Where is Junior, and OD?

[sore shoulder]

Saw a mention of a couple folks missing Junior. I haven't seen him post in awhile, whats up?

Also haven't seen Ol Dan post.

I sincerely hope all is well with both of them. I count very few Liberals as a friend, but Junior is one of them. I think he bumped his head somewhere, but I really like the fella. I miss Dans purple 94's.

[C. Cash]

Also Mike D., who was going through some health problems. Worried about that boy.....

[Old Ironsights]

Junior still posts on Castboolits, but even there he doesn't post regularly.

I'm expecting he's lying low untill after the Election Season so as to spare the feelings on all sides.

[Hobie]

Junior was being attacked on this forum and so he stopped posting. A shame.

OD has, ummmm, been concentrating on other interests but he does read this forum and has posted on his favorite subject, 1911s.

Mike D. has not been in the best of health.

Keep them all in your prayers.

[JReed]

I have talked to Junior via email a few times. He got tired of the abuse and left.

[C. Cash]

Will do Hobie and thanks for the update.

[RSY]

Some say Junior ducked out to avoid barbs from some of the less tolerant jacka$$es that seemed to show up after we moved over from the old board. I don't know if that's true, or not. It may be. But, Junior has pretty thick skin and I imagine really couldn't care less what people think of his views. That said, nobody should endure brutal personal attacks because of their political stance (no matter how flawed ).

OD has just been laying low for a good while, now. He's out there, though. Post a M1911 thread and he'll pop up!

scott

[Modoc ED]

I have talked to Junior via email a few times. He got tired of the abuse and left.

I hadn't been a member of this forum for very long when Junior left. He was a good guy with a lot of good advice and some good tales. Heck, he couldn't have been all bad because he was from Louisiana (LA).

BUT he was an avid Hillary Clinton supporter and unfortunately this is not a good forum for Hillary Clinton supporters especially when you push her like Junior did.

The worst thing about the whole situation with Junior was that much of the criticism toward him that should have been given in a light hearted way turned into nasty, hateful, criticism just like the current thread about Kismet.

So Junior, if you're reading this, come on back. Lots of us would like to shoot the bull with ya again.

[sore shoulder]

Junior was being attacked on this forum and so he stopped posting. A shame.

I've seen that in the recent past, and even gave a couple verbal slaps for it, usually from newbies who dont know that Junior's been around since I joined the original Leverguns, somewhere around 03. With the loss of post counts during the change over, some folks here don't have the respect that I think would normally be given to someone with seniority, sort of a respect your elders deal. I'm just sorry I missed the attacks. Junior's a good man, in spite of his apparent mental condition (Liberalsim ), and he was always very gracious with those who didn't agree with him, something that can't be said for the punks with no manners that hassled him, you know who you are. Nice job. I may have to register over at his forum, even though I dont cast. Too bad some of these newbies pushed out a good source of information.

Looking around, I see we have lost a number of good sources of information due to some personalities in this new crop of posters. Apparently they don't understand forum ettiquette, which is the same as real life ettiquette. Meaning, you don't walk into a strangers house and start hassling his friends. You wait till people get to know you and you've been accepted before you start throwing opinions and punches.

[sore shoulder]

Some say Junior ducked out to avoid barbs from some of the less tolerant jacka$$es that seemed to show up after we moved over from the old board. I don't know if that's true, or not. It may be. But, Junior has pretty thick skin and I imagine really couldn't care less what people think of his views. That said, nobody should endure brutal personal attacks because of their political stance (no matter how flawed ).

OD has just been laying low for a good while, now. He's out there, though. Post a M1911 thread and he'll pop up!

scott

Seems I recall you were among the members of the unofficial Leverguns 1911 forum.

[sore shoulder]

[I hadn't been a member of this forum for very long when Junior left........ BUT he was an avid Hillary Clinton supporter and unfortunately this is not a good forum for Hillary Clinton supporters especially when you push her like Junior did.

Now see, thats exactly the problem, you just joined, so you have no idea what kind of forum this was. In fact, Junior was here for many years, so apparently your wrong. What has happened is some individuals with no manners have joined and changed the atmosphere and decided they know what kind of forum this is. Trust me, the real fountains of information are no longer here.

[RSY]

Seems I recall you were among the members of the unofficial Leverguns 1911 forum.

Ah, yes. That was good fun. It was a hotspot that kinda took over the board for a good while.

Strangely, the kid (Italian name, I think) who started that thread and participated so enthusiastically seemed to disappear shortly thereafter. Kinda weird.

scott

[sore shoulder]

Seems I recall you were among the members of the unofficial Leverguns 1911 forum.

Ah, yes. That was good fun. It was a hotspot that kinda took over the board for a good while.

Strangely, the kid (Italian name, I think) who started that thread and participated so enthusiastically seemed to disappear shortly thereafter. Kinda weird.

scott

Yea, I remember him, cocky young college student from the south somewhere. J- something. John comes to mind.

Yea, turns out a lot of levergun fans are also 1911 fanz, who knew?

Remember all those beautifull 1911's from DHart?

[Modoc ED]

[I hadn't been a member of this forum for very long when Junior left........ BUT he was an avid Hillary Clinton supporter and unfortunately this is not a good forum for Hillary Clinton supporters especially when you push her like Junior did.

Now see, thats exactly the problem, you just joined, so you have no idea what kind of forum this was. In fact, Junior was here for many years, so apparently your wrong. What has happened is some individuals with no manners have joined and changed the atmosphere and decided they know what kind of forum this is. Trust me, the real fountains of information are no longer here.

