7.62x54r

I haven't tried reloading for this yet, but if I'm not mistaken isn't the 147 grain the standard military load? you might try looking at 7.62x54r.net , there is all kinds of information about those rifles on that site.

I did some checking on that site. It looks like they used both .310 and .311 diameter bullets. The most common weights are 147 and 148, however they go up to 204 grains.

The original loading was a 212gr bullet, roundnose I believe. So far I've only used Hornady .311" 150gr soft points.in my handloads for X54R. I haven't been able to produce a load that beats PRVI/PPU factory ammo. Both their 150 and 182gr loadings shoot right around 1-1.25" 5 shot groups for me, but with differrent points of impact. My Mosin isn't "straight out of the crate" though. I've tuned the trigger (I wouldn't recommend just anyone do this), glass bedded the action, and relieved some material in the barrel channel of the stock. It was about a 3-4 moa rifle, using the lot# of 147gr Russian surplus ammo that I have, before working on it. Now it'll do 2 moa, with an occassional flyer, using the same lot of Russian surplus. It's not a tack driver by any means, but it's good enough for a poor-man's hunting rifle. One of these days I'm going to order some 180gr soft points and concentrate on finding a good load for it. But my rifle shoots surplus ammo well enough for range work and the PRVI ammo is cheap enough and shoots well enough for whitetails, it's just been hard to find the motivation to work up a better load for it.

You might want to slug the barrel before deciding on a bullet. My M-N happens to slug out at .3121 and I'll start with a .313 cast bullet when I begin loading for it. From what I've read, the bore sizes can be all over the place even if the rifling is good.

Jeff

Originally, I bought some Hornady Interlock for 303 cal. They are 174 gr. and measure at .312". They work good in mine.

When Hornady temporarily suspended these in 2013, I bought some Prvi Partizan bullets. These are 150 gr. and measure at .311". Haven't shot any of these yet.

For what it's worth, I bought several boxes of Prvi Partizan ammo in 150 & 182 gr. It is boxer primed brass and good for reloading. At $15/20 at Powder Valley, not a bad place to start with brass.

New brass, Lapua or Norma (not sure anybody else markets new brass in this caliber) tends to run $1-2 per casing.

Watch out for Hornady's in this caliber, they list the casing as steel.

If you want to shoot well, you will need to find out the actual bore measurement as others have said. There is a lot of variation among those M-N rifles. You will need the right die neck expander and right size bullet and you can find that from trial and error or taking the measurements.

I reload for or have reloaded for 21 different calibres. 7.62X54R, 7.62X39, 5.45X39, 7.62X25 MilSurp is so cheap I don't bother reloading for them

I haven't loaded for mine yet, but I have picked up some Privi brass at Grafs. They run around .50 each in bags of 100.

The 147 grain the standard military load after 1908. Use a 150. Or the Hornady .3105" 174 made for .303 British.
7.62x54r.net is decidedly comprehensive. Pity there are more sites like it.

I have used both the Hornady 174 grain .312's (temp. discontinued) and the Sierra 150 grain .311's (readily available) with great success.

Even though they're completely different designs they both shoot well.

DR

You're welcome. That site has everything known to man about those guns, I believe, it's a very thorough site.

Of you don't want to mess with gas checks, what about powder coated bullets?

Just picked up a mosin myself and I am starting to get my stuff together to start reloading as well. Definitely worth slugging your barrel to see what you can use. If you are lucky and have a really tight barrel, you may be able to get away with .308 bullets as there are many more available.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Kp321 said:

Of you don't want to mess with gas checks, what about powder coated bullets?

Click to expand...

Powder coated bullets seem to have a speed limit of around 2,700 fps WITH a gas check. I'm working on testing some soon (.308 bore)

Just dug through my stash of reloading stuff.

I have a bunch of .308 bullets - 150grn SP, 170grn Flat Point, 110grn SP.

Just slugged my barrel and it looks like .311.

Is it worth me loading up some rounds with these bullets?

My Lyman manual has data for .312 and .311 bullets, but my lee dies data sheet has data for .308 bullets in all the weights I have.

What are your thoughts?

I don't have a .308, so these bullets won't get used otherwise.

Trailduster, not sure why Lee list .308 and their sizing die expander/decapper pin is for .308.

I don't remember anybody having a .308 bore. Unless it was for those M-N built in the states for the Tsar.

If you have the Lee 7.62x54R dies. You will need to get EZ expander for the 303.
leeprecision.com/ez-x-exp-303-b.html

Manuals that list the use of .308" bullets in a Mosin must have done their testing with a Finnish Mosin and not a Russian. Or they used a universal receiver with a .308 bore. But .308 bullets don't do well out of a .311 bore, at least not in my first-hand experience. At 100 yards every shot was like a flyer, nothing really resembling a grouping.

Been doing a lot of looking for data before I buy bullets.

Hodgdon's data is all listed for .308 bullets as well.....

If you are shooting jacketed bullets, you may be able to get away without slugging your barrel. If you are going to use lead bullets, you should definitely slug the bore. It is really easy to slug the bore with nothing more than some egg sinkers and a steel rod with tape wrapped every 4" or so to keep it from touching the barrel. Before you start sugging, lube the sinker and bore well. My 91/30 bore was 0.313" so I wanted at least a 0.314" bullet. I got the Lee C312-185-1R and after test casting, "beagled" the mold to throw 0.315" bullets.

I then sized them with the Lee 0.314" push through sizing die. When I size, I can decide whether to attach a gas check or not. For low velocity rounds, no GC needed. If I want to shoot in the 2000-2400 fps range, then I add a GC. The 30 cal Hornady checks fit as well as the 30 cal Vulcan aluminum checks.



10g Unique (+/-) works great as a low recoil load for soda can hunting at 50 yards. Here is an initial sight in group I shot at 25. With my eyesight and open sights, 50 yards is about as good as I can shoot anyway so unless I'm shooting at an 18" gong @ 200 yards, 50 yards is the fun range for these.


Here's a 50 yard group once I hammered the front sight and adjusted the elevation on the rear sight to center it:



All in all, a fun gun that can be made to shoot cheaply and accurately.

Either one works. Freechex is a home made GC punch kit where you can use either aluminum or copper, in the end it really doesn't matter. Check out Vulcan checks. They sell a sampler pack for $1.50. You aren't risking much with that. The copper checks are very similar to the Hornady checks that cost about $30/k. The Vulcans are a little cheaper but where you really save is with the Aluminum checks. With either Vulcan or Hornady, I have to press the checks on, then tap them in before going through the Lee push through sizer die when using the 30 cal checks on my oversize C312-185-1R bullets, but the checks are on firm and straight when they come out the other end.

Remember with lead bullets, fit is always #1. You might be happy shooting them bare base. At low shotgun powder velocities, it may work out just fine.

When I retire, I'm gonna move up to 12k like Hondo 60. Right now 100/week is all I can muster! (I only shoot reloads)
Catpop