i usually pack FMJ's in my AK, but i am looking for something that would be ideal for Home/Self Defense........something like the hornady TAP series, etc.....

any insight would be great.

I think Hornady loads the Vmax if you can find it. It should feed alright but check it for feeding. A lot of hollow points and soft points don't feed properly because they are loaded shorter than FMJ bullets.

the cor-bon's have great reviews, but for $2/shot, that's a bit steep.

I was thinking of just SoftPoint ammo..........

Some soft point ammo, like some hollow point ammo, is loaded shorter than FMJ ammo and doesn't always feed well. Some good FMJ ammo is likely as good as economy soft point ammo.

at the risk of detouring your question, why in the world would you use an AK for home defense?

Now let it be known that my Polish U/F, my full stocked Romy, and my AK pistol are all in the gun safe, along with a 20 rd mag or 2 of SP ammo

But they aren't my first or second choice...

At night it's my 100 with No 4 Buck and the mounted light

during the day, it's probably my No 15 S&W or maybe my snubbie..depending on where in the mcMansion I am located....

Anyway...I don't feel strongly that way about any of my neighbors, but there are 10 houses within 75 yards of me in the cul-de-sac, and I'd hate to off one of them on purpose

You didn't say where you live, so maybe it's country or rural?

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Originally Posted by swabbie
at the risk of detouring your question, why in the world would you use an AK for home defense?

Now let it be known that my Polish U/F, my full stocked Romy, and my AK pistol are all in the gun safe, along with a 20 rd mag or 2 of SP ammo

But they aren't my first or second choice...

At night it's my 100 with No 4 Buck and the mounted light

during the day, it's probably my No 15 S&W or maybe my snubbie..depending on where in the mcMansion I am located....

Anyway...I don't feel strongly that way about any of my neighbors, but there are 10 houses within 75 yards of me in the cul-de-sac, and I'd hate to off one of them on purpose

You didn't say where you live, so maybe it's country or rural?

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Wolf Military Classic, 124gr HP. The OLD stuff that says MIL-SPEC on the box, and is both laquer coated, and has sealer neck and primer.

It WAS the most economical 7.62x39mm round for such uses, up until the point where it became new production. It is now polymer coated, no sealer, and not as big on performance.

It's still a butt load better than Black box, or Barnaul anything.

But it doesn't seem to have the same "OMFG" factor the old stuff did when it hits something soft and squishy, or liquid.


Good luck finding the old production stuff though.
But if you do... share!

+1 for swabbie. If you don't have a shotgun for home defense, get one.

An AK is better than a handgun in a gunfight. Shotguns are great for up close, which most home defense is. A handgun is alright for holding somebody at gunpoint but not all that great for a gunfight. use reliable ammo. No matter how fancy the bullets are, if it doesn't feed 100% it's not worth much for defense. An AK isn't designed for hollow points or soft points.

Two of the best flat based bullets for self defense is the Corrosive Yugo brass cased and Norinco Silver Box. Both hard to find.

I have shot the vmax and it is a great shot, though it is about the same as a yugo m67 fmj and the yugo is cheaper. I found the silver bear sp to be a great bullet for self defense within 50 yards...they go every which way, but straight a 100 yards with my yugo m70 (could be my gun though). Guns and ammo also did a report on them in their annual on AKs and declared it the best for penatration and damage versus the hp or fmj which travel too far and then punch out of the body before inflicting maximum damage. AIM surplus and ammunitiontogo.com both have pretty good prices on silver bear sp and ammuniton has golden bear which may be even better.

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Originally Posted by swabbie
at the risk of detouring your question, why in the world would you use an AK for home defense?

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The best home defense round I have used for the AK is the East German FMJ plastic core. It's also called practice rounds. It has very low recoil. It's very flat shooting for the 1st 100 yards, then it drops fast. Up close, it explods in soft material (or on hard material). It will not go through 3 walls, the truck, and the house next door like the steel core FMJ will (because it explods when it hits the first wall). The biggest draw back is the corrosive primer. You have to clean it after you shoot it (I allways clean my gun after shooting, no matter what ammo I use). The second problem is finding it. It's been a while since last seeing it, and I only have a little over 300 rounds left. Cor-bon is excellent, but I know of only one shop with in 100 miles of where I live that has it. He has only one box and wants $50 for it. He says it's so high because the price of brass and other metals have gone up (yea right). The new Hornady looks good, but I hav'nt found any yet. After these bullets I would use soft points or HPs. My rifle feeds every bullet that I've tried, but some AKs are picky about the ammo that they use. You need to make sure that yours will feed HPs and softpoints before trusting them. FMJ bullets would make me nervous in the city because of overpenatration issues. I would think that a big fat hollow point from a pistol, or a compact shotgun would be safer in a highly populated area (like an apartment complex). As much as I hate bad guys, I would hate hitting an innocent person worst.

A shotty just long enough to keep you out of prison and loaded to the gills with anything will do nicely. Besides a shotgun makes a better club than a pistol in an emergency.

"The best home defense round I have used for the AK is the East German FMJ plastic core. It's also called practice rounds. It has very low recoil. It's very flat shooting for the 1st 100 yards, then it drops fast. Up close, it explods in soft material (or on hard material). It will not go through 3 walls, the truck, and the house next door like the steel core FMJ will (because it explods when it hits the first wall). "

Maybe so but the East German plastic core ammo will not cycle in many AKs.

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Originally Posted by requiem
the cor-bon's have great reviews, but for $2/shot, that's a bit steep.

I was thinking of just SoftPoint ammo..........

