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The 7.62×39 cartridge, sometimes known as the “Russian Short .30,” is interesting. It puts a 123-grain bullet out at around 2300 fps, and it is effective for what it does. Chambered in the legendary AK-47, SKS, and later rifles, this intermediary number has proven useful.
A couple of years ago, I used my BCA 7.62×39 AR and a soft-point round to take a nice doe at 149 yards. She took three steps and went down.
BCA sent me an interesting item the other day. It is a 4.5-inch barrel, 7.62×39 AR upper. When I opened the box, my first thought was, “Wow, that’s gonna be loud!” I was right…
Let’s take a quick look at it.
Why A Pistol In This Caliber?
Well, why not? I’ve seen .223 and .308 chambered in AR pistols before, so why not this caliber? I had some milsurp 7.62 laying around so we took it outside and shot it.
Out of my full-length AR, it generates around 2300 fps. Yeah, I hear you say, you’ll lose a thousand fps in this short barrel… maybe. Let’s see…
Sixteen hundred fps equals 699 ft./lbs of energy. That’s about the equivalent of a .357 Magnum or a downloaded .44 Magnum. I’m not sure you would want to head to the deer woods with this setup, but it would be fine for around-the-homestead duties. Or it would excel as a really cool range toy. The blast and fireball alone would single you out as a dude to be reckoned with. It is truly atomic, or as Dubya Bush called it “noo’-kul-ler”.
Uses
What on earth would you use this for? I just mentioned a couple of reasons to own it. For those of us who live in the boonies, a rifle-caliber AR pistol makes sense. As I have mentioned in several other reviews, we have chickens and we never know what sort of predator is waiting around the oak tree to try to get into the coop.
I’ve shot possums and raccoons, and have chased or removed owls, juvenile bald eagles, and hawks from the premises. (No, I don’t shoot those!). It’s amazing what a flock of chickens will attract. So, something like this little guy with a red dot or a laser and a light would be in order.
We shot it with iron sights, just to have something on it but the sky’s the limit as to what you could mount on it since it includes a nice Pic rail on top and Magpul slots at other clock stations.
This would make a decent truck gun. Since it comes sans an arm brace, the thing is tiny. That helps both for storage and for shooting – it’s easily maneuvered. My friend Ed is a former deputy so he has all sorts of interesting AR gadgets. He attached a one-point sling/strap and used that to help steady his shots. He also stuck a set of Daniel Defense open sights on it. More on that below.
Lastly, I could see someone employing this gun as a backup to a hunting rifle. The cartridge is legal for deer, here in the Hoosier state (on private land) and, even with the velocity hit, the 7.62×39 would be a great gun in reserve for around the camp. I’ve killed my share of deer with my mid-range hard-cast .44 Magnum loads in my 8 ⅜” S&W 629 – how much more effective would this cartridge be?
The gun has the standard AR controls. Here it’s shown with a 20-round 7.62×39 magazine. That is just about the right size for this pistol.
The full-length rail allows whatever optic you want to run, while the Magpul slots allow you to stick more Picatinny rail on the sides or bottom of the hand guard. I could go on and on, but let’s just say that it’s a normal (if shorter) upper.
The flash hider is pure Bear Creek Arsenal – I’ve had this spiral-pattern piece on other rifles they make. It works as much as it can with this flame thrower.
Shooting This Blaster
I dug out what 7.62×39 I had and we loaded the 20-round magazine a time or two. We shot FMJ loads and saved the soft points for hunting.
Ed did the honors as he is younger, is better with iron sights, and is familiar with a one-point sling… he said they were trained to use them, pushing against the strap to steady the sights. That makes sense.
Anyway, we shot some targets and then shot just for fun. The target was at 25 yards and the iron sights had not been zeroed. We didn’t worry about doing that for this quick review. At any rate, the gun could be coaxed into putting its bullets fairly close together as we see above (minus the flyer).
I could see figuring the sights out or putting a red dot on it as it showed some accuracy potential. We didn’t need 100-yard MOA groups with this short barrel, but we were pleased to see it be at least moderately accurate. For its intended across-the-chicken-coop range, it would suffice very well. Of course, you could stick an arm brace on it where legal and do better but that’s not how it came, nor was it the purpose of this report. It is what it is.
Final Thoughts
If you like AR pistols minus a brace and are into larger calibers, you might want to give this one a look.
For about $250, you can have a heavy-hitting pistol that could go many places with you. I guarantee that if you would have to fire it, it would command respect from all around you. This is one gun that goes off with a major ka-boom and accompanying pressure wave and fireball.
It’s not quite .50BMG-esque, but it does alright. If you get one, be sure to think out your magazine choice(s). I mentioned above that the one we used was a 20-rounder and it seems to balance OK with this short gun.
The longer 30-round mags may overbalance the gun, not to mention that they are curved like a mutated banana. This little guy is an attention-getter on both sides of the muzzle – why not try it out?
Where To Buy
The “pistols” chambered for.223 and.308 are just as stupid as this thing.
Make a lot of sense in 458 and up though.
This is stupid.
I’ve had no problem killing chicken killers with a .22.
Me either. It’s just that bigger calibers are more fun!
Federal Court: AR15 SBR not Protected by 2a!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgDCax72r68
.40 cal.
If an sbr is not protected by the 2A why is it I can spend money and jump through hoops and get one?
Money.
Money trumps Rights
It just means that in some states they are legal and in others they are not.
Looks to me like the perfect bank robbing concealable firearm.
I was thinking more of a drive by gangster shootem up.
