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Posted: 6/22/2012 9:54:46 AM EDT
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So with all the awesome deals going on in the past 2 weeks I decided to get some 7.62x54R Reloading equipment. I know you all will think I'm crazy, especially since its only for a mosin. But I got these Sierra Projectile and Lapua brass for under $45 total and the RCBS dies were under $34 shipped!
So anyone have any pointers? I've got a ton of Varget that I will be using. What I'm mainly concerned about is trimming brass, does this brass grow as fast as .223? Will the Lapua brass being x53 instead of x54 be of any concern? Also what kind of brass life am I looking at? 
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| 7.62x53 is nothing more than 7.62x54 loaded with a .308 dia bullet. The Finns did this for the M28 and the M28-76 with .308 dia bores (that they call "English" as opposed to "Russian" .311 nominal dia. bores. Some Mosins, even Russian ones, will shoot 308 bullets just fine. |
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Quoted: 7.62x53 is nothing more than 7.62x54 loaded with a .308 dia bullet. The Finns did this for the M28 and the M28-76 with .308 dia bores (that they call "English" as opposed to "Russian" .311 nominal dia. bores. Some Mosins, even Russian ones, will shoot 308 bullets just fine. Yup, slug your bore, OP. Mine will take .308 and is quite accurate. |
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Quoted: Hornady 8 pg 507, 174 gr FMJ, Varget start 39.3 grs for 2200 fps. Max 46.2 grs for 2600 fps.Well I think I'm crazy, considering how much surplus ammo I have.  From my research on the net it seems like 42grs of varget with the 174gr .311 is a sweet spot for many people, just need to find published data to see where that is in the min/max range. Sierra V pg 531, 175 gr MK, Varget start 39.5 grs for 2100 fps. Max 44.6 grs for 2400 fps. Lots of data out there. Good luck with your work up loads.
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Quoted:
Well I think I'm crazy, considering how much surplus ammo I have.
From my research on the net it seems like 42grs of varget with the 174gr .311 is a sweet spot for many people, just need to find published data to see where that is in the min/max range. You're not crazy it all unless you just like inaccurate, corrosive surplus ammo. I used to load the x54r, mostly with cast bullets but used the Hornady 150 gr. SP some. This because I hated to pay $30 per 100 for for "match" bullets for an $80 rifle. The 150 gr Hornady bullets shot very, very well in every rifle I loaded them for (several Mosin's and Enfields). In the x54r I primarily used IMR4350 and powder I'd pulled down out of surplus ammo that was roughly the same as 4895. On a side note. I found the best use for surplus ammo was to pull it down for the components, especially the powder. It's pretty easy to sell the bullets for 10 - 15¢ ea. and I've sold the primed cases for 10¢ ea. making the powder pretty much free. Here are some 100 yd. targets I shot with the Hornady and various other loads: 
GG |
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Neck size your brass after the first firing and it will last much long,you can set up your FL resizing die to neck size only. BT bullets are great but you may find that the FB bullets shoot just as accurately or better under 300 yds. and there much cheaper as well.
I used to reload and shoot lots of J bullets even though I have a nice stockpile of surplus ammo I'm saving that for a rainy day. Nowadays I mainly shoot cast bullet loads in my Mosins from 90 gr. 900 fps. Sub-Sonic loads to 2000 fps. hunting loads. 5 shot cast load group. 
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Quoted: Seems like the bigger the round, the more satisfying it is to make them! I used the 20 PPU once fired casings to start out. RCBS die is leaving very noticeable rings that are annoying me though. Edit: Got the better camera out... http://s12.postimage.org/i9m2kms7h/IMG_7856.jpg Looks like you are neck sizing. In for how they shoot.
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Yeah I made one big mistake. I completly forgot to check if my reloads would chamber in my Polish Mosin. Guess what, of course they didn't. My polish mosin is a thing of beauty and I dont want to feed it corrosive if I dont have to. So I fired off the rounds through my Russian M44.
Here is the group at 50 yards. As you can see it was hitting low. I couldnt find any of the holes from the 10 I shot at 100  . The POI with these reloads was completly different then the surplus I have fired. I went to the range on Saturday with my father and my friend. I was hitting a small 10x6" AR500 plate at 100 all day with the surplus ammo.
