Why scope a 7.62x39?

[jgillaspy 24]

Hey folks,

 

Most of the people with whom I shoot are Pistoleros who occasionally shoot a rifle, but I'm the other way around. To that end, I want to do an Appleseed shoot here in Texas. I have acquired a NIB Remington 597 in 22lr with a factory 3-9x32 scope and 1000 rounds of matching ammo. That should get me through the Saturday and Sunday morning portions of the shoot. The issue comes with the long-range portion of the shoot. I'll be shooting in Davilla, TX which has a range that goes out to 600 yrs. I know the 7.62x39 round isn't really effective out that far, but it is all I have so I want to use it.

 

I've been reading through the posts here about various scope setups and am now more confused than when I began. I want something that has BDC markings out to 400-500 meters or a cam setup for this cartridge. I don't have any other side mount setup, so I'm thinking PSO or POSP (what the heck is the difference except price?), and I've sent Tantal an email so maybe he/they can shed some light on the subject.

 

Please let me know your thoughts on this subject. Don't bother flaming me for wanting to shoot the cartridge that for - it's all I have to use at this point. I wanted to get a 5.45x39 Saiga, but they are harder to find than hen's teeth right now.

 

TIA,

 

JG

[BuffetDestroyer 969]

Hey folks,

 

Most of the people with whom I shoot are Pistoleros who occasionally shoot a rifle, but I'm the other way around. To that end, I want to do an Appleseed shoot here in Texas. I have acquired a NIB Remington 597 in 22lr with a factory 3-9x32 scope and 1000 rounds of matching ammo. That should get me through the Saturday and Sunday morning portions of the shoot. The issue comes with the long-range portion of the shoot. I'll be shooting in Davilla, TX which has a range that goes out to 600 yrs. I know the 7.62x39 round isn't really effective out that far, but it is all I have so I want to use it.

 

I've been reading through the posts here about various scope setups and am now more confused than when I began. I want something that has BDC markings out to 400-500 meters or a cam setup for this cartridge. I don't have any other side mount setup, so I'm thinking PSO or POSP (what the heck is the difference except price?), and I've sent Tantal an email so maybe he/they can shed some light on the subject.

 

Please let me know your thoughts on this subject. Don't bother flaming me for wanting to shoot the cartridge that for - it's all I have to use at this point. I wanted to get a 5.45x39 Saiga, but they are harder to find than hen's teeth right now.

 

TIA,

 

JG

 

Most new BDC's available from the major optics companies wont work well with the 7.62x39 because the drop is considerably more than other rounds (the higher velocity of most American Hunting Cartridges, 30-30 excepted, creates less drop over the same distance if the ballistic coefficient is the same). Mildots, however, are universal and can be used to range distance to a target and hold over for bullet drop compensation.

 

The other issue with 7.62x39 is that when the bullet goes to the subsonic level (at about 550 to 650 yards depending on your conditions), it usually loses its stability and flies off in a non linear direction to its original arc destroying any accuracy your rifle inherently had.

 

A great place to find out about your load is JBM Ballistics website. Use the trajectory calculator and plug in your altitude, temperature, humidity, bullet (Try Hornady .310 122 or 123 grain), and about 2380 FPS for velocity (or true velocity if you chrony it). You can put your output in Mils, MOA, Inches, etc. This will allow you to create a range card that gets you in the ballpark with your optic. You can also use the elevation knob/adjustment on your scope to dial in your bullet dope, but many cheap and midrange scopes are not true 1/4 moa when you actually test it out. Nor are they repeatable (go back to true zero when adjusting back down). Additionally, the limited range of adjustment on most hunting scopes will not get you out past 500 yards as they bottom out on the adjustment capabilities.

 

I would recommend either a scope originally designed for 7.62x39 or a MilDot scope as it should get you past 500 yards without having to use the elevation knob/adjustment. If you want cheap, check out the Chinese stuff as there are lots that have "MilDots", but be careful as they may not give you instructions as to which power they are true and then you have to figure it out. Midpriced, Bushnell Elite fixed 10x runs about $200, and Nikon has some Mildots in the $250-$400 range, Falcon, Super Sniper and Vortex are great too. Expensive, check out IOR, or Nightforce.

 

Keep in mind that a Mil is an angle measurement and when you cut the power in half on a second focal plane scope, the distance between dots that was 1 mil is now 2 mils. A first focal plane stays true to 1 mil regardless of power. The way to tell which you have is if the reticle shrinks and grows when adjusting the power, you have a first focal plane optic. Otherwise it is a second focal plane as the reticle stays the same size when adjusting the power.

 

Shooting past Point Blank Range (usually around 300 yards) is a whole other ballgame for rifle shooters and takes proper planning and practice with your setup to do it effectively.

[ktcm7271 999]

^ What he said ^

 

Any scope with mil dots or bullet drop lines will work. Sportsmansguide.com has a bunch of 'em. I also got a Remmy 597, but I gave it to wifey-it's too small for me. Guess I'll be gettin' a 10/22.