No, I have a very good idea of what this forum is and was.

Evidently you didn't read my whole post where I said:

"The worst thing about the whole situation with Junior was that much of the criticism toward him that should have been given in a light hearted way turned into nasty, hateful, criticism just like the current thread about Kismet.

So Junior, if you're reading this, come on back. Lots of us would like to shoot the bull with ya again."

I was sticking up for Junior and am sticking up for Junior.

[Malamute]

I miss Ol Junior too. I sent him a PM a while back telling him I hoped he didnt let the ragging on him to get to him.

[.45colt]

I remember Junior from long ago on the old-old forum. If You are out there Lurking Junior I just wish You were back. You are one of the Best.Jim.

[Blaine]

Come on back, Junior.......

[handirifle]

Yea, especially with the candidates we have this time around, it's anybodies guess who we'll get. So Junior, Hillary has as good a shot as any of them and at this point you might be as right as any of us.

Come on back to the fold.

[RSY]

From what I've seen over the years, Junior is a class act. He didn't throw a big pity party when he left and if he returns he'll probably do it with as little fanfare as possible. You won't see any of that "I'M BACK!!!" sorority girl stuff from him.

scott

[Old Savage]

handi, I think Hillary's shot went down with the sniper fire.

[Old Savage]

POLITICS - Romney --- Re: Junior this likely where things got rough - didn't see it at the time but he lit the fire here. Read through it.

[old goat]

...Excuse me OS, but...did you mean to post a link?

...old goat

[Old Savage]

The topic is the title I gave. Didn't post a link.

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... ics+romney

Here it is - may give some light on at least some of what transpired.

[Grizz]

I like Junior and appreciate his knowledge. But I gotta say one of his favorite tricks was to post outrageous political propositions that he knew would blow up like a keg of black powder.

I think he thought it was fun. I sure did, and I took the bait every time. I can't give a man who insults half of America a free pass, but I miss him.

Come on back Junior.

[old goat]

...Thank you, sir!

...old goat

[sore shoulder]

I like Junior and appreciate his knowledge. But I gotta say one of his favorite tricks was to post outrageous political propositions that he knew would blow up like a keg of black powder.

I think he thought it was fun. I sure did, and I took the bait every time. I can't give a man who insults half of America a free pass, but I miss him.

Come on back Junior.

Exactly, we knew where he stood, and he knew where we stood, but if it came down to it, Junior would be on our side. I doubt you could say the same for most others with a "Lib" tag. For instance, I'm still waiting for a reply from Kismet on the other thread.

[Griff]

I miss Junior, agree with him on a lot of issues, disagreed on some others; but... more importantly, respect his knowledge and willingness to share same.

Only two of the above were pertinent to our discourses on Leverguns. Would have loved to have shared his campfire and cure ALL of our societal ills.

[Duff L Bagg]

Junior...come home

[cas]

I would like to make two points:


First I will make the point that I'm forced to constantly make at work;

Political and religious arguments are the same thing, pointless.
You have person A. on one side, and person B. on the other.

There is absolutely nothing person A can say, to make person B agree with person A.

There is absolutely nothing person B can say that will convince person A to agree with person B.

At best, it just wastes a lot of time and annoys everyone around them.

At worst the pointless back and forth deteriorates to name calling and insults. Which does nothing but make person A feel they have the moral high ground since they are "right". As well as making B feel the same way, again of course because they are "right". And of course it annoys everyone around them even more.


Secondly. as to Junior.

I don't mean this as a slight is any way to him, or as a judge of his input/value to the forum, or however you'd like to phrase it... but I know almost nothing about junior. I don't recall anything firearms related about Junior. (which is fine) Nor do I know anything about Juniors personal and or political beliefs... at least not coming from Junior. (also fine)

The "fuss" made over Junior seems to have been rather disproportionate to anything the man ever did himself. I generally don't bother reading the political posts, and so I guess that's why I don't know any of his views. Apparently he kept them in those posts. However, I do know how so many other people seem to feel about Juniors views. Comments and remarks about him (them) have extended well beyond the "forum" if you will, that you would have been acceptable. Instead they've become pervasive and worked their way into common usage. Jabs at him are like the standby catchall comic one-liner. Even if they thought they were done in jest, I can't blame him for getting tired of it.

[GANJIRO]

The topic is the title I gave. Didn't post a link.

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... ics+romney

Here it is - may give some light on at least some of what transpired.

WOW I wasn't tracking that thread, didn't know it got THAT BAD!
The personal attacks got VERY personal, I don't blame Junior for leaving. Attacking the individual is bad enough but when you start attacking family members there's just no excuse for that, this is sad.

Junior, darn the politics, come on back to the fire and let's talk guns, we miss ya.

[sore shoulder]

but I know almost nothing about junior. I don't recall anything firearms related about Junior.

Junior used to contribute a lot of woodlore and frugal firearms mods to this forum. IOW something of value beyond ignorant rhetoric concerning his politics. Nothing wrong with a civil disagreement among brethren, and Junior is a brother, make no mistake about it.

