.223 brass gets chewed!

[Tenderfoot]

How can anyone reload for an AK?
It just chews and gnaws the brass up!
Using brass also expands the case to garbage dimensions. Using steel works well in the AK as it dosen't expand. I guess after I reload my .223 for the AR I'll feed it to the trash compactor AK!
TF

[Schuetzenman]

Yes Tenderfoot,
The AK rifles do mangle brass cases pretty good. A little help can come from gluing a thin rubber pad to the outside of the dust cover where the brass pings off of it. This can help the denting. The expansion for diameter is another thing. Unless you rebarreled the rifle, not much you can do to tighten a chamber.

[Skip]

I place three inch piece of gray "Mortite" rope caulk where the case neck hits the top receiver cover. It goes on/off easy and the shell doesn't eject as far either.

[JA]

I have reloaded 7.62x39mm and .223 brass fired in a AK rifle. The resizing die straightens every thing out. The dent in the side of the case is still there from hitting the receiver cover on ejection but has no ill effect.

[Tenderfoot]

What about all the expansion at the base of the case?
TF

[JA]

My set of Lee .223 dies takes care of that as the .223 reloads fit in my Wilson cartridge gauge and chamber in my MAK-90,AR-15's,and NEF Handi Rifle.
I use Lee dies for 7.62x39mm reloads. They chamber in all my AK type rifles and my bolt action mauser rifle.
The only problem I have had with any once fired brass is some 30-06 WW II ammo fired in a friends M-1919 machine gun. I had to buy a RCBS small base resizing die to get my reloads to chamber in a Remington 7400 semi auto rifle. A set of RCBS 30-06 dies wouldn't resize the base of the brass enough to chamber in that Remington rifle.
If your rifles won't chamber reloads with brass fired in a AK just get a RCBS small base resizing die.

[Tenderfoot]

Thanks JA!
I'd like to use some of this brass again.
I'm using mostly "throw away" steel case ammo in the Russian semiautos.
TF

[Penn]

Yep, my 84S puts a nice ding in the side of that Russian steel case .223 with no problems at all ;)