Reloading for the sks.

[coondawg]

I started reloading about a year ago, and I got into it hot and heavy. But I've never reloaded for a auto loader. My dad recently asked me to try and squeeze a little more accuracy out of his sks.  His property is being over run by coyotes, and he doesn't have a varmint gun. I'm looking for some advice on what powders work well in the sks. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[Fullauto]

Hodgdons H335 OR H4198 both work very well Norma N200 was an excellent choice but i think is possibly not made anymore.

[maddogg 286]

My two best loads: 15.3 gr. 2400 and 27 gr. IMR 4895 with a 123 gr. Hornady vmax bullet.
I don't know the velocities as my chrono.is on the fritz.My groups were 1.5 in. with the 2400 and 2.7 in. with the 4895 at 100 yd. with my Norinco.

[Groovy Mike]

The only load I've used is with IMR3031

[allesennogwat]

I get best results with RL-7. Mentioning Norma N200, I'm sure it's still produced but due to exchange rates it may no longer be imported in to the US. RL-7 is suppose to be an "improved" version of Norma N200. The RL-7 load data is milder but it may be the difference in American and European load data.
Other powders that work extremely well are AA-1680, IMR-4198 and H-4198. These days IMR-4198 and H-4198 the exact same powder. Using H-4198 accuracy is very good but velocity is slightly down and it's very case-filling. AA-1680 can work well and is easy to measure.. I really like RL-7.
Stay with .311" diameter bullets. Stay with bullets in the 122 - 125 grain weight range. Use CCI #34 or Remington 9 1/2 primers to avoid slamfires.

The Lyman manual has the best load data. Speer data can be warm or mild depending on powder and is a bit all over the place but some of it is useful. Hornady has very accurate bullets.

Most dies in 7.62x39 include .308" and .311" expanders. The .308" expander is usually enough for loading .311" boat tail bullets and doesn't work the brass as much. The .311" expander can be a bit loose even with .311" bullets due to the short neck. The .311" expander is useful for cast lead bullets or bullets without jackets.

The Lee deluxe die with the factory crimp die is the best deal. The RCBS die works well. The Hornady die has a unique expander that usually work better than most but some people claim it can cause problems. The simplest is the Lee but RCBS may or may not have better quality. The strongest decapping pin is the Lee and is important if accidentally trying to force Berdan primed cases that get mixed up in your Boxer primed cases.

[allesennogwat]

The Quikload program treats RL-10X as Norma N200.

here is the best max load data I've found.

123 grain bullet

25.7 Grs. AA1680

26.8 Grs. Reloader#7

24.6 Grs. IMR-4198

A good article but might be a bit dated.

http://gunsandammomag.com/cs/Satellite/IMO_GA/Story_C/The+7.62X39?packedargs=pagenum%3D1

page two with data

http://gunsandammomag.com/cs/Satellite/IMO_GA/Story_C/The+7.62X39?packedargs=pagenum%3D2

[Phobos84]

Reloader 7 is the best I have tried so far.

[Fullauto]

My favorite load is 26.5 grains ADI AR2207 (better known as Hodgdon H4198) behind a 123  grain Hornady bullet. The chronogragh has shown velocity just below 2400ft per second and accuracy is the best I have ever had with the sks five shot group of 1.5 inches at 110 yards (100 meters)  

[I-go]

My load is right from the Hornady book. I use H-4895 @ 27.2gr with a slight crimp on a 123gr. Win power point, works great and cheap to load.