Meet Junior Doughty.
http://www.castbullet.com/index.htm


Can you imagine, a Lib doing an article advocating an SKS for hunting, complete with some bubba mods? I doubt the people who made a hobby out of smacking him around have contributed half as much to internet firearms knowledge. He also sells John Wayne memorabilia.

http://www.castbullet.com/shooting/sks.htm

Yugo SKS Hog Rifle
(Click here for the update to this article.)
Copyright 2006 by Junior Doughty


Click small photos for full size photos
A special thanks to "StarMetal" from the Cast Boolits forum for his advice on this SKS project. Thanks, Joe!
Over the 50+ years I've wandered the north Louisiana woods I've had many encounters with wild hogs. If you wound one, especially a boar, it is apt to come after your butt with murder on its mind. If you don't kill it before it reaches you, well, you're about to become a pile of bloody meat.
As I've stated before here in the Frugal Outdoorsman, a wild hog rifle needs the ability to make a fast second shot and even a third, fourth, and fifth shot. If the hog is still moving, I'm still shooting. I would never shoot a wild boar with a single shot rifle. I might would shoot one with a bolt action in a caliber such as 308 Winchester with heavy bullets but never with something like a 243 unless I was in an elevated stand, i.e., already up a tree. However, this ol' boy keeps his feet on the ground just like the hogs, so there's no such thing as a bolt action hog rifle.

Links
http://www.surplusrifle.com

Cast Boolits Forum

Buffer Technologies

Murry Gunsmithing

Williams Gun Sight Company

http://www.simonov.net


An almost ideal hog rifle, I believe, is a 30-30 lever action shooting a hard cast 170+ gr bullet. The Sectional Density of the 181 gr cast bullet I describe later in this article and use in my SKS, exactly matches the SD of a 345 gr 44 magnum bullet. That is genuine punch-through power.

In my opinion the ideal hog rifle is a semi-auto, not a lever action. You can empty the magazine of a semi-auto and your finger never leaves the trigger and your eye never leaves the sight. That is a heck of an advantage when your target is an enraged boar hog headed for you at a high rate of speed. I would have bought a 30 M1 carbine many years ago for hog hunting but not at their price and not with the low power of the round compared to a 30-30. A Ruger semi-auto in 44 mag or a Ruger Ranch Rifle in 7.62 x 39 mm would both work just fine as hog rifles. But not with my thin wallet!

I often thought about buying an AK47 or an SKS, but not only did I not like military-looking black rifles I didn't even like people who liked black rifles. Then one morning my snailmail lady brought me a sale flyer from J & G Sales. It contained an ad for Yugoslavian SKS rifles in 7.62 x 39 mm for $159.95. The ad read, "Excellent to like new condition." The picture with the ad showed a wooden stocked rifle.

I had recently ordered a $59.95 Turkish Mauser from J & G Sales. After some work with a Dremel® tool, files, and a hacksaw, I had converted it from a military rifle to a decent looking and great shooting sporting rifle. Maybe I could do the same to a Yugo SKS. . . .

So I ordered one and had it shipped to my FFL dealer. (Blade 'n' Barrel in Jena, Louisiana, 318-992-6891) That's it on the right. My Turk Mauser had been dipped in heated cosmoline. This Yugo had been dipped in something much like STP®. This rifle was made sometime soon after 1959 and converted to a grenade launcher version in 1966. Soaked in grease, it sat in warehouses for forty years. Guys, this rifle was not in "Excellent to like new condition." It was in unfired condition.

It was a bargain at $159.95, especially compared to a Ruger Ranch Rifle at $750.

Degreased and as you see it here, it weighed 9 lbs 7.2 oz. It was a heavy rifle.

I disassembled it and degreased it in a non-mentionable, highly flammable solvent. You'll find great disassembly instructions and much more on this rifle at www.surplusrifle.com

My Yugo SKS is probably the easiest to disassemble rifle I've ever owned. Repairing it should something wear or break ought to be a breeze. But let's look at two problems with my rifle which weren't covered by instructions at www.surplusrifle.com


Here, after hacksaw work, I have removed the handguard/gas piston for clarity. The long black, angled line in the graphic represents the barreled action.
To actually remove the barreled action from the stock I would have had to remove the trigger guard assembly, which I didn't do for this photo.

Note in the picture, right side, how the stock tip hooks under the flange attached to the barrel. To remove the barreled action, it raises out of the stock in the rear and pivots at the flange. Raised, you simply pull it free.


This barreled action refused to raise in the rear. I had to beat it out of the stock with a hammer.
Note the crossbolt shown in the picture, near center, and the crossbolt catch shown above it in the graphic. The catch goes behind the crossbolt, not in front of it. Note the little hook on the catch which hooks under the crossbolt.

Note the recoil lug at the rear of the barreled action instead of forward as you'd expect it. Those two lugs, the recoil lug and the crossbolt catch lug, must fit in the space/distance between the inletted wood at the rear of the stock and the rear of the crossbolt.

I had to carefully shave wood from the bottom half of the stock's recoil surface so the barreled action would fit. When it changed from an almost impossible fit to a tight fit, I stopped shaving wood. I don't know how the Yugoslavian factory worker installed the barreled action in the stock back in 1966. Maybe with a big hammer.

I had one other problem with the rifle as it came from J & G Sales. The handguard/piston rod assembly fit so tightly I couldn't turn the gas valve on and off. With grenade launcher models of the SKS you can turn the gas valve off and fire the rifle as a bolt action. That's a handy feature!

This after-hacksaw photo shows the gas valve "on." To turn it "off" push the big button in and push it up until it locks in the hole above it. To remove the valve, remove the handguard/gas piston assembly and put the big button in the hole to the left. The button comes out and frees the valve for removal.

In this case, the piston housing, shown to the left, pressed against the valve so hard it wouldn't move.

