7.62x39 minimum case length

[Shooter14854]

Hey all. I’m having some minor issues with a 7.62x39 load. I attempted to trim my brass down to 1.518 but about half was too short to begin with. I ended up trimming everything down to 1.515 although a good amount was down to 1.513. I’m shooting this out of a brand new rifle and don’t want to screw anything up… does anybody know the official minimum case length for 7.62x39? Is it safe to shoot brass as short as 1.513? I havnt done and load development yet so I’m not super concerned with minor accuracy issues until I start getting everything dialed in. Thank you!

 

[BIZERKO666]

SAAMI specs are 1.528" -.015".// 1.528" max - 1.513" min.
Hornady, Speer and Lyman all show a maximum case length of 1.528" and a trim length of 1.518"
You'll be fine with your 1.515" or 1.513" according to SAAMI Specs.
Only issue I see is if you planning on using a factory crimp die on them.

 

[Cheesemaker]

SAAMI seems to indicate 1.528 to 1.513 (1.528 - .015). I would "guess" the trim to length would be about 1.518.
Smarter folks than I should be along shortly.

 

[Bcwitt]

That wont cause a problem. X39s tend to be loose anyway.

 

[FROGO207]

Yeah, should work fine. The only issue would be crimping them if you do due to different lengths.
When I was shown how to reload years ago I was told that as long as a caliber of the bullet sidewall was in contact with the brass neck the round would work OK. The neck tension might be different for different lengths but for most of us reloaders this means little. You need to worry about them being too long though. The short bottleneck brass will grow longer as they are fired.

 

[The Glockodile]

Mini - hijack...

What dies are your preference for this round?

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I use RCBS for mine.

 

[gpb]

A thank you to BIZERKO666for citing the SAAMI specs. The SAAMI specs are a valuable and readily available source of information that more people should use.

 

[gunmechanic]

I use rcbs dies And that 1.513 should be fine .