those two but honestly this is my first dealing with the 762x39.

Best bet would be to slug the bore. SKS tend to vary.

Make smoke,

Agreed.
It might need a .313" bullet.

As O3W said, Slug the bore.
If you powder coat, 2 coats would probably make the diameter large enough to not get gas cutting.

Fit is King...Size for the Throat...Look up "Pound Cast"
Love Cast Bullets!!

orerancher wrote:Fit is King...Size for the Throat...Look up "Pound Cast"
Love Cast Bullets!!

SKS chambers and throats are like most surplus rifles, cut to accept less than clean ammo. Tolerances are pretty broad.

Dannymcmullen wrote:i am thinking about reloading for a Yugoslavian SKS 762x39 i have the C309-150-F bullet mold that actually drops more like a 311-155-F bullet will this give me and serious headache using it for the sks i normally size this same bullet and use it in my 30-06 and 30-30 runs fine in those two but honestly this is my first dealing with the 762x39.

As has been suggested slug your bore to get the rifles groove to groove dia. to get an idea of the bullet dia. you will need to use. In my three SKS rifles one being a 1970 Yugo M59/66A1 I size my bullets to .002" over groove dia. which comes out to .314" using the Lee .312" 160 gr. RN tumble lube gas check bullet, it feels the grooves nicely and the throat. I powder coat and size to .314" with a Lee push through sizer, the powder coat will also eliminate the fouling sometime found on the face of the gas piston and tube. I have a couple other molds I like as well which include a NOE .314"155 gr. RNFP an the Lee .312" 185 gr. RN.
L to R Lee .312" 160 gr. RN / NOE .314" 155 gr. FP / Lee .312" 185 gr. RN


The Lee bullets drop from the mold at around 313.5" using 50% Lead and 50% wheel weights and a pinch of tin after curing the powder coated bullets I water quench them as there is enough antimony in the alloy after the bullets set about two weeks to age harden sufficiently, you can always just use straight wheel weight but it's kind of a waste of good bullet metal for the velocities you going to be shooting at. I've shot the same Lee bullet /alloy combination PC'ed an sized to .311" in the 30-06 at 2300 fps. with no issues. Without powder coating the Lee 160 gr. bullet will come out of the mold at about .313.5" with my alloy, before I started powder coating them I just used my Alox/JPW lube, lightly TL the bullets, applied the gas check and lightly TL'ed again allow them to dry before loaded. With powder coating some colors can make it a bit harder to install the gas checks as the base dia. is enlarger by the coating. I've started just presizing my bullets and installing the check, then just powder coating the gas check along with the bullet.

One thing to remember is that the SKS has a free floating firing pin so it is susceptible to a slamfire if you use too soft a primer or seat the primer high. Suitable primers for use in the SKS are the CCI #200, CCI BR2, CCI #34, Winchester LR. You can read about it here http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=56422.0

One thing of note is that the Yugo SKS has the gas shutoff valve used originally when firing rifle grenades or dummy practice rifle grenades. The gas valve can in some instances leak enough gas pressure with lower pressure / velocity cast bullet loads that it can cause the rifle to short stroke and cause failure to eject or failure to feed issues. A couple powders I would recommend for cast lead in the SKS are Reloader #7 or IMR or H-4198 even if you have a gas leak as long as it's not excessive these powder should provide full function. Reloader #7 is my personal choice in the Yugo because it works well with both cast and jacketed bullets. If the gas leak in the gas shutoff valve is excessive you can purchase a new one for several places on the net.

In the Lyman Cast bullet Manual #4 you can start with 18.0 grs. of Reloader #7 using the Lee 160 gr. bullet and go up to 20.5 grs. Max. and as Ed Harris said or you can stuff the darn case with all the IMR-4895 it will hold and not have to worry about over pressure as it is a slow burning powder. In the SKS I also like 24.0 grs. of IMR or H-4895 and the Lee .312" 185 gr. GC RN bullet. it runs pretty slow at 1400 to 1500 fps. but it one heck of a thumper at 100 yds. In my Yugo, Chinese and Russian SKS rifles .002" over groove dia. chambers easily and shoot very accurately.

Good info and good advise. When I was able to get a reliable local source for the CCI arsenal primers I started using them in all my gas guns. They may not be necessary in all of them but they work in my loads and why take a chance of slam fires. I like my Yugo SKS but don't like chasing brass so don't shoot as much as I'd like.

Make smoke,

A couple option for not having to chase the brass other than a brass catcher. The first option may not work in the Yugo SKS but it's worth a try if you have a fairly tight gas system. One of my favorite loads is 15.5 grs. of Alliant 2400 which is a MAX load with any of my cast lead bullets, if it cycles the action it will only toss the brass about 6 ft. in my Chinese SKS I can use a load of 12.5 grs. of 2400 get reliable cycling and dump the brass right at my feet.

The second option if you have an extra gas tube is to do a gas tube modification to bleed off some of the excess gas which will change the bolt speed and ejection pattern and drop the brass in a neat little pile close to your shooting position.
http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=41391.0

As to primers, I use the Winchester LR old stock and CCI #34 arsenal primers which are also Magnum primer so start low and work your load up. I did a bolt drop test primer only on several type primer years ago to see how big a dimple the firing pin put on the primer. You can see which primer I don't use.

I had a Yugo with a .316 groove that would chamber a .323 with a .318 nose . I used a 323-175 2R .