Here's the valve outside the housing and with the button stuck back in place for the photo. The angled hole on the left of the valve is the gas inlet hole. Orientated down and directly above the hole in the barrel, gas enters it. Up and against the side of the valve housing, gas doesn't enter it.

Note the shiny ring around the front of the valve. A couple of swipes with a file removed maybe .001" of metal and freed the valve. The piston housing was pushing it against the valve housing and binding it. I can now wiggle the handguard/piston assembly. Before, I couldn't.

It took me a couple of days of fitting, filing, trying, etc., to get this rifle functioning perfectly. My son-in-law and I had a discussion on why the rifle would have left the factory with defects, i.e., very poor stock to barreled action fitting and a non-operating gas/grenade launcher valve. Here's our conclusion: any company of soldiers, even in the jungles of Vietnam, would have had at least one man with mechanical ability and a file, the only tool really needed to fix both defects. The communist factories turned these rifles out by the thousands and probably left final fitting to the guys in the field.



Here in 2006 and not 1966, this guy in the field was ready to break out the hacksaw and start chopping off military parts.

Here's the before-hacksaw business end of the rifle.

On the left and horizontally, and from top to bottom, we see the folded down grenade launcher sight, the barrel, the cleaning rod, and the folded under bayonet.

On the right and horizontally we see the grenade launcher.




Here's the after-hacksaw business end of the rifle.

Hacksawing off the grenade launcher gave me a new barrel length of 21".

The observant will notice the tip of a red fiber optic sight poking past the end of the Yugo front sight. That's the Fire Sight front half of a Williams SKS set which didn't even come close to fitting this SKS rifle. Obviously, either the Yugo or the Yugo with grenade launcher version has shorter sights than regular SKS rifles. In this case, about .125" shorter.


This close up shows it better. As you can see, I finally installed the front Fire Sight with the help of gobs of epoxy.

The small black hole at 1 o'clock inside the epoxy-filled hole should be in the center of the epoxy-filled hole. The screw provided with the Williams set fits inside the big hole and screws into the small black hole in the sight blade. If you'll notice, that would put the blade about .125" lower. The blade also sits too far to the right, but that is my fault. I wasn't paying attention to details.

At first I installed the front blade with the Williams screw, in the lower, proper position, and I installed the rear WSKS peep as per the directions. However, when I tried to zero the rifle with the Wolf 124 gr HP ammo I also ordered with the rifle, it shot about 8" high @ 25 yards.

The rear peep was way too high. With the aid of a file and the removal of much aluminum from the bottom of the rear sight, I finally lowered it. It shot to the sights @ 25 yards. Hurray!!

But the sights were so low the Line Of Sight almost touched the rear of the action hump. A ghost image of the hump appeared in front of the rear aperture. And I had to scrunch my
head down on the stock in order to see through the aperture at all.



So I raised both sights. Now, my cheek touches the stock and my eye naturally aligns with the rear aperture. And there's no ghost image. The LOS runs about 5/16" above the rear hump.

The center of the front sight now sits 1.4" above the centerline of the bore.

Note: with the original, low LOS with the factory sights and also with the Williams sights installed as per directions, I highly suspect the gas valve button in the "off" position would have blocked the LOS. With the sights raised, there's plenty of clearance.

This close up of the front Fire Sight looks down the barrel as the aiming eye would see the sight. For some reason, the flash made the red Fire Sight look yellow.

Notice the gobs of epoxy.

Notice the sight hood cut out at the top. I bent the sides of the hood inward hoping the sight would have enough room at the top, but it didn't. So off came the top of the hood.

I like it cut off at the top.

While we're looking at the front Fire Sight, notice its width, exactly .100". It covers about 6" @ 50 yards. That is bad for group shooting but good for fast target acquisition in a close range woods hunting situation. Read that perfect for wild hog hunting in the woods.

Here's the rear peep installed as per the directions but with much modification. That's a big .150" aperture for close range woods hunting situations. (See above.) If you'll notice, the aperture and the sight's elevation screw are fixed in place with red fingernail polish. I didn't want the aperture to loosen and I won't be swapping it out, so it's glued in place. The elevation screw kept unscrewing, so it's glued in place, too.

I ran out of elevation adjustment, so the shiny round thing you see beneath the screw is a shim. Actually, it's the cup of a fired primer. It was a perfect fit and just the right thickness.

I also had to bend the sight base to position the aperture parallel to the bore, as you see it here. I got to wondering why my view through the aperture was slightly oval shaped. Then I noticed it pointing downward. It actually pointed to a spot some 6" behind the front sight.

Of course, the rifle was zeroed with the oval shaped view, so after correcting for parallelism I had to zero it again. With all the trouble I had with the sights I probably shot 100 Wolf rounds before getting the sights in a permanent position.

Here's the Williams sight info:


Aperture sight #WSKS (rear). It came with a .150" aperture.
Fire Sight SKS front sight #60214
Cost = $37.98
Here's looking down at the rear WSKS sight.
You can't tell by looking but I hammer-flared the sides of the WSKS aluminum sight so it fit tightly inside the steel SKS sight rails. Before, there was maybe .030" of side to side movement. Now, there's maybe .001".

While we're looking down at the partially obscured serial number on the bolt carrier, I should note that all numbers on the rifle matched perfectly, including the serial number on the stock.

Now, let's look at two OEM parts I installed on the rifle.

Here we see a recoil buffer available for $9.95 plus a smidgen for shipping from Buffer Technologies at www.buffertech.com Get one if you shoot an SKS!

