Most Consistent 7.62x54R?

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Skofnung

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What is the most consistent factory loaded 7.62x54R? I’ve got a nice looking (good rifling and crown) M44 that was shooting shotgun like patterns at fifty yards with CZ Silvertip.

If it won’t shoot, I don’t want it.
 
Did you have the bayonet extended? M-44s were zeroed with there bayos extended. I have CZ silvertip along with Bulgarian light and heavy ball and it all shoots fine in my Nagants. Try some other milsurp stuff before spending the money on factory ammo.
 
I shot with the bayonet in both positions, as I had heard of this phenomenon. All extending the pig sticker did was move the pattern over 6 or 7 inches to the right.

Seriously, at 50 yards I was getting pie plate plus size groups. With other open sighted rifles, such as my 99 Savage and No1 MkIII Enfield I have no trouble shooting much better than this. As I said, the rifling looks as good as any M44 that I've seen thus far, so I'm pretty sure that the ammo is to blame...
 
Well, the czech ammo it pretty good, but, frankly, the ammo is not the problem with pie plate groups that close in. I would begin by checking the action screws. They may be loose. Tighten them up.

Next, I would look at the crown. If there is no rifling at the crown, some monkey overcleaned the gun, wearing out the crown. I would consider counterboring it.

If the crown is good and the screws are tight, I would try seeing if you need to shim the action. Sometimes the actions sit too low in the stock, and you need to raise it up to make it square. Research how to do this. It isn't hard.

If all of these things fail, perhaps you should look at yourself. Mosins are not the traditonal American rifle. They feel and handle differently. It could be that you just need to learn how to shoot your rifle. Try dry firing it a bit, maybe get a recoil pad, in case of flinching, and practice sighting it on immovable objects in the distance. The sights may be throwing you off. You may just need practice with it to learn the handling and use of the Mosin-Nagant. They are different.
Mauserguy
 
I'll let you know...hopefully today I will sneak away from work early and poke holes with my 91/30 and M44. First time with them. Just finished last night slugg'n the barrels on both (.3105 and .312 respectively), putting the last coat of tung oil on the refinished 91/30 (completely stripped, restained, and oiled to eccentuate the cartouches). Have three boxes of 150gr Wolf ammo (brass), we'll check them out against my home brewed 150gr LSPGC's with only 40 grains of H4895 (should theoretically run about 2300 fps with pressure reduced to approximately 40k CUP). I think that they might be a little too hot yet for being a lead bullet, even with the gas checks. My guess is that I should be down to 2000-2100 fps @ 30k CUP, but to do that I would be down to around 30 gr of powder or roughly 2/3 full cartridge and I have to worry about un burned powder then. It would never wear the barrel and should give the best groups. The 150 gr LSPGC's only cost me $13 per 250 count and they measure .312 dia.
 
Right now I'm shooting 147 gr light ball Hungarian. Unfortunately AIM is out and I can't find it anywhere else. I just ordered 183 gr heavy ball Bulgarian that should be here Monday.

My T53 and this Hungarian make me scratch my head when I hear of all the scattergun results so many others are getting with the M44s. The bayonet made little or no significant difference in POI. I just needed to adjust my windage a bit more to the right. The group size was fine,..about two inches, no more than 2.5.
 
The M-44's USUALLY prefer the 147-150 Gr "Light Ball" ammo. The Albanian lite ball was fair-to-middlin' in my 44, and pretty good with both Hungarian & Czech 'Silvertip'.

Do give that bore a very close look, though. Could be dings right at the muzzle, or worn rifling, needing a re-crown.
 
Normally the Czech ST is really good, but maybe your M44 just doesn't like it. I got good results with it, but I tried some Wolf and cut my group size down. Tighten everything down as mentioned and try some commercial ammo. It will at least eliminate one variable.
RT
 
Guess I was lucky. Bought enough 7.62x54R in sealed tins to last a lifetime. The stuff is Chinese, shoots great and cost about 34 bucks per thousand. Brass cased, cu jacketed. This was about 15 years ago.
 
Phew!!! Shot a bunch of rounds out of my recently obtained 91/30....terrible, just terrible. This thing sluggged at .3105 and had good rifling right to the muzzle. Sucker shot all over the board, from a foot low to a foot high and to the right at fifty yards. Just got done re-crowning the muzzle and I will try again, there seemed to be a burr at the edge of one of the lands. Could've happened when the crowned the bore at Century.
 
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