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HD issue aside, you can go Kobra or PKAS for red dot using side rail mounting point on receiver. Light mount would depend on which handguard youre using. Saiga stock handguard has enough length to attach a picatinny rail underneath or you can run a Tapco I believe with stock plastic rails.

update. i got a shotty the other weekend strictly for HD purposes.

When i posted this thread, i only had an AK and was apt to use what i had in the event that undocumented democrats or other broke into my house and tried to perform surprise socialism on me and my family.

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Originally Posted by requiem


When i posted this thread, i only had an AK and was apt to use what i had in the event that undocumented democrats or other broke into my house and tried to perform surprise socialism on me and my family.

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Originally Posted by WB
The best home defense round I have used for the AK is the East German FMJ plastic core. It's also called practice rounds. It has very low recoil. It's very flat shooting for the 1st 100 yards, then it drops fast. Up close, it explods in soft material (or on hard material). It will not go through 3 walls, the truck, and the house next door like the steel core FMJ will (because it explods when it hits the first wall). The biggest draw back is the corrosive primer. You have to clean it after you shoot it (I allways clean my gun after shooting, no matter what ammo I use). The second problem is finding it. It's been a while since last seeing it, and I only have a little over 300 rounds left. Cor-bon is excellent, but I know of only one shop with in 100 miles of where I live that has it. He has only one box and wants $50 for it. He says it's so high because the price of brass and other metals have gone up (yea right). The new Hornady looks good, but I hav'nt found any yet. After these bullets I would use soft points or HPs. My rifle feeds every bullet that I've tried, but some AKs are picky about the ammo that they use. You need to make sure that yours will feed HPs and softpoints before trusting them. FMJ bullets would make me nervous in the city because of overpenatration issues. I would think that a big fat hollow point from a pistol, or a compact shotgun would be safer in a highly populated area (like an apartment complex). As much as I hate bad guys, I would hate hitting an innocent person worst.

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I think the AK is the perfect weapon of choice for home defense in my case. Because if I happen to miss the person breaking in my front door, chances are I'll shoot the bitch arcross the street!!!

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Originally Posted by sonofagun...
I think the AK is the perfect weapon of choice for home defense in my case. Because if I happen to miss the person breaking in my front door, chances are I'll shoot the bitch arcross the street!!!

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Heck why not use Hornady 123 grain softpoints in 762x39 at 2375 fps. Shot a deer broadside. Bullet passed through anterior rib and exploded leaving the lungs a shade of cherry red with some bullet fragments striking the animals spine and others lodging in the opposite side of the chest wall. Deer dropped like a rock and died with only two shakes of its tail. TAP is very expensive ammo!

[QUOTE=romanleader]Heck why not use Hornady 123 grain softpoints in 762x39 at 2375 fps. TAP is very expensive ammo....[QUOTE]


TAP in 7.62x39mm?? Hornady Vmax in 7.62x39mm is CHEAPER than Federal softpoints..by almost 50%

Grafs Retail prices.. Federal SP = $1.14.rd Hornady Vmax SP = $0.61/rd

For me the Federal soft point doesn't expand much at all but the Winchester Super-X SP soft point does expand. They are both accurate. Their velocity ratings are in longer test barrels. They are milder than European ammo in velocity.

Has anyone else tried the Privi 123gr RN Softpoint? It always great expansion for me back in the day when it was a Hansen Cartridge import. Plenty of lead in that round nose softpoint to function at 7.62x39mm velocity!

I used to buy Hansen but most if not all of it I bought was FMJ. I might have bought the soft point if FMJ was sold out. I bought a lot of Hansen for the old surplus caliber rifles that were being sold super cheap back then.

I’ve been wanting to try some of this ammo from ‘Cheaper Than Diamonds’-
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM627-1.html
It has brass cases and V-Max projectiles. It’s also American made.
I have yet to try the similar Hornady Vmax offerings. Some rifles may work better with the steel casings, as I’ve heard of brass casings shearing from harsh extractions. I’ve never had it happen to me yet though.

The V-Max projectile is similar to Nosler’s Ballistic Tips, which are devastating on anything from varmints to deer. I used to live in Bend, Oregon, where they are made. We could tour their facilities and buy reloading components in their store. Ballistic Tips in a .22/250 devastated varmints of all sizes and shapes in the deserts of central Oregon and were very popular. The plastic tip really expands the bullet on impact and leaves a huge exit wound. Having said that, Nosler does not recommend them for big game and favors their Partition bullets and others, such as Winchester uses in hunting rounds. However, for self defense they would work well.

Heavy softpoints are also great for deer and would be a good self defense round if your rifle feeds them well. My VZ58 had the chamber and feed ramp polished to aid in feeding softpoint ammo, which has worked well.

I'd imagine any of the plastic tips i.e. nosler ballistic tip, swift scirocco(one of my all time faves), vmax, etc...should be downright explosive at close ranges. I'd be interested in knowing bullet diameter from each of the respective manufacturers of polymer tip 7.62x39. Seems like I have read that some use a standard .308 while others use the more traditional .311 or .312, whatever x39 was originally intended to be. I could be way off base, but thats why I'd be interested in clarification.

I went to Academy Sports yesterday and saw a variety of calibers loaded in Hornandy V-Max, such as .243, .22/250 and .308.

The plastic ballistic tips can also be found on .177 pellets and muzzleloader sabots at Walmart. This type of ammo is explosive upon impact, causing a complete mushroom of the round at high velocity.

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Originally Posted by requiem
the cor-bon's have great reviews, but for $2/shot, that's a bit steep.

I was thinking of just SoftPoint ammo..........

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