Handloading the 7.62 Nagant

[gandog56]

Hotshot ammo is down under $25 a box now, but I don't know how it compares to the old Russian stuff.

 

[Texastbird]

Well, I got a box of the Hotshot ammo and I really liked it. I'm saving my brass and hope to try reloading it at some point in time. But I'm not encouraged by what dies are available right now. What's the latest consensus?

 

[Alecbh]

THR.org says:

Old Thread Warning
Please be aware that it has been 984 days since the last post was made in this thread.

Time to necro this nearly three year old zombie thread. Surely, someone out there has refined this process more, or found a better way to make brass. Any of you guys got something for the newbie? I've started reloading just for this silly Russian contraption. It's too much fun not to feed it. Problem is, ammo is expensive, and the casings frequently split after the first firing.

So guys, any luck refining these techniques? Load data is appreciated, too.

 

[yyz]

here is what i use on the cheap to load the 7.62 nagant. first the shell holder. i was not going to pay more for the shell holder then the gun!! so i took my dermel to a lee number 6 shell holder and opened it up just a little so the case fit. not a lot just a little. oh if you screw up lee shell holders are less then 5 bucks. next i was using once fired hotshot and Fiocchi but as you have seen the neck splits are horrible. so i finally settled on new Fiocchi brass from buffalo arms pricey yes but not so over worked so the necks last longer. first loading is a pain but the next ones are much easier. if you want you can anneal the cases it seems to help get another reload or 2 out of them. for dies i just use a lee universal expanding die and lee 30 carbine dies and a round head 1/4 x 1/2 machine screw. loading is the same for new or fired cases. take an UNSIZED (do not resize the case as this will over work the brass it seems kind of backwards but resizing is the last step)use the universal expanding die to open the mouth up just enough to start the bullet, prime, add powder of choice. i have been using 3grns of bullseye. now take the 30 carbine bullet seating die and take the die apart, run a case up and screw the die body down till you feel the case mouth hit the die back the die out about 1/8~1/4 turn. drop the machine head screw into the die body threaded end first (just like the lee modified 32-20 set) may have to add a washer or grind on the head to get to fit. adjust till the bullet is seated inside the case to the depth you want. may have to play a bit with this as wad cutters need to be seated deeper then round nose. now use a little bit of spray lube and run the case all the way into the 30 carbine resizing die, with the decapper removed. wipe cases with a little bit of alcohol to remove the lube. with mine i have found i don't need crimp the mouths at all as the 30 carbine die tapers the case enough to to fit into the throat. the more you work the brass the higher your split case ratio will be. i have found that the once fired cases form my revolvers has more then enough tension to hold my seated bullets but if not you have to resize your cases a bit but just enough to hold the bullet. as i already reload for the 30 carbine i was out 2 1/2 bucks for the lee shell holder and to make my life easier i also modified a lee prime shell holder to work also. with the new Fiocchi cases i get a case that is the right length and the gas seal works flawless. these little revolvers are fun to shoot and are very accurate if fed good ammo. i have one i use for my fishing pistol that has taken a couple of bunnies and squirrels. shot shell are also easy to make and with the long case you can get quite a bit of shot into them. take primed and powered (i use 3 grns of bullseys) case, place unsized .308 gas check over powder. fill case to about 1/16 of an inch with the smallest shot you can get (i use number 9) over that place another 308 gas check, cup side down, (the top gas check fits better if run through a .308 sizing die first) run back through the 30carbine sizing die.