The 7.62x54r is still a viable caliber

Its a good round, and will do anything a .30-06 will do.
While i dont necessarily think its a great choice (should one be deciding on a new hunting cartridge), simply because of available delivery options, its definitely capable.

Agree 100%. The biggest limitation of the round is the rifles that fire it, which 99% of the time is a mosin. Nice deer!

The cartridge is a very viable choice for deer size game. The rifles it is chambered in and ammo choices suitable for hunting is the limitation. But a reloader will be able to stuff a quality bullet in the case and have a deer killing machine.

I always wanted to hunt with the 7.62 mosin. The only rifle that interests me though is a Win 95. Glad to see someone else is still using some classic cartridges.

My son is a Mosin fanatic and it remains his go-to rifle for critters. He limits his shots to no more than 150 yards which is simply what he is comfortable with and not a reflection on the rifle or cartridge. It always amuses me to see him zip by the cabin on the 4-wheeler with that rifle strapped to his back.

Did we load the round you used?

I recently fired my Uncle Bill's Mosin Nagant which he uses as his bear rifle. This long and heavy rifle is not my first choice for deer hunting but accuracy with the military sights is pretty good. NORMA soft tip ammo consistently groups 1.5 inches at 50 yards.

TR

I'll be devil's advocate and say that I don't see the point of making new guns in that round. Yes its capable, but there are many other rds that have much more support, availability (pre kung flu), and offer the same terminal ballistics as the Russian rd, it's all good to have a mosin for collecting or even for hunting but if someone asked me what rifle and caliber should I get to get started in medium game hunting, a 7.62×54r is not on the top 10 of what I'd recommend.

Maybe @caribou will chime in. I'm pretty sure the Mosin is his favorite rifle for just about everything up in Alaska.

daniel craig said:

Apparently hunting bullets are actually pretty easy to come bye outside of the US.

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Norma, ppu, and winchester ammo are all available here over the counter. Also tried some wolf? soft point that did quite well from both my sporter and full length 91/30s.
No real reason ro adjust twist from a mosin either, they are pretty bloody fast lol. Both of mine shot 174SMKs fantastically, I with ky sporter regularly turning in moa or better 5 round groups.
Those suck as hunting bullets tho, tried em from my Ari.....

I've hunted with several of my Mosins. Not only is it still a viable hunting round, It is still in service, has been continuously since 1891.

daniel craig said:

Apparently hunting bullets are actually pretty easy to come bye outside of the US.

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They are (were, up until a month ago...... ) available here in the US, in .308, .310, and .311.

I've taken 3 deer, a moose, a wolf, and several coyotes with the round (a poorly sporterized M44 hangs in my barn for stray coyotes), and it is at least as capable as a .308 win with a bit more heavy bullet capability. I found this rifle at a garage sale for $50 complete with the ATI scope kit. Someone had chopped off the bayonet lug and bolt handle and stopped there. I use it for the aforementioned barn coyote and some especially rugged big game hunts involving canoes, ATVs, boats, snowmobiles, etc. My go-to load has been and still is the Hornady 174 RN. I've found it suitable for deer, and heavy enough for a big Northern MN moose on a tribal tag. I'd still use it for that purpose if the elder I was the designated marksman for hadn't passed a few years ago. For the varmint realm, the Barnes .310 frangible is really an eye opener. I believe the weight was 125ish grains. No personal experience, but I suspect the .310 Hornady V-max 123 grain would be outstanding in this use also.

I doubt we'll ever see a new rifle chambered for it in America, as it really doesn't do anything the 30-06 won't do, but in a properly outfitted rifle it is still a fine workhorse. If I didn't have such nice bolt actions, I'd be tempted to get a custom encore barrel in the cartridge.

With a proper rifle and bullet, it is capable of fine long range performance as well. With the Sierra or Hornady/Graf 174 BTHP in .311, I use a PU sniper replica to great effect in vintage sniper matches at 600 yards. A clean run in the 10 ring is not uncommon. With my PSL I have engaged 12x16" silo blocks to 1100 yards on a frozen lake using a variety of military ball it is especially fond of. With an upgraded optic, I wouldn't hesitate to use this rifle on long range game with the correct bullet.

