Could The Lima Six Be Modified For Use With 7.62X39?

[A&S Conversions]

So could the mechanism of the Lima Six be modified for use with the 7.62X39 RPD non designating RPD links? I understand that the cheap Russian steel cased ammunition is long gone. But even new made brass cased 7.62X39 is cheaper than .308. The overall length of 7.62X39 is about the same as 5.56X45. So I would think that most all of the same parts for the 5.56 could be used other than the bolt and barrel. Those are OTS parts. A .308 version would be a totally new design.

I would think that a new feed tray would need to be made and the feed pawl would need a little more stroke distance to advance the larger diameter shell, but I don’t really know how the spacing of RPD belts compare with M27 belts.

Yes, .308 would be impressive. Full power rifle cartridges would certainly put much more energy down range. To me, that would be the downside. The system would be much heavier compared with the current system. I don’t see off hand use being very popular in .308 for most shooters. I would think that even with the current ammo pricing, with the commonality of parts with the 5.56 version keeping the R&D cost down, there would be a much bigger market for a 7.62X39 version than a 7.62X51 version. What do you guys think?

Scott

 

[DINK]

One potential problem that comes to mind is the non-disintegrating nature of RPD belts. Having a trickle of individual links falling in front of your ejection port is one thing, but draping a 25 or 50-round segment of belt across it is bound to cause ejection troubles. The RPD gets away with it by ejecting out of the bottom of the receiver but the casings still hit the belt and cause it to whip around violently.

 

[A&S Conversions]

That is a very good point. But with the pic rail on top, I would think that a guide could be attached to the pic rail to push the empty belt out away from the ejection port and could actually guide the ejected shells down away from the belt. Just a thought.

Scott

 

[DINK]

Yeah, it could be added, but it would be kind of awkward. The RPD belt comes with a starter tab that would have to be on top of your proposed guide in order to work. The guide being attached to the top cover, it would be up in the air somewhere if you open the top cover to load the belt and the starter tab winds up underneath it when you close the top cover. The RPD belt is also kind of an odd duck, with a little "finger" that sticks up in the front of each link to engage a guide in the receiver and the tab on the back that holds the rounds in place only keeps them from moving to the rear. Nothing keeps them from moving forward, so there is potential for stoppages there.

I'm not saying it won't work, but it would be a bit more complicated than it appears at first glance.

 

[A&S Conversions]

If I ever get the Tenko to market, so I can pay myself back, I was talking with George DeLury. He made the Valkyrie Armaments belt fed conversion. That actually has the links underneath the ejection port of a modified standard upper and feeds from the same position as the left side of the magazine. He said that he had a few belt fed parts sets left. I wonder if his system could be modified for use with 7.62X39? That would put the RPD belt underneath the upper’s ejection port.

I see that there has been a plastic disintegrating link 3D printed for the 7.62X54R in the PKM. I wonder if a 3D printed link would be possible for the 7.62X39? I like the round for the extra mass of the bullet down range, but it has just a little more energy than the 5.56X45 and is basically the same overall length. I could see doing this as a personal project. But unless there was cheap steel cased 7.62X39 again, I am not sure it would be as viable. Just a thought.

Scott