Starting to reload 7.62x54R and 7.62x39- suggestions?

I've been reloading pistol (9mm, 38/357, 45ACP) for a few months and am comfortable with that process (Lee Classic Turret stuff). I've bought dies to get into reloading rifle, for now 7.62x39 and also 7.62x54R. Think I have a handle on the 7.62x39, will probably buy a pound of AA1680 and some large rifle primers, and 200 unprimed brass are on the way to me. From what I've read here, AA1680 is one of the popular "AK powders" and I have loads for it in my Speer #13 and Lee #2 manuals.

I also just ordered 100 7.62x54R brass-boxer-reloadable rounds to shoot and get into reloading that, also. But, I'm a little less sure of what would be a good powder to start out with. Any suggestions?

I'm thinking perhaps v-N135 or H335, since my Lee guide has loads for it in 7.62x54R (as well as 8mm Mauser, which I hope to also start reloading one of these days- I'd like a powder that'll work in both, if possible). Does anyone here have anything you really like, or can tell me what I don't even know I don't know about powder selection (or about rifle reloading while you're at it-I have case length gauges and case trimmer/chamfer tool which I don't bother with for pistol)?

Thanks for the info and tips.

Watch out for tight chambers in the M39s.
The .311" bullets may be too big.

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Is there an easy way to tell? I have calipers and have tried measuring the inner diameter of the bore at the muzzle, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it properly, or if a good measurement is possible that way. I've heard the "true" way of getting bore dia is to push a slug of soft lead through and through, and to then measure the outer diameter of the slug once it's been pushed through. I don't have the materials for that though. If it makes any difference, my Mosin M44 shoots the cheap surplus Bulgarian ball ammo fine, I could measure the OD of one of those bullets but I don't know that would be meaningful.

Been having the same questions about my Mauser K98, how is it again that 7.92mm (or even 8mm=0.315") comes out to a .323" bullet?

6 years ago, I got some S&B reloadable Boxer primed 7.62x54R ammo.
The primer pockets had too large a radius in the corner, and would not take large primers.
I had to use a Lyman pocket uniformer to change the shape.

The ammo was hot and accurate, but my reloads were not.

I am now using Lapua 7.62x53R brass and Sierra .311" 180 gr 2310 pro hunter soft point bullets at 2875 fps with a 91/30.

Watch out for tight chambers in the M39s.
The .311" bullets may be too big.

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Anyone have any experience with the Prvi-Partizan (Serbian) ammo? I bought 100 of these from AIM http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/copy_of_7_62x54R.html and sure hope they work ok. I guess I'll be happy enough if the once-shot brass takes regular LR primers and simply shoots, at this point I'm simply trying to set myself up to be able to shoot my Mosin if I run out of the cheap eastbloc surplus ammo. If I can make it more accurate than that so much the better but that's not my main motivation, at least not yet.

I'd looked at Lapua brass in one or two places, and some places wanted over $1 each just for the unprimed brass!

Today was "great success!" as Borat would say. I had 20 Winchester white box 7.62x39 rounds that I shot last week, yesterday I went and bought IMR4198 (it's what the Gander Mountain here had, I wanted AA1680 as several have recommended). Today I loaded up the 1x fired brass with 125 grain jacketed soft points and took them out to the range. All fired properly in my SKS and WASR-10, and my rifle actions and my face are still intact!

I have 200 unprimed 7.62x39 brass on the way, can't wait to do some more now. Also greatly looking forward to shooting the boxer primed brass 7.62x54R I have and reloading that for my Mosin M44. Reloading is cool!

And, as one of the old timers at the range told me a year ago before I started, I'm not saving $ (not even close, I'm spending more) but I'm shooting a LOT more!

Clark,

I put H110 and a 180 gr .311" bullet jammed into the lands in an SKS and blew the firing pin out of the bolt.

SKSs are not good guns for overloads.

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Are you talking about simply having the reloaded cartridge too long, or something else like an overcharge of powder? I don't think I have any OAL issues but I know there's a lot I don't know yet.

ANother question- do any of you use the .311" bullets for 7.62x39 AND 7.62x54R? I have maybe 200 125gr jacketed soft points (spitzers) on hand and am wondering about putting them in my Mosin-Nagant also once I get the brass.

Quote:
ive been told that all you need to do is CLP up the barrel and then simply shove a 00 buck pellet down the bore. is that true?

Yup, unscientific, yet it works perfectly.

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Forgive the ignorant question, but does it matter what you use to push it down the bore? Will a cleaning rod work ok?

OK, I slugged the barrels of a couple of my rifles tonight (using the BreakFree and some OO buckshot method described above), but now I'm more confused than before. Can anyone tell me if this makes sense? (and, does it matter if the slug went from breech to muzzle or the other way?)

On my M44 which is 7.62x54R, the piece of buckshot came through with a min 0.305" and a max diameter of 0.315". This is using a pair of dial calipers to measure, and are consistent with a 1" micrometer I also used.

On my WASR-10 which is 7.62x39, the slug came through with the diameter (depending on where across the slug I took the reading) from 0.302" to 0.313".

My Question: Are 0.310" bullets ok to use in my WASR-10 and my M44? It wouldn't appear unsafe to me after reading a tutorial but I'd like to hear some feedback too. http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm

I checked and it turns out the AK/SKS bullets I reloaded and shot this weekend were 0.310" after all. I have maybe 180 or so of these 125gr spitzer soft points that I was going to load up with my 7.62x39 brass, that seems to work just fine in both my SKS and WASR-10.

On 2nd thought, I guess another question is "how do these numbers look to you"? My M44 measurements might indicate a bit of wear? I got my M44 on sale for $59 and don't have any idea of how worn or not worn it is, I thought it superficially looked to be in pretty good shape (and I did pay a 'smith to check it out and verify ok headspace before I shot it).

trueblue,
Thanks for the info! Makes sense but I feel better hearing it from someone who's been there. I didn't quite realize that was the point of slugging but it makes sense when you put it that way.

A related question: I also slugged my K98 in 8mm Mauser and got a max diameter of 0.326" (standard 8mm Mauser is .323" I think). Is the extra 0.003" enough wear that you'd think about moving up to a slightly larger bullet? I haven't looked yet to see if there's a bullet available in the larger size.