The new holes are from surplus. Not sure why they are more like a shotgun pattern because as I said before this stuff was decently accurrate for me before. I'm going to load up the brass again and retry.... 
EDIT: I also noticed that I didn't get any insane muzzle flash. Some more pictures 
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Quoted: Pics aint loading. What's the dia. of the surplus rounds? Yeah I made one big mistake. I completly forgot to check if my reloads would chamber in my Polish Mosin. Guess what, of course they didn't. My polish mosin is a thing of beauty and I dont want to feed it corrosive if I dont have to. So I fired off the rounds through my Russian M44. Here is the group at 50 yards. As you can see it was hitting low. I couldnt find any of the holes from the 10 I shot at 100 . The POI with these reloads was completly different then the surplus I have fired. I went to the range on Saturday with my father and my friend. I was hitting a small 10x6" AR500 plate at 100 all day with the surplus ammo.http://s7.postimage.org/5p73mry55/WP_000368.jpg The new holes are from surplus. Not sure why they are more like a shotgun pattern because as I said before this stuff was decently accurrate for me before. I'm going to load up the brass again and retry.... http://s7.postimage.org/uxrxgg32x/WP_000369.jpg EDIT: I also noticed that I didn't get any insane muzzle flash. Some more pictures http://s7.postimage.org/qjeuqv34p/WP_000366.jpg http://s7.postimage.org/qkoska4yh/WP_000367.jpg http://s7.postimage.org/jrofo0e55/WP_000365.jpg |
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Quoted: I can see the pics now. Quoted: I can't see the pics.Quoted: Do you have slow internet? I know that website doesnt compress the photos. Photobucket pro for $3 sounds like a deal instead of trying out 20+ image hosting websites. I have free photobucket, seems to work for me. |
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Quoted:
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I see some vertical strings. Stop shooting during the inhale/exhale  concur. Don't know why I didn't say anything before. Your gun is shooting perfectly straight, it's you. Well, that's what the bullet impacts are telling me at least. Alright I will admit it, because people on this site are eager to tear people apart for this.... I had a reddot on my russian mosin. It was a cheap $15 straight from china one as a proof of concept, and I was expecting it to fall apart. Took over 100 rounds of 7.62x54r to loose zero and I think thats what happened. Against what people on this website will say, I actually like it alot. I was ringing my small 45% AR500 target 19/20 times with the red dot, so now I need to look into a better quality one such as a primary arms one. As for my polish mosin, It always shot way high, so I added solder to the front post, and I think I added too much, which is why I wasnt on target with that. But for now on I will be developing these loads for my polish M44. Its a sweet looking rifles and I'm going to treat it well with non corrosive reloads. |
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Quoted: No hate from me. I'm in the middle of a mosin project myself. I just took off the old ATI scope mount I put on there year ago. Did it with a hand drill snip . Yeah, it was a bit crooked but you know what, that gun still shot really well. I just put an S&K mount on it and it's getting a pistol scope. I'm glad this thread came along as I've been interested in reloading for my Mosin. When I finally get around to it, I'll be sure to resurrect this thread from the dead. |
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Great timing on this thread...I'm picking up a Mosin tonight, it has the downturned bolt. I also just started casting and loading for .308 - so I'm hoping it all falls into place and I can reload some match grade ammo for my MN. Though, being a '43 model, I don't have high hopes for the accuracy. I've been told a local shop has some '33 vintage Mosin in stock...I might stop by there and see if anything jumps out at me.
