Marc257
Member
Anybody loading cast bullets in 7.62x54r? If so where can you find bullets if you don't cast your own? I'd like to load some light plinking load for the old carbine. Thanks.
Chris
Chris
Loading the 7.62x54?
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dwave
Member
You can get ammo that is boxer primed. I reload the 54r, and I use wolf gold brass. I don't know about reloading lead though.
snuffy
Member
I've been loading mine for a little over 3 months now, that's how long I've had the rifle. An order to midway brought me lee deluxe dies, 2 boxes of Winchester "metric loads", which sported a 180 FMJ. I also bought 2 boxes of wolf steel cased with "bi-metal" soft points.
I shot this all up, getting to know the rifle and creating empties so I could reload. The wolf steel is berdan primed, so it was just shot for grins. The brass Winchester stuff shot pretty good, it was loaded with .308 bullets. So I loaded some bulk 150 core-loct in front of a charge of surplus 4895.
I also have a lee mold for their 150 pointed bullet made for the 7.62X39 round. I had some cast, so I loaded some with a mild charge of Aliant 2400. I never really benched the rifle, I was shooting it during our gun clubs deer site in days. I hoped to get back to the range to really see what she can do, but the Wisconsin winter had other ideas!
As for where to get cast for it, you'd have to ask a bullet caster if he makes any .312-.313 cast boolits for rifle. I did a quick check at the muzzle for groove diameter by pushing one of the as-cast boolits into the muzzle, then micrometer measuring it. Came out the .313 boolit didn't touch the grooves! The barrel has sharp rifling, but is pitted mildly from use of corrosive ammo. I suspect a full bore slugging will reveal tighter groove diameter nearer the breech.
I shot this all up, getting to know the rifle and creating empties so I could reload. The wolf steel is berdan primed, so it was just shot for grins. The brass Winchester stuff shot pretty good, it was loaded with .308 bullets. So I loaded some bulk 150 core-loct in front of a charge of surplus 4895.
I also have a lee mold for their 150 pointed bullet made for the 7.62X39 round. I had some cast, so I loaded some with a mild charge of Aliant 2400. I never really benched the rifle, I was shooting it during our gun clubs deer site in days. I hoped to get back to the range to really see what she can do, but the Wisconsin winter had other ideas!
As for where to get cast for it, you'd have to ask a bullet caster if he makes any .312-.313 cast boolits for rifle. I did a quick check at the muzzle for groove diameter by pushing one of the as-cast boolits into the muzzle, then micrometer measuring it. Came out the .313 boolit didn't touch the grooves! The barrel has sharp rifling, but is pitted mildly from use of corrosive ammo. I suspect a full bore slugging will reveal tighter groove diameter nearer the breech.
Nicodemus38
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surplus rifle forum has experts on reloading vintage milsurp rifles.
you WILL need to slug the barrel to get the true bore size. the official blueprints call for .311-.312 diameter grooves, but during wartime production efforts its very commonto find specimens that need a .315 diameter lead bullet to get a complete gas seal.
best source of bullet will be standard .311 bullets for .303 british and 7.62x39 projectiles. any pistol bullet in 32 caliber will normally be a fine fit. However the lowest projectile weight of any loading data i can find is 100 grain, and thats using .308 diam bullets.
you WILL need to slug the barrel to get the true bore size. the official blueprints call for .311-.312 diameter grooves, but during wartime production efforts its very commonto find specimens that need a .315 diameter lead bullet to get a complete gas seal.
best source of bullet will be standard .311 bullets for .303 british and 7.62x39 projectiles. any pistol bullet in 32 caliber will normally be a fine fit. However the lowest projectile weight of any loading data i can find is 100 grain, and thats using .308 diam bullets.
I bought this mold and started screwing around with it and my M44 and the results are fun cheap rounds that I shoot at 100 - 200 yds steel plate.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=752956
I have tried several ways, with and without Gas checks with a few different powders and am happy I got the mold.
They provide hours of amusement and entertainment. Accurate enough for the type of shooting I do with this rifle.
As above posters had shared, I have used .311 Jacketed diameter bullets (for 303 and 7.62x39) with this as well and they have worked extremely well.
I also shoot .308 size bullets which are also fine in accuracy but make sure you use the correct dies for this. You may have to clean your bore more often than using .311 bullets but I have found this rifle to be very forgiving in what it eats.
Fun stuff for this rifle I have dubbed my "don't matter" rifle.
LGB
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=752956
I have tried several ways, with and without Gas checks with a few different powders and am happy I got the mold.
They provide hours of amusement and entertainment. Accurate enough for the type of shooting I do with this rifle.
As above posters had shared, I have used .311 Jacketed diameter bullets (for 303 and 7.62x39) with this as well and they have worked extremely well.
I also shoot .308 size bullets which are also fine in accuracy but make sure you use the correct dies for this. You may have to clean your bore more often than using .311 bullets but I have found this rifle to be very forgiving in what it eats.
Fun stuff for this rifle I have dubbed my "don't matter" rifle.
LGB
NuJudge
Member
Some sources of bullets:
PBN30-200G at the following source is similar to some of the bullets I cast:
https://secure25.securewebsession.com/proshootpro.com/order.htm
The Heat Treated or un-Heat Treated 314299 that these people cast for the .303 would do fine in most 7.62x54R barrels:
http://www.montanabulletworks.com/wst_page5.html
These people offer a bullet made in a SAECO mold that they intend for the .303 that would fit most 7.62x54R:
http://www.moyerscastbullets.com/pricelist.html
I like 18 grains of old Hercules 2400 to power my cast bullets.