The instructions say "Easy Do It Yourself Installation" and they speak the truth. Just follow the directions.

Any Vietnam vet will describe for you the distinctive sound of an SKS firing. It's a powclang, powclang, powclang as the rifle fires pow and recoil drives the bolt and carrier back where they slam into the rear of the receiver clang.

Well, this little buffer stops the metal bolt and carrier from hitting the metal rear of the receiver and changes the sound to a plain ol' pow, pow, pow.

With this buffer installed, the rifle should last many more years. And it's much more comfortable to fire, too. Get one!

The next part is a spring loaded firing pin and cost $37 and was not so easy to install. However, it's a safety issue if your SKS doesn't have one. Get one from Murry Gunsmithing at www.murraysguns.com

If you're afraid to tackle the job, send your bolt to Murray for installation for only $6 more.

The SKS factory firing pin sits inside the bolt under no spring tension. When the bolt slams shut, inertia sends the firing pin forward where it smacks against the primer. (In the photo below, the primer would be to the left.)

With the hard Russian primers there's seldom a problem. With the softer American primers, sooner or later you will pull the trigger once and two rounds will fire. Or three. Or more. . . .

The installation problem is the retaining pin shown at the top center of this photo and sticking out of the bolt. To the left of it is the extractor, then down we see the bolt, then the old firing pin, then the new spring loaded firing pin, then an extra spring Murray sends you.

The retaining pin retains both the extractor and the firing pin. It is held in the bolt by a tight fit. A tight fit. Here's my removal suggestions:


Spend $6 and let Murray install the new firing pin.
Soak the pin overnight in penetrating oil.
Don't even think of supporting the bolt on wood while you drive out the pin. You need solid metal. A big iron vise with a hole in it bigger than the pin is what you need.
Don't drive the pin all the way out of the bolt. Drive it just far enough to free the firing pin.
Use a punch just smaller than the pin hole. If your punch is too small and you booger the pin, Murray is probably gonna charge you more than the $6 you should have sent him in the first place.
Well, we're through with the hacksaw and the OEM parts and most of all we're through with the danged sights. Here's the finished rifle, the "after" photo.

OAL = 41"
Barrel = 21"
Final cost = $159.95 + $37.98 + $9.95 + $37.00 = $206.90
Final weight = 8 lbs 5.2 oz
A free sling came with the rifle but it weighed 3.7 oz. The homemade nylon sling shown here weighed exactly 1 oz, which is included in the final weight of the rifle. The sling attachment points are built into the rifle.
The rifle is still too heavy by at least a pound. I considered a plastic—black!—stock, but it weighed exactly the same as this wooden stock, 2.16 lbs. I could chop more iron from around the front sight. We'll see about that come spring and the beginning of warmer weather and the end of hog hunting. Until then, I'll tote it as it is.

Now, let's see how the rifle shoots. I shot many 3 and 5 shot 50 yard groups with the Wolf 124 gr HP ammo while working on the sights. The 50 yard groups averaged around 2 1/2" to 3" with some 3 shot groups running around 1". I considered those results great, especially with the big front Fire Sight.

The rifle, I then knew, would work fine at woods ranges of probably 75 yards max for a long shot.

I shot 5 of the Wolf rounds over my Chrony. The results:

Average Velocity = 2466 fps
Extreme Spread = 90
Standard Deviation = 35
The AV was higher than expected, which was good, but so was the ES, which was bad. I blamed the high ES on Russian quality control. But @ about $4 a box in the door, 20¢ a round, who's complaining?
Well, the rifle shot the cheap Wolf ammo just fine. But this rifle would shoot cast bullets if it stayed in my house. When I ordered it (August 9, 2006 & delivered to my FFL dealer on August 14, 2006) in the back of my mind was the thought of selling it and recouping my money if it wouldn't shoot cast bullets. First, I both slugged the bore and measured the twist in order to determine what size cast bullet I needed.


Yugo bore = .302"; groove = .3115"
Twist = 1 in 9 1/2"
The results looked great. I had feared a .314" bore like guys had reported on forums. The smaller bore meant my intended cast bullet would probably work, if I could find a suitable powder and charge. My intended bullet was the Lyman #311041, which I figured would work fine in the Yugo's fast twist.
I had two 311041 versions on hand:

Bullets from a genuine Lyman #311041 mold.
Prospective bullets from a group buy Lee-made, 6-cavity copy of the Lyman bullet and called the "fat 311041" by the Cast Boolits forum guys. I had never used my fat 311041 mold.
First, let's look at the average real 311041 bullet naked:
Weight = 174.0 grs
Length = .968"
Nose diameter = .300"
Band diameter = .310" on one side and .311" on the other side
With a gas check and two coats of Lee Liquid Alox lube and pushed through a .311" Lee sizer, they weighed 178.0 grs. However, they were slightly out of round—like almost all cast bullets from normal molds—and I worried about the two small sides letting gas blow by and leading the barrel. The .311" sizer barely touched 1/2 of the surface of the bullets. Basically, all it did was seat the gas checks.
I broke out the fat 311041 mold and quickly cast a pile of bullets. You gotta love those Lee 6-cavity molds! I had high hopes for this bullet in my SKS due to the larger diameter better fitting the .3115" bore. Here's the average fat 311041 naked results:

Weight = 176.37 grs
Length = .982"
Nose diameter = .301"
Band diameter = .3115" on one side and .3125" on the other side.
With a gas check and two coats of Lee Liquid Alox lube and pushed through the .311" Lee sizer, they weighed 181.2 grs. The band diameter looked almost perfect for the Yugo's bore. The .311" sizer left a shiny ring all the way around each bullet.
Obviously the fat bullet had much greater potential in my Yugo's bore than the skinny one. I would save the skinny ones for 30-30 use, I decided. But since I had a bunch of reject skinny ones I saved for some reason, I would use them for working up a load.

