Bullets for 7.62x39 and 54

[FieroCDSP]

I'm looking to load for the 39 and 54 russian cartidges. A box of Remington for the 39 has a 308 while the ancient (50's era) 54 I'm running in my Mosin is 311 at the base. I've heard some say that both SKS and Mosins have been bored in both 308 and 311.

Question: in the 308 caliber, would a 30 carbine bullet work?
Q2: Has anyone gotten better results from a 308 in a Mosin bored for 311?

I can get a 54 cartridge down the grenade launcher on the SKS enough to check the bore from the marks on the jacket, and it seems to certainly be 308.

 

[Bad Flynch]

As far as the x54R is concerned, slug your bore and shoot the bullet that is closest to the groove diameter. Some of these things will run as much as 0.314" on the grooves. Not much you can do about one that big, but bullets are available in 0.3095, 0.3105, 0.311, and up. These were not classy rifles and even though I have a reall good Finn and a nice Russian, I harbor no illusions about them.

 

[BeJaRa]

the 54r uses the .311 bullet and I know I saw some 7.62x39 bullets from either winchester or remington that were .310. I imagine a .308 bullet would work in a pinch, but I imagine accuracy would be pretty poor as well as a possibility of hot gases escaping past the bullet

 

[R.W.Dale]

It all depends on the EXACT specs of your bores.


See this thread for more details.
http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=2274479#post2274479


FYI Remington 7.62x39 is loaded with .310 diameter bullets

 

[NuJudge]

Links to some measurements taken on 7.62x54R bores

Look here at the test firearms groove measurements:
http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinAmmo.htm

Specs. I don't know whether they found drawings or just averaged:
http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSpec.htm

CDD

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

WWB soft-point 7.62X39 is (or was last I bought) .310. there are some other factory loadings available such as Cheetah in 150 (?) that are .310 but I'm not sure. I load for my Mini-30 and have had good luck with some .308 pills. Not Nosler tho.

 

[Cosmoline]

The only 54r's with .308 to .309 bore are the Finns. And even then it's only certain pre-war Finns. The M-39's and most wartime production Finns have a wider bore at about .310". Most Soviets are .311" but some have expanded out a bit or been rebored.

The only 39's I know of with a .308 bore are the Mini-30's. Most others have .310" to .311"

 

[FieroCDSP]

Well, crapper.... I was too eager and ordered some .308s before the feed-back..... One of these days I'll learn.:banghead: It's only a hundred, so maybe I'll keep them until the day I get a .308 rifle. Thanks for the info everyone. I'm not actually this much of a moron, I'm just starting out on rifle loading. My pistol loads have been trouble free lately.