If you cannot kill it with a 7.62x54r, you should hide.

A Finn M-39 with Czeck LPS is pretty damn hard to beat for any and all large game animals.

Just about same same as .308W.

It's in the same ballpark as a .30-06, ballistics wise. As has been mentioned, and the .30-06 had a big head start in this country by being our main service rifle cartridge for about a half century. So it was well established, familiar, and trusted and the 7.62x54R is the relative newcomer by comparison. American sporting rifles in foreign chamberings have never enjoyed the sales figures of sporting rifles in 30-06, .308, 243, 270, etc. Our home grown stuff sells better here. But that doesn't mean a lot of foreign rounds are no good; they're just too "foreign" to most of us. I've been kind of fascinated by 7.62x54R ever since I first fired one at age 19 because despite being some strange, unfamiliar cartridge, it was big and powerful enough to get my attention. Always wanted one but was too busy with other cartridges & life in general for many years but snagged one about 9 years ago. Glad I did. It's a good handloaders cartridge. Currently pushing a 150 gr. SP at 2738 fps with about a grain less powder than the listed max. from a long barreled Mosin 91/30. No hot rod handloads needed. That's more than enough for anything I need to do with it.

I've thought about doing another Siamese mauser in the 7.62x54r it fits perfectly in the magazine. Or do a wildcat, 7mm with a improved case would be cool cheaper then using the 348 case and more power then using a 303b of 30/40 krag case.

Maybe one day when I have the money.

troy fairweather said:

I've thought about doing another Siamese mauser in the 7.62x54r it fits perfectly in the magazine. Or do a wildcat, 7mm with a improved case would be cool cheaper then using the 348 case and more power then using a 303b of 30/40 krag case.

Maybe one day when I have the money.

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I've always thought it would make a really cool round with the taper blown out and necked up to .358 or .375. I did experience the round necked down to 6.5 and 7mm in Croatia and chambered in a heavily modified M/N action. Shot a boar with the 7mm version. I was told performance was comparable to 6.5x54MS and 7x57mm.

Random 8 said:

I've always thought it would make a really cool round with the taper blown out and necked up to .358 or .375. I did experience the round necked down to 6.5 and 7mm in Croatia and chambered in a heavily modified M/N action. Shot a boar with the 7mm version. I was told performance was comparable to 6.5x54MS and 7x57mm.

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Ive seen a wildcat with a 35cal using the 54r case looked nice. My dad did a Siamese in 8mm-348, just reamed out a surplus rifle it shot very well. He did a 35/348 Ackley improved to and that made some good numbers, wish he still had the reamers tho.

I like my M39. It'll put a bullet in the vitals out to 300 yards. I highly doubt I'd ever take a shot out that far - maybe half that, but it's a good shooter.

troy fairweather said:

a wildcat with a 35cal using the 54r case

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The 9.3x54R is fairly common in Finland.

I wonder if Baikal makes their doubles, singles, and combination guns in 7.62x54R for the home market.

Lots of things you could do with the superior rimmed cartridge of that size.

troy fairweather said:

Or do a wildcat, 7mm with a improved case would be cool

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My Winchester 1895 has been rechambered to 7x53R (necked down 7.62x54R case) at some point and up until 80's at least Sako and Lapua offered factory ammo for it. I haven't been able to find any, not even dies, so it seems to have regressed back to wildcat status now. There used to be quite a few variations using x54R case, at least 6.5, 7, 8.2 and 9.3mm. Maybe others too.

Ballistically 7.62x54R is pretty good, somewhere between .308 and .30-06, but in a lever gun I personally prefer a straight-walled big bore round.

I think the cartridge itself is very viable in performance. Better in .308 than .312. However it all falls back to the rim. Who wants to make a bolt gun to support a rimmed cartridge? Single shots yes, but then again there are already a kazillion choices.