The "load" quickly became a problem as I could find no published data for a 178 to 181 gr cast bullet for 7.62 x 39 mm. Also, I wanted to use surplus 4895 powder, S4895 I call it. From forum posts and from interpolating published data on lighter bullets, I decided I could achieve 1700 fps muzzle velocity with the 311041 and S4895 at reasonable pressures.

The 311041 @ 1700 fps was my usual hog load in 30-30. If I could achieve 1700 fps with that bullet in my Yugo, I would in effect have a semi-auto 30-30. I liked the idea!!

The photo on the right shows a 311041-loaded 7.62 x 39 mm and a 311041-loaded 30-30 Winchester. Due to my Yugo's long throat I could seat the bullet out to a COAL of 2.143". It's crimped in the first lube groove.

As you can tell from the photo below, seating the bullet out leaves plenty of case capacity. About all that sticks below the case neck is the gas check.

I started with 23.0 grs of S4895 due to an educated guess. That was also the weight thrown by my homemade 1.8cc dipper. The 23.0 grs of S4895 gives an estimated Loading Density of about 95%.

I installed my Chrony in my back yard, just out the back door. I hung a
t-shirt on my back porch clothesline. I aligned myself and the Chrony so the shots would pass out the back door and over the screens and the ejected shell casings would hit the t-shirt and, hopefully, fall in the floor near my feet. I could have turned off the gas valve, but I wanted to check ejection.

Using the 1.8cc dipper, not weighing the charge, and a skinny 311041 reject bullet, I loaded one only round, then walked out on the back porch and fired it. The casing hit the t-shirt and fell at my feet. A glance over to the Chrony readout showed 1704 fps. I probably hollered with joy!

The case showed zero pressure signs. Four more rounds loaded and fired one at the time showed the same results—no pressure signs, 100% ejection, and around 1700 fps muzzle velocity.

Here's the Chrony results:

AV = 1692
ES = 65
SD = 24
Then I loaded 5 rounds with fat 311041 bullets from the "Good" pile and 23.0 measured grs of S4895. I put them in the Yugo's magazine. I fired them over the Chrony, letting the rifle cycle the next round into the chamber. All 5 fed perfectly and ejected perfectly. All 5 ejected cases hit the t-shirt and landed at my feet. None showed pressure signs. Here's the Chrony results:
AV = 1698 fps
ES = 28
SD = 11
That's good ballistic results.
Here's a sample 50 yard group. In this case, it's a 10 shot group. Not much to brag about, huh? Ten shots in about 3 1/2" @ 50 yards. However, what you see is 5 shots with the Wolf 124 gr HP ammo and 5 shots with reject skinny 311041 rounds loaded with 1.8cc dipped S4895, all shot with the same sight setting.

Now you know another reason I put fingernail polish on the rear sight adjustment screws when I finished adjusting POI. There's no reason to change them when I switch ammo types!

I think I like my semi-auto "30-30." Here's what I like about it:

Fast cycle rate. I compare it to a Ruger 10-22 on steroids.
Zero failures to feed and eject so far after maybe 200 rounds.
Ten round magazine capacity. I bought a 30 round magazine for it, but I didn't like the way it looked. Too military looking, I guess. But with my Yugo and 30 of the fat 311041 rounds I wouldn't fear a grizzly bear. I could put 12 oz of lead in him before he reached me.
The ability to push a button and change it to a bolt action is a great feature.
Cheap to shoot. Wolf factory ammo at 20¢ and cast ammo at 12¢.
Cheap to buy. $206.90 for a new rifle, including new OEM sights, is a heck of a deal.
Ease of disassembly and repair.
Here's what I don't like about it:
Even stripped, it's too dang heavy at almost 8 1/2 lbs. Some of that weight is coming off.
The magazine is located exactly at the balance point and prevents a one-handed carry.
One complaint is fixable, and the other one is nit picking. The score is 7 to 2 in favor of "like." My Yugo is a dandy rifle.
No article about a new rifle should end without the story of the rifle's first hunt. This story begins on the cool morning of September 8, 2006, the day before this writing.

The 100° days of August had ended in north Louisiana, and we reached September with cool nights and mid-80° days. I'm an early riser, around 0500, and each morning I had watched the outside temperature gauge on the ol' atomic clock on the wall. Morning by morning it crept closer and closer to the magic number of 60°. When it reached it, I was taking the Yugo hog hunting.

It finally reached it, reading 59.9°. But I lollygagged around more than normal, preparing for the first hunt of the season, so when I stopped my truck in the river bottom my watch read 0737, at least an hour later than I should have arrived. I had only two hours of hunting at the most before the temperature grew too hot for one slow man to clean a hog. I got out of the truck, suddenly shivering in the cold. I wore only a t-shirt and wished for an overshirt.

I shouldered my gear and the Yugo, which was loaded with 10 rounds of fat 311041 hog-ready bullets. After a moment to double check for the emergency stuff—nitro pills and cellphone—I stepped away from the truck and headed down a long-abandoned dirt road leading through the woods. The sight to the right suddenly greeted me.

