Reloading 7.62 x 25 for Czech CZ52

[jjohnson]

Hi, Gents (ladies)!

I bought one of these *ugly* things to play with at the range - I'm not hunting with it or using it for self defense - and was impressed with the oddball round as I was disgusted with the pistol's trigger pull. I bought brass and some bullets in .308, as well as .312 cast lead, and was wondering if anybody had some pet loads to share. If there's any website stuff for the pistol itself, maybe you could point me to the proper forum - I've found makarov.com useful, but I'm still looking for more. Thanks!

 

[R.W.Dale]

7.62x25 is a very tricky round to load for. Here are a couple of threads with some valueable info.

http://www.gunboards.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=85884

http://www.gunboards.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=121338

 

[Clark]

Don't play around with the CZ52 loads published by AA between 2000 and mid 2004.

The late 2004 data from AA [and current AA website data] is reduced to the 30 Mauser loads [level of pressure] that Hornady and Sierra publish for the CZ52.

The problem is the CZ52 is not very strong. The bottom of the chamber is thin. The slot for the rollers in the bottom of the barrel cuts into the chamber thickness.
Another problem is that the RC hardness of the barrels varies widely.

 

[Topgunner]

Over-crimping

I read the two gun boards threads, and I'm wondering if part of the problem is over-crimping the case necks.

I can't find the excellent discussion of this phenomenon (maybe in the Hornady manual?), but the idea was that upon crimping the case neck, both the brass and the bullet are compressed. The bullet is not very elastic, and remains compressed, and the brass - being more elastic - re-expands and results in a loosely held bullet. There is also the problem of deforming the bullet jacket which decreases the accuracy due to bullet yaw.

Maybe if the case necks were chamfered and belled just a touch, and then the bullets were seated and lightly crimped in a separate operation...

I'm wondering if maybe the resized case necks were dipped into a dilute lacquer solution and allowed to dry, if there would be an adhesive/sealant effect.

Topgunner

 

[R.W.Dale]

Maybe if the case necks were chamfered and belled just a touch, and then the bullets were seated and lightly crimped in a separate operation...

I've tried it both ways and it doesn't work. The X-tra heavy crimp solves two problems. 1. it's really hard to get that little neck to hold onto bullets enough to prevent bullet setback LEE dies just will not put enough crimp on the case, Especally with .308 projectiles. and 2 when loading .312 diameter bullets for larger bored pistols you run into chambering issues without a good stout crimp.

The above procedure is something that is normally avoided at all costs when loading for other cartriges. But with 7.62x25 it's just he nature of the beast, you just want make shure you back down your charges to accomidate this.

Like I said 7.62x25 is very tricky to load for

 

[confed sailor]

have any of you tried the factory crimp die from lee?

i use the hornady XTP bullets over 5 grains of bullseye, and they shoot beautifully, and easy to load too,

lol yall have me worried now, ive a new reloader and this round was fairly easy to load, so now you got me thinking im messing something up.

 

[Clark]

C Sailor,
That is interesting that it exists:
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1145151149.4326=/html/catalog/dies-crimp.html

I sent to Lee a 7.62x25mm case with seated bullet sans powder and primer to get a a custom factory crimp made, 7 years ago, and they sent it back, with a note that said tthat they could not do it becuase it is too short.

I tried doing it upside down in a 308 FC die with shortened 308 case in the bottom, but the 308 neck is too thick and the Tokarev neck is too thin.

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Sounds more like they felt it was too much work to do the work until they knew they had a market for it.

Dave

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

The Lee FCDs for bottleneck pistol cartridges are based on the Collet neck-sizing dies, not the rifle FCDs. Take a look at the replacement parts for FCDs and Collet Neck sizing dies, and you'll see the differences/similarities.

BTW, if you want a micrometer adjustable seater die for 7.62x25, the Hornady 30 lugar seater works great, and accepts the optional micrometer adjustment screw.

Andy