Whoa, 7.62x54R rounds are bigger than I thought....

[MacTech]

I've been kicking the idea around of picking up a decent general-purpose rifle for duties as varied as distance shooting, hunting, and as a defense against the inevitable Zombie uprising we all know is coming, it's only a matter of time before our spicy BRAAIIINNNS!! are on the menu...

anyway, I've been intrigued with the Mosin-Nagant recently, as it hits most of my criteria, it's decently accurate, creates a large, impressive fireball and shockwave when fired, uses cheap surplus ammo, and the firearm itself is rather inexpensive, which is an added bonus

So, I picked up a box of Winchester 7.62x54R ammo, as the gun shop was out of ammo, and i definitely *didn't* pick up a M-N M44 Carbine, no, I didn't, because I have a nasty tendency to lose guns in tragic boating accidents, which is weird, because I live about 10 miles inland from the ocean, and there are no major bodies of water close by, but somehow, my guns end up on a boat and in a rather Lemminglike manner, walk the plank into Davy Jones' Locker

So, I have a box of ammo here and no gun to use it in, really, I don't, it's a pity, as these rounds are large and impressive, and make my leftover .45 ACP rounds that I used to use in my .45 (before *that* gun was abducted by Space Aliens (Mars Needs Weapons!) ) look like .22 rounds by comparison....

I can only imagine how much power is packed into those factory rounds....

"Why did you buy rounds for a gun you clearly _Don't_ Own?" I hear you ask?"

Simple, I'm easily distracted by shiny objects, they make me happy.....

 

[Beagle-zebub]

I don't know, they still look short to me in comparison to .30-'06 Springfield.

 

[Kind of Blued]

I don't think I've ever seen a non-surplus, shiny 7.62x54r...

That's be weird.

 

[stubbicatt]

I think you are going to love your non rifle. One nice thing about the nonrifle, if for some reason you were to lose it, you don't have a whole lot of money invested in it.

 

[marsche]

In addition to what Stubicatt had to say, I have several non-rifles and am very happy with them. Mentally, they perform flawlessly and they are very easy to clean.

 

[rangerruck]

to me , the 54r is like a fireball 308, with a bit of steroids thrown in...

 

[elmerfudd]

Actually if you put a 7.62x54R and a .308 right next to each other, their dimensions are nearly the same. I have even witnessed a .308 cartridge fired out of a Mosin Nagant once, (I made an assumption that my US Army trained nephew was as familiar with rifles as I was at his age).

Capacity wise though, the 54R has an edge since it's rim is on the outside of the case and that leaves more room inside for powder.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Yeah, we can call the NATO round the "7.62 Short & Weak."

 

[moooose102]

were you maybe expecting the 7.62x39 round??? as for your "missing" rifle. you now own a box of ammo. so you are REQUIRED BY non-existant LAW, to buy a rifle to use them in! but you had better hurry, obama will outlaw these as assault rifles soon!

 

[mordechaianiliewicz]

They are big rounds. But, really just the same class as all WWI era rounds.

 

[_N4Z_]

size wise ---

7.62x39 < .308 < .303 < 7.62x54r < 8mm Mauser < 30.06

 

[MacTech]

I performed a "thought experiment" this afternoon, I *imagined* going to the range with my Non-Rifle, and touching off about 15 out of the 20 rounds, I wanted to theoretically keep at least 5 rounds un-thought about until I could obtain more 7.62x54R to think about

In my minds eye, the gun had a monster of a recoil, and a very loud report from the open-faced shooting stalls on the rifle range, it was just as loud as another shooter who was thinking about firing his black powder rifle

after I had thought about shooting the M-N, the other shooter came over and asked me "are you thinking about a Mosin-Nagant, I've heard a lot about those ol' relics, how does it theoretically shoot?"

"yep, I was thinking about one all right, here, try thinking about it yourself"

(I wonder how long I can drag out this Non-Rifle gag.... )
after that, I went over to the pistol range where every stall was full, lots of people thinking about their theoretical handguns, I had no place to sit and think, so I came home, and will be going back tomorrow

who knows, I may even bring some of my actual guns, the ones that haven't dissapeared overboard or been abducted by space aliens....

 

[.303]

n4z, i am almost positive that the .303 case is longer than the 7.62x54

 

[xjedix]

-Derek

 

[Phydeaux642]

Wow, I lost all of my guns in boating accidents also.

 

[_N4Z_]

n4z, i am almost positive that the .303 case is longer than the 7.62x54

nope, so solly.

matter of fact I have one of each sitting right here in front of me just to verify.

don't have my calipers handy but these two cases by eyeball are indentical in length. the x54r has greater volume capacity.

 

[elmerfudd]

I hit some hard times and had to sell them myself. Some guy named "T-bone" offered to buy them all. Seems he runs a social club for disadvantaged youth and he wanted to teach them marksmanship. Something about initiation or a merit badge or something.

 

[Hoppy590]

30-06 is larger, but i believe the 8X56r was the largest shoulder rifle round of the war

 

[ZombiesAhead]

wow BATF will never figure you guys out - genius!

I'd love to get an MN myself - very cool guns.

 

[JR47]

The 7.62x54R round, as loaded by the Soviets, approximates that of the 7.62x51 NATO. The 7.62x63 (.30-06) is slightly more powerful in military guise.

The 8x56R round was used in Steyr rifles. It was originally a black-powder round, and was loaded much more mildly, even with smokeless powder.

The 7.62x54R has an interesting luminescence at night, especially when fired from short-barreled rifles like the Model 1938, the Model 1944, or the 31/59.

 

[elmerfudd]

wow BATF will never figure you guys out - genius!

How could they? It's totally foolproof!!!

 

[Avenger]

30-06 is larger, but i believe the 8X56r was the largest shoulder rifle round of the war

In terms of bore size, yes it was. 8x56 and 54r are just about the same size case, in fact 54r brass can actually be formed to make 8x56 cases.

The 8x56R round was used in Steyr rifles. It was originally a black-powder round, and was loaded much more mildly, even with smokeless powder.

My Steyr M95 and Mosin M38 are about the same rifle weight. The Steyr has a recoil that is quite a bit harder.

 

[nathan]

Its the longest serving cartridge still in mass production.

 

[dubious]

Once the honeymoon is over for you and your imaginary Mosin, GET ONE. You should be able to get a nice rearsenaled one for around $80. The surplus ammo is dirt cheap at around $5 / 20 rounds, its a big f-off rifle round for the same price as bargain 9mm. Furthermore, the mosin can take any game on the planet. There are eskimos in Alaska that kill WHALES with mosins. And even though other rifles have bigger cartridges, the explosion and fireball out of a shorter mosin carbine (m44 or m38) is downright amazing. You will definitely annoy the guys at the range. And all the eskimo babes will try to seduce you with gifts of whale blubber. Try touching off a round at night with one for some serious fireworks (please do this SAFELY, not in the air!). And save your shoulder, get a recoil pad!