7.62x54R

[Link23]

anyone load cast for the mosin nagant? i tried today i loaded 50 rounds of 180 grain WW water dropped over 13 grn of red dot with a light-medium crimp im going to see how they do tomorrow

any suggestions?

Also does anyone load lead in a swiss K31?

[runfiverun]

the 31 usually has a tight bbl, and a short throat.
the rcbs 165 silhouette boolit usually fits it well.
you really don't need a crimp in a rifle.

[dualsport]

In a word, yes. I cast and shoot them in a 7.62x54r. I'm using boolits from custom molds for this as no off the shelf molds were big enough. This forum is a gold mine of info on both rifles/cartridges. Try searching by cartridge name and also the guns, you'll find a lot of reading. Both have been well used in matches with cast boolits.

[Calamity Jake]

Yap every mosine I've measured needed .314 or larger.

The no throated K31 makes you seat the boolit deep(unless it has the right nose dia.)
but they shoot OK.

Use the search function for load data on both.

[Dutch4122]

When sizing for the 7.62x54r the best thing I've found is to measure the inside of a caseneck fired in that rifle. You'll be surprised at what you see. I have 5 Mosins and every one of them is .318" on the inside of a fired caseneck from each rifle using Privi brass. The thing to do is to subtract .001" from that measurement and that is the maximum diameter cast lead slug that will safely chamber and fire in your rifle. I ordered a .317" sizing die and accuracy has improved. In short, find the fattest 30 caliber mold you can get and give it a try. The results are worth the effort.

You will probably also find that heavier slugs in the 200+ grain weigh range are more accurate. The NOE 316299 is a good place to start as well as any fat Loverin design.

Last of all, 13 grains of Unique is very accurate in my rifles and makes for a fun plinking load.

Hope this helps, :D

[Larry Gibson]

I've been shooting cast in MNs for 35 years. Many of them have groove depths of .310 to .312 depending on who made them and how much use they've seen. Many do very well with standard bullets like C312-185-2R, 311299 or 314299. Lessor weight .312 as cast bullets shoot quoite well also. The oversize barrels of .314+ are many times limited in bullet size useable by the chamber neck diameter. I've found several that would not chamber groove diameter bullets as the were too large. Till, decent accuracy can be had with such MNs. I've found a 323470 lubed and GC at .325 and then sized in a .316 Lee sizer (lapped out from .314) shoos very well in MNs that will chamber that large of a bullet.

Larry Gibson

[markshere2]

NooB to MNs here and still a bit green on Cast Boolits.

My only input into the discussion involves the crimp.

Not crimping makes more sense to me, given the availability / cost of reloadable 7.62X54 brass.

Brass cost is obviously the most expensive component in the shooting equation of MNs.

[Tokarev]

Heavy boolit - no crimp. Light boolit - crimp. That's the rule I've developed over the years.
Crimp and weight compensate for lack of each other.
MN loves heavy bullet - 200, 215 GR and does not really need crimp.
I've shot 32 cal boolits from my M44 although never had enough spare time to develop an accurate load.

[wallenba]

I'm using the Lee C312-185-R1 lapped to drop at .317 (out of the box it dropped .3135) then sized to .315 for my .314 bore. I also use a honed out Lee sizer.

[warf73]

Mine is a M44 that mesures up at .312" and shoots a Lyman 311644 pretty well at 100 yards.
With the iron sights I'm shooting 3" groups, nothing great but for $60 in the wrap (still wrapped in brown paper and grease over every inche of the gun) took few hours of work to clean it up but well worth it. Best part the old barrel looks better after my outing at the range ( 0 leading with a nice lube star) than when I got it.

Just a side note make sure your useing the .311 or larger expander ball, mine came with both the .308 and the .311.

[ahhbach]

I have a Semi-auto Druganov I bought last year... I have been using the 160 and 200 grain Silhouette molds from lyman and sizing to .310. It seems to me from the hundred or so I have put down range the 160 is more accurate and a charge of 26 gr of 2400 seems to cycle the action fine.

Murph:lovebooli

PS am about to try these same boolits in my garand soon as I get enough Brass for test loads

[GP100man]

+1 on shootin as big a boolit as will chamber , mine did`t start groupin until I lapped my 314 die out to 315, it was amazing to see what .001 could change how they shot !!!

[turbo1889]

The 7.62x54R is a great cast boolit gun once you figure out that you need a nice fat, heavy boolit.

I'm using an AM#315-180B in mine as cast loaded for a full case compressed load of surplus 50-BMG ball powder with a couple grain ignition starter charge of R-7 directly over the primer with the 50-BMG ball powder carefully pored in on top and tightly compressed with the seated boolit. Turns pop cans that have been re-filled with tap water inside out no problem as far out as I can keep a bead on them with the original iron sights, which for me isn't too far beyond about a hundred paces.

Previously, I was using a LY#314299 with a full case compressed load of AA-8700. Which worked fine but I was eager to ditch the gas check since it really wasn't needed and get a little bit fatter bullet then the Lyman mold dropped. By the time I got around to actually getting a quality custom mold made for the purpose from Accurate Molds one couldn't get AA-8700 powder anymore so that’s why I switched to 50-BMG mil. surp. ball powder and then had to use R-7 to get the ignition up to the stability level I was used to with the AA-8700.

Over all though it has worked out quite well and the 7.62x54R is a lot more cast friendly then a lot of other popular rifle calibers (270-Win for example).

P.S. ~ the guns shoot a lot tighter and true to the sights with the bayonet extended, that is how the Russians originally balanced and regulated them since at the time it was standard Russian battle tactics to fight engagements with bayonet fixed and ready at all times.

[1Shirt]

Unlike a lot of the others, I am a believer in crimping rifle blts, and have lee factory crimpers for all of the rifle ctgs. that I load. Think it adds a factor of consistancy, and accuracy, but thats just my opinion (for what ever that is worth).
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Tokarev]

I crimp all spitzer FMJs with moderate jump, however the heavy lead boolits in MN seat very close to the lands or even into the lands, which IMO eliminates the need for crimp. You may want to check for pressure signs w/ and w/o crimp and go from there.