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Quoted:
Great timing on this thread...I'm picking up a Mosin tonight, it has the downturned bolt. I also just started casting and loading for .308 - so I'm hoping it all falls into place and I can reload some match grade ammo for my MN. Though, being a '43 model, I don't have high hopes for the accuracy. I've been told a local shop has some '33 vintage Mosin in stock...I might stop by there and see if anything jumps out at me. Why? If the bore is good then it should shoot good, if the bore is bad then it will probably shoot bad. My sporter is a '43 with an awesome bore and it shoots an inch of better at 100 yards. |
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Quoted:
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Great timing on this thread...I'm picking up a Mosin tonight, it has the downturned bolt. I also just started casting and loading for .308 - so I'm hoping it all falls into place and I can reload some match grade ammo for my MN. Though, being a '43 model, I don't have high hopes for the accuracy. I've been told a local shop has some '33 vintage Mosin in stock...I might stop by there and see if anything jumps out at me. Why? If the bore is good then it should shoot good, if the bore is bad then it will probably shoot bad. My sporter is a '43 with an awesome bore and it shoots an inch of better at 100 yards. A weapon can only be as accurate as the hands that hold it. I have no trouble with my mosin at 100 yards iron sights, holds a tight pattern. |
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Quoted:
My polish mosin is a thing of beauty and I dont want to feed it corrosive if I dont have to. http://s7.postimage.org/qjeuqv34p/WP_000366.jpg If this ^^^ is your Polish Mosin...Wow ! It is eye-popping beautiful. The wood and metal looks brand new. The wood looks like Walnut. I don't think you're crazy for wanting to do all you can to preserve it. Even your Russian M-44 looks better than mine. Russian 1946 M-44 
All my Russian stuff together. 2 91/30's a '36 and a '39 1946 M-44 AK-47 
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Quoted:
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My polish mosin is a thing of beauty and I dont want to feed it corrosive if I dont have to. http://s7.postimage.org/qjeuqv34p/WP_000366.jpg If this ^^^ is your Polish Mosin...Wow ! It is eye-popping beautiful. The wood and metal looks brand new. The wood looks like Walnut. I don't think you're crazy for wanting to do all you can to preserve it. Even your Russian M-44 looks better than mine. Russian 1946 M-44 http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n26/PirateBill666/M-44.jpg All my Russian stuff together. 2 91/30's a '36 and a '39 1946 M-44 AK-47 http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n26/PirateBill666/Russian.jpg The ak-47 is stunning, what year was that manufactured? |
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I need to find a smaller front post for my mosin or something. My eyes cannot focus on the target when I'm looking through the mosin sights so it feels like a guessing game.
But I tried out some .308 reloads v .311 and the .308 seemed to do better in my polish mosin the the .311 
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You changed the bullet weight and diameter, the charge weight, and seating depth all at once. Usually just change one thing and see what happens. Then you'll know what impact that had and a direction to go from there.
Have you slugged the bore ? It does seem to like the .308's better. Play around with that a little more and bring it in tighter. |
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InfinateGrim,
I load for 3 MN. 2 M39's and one 91-30. The one Finn slugged just over .3105" while the other is more worn and slugged at .3115" My 91-30 slugged just over .313" I've had very good results with Hornady .312" 150gr SP and their .312" 174gr RN. I also shoot the Lee 160TL cast bullet. I use it as cast which is around .3135" I have 2 main versions of the cast bullet. One is 1075 f/s (sub-sonic) and the other is 1850 f/s. All 3 rifles shoot these very good. I had no luck at all with .308" bullets in the one M39 (the larger one) so I just stayed with what worked. (The .312's) I had a 2-7x scout mount on one of the M39's for load development and for my young son who has since grown and requested the open sights be reinstalled. I've also had good results pulling down Czech silver tip ammo and reloading the components in brass cases with a fresh (CCI 200) primer. This has effectively fixed the "occasional flier" that I was getting with the old corrosive primer. I even opened up the neck portion of my Lee die so it would not be overworking my brass. I short size my brass (neck size with the full length die) and got lucky I guess because it fits all 3 rifles. What type of front sight does your rifle have? If it's the one where the pin has a small nail-like head and can be removed from the globe then I have exactly what you want. My 91-30 like so many out there shot high. I made some tall sight pins on a CNC lathe. I tried a few different materials but found that the ones I made out of carbon fiber are by far my favorite. First of all they are black to start with. Second they are easy to modify by sanding. I have one in my 91-30. I didn't even bother shortening it. Heck with all that elevation available right there at you finger tip I didn't see any reason too. I still need to have it set on 700 to hit our 44 mag pistol swinger at 50 yards with the sub-sonic cast load. |
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