Who has 7.62X54R brass?

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WayneConrad

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Graf & Sons is backordered on Winchester 7.62X54R brass.
Midway USA only has super duper expensive Lapua and Norma.

Where do y'all go to order brass for your Mosin? In case anyone forgot, I'm cheap, so I'd like to spend no more than 30 cents a case. Will I find brass in stock anywhere at that price?
 
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I use the Lapua myself. $40 for a 100 count. It's not too expensive.

Graf's is the only vendor that carries reloadable 7.62x54R brass that isn't Lapua or Norma. Supposedly, they expect a shipment sometime in the 2nd half of the year. From what I understand, their 7.62.x54R and 7.5x55 Swiss brass is made overseas in Europe.
 
How much you need?
I only ask because...
I have about 1K of Winchester brass. I bought it from Midway when they had it.

Two issues though:

1.) It came primed. It was also not clean of lube. I had malfunctions and stuck bullets until I figured this out. I have to decap it to tumble it to remove the lube, most likely discarding the unused primers (I am keeping them to see if I can recycle them in plinking loads though).
2.) So far, I have only been able to get Winchester LR primers to fit. They generally fit pretty well but I have had to touch the primer pockets on a few of the casings I have loaded with my crimp remover to put a bit of a bevel on the primer pocket.

I was getting kind of impatient with the stuff but I am having some decent progress with it now. I have loaded about 50 rounds to date that have all worked well. I just got a pound of 760 today and I am planning to load another batch with 48 grains and a 150 grain Speer .308 BTSP as my next experiment. Now that I have the "bugs" worked out, I don't anticipate any trouble.

Anyhow, maybe we can work a deal if you are interested in some.
 
Thanks for your answers so far.

ocabj, Where do you get your Lapua? Midway.usa only sells it in lots of 1000 (ouch!), and I only want 200. 40 cents each is a bit much for such a cheap guy, but if I can make 'em last for 10 loads then I can stand it.

goon, That primed Win brass sounds a bit painful to work with. Do you suppose I'd have those problems with unprimed Win brass?
 
outdoor marksman shows to have 27 boxes of Sellier & Belloit 180gr sp for 9 bucks.


HTML: 
http://www.outdoormarksman.com/index.php?cPath=65_63_48

I use it for plinking and just reload with what I want...I haven't gone 6 reloads though it yet, however. I have also used Winchester white-box, which is the same thing...they have no shame....still have the cartridge holder with a large S&B molded in it. :rolleyes:

I am fairly certain that if you prefer good shooting over making hot-rod ammo then you can get a few more loads out of it than just 6.

darrell
 
Wayne - As far as I know, there is no such thing as unprimed winchester brass for that caliber.

I thought I was buying unprimed brass.
At first, I thought I had lucked out and saved myself work.
Nope.
Anyhow, as long as I am using Win primers, it really isn't any more work than any other brass.
I would still have to FL size bulk brass and I would still have to tumble it.
Now I just have to wear safety glasses while I do it and clean the primers up afterward.
And since there is still lube on the cases they run right up in a FL sizing die with no problems.
I just shot some of my handloads with them today and they all worked just fine. I am thinking of trying some 165 grain bullets next. I have also ordered neck sizing dies. I have had some burn marks from gas leakage but they are going away as I increase my charge. No signs of excess pressure either.

I would say that if Midway still has this stuff it isn't too much of a headache to work with. You just have to develop an appreciation for Winchester LR primers.
 
ocabj, Oh.

I didn't think that was the right brass because it's 7.62x53R, and I thought that the M38 eats 7.62X54R. I suspect I'm about to learn something I didn't know about this cartridge :)
 
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7.62x53 is pretty much the exact same cartridge as the 7.62x54. x53 is the Finnish nomenclature for this specific cartridge.
 
I suspect I'm about to learn something I didn't know about this cartridge.
Click to expand...

7.62x53 is pretty much the exact same cartridge as the 7.62x54. x53 is the Finnish nomenclature for this specific cartridge.
Click to expand...

See, I was right! Thanks for the education, ocajb.

goon, There'll be a PM on its way to you in a few minutes.
 
Wanting it now won out over being cheap: I ordered some Lapua 7.62x53R from Midway. It's spendy, but hopefully will last a long time if I treat it right.

Where is 7.62x53R shoter than 7.62x54R? Is it in the neck or in the body? If it's in the body, then since this cartridge headspaces on the rim does the first firing just blow the shoulder out that extra milimmeter?

If it's the neck that's shorter, well, it'll grow :)
 
Where is 7.62x53R shoter than 7.62x54R? Is it in the neck or in the body? If it's in the body, then since this cartridge headspaces on the rim does the first firing just blow the shoulder out that extra milimmeter?

I think that the casing is actually supposed to be 53.5mm. The story I got is that since it is 53.5, the Finns rounded down to 53 and the Russians rounded up to 54.
 
Graf's was supposed to have new supplies of 7.5x55 Swiss and 7.62x54R by the end of July. Well, it is now 8/2 and their website still shows nothing available. I emailed them, and will share the response.

It is frustrating - I can't load for my M-39 unless I buy some reloadable commercial ammo (not the Commie milsurp stuff, which is the dirtiest ammo that I've ever shot). I only have 100 cases for my K-31, and I'd also like to stock up a bit. Oh well, I guess that we all have to wait.
 
I ended up getting the Lapua brass from Midway at 45 cents per. It seems to work alright. Now I just need a Russian rifle that shoots (it turns out my M38 has crap for a crown and it's already counterbored).

Sam, for the K-31 I've been using the Win 284 brass from Graf & Sons. They had that in stock about a month ago. Lube it up good and shove it in the resizing die and it magically turns into 7.5 Swiss. From the cross sections I've seen on the web, reformed Win 284 looks sturdier (more brass) than Lapua 7.5 or Norma 7.5.
 
I'm using Lapua 7.62x53 and it's going to last a long time because of the cast loads I'm using. 13.0gr of 2400 behind a 170gr gas checked bullet loafing along at an astounding 1310fps. I'll probably move the load up to 1500-1600, but it's a nice quiet, no recoil load. Almost like shooting a .22, but with a small poof for the gunshot.
 
Wayne Conrad

Sam, for the K-31 I've been using the Win 284 brass from Graf & Sons. They had that in stock about a month ago. Lube it up good and shove it in the resizing die and it magically turns into 7.5 Swiss. From the cross sections I've seen on the web, reformed Win 284 looks sturdier (more brass) than Lapua 7.5 or Norma 7.5.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I had nearly forgotten about the .284, so I'm going to give it a shot (so to speak).

After looking a bit, I found that Midway doesn't even sell .284 Win. Graf's is the winner.
 
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