I like the 527. Just sold one on .223, already regret it. I'm thinking I'll get another in 7.62x39.
I love the 7.62x39 round much more than the 5.56/.223. Much better for hunting and much better for penetration in home defense.
Although for years I advocated a 12ga pump as the best home defense weapon, an article in American Rifleman convinced me to rethink that position. Even though he mentions an AR, the most common assault weapon in the US, I prefer the AK as more practical since it also makes a better hunting rifle for hogs.
The AR for Home Defense: One Expert's Opinion
A more general article on home defense weaponry.
Choosing a Home-Defense Gun
Agree on the commie round, and with some good brass and some carefully worked
I like the 527. Just sold one on .223, already regret it. I'm thinking I'll get another in 7.62x39.
I love the 7.62x39 round much more than the 5.56/.223. Much better for hunting and much better for penetration in home defense.
Although for years I advocated a 12ga pump as the best home defense weapon, an article in American Rifleman convinced me to rethink that position. Even though he mentions an AR, the most common assault weapon in the US, I prefer the AK as more practical since it also makes a better hunting rifle for hogs.
The AR for Home Defense: One Expert's Opinion
A more general article on home defense weaponry.
Choosing a Home-Defense Gun
Another great thing about the 7.62x39 in a bolt gun is that you can buy primo brass for not allot of dollars. The bolt gun gives one more bullet options from cast bullets on up to primo hunting bullets. I think you get a little more room as far as length go's in the bolt guns magazine. This was not the case in my 556 version. Diddnt matter to much I just went single shot with it.
I am and have been devout to the AR platform since I was a kid. Good points in both articles though. For when my gun sits in home defense, or general vermin extermination mode, I load it with, 62 grain steel core green tip. With my barrels 1-9 rifling, I get that tumbling effect that many hate for the damage it does to flesh. One thing I noticed also it that this bullet tends to fragment when it hits. In a hog and deer, some times they blow through, but typically it comes apart on bone and is just devastating. The commie round does this to. Especially the hollow point ammo from Wolf. Sorry to ramble. The Commie round is nicer to shoot from a short rifle to. Every bit as nice as the 223 version. Now the, 7.62R is just loud no matter what. Sounds like a slamming screen door. The commie version of the 30/06. Brass is available and not so costly. All three rounds are great hunters and plinkers in a bolt gun and carefully worked hand loads. But, to do that one would be delving into gun nerddom. Tred carefully.
1) I don't don't reload, so paying extra for brass is a waste of cash.
2) Although I have a Mosin-Nagant and Yugo Mauser 24/48 for long range shots, I don't plan on using them much. Most hog shots are made at 100 yards or less. I'd take a 200 yard shot, but beyond that, I don't plan on walking that far nor risk just wounding an animal, even a varmint, to suffer from a misplace shot.
3) the .223/5.56 is great for small varmints like groundhogs, and I've killed pigs with it, but overall, it's unsuitable for hunting and banned from deer hunting in many states for good reason.
4) The M-16/5.56 was developed as a light weight assault rifle for the Air Force to guard their fences. It's not a battle rifle as far too many soldiers and Marines found out in the Great Southeast Asian war games.
5) I was on the JROTC rifle team in high school. One summer we went to two weeks of boot-like training at Ft. Leonard Wood and qualified with the M-14. With iron sights, we were shooting man-sized fiberglass targets at 700 yards. In 1975 when I attended my first increment of PLC training with the Marine Corps we also carried, fired and qualified with the M-14. We qualified at 200, 300 and 500 yard ranges. I dropped 4 points on qualification day. Two years later, we were issued the M-16. Unlike the M-14 which you could drop in the mud, pick up and fire, the plastic Mattel rifle would jam up if you looked at it wrong. On qualification day, I was doing great at the 200 and 300 yard ranges, but at 500 it was a 50/50 toss up as to whether or not I'd hit black or white.
6) The AK-47 and SKS are great field rifles. Fire'em all day, don't clean them at all and they'll keep firing. Sure, there's some slop in them and they don't even have the 500 range of the shitty M-16/AR, but they are far tougher and will last years longer than the AR platform.
7) The 7.62X39MM round is a great hunting round for up to 200 yards. Plenty of mass and punch to take down a hog or a deer. The .223, not so much.
8) The AR platform is very popular and, as such, there is a greater number of options to upgrade, pimp out and otherwise accessorize a person's AR. The AK has a large array of similar options, but still far less than the AR. Nonetheless, just because something is popular doesn't make it the best. It just helps make it cheap to buy.
9) For reloaders, the .223 is cheaper because there are plenty of brass cases available and also plenty of bullet options due to the popularity of the round. The 7.62X39 is much more limited for reloaders, but offers a lot of cheap options in purchasing. I buy mine as HPs/SPs in bulk at less than 25¢/round. Even reloaders would have to reload a shitload of rounds to pay for their equipment, time and expenses to match that price.
10) As the .45 vs 9mm argument displays, there is a lot of difference between not only performance but needs. It's not just a matter of opinion since the performance figures are easily found, but like choosing a car, it's a matter of one's individual needs. There is no perfect car which is simultaneously economical, an SUV, a pick-up and a sexy sports car cheap to drive, but has the power to go from 0 to 60 in a few seconds.
Firearms are the similar. There is not perfect gun, but there are different needs and performances. It's all a matter of trade-offs. IMO, the AK/SKS platforms and the 7.62X39mm round offer the best function and performance for the lowest cost. I can have fun all day busting caps, go hunting and have a great home defense weapon all wrapped in one rifle. YMMV
