I have a stock of 3,500 rounds of various 7.62x39mm saved up and since the pandemic began this caliber has been the least affected price wise and is still at very reasonable levels. Even now it has fallen to well under $0.30 per round making it by far cheaper than anything else centerfire rifle wise.
The problem is, I’ve grown weary of my SKS rifle and simply do not enjoy AKs. I am looking for something more modern with better ergonomics. I see their are various ARs in this caliber out but have no idea which ones are worth seeking (if any) or which to avoid, since I hear some are not dependable.
Any QUALITY AR chambered in 7.62x39mm? How about other designs that are not AKs or SKS?
I can't speak to "QUALITY", since my only experience is recent, and with a "budget" Bear Creek Armory. It seems fine to me, others seem to like it, while others again seem to dislike or distrust the brand.
Mine works, and I'm shooting the cheapest steel ammo I can find. Tula, Wolf, old Barnaul, Silver Bear etc.
What I can tell you- I bought the upper, and have put it on several different lowers, all with stock trigger. I didn't have to do anything with the hammer spring, I get good enough strike to ignite the primers.
Back to the upper: came with a heavy parkerized barrel, seems accurate enough to me thus far.
The bolt face is wider, resulting in a thinner rim. This may be a weakness in design, haven't seen it thus far. I DID have a problem- the extractor that came with it, is I think for a 6.5 Grendel. Noticeably thinner lip, and mine sheared. I don't know if it's due to manufacturer, or design flaw. What I can tell you is this- I replaced it with a standard AR extractor for 5.56. It fits, grabs the case and throws it clean. The standard extractor doesn't quite grab as large a circumference of the case, but it grabs enough- and it's thick enough that it seems like it will survive as long as it would on a 5.56 bolt. There appears to be no damage occurring to the extractor, and the case heads are not mishapen or showing any sign of problem.
There are comments online that the berdan primers are hard, and the fix is to get either/both an enhanced firing pin, or a stronger hammer spring. I didn't change the hammer spring. Before swapping the firing pin, I found Barnaul to be 100%, Tula to be about 50%. The "enhanced" pin is shaped in a way that it goes a hair deeper, and the swap has made everything 100% thus far. BCA now advertises that they ship with an enhanced pin, they didn't at the time I bought it. It cost me $11.
Magazines= I bought some dedicated C-Product (Duramag) mags, 10 and 28 rd. Kinda pricy, but they run. They run great. Standard 5.56 mags do not work well at all, you might get 4-5 rds, if that. The Duramags, you can run them as intended.
My impression- I wanted a rifle to take advantage of cheap 7.62x39 ammo, I didn't want to break the bank doing it. I spent $150 on a cheap complete lower, $300 on a BCA complete upper (comes with BCG and handle), $11 on the firing pin, about $20 apiece on mags. My extractor was $8, I got a few as spares for all my ARs. I'm now satisfied that it's as reliable with the cheap ammo, as I would ask. I've put a couple hundred rds through it since swapping the extractor and pin without further hiccup. Once prices drop some more, I'll keep testing, but so far so good.
I wouldn't get an "AK lower", I think standard with Duramags is plenty good enough and a lot easier to fiddle with down the road. Take that for what it's worth. Happy hunting.
), I don't Need the most accurate guns . Not at 25-50 yards...........
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Couldn't a decent AR do at least as well, using decent US-made ammo, even if closer than the 200 yards used by Rob Ski with his VZ?