The road leads off to the left. There's nothing for scale, but the giant oak is about 4 feet in diameter. I loved the way the morning sun illuminated it, so I snapped the photo, then stood there for a long minute and admired the beauty.

Behind the oak and noticeable in the full size photo you can see an opening. That's an ancient river channel, now a nearly dry slough which stretches about 300 yards to the left. The river is just beyond the treeline in the rear of the photo. Since it's too early for acorns, hogs feed on grass growing in the moist ground near the slough and in the slough itself on mussels made accessible by low water conditions.

These mussels aren't like northern mussels. An adult reaches the size of a man's clenched fist, as you can see in this photo of one's shell I picked up in the edge of the slough. The shell is semi-transparent, as you can see. Note the cracks in the shell where a hog popped it open with its teeth.

I believe this mussel is a "Fragile Papershell" species Leptodea fragilis. The hogs probably call it tasteosis morselosis.

All hunts begin with a plan and this first one with the Yugo was no exception. I had intended to arrive at the crack of dawn and catch the hogs leaving the slough and heading to their daytime bedding grounds in the pine tree plantation off to the left of the dim road. The slough lay in the transition zone between two dissimilar land patterns—hardwood bottomland and upland pine plantation land.

Such transition zones make ideal hunting grounds due to animals moving back and forth between two totally different ecosystems with many different food sources all ripening, maturing, or becoming available at different times of the year. For hogs, the bottomland provides acorns, shagbark hickory nuts, wild hazelnuts, muscadine grapes, ‘possum grapes, persimmons, mayhaw berries, and many other foods such as mussels. The pine land provides blackberry leaves and berries, numerous tubers, and plentiful grubs and earthworms beneath the thick ground covering of dead pine needles. There's many other foods I'm sure.

Hogs, and deer, eat here this month, over there next month, and way over yonder the month after that. Then they're back here eating something entirely different.

Well, here and now, I was ready to start hunting. I put up my camera, hitched my pack, and prepared to take a step. The sun beamed into my eyes, so I turned down the brim of my hat. Doing that, my eyes cast downward. There at my feet was a fresh hog track. It looked about 1 1/2" long, like a teenager-size hog, like the exact size of the hog I hoped to kill. A hog with a ham like I had promised my sister I would bring home soon and roast over my front yard campfire. My entire being suddenly focused on my surroundings. I became a hunter.

The woods were absolutely still, and cool. I heard a bird . . . Then another one. . . I began easing along the old road. About 100 yards down it, there lay a little pile of hog poop. Around it were more teenager tracks and some much bigger tracks—the kid's mother, I figured. I stopped for a few minutes, watching, listening. I started walking again, very slowly.

Many yards and minutes and stops later, a bluejay screeched off to my left. I eased forward while the bluejay kept up his racket. He was mad at something, probably a squirrel or a deer . . . but maybe a hog. I stopped and looked and listened. Nothing. I moved forward.

Several yards later and off to my left a deer snorted—at me, probably, but maybe at the still-mad bluejay. I tried hard but couldn't see the deer. I would not shoot it as the season wasn't open, but I wanted to see it. Nothing. I eased forward again.

Eventually I made it to one of my regularly scheduled gedunk stops, an oak blow-down whose trunk was perfect for sitting and snacking and whose dead limbs provided cover. The time was after 0930, and the temperature was rising fast. I leaned the Yugo against a limb and sat down and dug out my snacks.

Working with slow movements so as not to alarm game, I cracked my regularly scheduled hardboiled egg. I peeled it, then tore open the tiny deli-packs of salt and pepper I keep when I get take-out burgers. darned if I didn't have two packs of pepper. I had put on my glasses specifically when I picked the packs out of my stash at home so I would get both a salt and a pepper. How in tha hell had that happened?

While I pondered one of the great mysteries of the universe and munched a hardboiled egg with too much pepper on it, I happened to glance to my right and there stood a deer. I froze. It stood in a patch of sunlight about 90 yards away at the edge of the old road I had walked down. It stood near the spot on which I had stood when I heard it snort. Its summer coat gleamed like gold in the morning sun. It was beautiful.

I couldn't tell buck or doe because a low-hanging leafy limb obscured its head. I planned the shot I would have made with the Yugo had the shot been legal. Just center the Fire Sight on its illuminated side and pull the trigger. No need to estimate the range. The Yugo leaned there beside me within easy reach. Just ease my right hand over and pick it up and slowly, slowly bring it to my shoulder. Since I couldn't see the deer's head, he or she probably couldn't see me. Oh, it would be easy. . . .

I looked away and took a bite of the hardboiled egg. Chewing, I looked back at the deer. It was gone . . . gone like a golden ghost.

[Marlin .35]

Junior, I am going to vote Democratic this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come back so we can enjoy victory!! I miss you!! Art

[Idahoser]

I'd hate to have Junior come back at our request only to have some other new folks jump on him again. It did get pretty uncivil there. Still happens, only now it happens without Junior.

I'd take Junior and send away the nasty posters, if it was up to me.

[Hobie]

I suppose, after reading the Romney topic, that I'm partially to blame then. I didn't realize what had happened. While I've been preoccupied most of the time, I do owe you all an apology.

[KirkD]

I just read through that post where Junior left. Not good! I can understand why Junior decided he didn't need that kind of stuff on this forum. Very unfortunate. This forum is the poorer for his passing.