The usual proceedings throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the Second Amendment all while throwing nada, nothing at the History of Gun Control. Sounds mighty gutless because it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgDCax72r68
Yeah these shoot great if you use it every now and then. But use it a lot and it will come apart. I have a BCA .308 upper and it’s on the third bolt. They replaced it for free, but still.
To Mike because my reply button won’t work.
Yep ,bigger calibers are fun and if you miss at least you scared the chicken shit out of them. 👍
is it just me or is the home page messed up? All the photos embedded with the story links are zoomed way in on the upper left of the pic in question.
Kyle, it’s just you, believe me no one else is having troubles with the new and improved T Tag.
(did my reply post? If it did will it dissapear? Am I replying to the right person? At least I wasn’t moderated, maybe, I’m really not sure.
No Kyle it’s all you.
He Was Unarmed During A Mass Shooting Because Of A Gun Free Zone.
(Colion) “A mass shooting took place, but the media barely covered it. Why? Because it was stopped by an armed citizen.
In this episode, I sit down with Morgan, a survivor who witnessed the tragic events unfold firsthand. Stuck in a gun-free zone, unarmed, and helpless, Morgan experienced what every responsible gun owner fears—being unable to protect himself or others when it mattered most.
He shares chilling details of the shooting, the moment he realized it wasn’t a prank, and the critical mistakes that can cost lives in an active shooter situation.
Most importantly, we discuss how an armed citizen stepped in and stopped the massacre in just 20 seconds.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpAzcyBUkQc
Could This Huge Hire by the ATF Mean that Big Changes Are Coming?
A huge and very positive development in the world of ATF as Pam Bondi has hired Prof. Robert Leider to serve a Chief Counsel which is a very, very positive development for lawful and responsible gun owners nationwide. Washington Gun Law President, William Kirk, discusses why this is a great hire and more importantly, what this means to the future of the ATF.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty9if-QxPgI
BREAKING: DOJ to restore gun rights to convicted felons? (note: this is non-violent, non-serious crime, felons.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td55ZaHe6hQ
BREAKING NEWS: AG Bondi Makes 1st Move As A Result Of Trumps 2A Executive Order.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGJilHpd4Z4
GOA Applauds Bondi’s Move on Gun Rights Restoration.
https://bearingarms.com/tomknighton/2025/03/20/goa-applauds-bondis-move-on-gun-rights-restoration-n1228033
Yes, Trump Should Ignore Rogue Judges (note – basically, in reality: Trump would not be the first President to ignore a court when it came to the president exercising executive power. The court can’t actually do anything about it if the president chooses to do so, especially a lower inferior court and SCOTUS can’t do anything thing about it because separation of powers. Lots of presidents have done it when it came to the president exercising the constitutional powers and law directly – for example; Jackson did it, Lincoln did it, Roosevelt did it, Obama did it, Clinton did it, Bush did it, Reagan did it , Biden did it although this one is suspect and most likely illegal and unconstitutional because the president doesn’t actually have the constitutional authority to forgive loans).
https://thefederalist.com/2025/03/19/yes-trump-should-ignore-rogue-judges/
Ron DeSantis to Congress: Quit Fumbling and Rip the Gavel from Rogue Judges Tanking Trump’s Agenda.
https://twitchy.com/justmindy/2025/03/19/desantis-calls-on-congress-to-strip-federal-judges-of-jurisdiction-over-trump-eo-n2410073
Valley Girl Federal Judge Cites Broadway Play, Rips Up Constitution In Trans Soldiers Screed.
“Even leftists know the Constitution would never allow courts to force presidents to enlist deranged men wearing skirts. That’s why they hate the Constitution.
…
On March 18, another D.C. Circuit judge seized executive branch powers, enjoining the commander-in-chief from disqualifying military recruits with gender dysphoria. District Court Judge Ana Reyes, who identifies as some variety of LGBT, is a longtime Democrat Party donor and, as a lawyer, litigated against the first Trump administration. We knew she’d rule this way, not only because of her bio, but also because in oral arguments she insisted forcing soldiers to lie about reality couldn’t possibly affect military readiness.
In a memorandum accompanying her injunction, the so-called judge writes an opinion screed citing recent court opinions, the Broadway hip-hop play Hamilton, the Supreme Court legislation Bostock v. Clayton County, and corporate news articles. It would be impossible for this theater kid in robes to write a constitutional legal analysis instead, for the Constitution expressly provides in Article II, Section 2, that ‘The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.’
Commanders in chief get to set the criteria, expectations, goals, and just about everything else for soldiers. Accordingly, Trump implemented this same policy in his first term. It was 100 percent constitutional then, and it’s 100 percent constitutional now. If Presidents Clinton, Obama, and Biden get to allow queer soldiers, and all the presidents before to discharge them, clearly it is fully within the president’s power to make this decision.
…”
https://thefederalist.com/2025/03/20/valley-girl-federal-judge-cites-broadway-play-rips-up-constitution-in-trans-soldiers-screed/
The Judicial Insurrection Is Worse Than You Think.
“The point of all the injunctions and restraining orders is to preserve the supreme rule of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats.
https://thefederalist.com/2025/03/20/the-judicial-insurrection-is-worse-than-you-think/
Democrats Are The Party Of War, Terrorists, Open Borders, And Transing Kids.
“Right now, Democrats are choosing the losing side of 80-20 issues. They’re pro-war, they’re pro-terrorist, they’re pro-open borders, they’re pro-injecting kids with hormones and cutting off their body parts, they’re pro-government bloat,”
https://thefederalist.com/videos/purnell-democrats-are-the-party-of-war-terrorists-open-borders-and-transing-kids/