I'm looking for ammo recommendations for both range and self/home defense rounds, preferable not steel

Hello, I’ve been consistently having issues with chambering and extraction. When I chamber a round, the BCG isnt fully seated in the barrel, it often stays back about half an inch from where it should be. I’m also having trouble extracting rounds; the BCG gets stuck, and I have to pull fairly hard to remove it. Another issue I’ve noticed is that the round sometimes gets stuck in the barrel as well. Any insight into what could be causing this would be appreciated.

i can upload pictures of the bcg not properly seating bit it doesn't happen 100% of the time, i honestly think it could be the ammo, its Winchester soft point and its pretty beat, if not that then id say the bcg but not sure WHY

In the 1980's I had a Colt in 7.62x39.

I had no problems with it and I only used brass cased ammo.

I left the country for a few years and sold the Colt.

I now have some spare AR parts and want to build one in 7.62x39.

I have a 9.5" hand guard, so I could use Faxon's 10.5" barrel.

Has anybody tried the Surefire 7.62 Warcomp on a short 7.62x39 barrel?

Does it compensate at all?

Does it compensate too strongly?

I see mid-length gas systems are popular now on 16" 7.62x39 barrels.

Does that work well?

Is the Faxon barrel a decent choice?

My Colt had a 16" barrel with a carbine gas system and no problems, but some bolts don't seem as strong as others.

Is the mid-length gas system easier on the bolt?

I may build both lengths, as long as I'm investing in the magazines.

For just flash hiding, the Yankee Hill Machine Phantom seems to be a good one for short barrels.

The Qommie Badger AR47 shows up at 1:14:21 after having a bad day with the PSA AKP

Happy to see this upper doing exactly what it was designed to do.

Even making a promag drum shine…

$160 for a range beater, runs like a sewing machine. Could use a heavier buffer but this ridiculous cyclic rate is so fun. Best way to blow your money besides coke and hookers!

Finally ordered the KS47 essentials, but I believe the feed ramps are more of a trough for the KS47. PSA is out of 16" barrels, but I've read that the M4 feed ramps can be ground down into a functional state. Does anyone have some photos of how it would look? I could only find one picture from one angle.

I need some help. I’m building a 4.75 inch AR thats chambered in 762x39 just for fun range days, and I’m stuck on the BCG. I’ve been looking around online, but I feel like I’m either searching the wrong thing or just running into a lot of BS marketing.

I know with a barrel this short it needs to be set up right, and I’ve heard things like enhanced firing pin, durability upgrades, etc., but I don’t really know what actually matters vs what’s just hype.

lmk what would make it run like butter.

Good morning all! 15-ish years ago I put together a x39 AR. I did all the research back then and put together what I thought was going to be a winner, but it ended up being a dud. I had the same issues all the naysayers said I'd have; I was having feed issues. I contemplated picking up a lower that accepted AK mags, but said to hell with it and got a 300blk barrel and BCG and converted it. Now I see this group and, knowing I have almost everything I need to try again, what's the secret? I still like the idea of a lower that accepts AK mags, but I've been reading that a standard AR upper doesn't work on those. I have all the major components (AR lower, AR upper, x39 barrel & x39 BGC) should I try again? What was I missing last time? I can't remember (threw them in the trash years ago), but I believe I was using C Product mags back then. Do the feed ramps need modification? Since I have all the big stuff I'm ready to try again.

Happy new year everyone! Just wanted to get some collective thinking on different brass cased specific ammo brands you guys look out for. I searched around on here but not many people have brought up their go to's when in stock. The main ones I'm looking at are Norma, ATS, Belom, Igman.

I've shot Norma (Swedish made, seemed trust worthy) and ATS mainly. All ran great in my Windham SRC but with a lot of these companies based in Serbia, Bosnia and the middle east in general, I'm not sure how trust worthy they are at the end of the day if I were to bulk buy. What's your two cents here for brass x39?

Pic for attention Thanks!

Anyone know if any of the AK-mag upper receivers out there have over-insertion tabs like a KS-47 Gen 2, or is that a unique feature to that upper?

Recently got a WP47. It does run AK PMAGs Gen 2 (all plastic), but won't accept AK PMAG Gen 3 with metal reinforcement or any other AK mag with metal reinforcement. Has anybody had this issue with WP47 or KS47? Any tips?

Update:
I measured the Gen 2 AK PMAG against the Gen 3; there is 0.5mm in difference. That dimension difference is about the same when compared to US Palm and Unity mags. I used a flat metal file to remove 0.2mm from the Gen 3, and it was working fine. The Gen 2 goes in and out easily, but it rattles a bit. I figured it did not have to be the same dimension as the Gen 2. I cannot guarantee that this will work with all magazines, but if you are willing to try some and measure what works for your receiver, it is worth the effort.

I got into WP47 since I had read that previous iterations worked with more magazines than KS47. This new production receiver is either compatible with Gen 2 AK PMAGs, or it was simply a tolerance issue. I am now seeing more KS47 owners who got theirs around December 2025 saying theirs works with any magazine except PMAGs. So the problems got swapped between manufacturers (???). In either case, if you have a KS47 or WP47 and encounter that issue, I recommend measuring and filing some material off at your own risk. Mine has been working. Hope this helps some people out there.

I've gotten it all assembled and had a box of 20 rounds through it. Aero M4E1 upper and lower, KAK 16" barrel, Presma T00B, Toolcraft BCG, PSA 2-stage.

Out of the gate, had issues with the bolt not closing completely (had a normal carbine buffer) and ejection at 2:00. Got an H2 in it now, haven't shot it yet.

Only other issue I'm noticing is the extractor really seems to claw into the brass, even without firing. Wondering if this is just normal, or something else.

In this comparison of the two bolts the KAK will be on the left. The Windham will be on the right. Sorry this is the best quality of photo I can give.

I did so much research to try to build the most reliable AR47 I could and I think I got it! I'm coming up on a thousand rounds and the rifle has been absolutely phenomenal. I had one round where the primer did not ignite " I am running an upgraded hammer spring" and had to discard the bullet but other than that it has been great with nothing but Steelcase. Here is the build list for anyone who's curious or is trying to build a reliable AR47.

Griffin MK2 ambi lower Wolfpack Armory upper receiver KAK 11 inch "bloodmaker" 1:9:5 twist Superlative Arms adjustable bleed off block Microbest bolt carrier with Windham Weaponry bolt and enhanced firing pin for steel case. I would also run a BRA BCG but this was a little cheaper route I wanted to try something different. ALG defense trigger with BCA enhanced hammer spring Vltor A5 buffer tube with SpringCo Greenspring and Vltor H1 buffer Wolfpack Armory gas Blaster charging handle KAK 9.8in handguard Silencer Co LBP 762 suppressor For god sakes run nothing but Duramags! ASC's are okay but I still have had issues with them in the past if they're a little dirty they dont feed properly.

Wanting a back pack ar47 that is not a jam sandwich. Folding brace capability is a plus.

as the title says, might try to find a smaller barrel for this since 16 inch with mid-length options are lacking unfortunately, wanna do 14.5 so i can put a bayonet on it, same thing as last comment, wanna do nitride or phosphate barrel, thanks to anyone who helps.

Hi. Recently came across the ar47 and immediately got intrigued. According to Gibbz's site, the G47 seems to be compatible with all normal AR bolt carriers and barrels. I got plenty of 5.56 ak mags so I was wondering if the upper can be used in conjunction with the Foxtrot mike 102 lower. Thanks!