Now a word to you young fellows who go off half cocked and start swinging at the slightest provocation .... I used to have a pretty short fuse myself a long time ago. There was a time when I used to write scathing things in newspapers, and lay an opponent open from thigh to neck, then wipe the floor with him. That kind of stuff did far more damage than good. It never persuaded people at all, just made them hate me and what I was trying to represent. Then I noticed something that God said, 'Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned as it were with salt, so that you may know how to respond to each person.' I started thinking about that verse and then I started feeling pretty low, thinking about the trail of carnage strewn behind me for many years. I learned the hard way. You young fellows don't have to learn the hard way, if you'll listen to a few old geezers who've made a lot of mistakes and are trying to give you good advice so you don't make the same dad-blamed mistakes too. So be quick to hear and slow to speak. Think long and hard before you say something harsh. You can still confront people who need to be confronted, but you can do it in a clean, gracious, yet powerful way.

[Idahoser]

Some of the nastiest posts have come from the religious folks.

Mostly not youngsters (well none, really, as far as I could tell).

[KirkD]

Some of the nastiest posts have come from the religious folks.

Mostly not youngsters (well none, really, as far as I could tell).

Well, I'm a sincere Christian, so some would say I'm religious. On the other hand, not every religious person is a sincere Christian. Religious or not, I figure if an old person hasn't learned to control their tongue, then they're no further ahead than a young person, still wet behind the ears, who hasn't had the foolishness knocked out him yet.

[cas]

Now... as far as that no good dirty OD goes..

[BenT]

All I know is Junior makes a great saddle ring sling and has good cast bullet info on his website.

[JReed]

All I know is Junior makes a great saddle ring sling and has good cast bullet info on his website.

Yep and he is great about replying to emails. I still write and ask him stuff from time to time.

He and I bumped heads from time to time but I tryed to keep it on a profesional level if I felt I crossed the line I appologized he accepted and we went on our happy way. We lost a great source of info and an all around great guy when he left.

[sore shoulder]

Some of the nastiest posts have come from the religious folks.

Mostly not youngsters (well none, really, as far as I could tell).

Of course Christians are sinners too, well, at least the ones that dont get translated. Our fortune is having those sins forgiven. The real problem is some peoples sins are more obvious and outward than other peoples sins. This of course allows those with secret sins to point the finger at those others who's shortcomings are more apparent. Now the interesting thing is most of those folks with the more apparent sins are usually painfully aware of their shortcomings due to the holy spirit and their own conscience, and of course those righteous souls who have attained spiritual enlightenment who don't let them forget. This attitude is also the reason a lot of folks give for not going to church, on account of all the hypocrits and sinners in the pews. Egad, sinners in church? Once when I was younger and brought some sinfull behavior to the attention of my pastor and asked him why it was so, his gentle rebuke was this, "it's this thing called sin..." So, I became aware over time that everyone has just as many problems as the other guy, solme are just more apparent than others, and you can be sure the fellow pointing the finger has got some doozies in the closet.

[don Tomás]

All I know is Junior makes a great saddle ring sling and has good cast bullet info on his website.

Yup, and his Range Hog Lard & Beeswax lubed felt wads are all I use in BP rounds for my original Trapdoor carbine.
Tom

[don Tomás]

snip...

WOW I wasn't tracking that thread, didn't know it got THAT BAD!
The personal attacks got VERY personal, I don't blame Junior for leaving. Attacking the individual is bad enough but when you start attacking family members there's just no excuse for that, this is sad.

Junior, darn the politics, come on back to the fire and let's talk guns, we miss ya.

+1 - I'd always wondered what happened to Junior. That thread went way beyond the good-natured campfire ribbing that we occasionally trade back & forth.
Tom

[J Miller]

Personally, I'm sick about what happened with Junior. He and I disagreed on everything politics. Yet I understood his reasons for his views and even defended him on more than one occasion to newer members who did not know him.

I believe that all political and religion based threads need to be heavily monitored and locked down at the first sign of these kinds of personal attacks. The thread referenced above is evidence of what can happen, and we don't need that here.

JMHO

Joe

[Griff]

I believe that all political and religion based threads need to be heavily monitored and locked down at the first sign of these kinds of personal attacks. The thread referenced above is evidence of what can happen, and we don't need that here.

A good idea. Seconded.

[JReed]

I believe that all political and religion based threads need to be heavily monitored and locked down at the first sign of these kinds of personal attacks. The thread referenced above is evidence of what can happen, and we don't need that here.

A good idea. Seconded.

All in favor?

[Hobie]

I do it when I can. As I said, I've been preoccupied, JimT was hunting, Paul was traveling and Paco is caring for Barbara. It is hard enough to herd cats as it is!

[Old Ironsights]

I do it when I can. As I said, I've been preoccupied, JimT was hunting, Paul was traveling and Paco is caring for Barbara. It is hard enough to herd cats as it is!

Thing is, we should all be man enough to keep from getting personal over politics and religion.

Politics and religion are both debatable topics... and debate is a civil art.

Remember, discussions about Religion are quite different from discussions about Faith. And discussions about the abuse of religion - especially in a political context - is a valid debate topic.

I've discovered that Faith and Liberty are often mutually exclusive topics from Religion and Politics...

[JReed]

I do it when I can. As I said, I've been preoccupied, JimT was hunting, Paul was traveling and Paco is caring for Barbara. It is hard enough to herd cats as it is!

We know that your are working your butt off and doing a fine job of it to boot. This is when we need to man up and police our selves and put a stop to bad behavior when we see.

[GANJIRO]

Politics and religion are both debatable topics... and debate is a civil art.

Problem is there are those who feel they are "Master Debaters" around here.