You would do well to read the article at the following link:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=13425
PBN30-200G at the following source is similar to some of the bullets I cast:
https://secure25.securewebsession.com/proshootpro.com/order.htm
The Heat Treated or un-Heat Treated 314299 that these people cast for the .303 would do fine in most 7.62x54R barrels:
http://www.montanabulletworks.com/wst_page5.html
These people offer a bullet made in a SAECO mold that they intend for the .303 that would fit most 7.62x54R:
http://www.moyerscastbullets.com/pricelist.html
I like 18 grains of old Hercules 2400 to power my cast bullets.
You would do well to read the article at the following link:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=13425
Marc257
Member
Thanks for all the good info.
Offfhand
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I've been using cast bullets in the 7.62 Russian with good success. Using a Lyman #311291 mould the bullets come out almost exact .311" So all I do is lube them and good to go. Weight is 167 grs. cast with lino and I load with SR-4759 a bulky powder that fills the case well. And one other reason it works so well is that my rifle is a Russian made target rifle for 300M Olympic style competition. I got it several years ago when I was in Russia for an International rifle match. They seemed happy to sell it to me at a good price, probably because they needed my American dollars. Attaching some pics for those who may not be familiar with 7.62X54R Russian target rifles. They are amazingly accurate, which is one of the reasons the Russians dominated 300M international shooting for so many years.
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Kernel
Member
Offhand, cool rifle. Is it based on a Nagant action? Are those double set triggers (hard to tell from the pictures)? What can you tell us about the apeture sights.
fireflyfather
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- Oct 22, 2006
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- 807
I load cast lead for my Mosin.
I have 3 different loads I use so far, using 2 different bullets cast from Lee molds.
7 grains of red dot or promo with CTL-160-312-2R (designed for 7.62x39) without the gas check.
13 grains of red dot or promo with same bullet, with a gas check.
13 grains of red dot or promo with C-185-312-1R, with a gas check.
All shoot decently at 25 yards. The heavier loads shoot just as well at 100 yards. Your zero will be quite a bit lower, so you will have to play with the elevation settings on your rifle (600-700 meter setting works good for the light load above at 25 yards for me).
I cast my own bullets, so I haven't the foggiest for buying them pre-cast. Just make sure you slug your barrel and get bullets .001 or .002 larger.
I find that the 13 grain loads I could shoot all day, since there's very little recoil. It's cheap as hell, too. The 7 grain loads are even cheaper, at half the powder and no gas check. They're really only good for practicing breathing/trigger work or off-hand shooting, but they have NO recoil. It's like shooting a .22 with a heavy stock. I lube all the bullets with liquid alox and neck-size only when I can get away with it (I have a burr in the chamber I need to have removed). You can use 2400, but you'll probably end up using more powder for very small performance (accuracy) gains, and thus your cost per round will go up. My biggest factor is cost, so I use the cheapest possible powder (promo), but your requirements may vary.
I heartfully suggest using lead in your mosins. Check out Ed Harris' articles on "the load" and "cast bullets in military rifles". A little googling or searching here on THR should lead you to links. Very good information.
I have 3 different loads I use so far, using 2 different bullets cast from Lee molds.
7 grains of red dot or promo with CTL-160-312-2R (designed for 7.62x39) without the gas check.
13 grains of red dot or promo with same bullet, with a gas check.
13 grains of red dot or promo with C-185-312-1R, with a gas check.
All shoot decently at 25 yards. The heavier loads shoot just as well at 100 yards. Your zero will be quite a bit lower, so you will have to play with the elevation settings on your rifle (600-700 meter setting works good for the light load above at 25 yards for me).
I cast my own bullets, so I haven't the foggiest for buying them pre-cast. Just make sure you slug your barrel and get bullets .001 or .002 larger.
I find that the 13 grain loads I could shoot all day, since there's very little recoil. It's cheap as hell, too. The 7 grain loads are even cheaper, at half the powder and no gas check. They're really only good for practicing breathing/trigger work or off-hand shooting, but they have NO recoil. It's like shooting a .22 with a heavy stock. I lube all the bullets with liquid alox and neck-size only when I can get away with it (I have a burr in the chamber I need to have removed). You can use 2400, but you'll probably end up using more powder for very small performance (accuracy) gains, and thus your cost per round will go up. My biggest factor is cost, so I use the cheapest possible powder (promo), but your requirements may vary.
I heartfully suggest using lead in your mosins. Check out Ed Harris' articles on "the load" and "cast bullets in military rifles". A little googling or searching here on THR should lead you to links. Very good information.
Offfhand
Member.
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Kernel, the rifle is one of the variations of the Vostok MC-13, which at the time I bought it was Russia's top 300M rifle and used by their best markesmen in Olympic and other International competitions. The action is a massive single shot affair, made uniquely for this model, with side port, short bolt and and very light and quick firing pin. Cut rifling barrel with deep grooves, making it especially accurate with cast bullets. Will attach more pics of closeups of action, set triggers (the front triggers "sets" the mechanism, which is fired with knurled bar trigger at rear. Note adjustable finger stop for positive finger postioning.) Rear and front sights. Note that the sights are off-center from barrel, so sight-picture is not disturbed by heat-waves (mirage) rising from barrel. Hope photos are clear enough to see details.
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