Loading 7.62x54mmR ?

[Fly]

What are you guys using to load 7.62x54mmR brass or steel cases? The only brass I can find is almost $50 a 100?
If loading steel what to do to convert to boxer primers?

Fly

[arlon]

Use brass, $50 for 100 new cases you can reload a dozen times isn't so bad. Don't think you can reload a steel case.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

7.62x54Rmm isn't a cartridge that has ever rung my chimes, just because I'm not a big fan of the Mosin rifle. But, $50 divided by 100 = .50 per case, which now days doesn't seem that outrageous. I was paying $3 each for .43 Spanish. Maybe you can get someone to go in on a buy with you and spilt the brass, then you'll have 50 cases for $25.

As for the steel cases, there have been several comprehensive threads on converting Berdan primer pockets to Boxer. The one that seems to get the most praise is using a small, thin copper tube to line the Berdan pocket, filing it flush, and then seating the Boxer primer inside the tube. Of course, you have to drill a flash hole. The next firing expands the tube tightly against the walls of the pocket and thereafter you just reload as normal. Try a search...

[LAGS]

I am using a Norma , Hanson , Ppu , Winchester for normal reloading.
I do have a bunch of Brass Cases Chinese ammo that is Berdan Primed that I convert the cases to Boxer primers using 1/4" copper tubing and a RCBS primer pocket swedger.
If you want , I will send you the empty Chinese Brass cases that I have so you can convert them.
Don't know how many I have left because I have gave away 100 a couple years back to someone on this forum.
PM me if you want them.
I still have a 300 round unopened spam can of the Chinese ammo to shoot up and a case or two of the steel case russian stuff

[Larry Gibson]

What are you guys using to load 7.62x54mmR brass or steel cases? The only brass I can find is almost $50 a 100?
If loading steel what to do to convert to boxer primers?

Fly

Buy the brass cases and neck size for your rifle. The cases will last practically for ever.

[Fly]

Thank for the offer Lags. I to have a couple spam cans of that military stuff. I,m thinking of just buying new brass ammo & when I shoot it up
I can load the ole brass. I thought someone may know of some cheaper brass out there. I don't shoot my Mosins that much, but I also have
a Romanian PSL that's really fun to shoot. But you can shoot up a lot of ammo quick. Heck Lags the muzzle loaders are the best deal going (wink)

Fly

Fly

[sghart3578]

I found some reasonably priced used brass on Gunbroker.

Since I load them very mildly and neck size only they seem to last forever.


Steve in N CA

[Larry Gibson]

Thank for the offer Lags. I to have a couple spam cans of that military stuff. I,m thinking of just buying new brass ammo & when I shoot it up
I can load the ole brass. I thought someone may know of some cheaper brass out there. I don't shoot my Mosins that much, but I also have
a Romanian PSL that's really fun to shoot. But you can shoot up a lot of ammo quick. Heck Lags the muzzle loaders are the best deal going (wink)

Fly

Fly

I haven't done this with Berdan primed steel cases but others have with very good success.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ckets-to-Boxer

[GhostHawk]

4 years ago I found a good deal on PPU loaded ammo. At the time boxer primed brass was selling for 24 cents ea and up. I bought 100 rounds loaded, 150 grain psp for 38 cents each. With free shipping for 100 round order seemed like a win. Still have 80 rounds of it as I found brass here and there for reasonable prices.

Brass is where you find it. You pay what you must for the privilege of loading your own. It is an investment that allows us to enjoy our casting/loading hobbies.

[LAGS]

I only convert the brass cases.
They work great for my Cast Loads.
But right now I have to pull down all my steel cased ammo and replace the bullets.
The ammo I have is steel core bullets , and they won't let us shoot them on the range.
The Chinese cases use a very large berdan primer.
So I cut short sections of 1/4" copper tubing.
Insert it into the primer pocket after drilling the new flash hole.
Then swedge the new primer pocket in the copper tubing.
Just for giggles I coat the copper tubing outside with Red Lock Tite so it doesn't ever come out when reloading.
The final step is to square up the bottom of the primer pocket with a Primer pocket Reamer.
Then I load them up with Large Rifle primers , 2400 and 314-299 cast slugs

[jimb16]

I reloaded a bunch of steel cases just to see how well it worked. No particular problems. But since I have a fairly good supply of brass cases, it just isn't worth the extra effort. But it is good to know that I can reload steel just in case the supply of brass cases ever dries up.

[LAGS]

A few years back , I bought several hundred rounds of New Winchester Metric 7.62x54r Boxer primed ammo.
I only neck size the cases and have more than 10 reloads on most on them and up to 20 reloads on others.
So that may be a more economical way to aquire your Boxer primed Brass.
I normally load my cases with jacketed bullets 10 times, then dedicate them to loading with Cast Boolits.
Don't know if it makes that much difference , but haven't had any cases fail yet.
Lost a bunch shooting them in a Takorov my friend had.

[Ray1946]

I got into reloading back in 74' with a Mosin-Nagant. Bought a box of Norma brass for $3.00(20rnds.) and really belly-ached about the cost. I proceeded to load those cases 33 times and they were still good when I moved on to a Mauser. Its not 74', so bite the bullet and start the New Year out with some decent brass.........................

[LAGS]

I wouldn't have griped about the $3.00 a box .
I still have 6 boxes of unfired Norma ammo I bought in 1978 that I paid $24.95 each.
But thru the years , I picked up tons of other ammo at better prices like PPU , Hanson , or Winchester for as low as $9.95 a box.
I have at least 100 rounds of each unfired.
But shooting up other ammo I bought at the time plus Surplus and all the reloads has kept me shooting thru good times and bad.
This holdes true for many other calibers as well , not just the 7.62x54.
See , I wasn't always rich.
But being cost effective and not just Cheap got me to the point I am at now.

[Kraschenbirn]

Several years back, when Graf's had boxer-primed PPU FMJs on sale for something like $10 or $11 a box, I bought 10 boxes and have been shooting/reloading those same cases in my 'Finned' 91/30 ever since.

Bill

[Catch22]

I managed to come up with a few hundred rounds of PPU brass over the past few years. It takes some patience and looking, but you can find it better that $0.50/round. I managed to find it here and there on a good deal or won an auction on Gunbroker. Some of it was trading for brass I had, much of which I had little or no money tied up in as range brass or what have you.

I haven't loaded much of it yet, my load Mosin I've managed to shoot 1" groups at 100 yards with the spam can I have, so I don't see getting anything more accurate and I still have a bunch of it in the can. A fluke being a Mosin, but I'll take it.

[Fly]

Fluke? maybe it is you the shooter. That is some great shooting.

Fly

[Catch22]

Fluke? maybe it is you the shooter. That is some great shooting.

Fly

I would like to think so! LOL

With a Mosin, that seems to be really good accuracy. But, it's a '36 and original, so it was built before the big war rush and all, maybe it's a bit better quality. I can't remember what the round is I have, but it seems to like it so for now I don't plan on messing with it. It's a paper puncher, so I don't *need* to load anything particular for it just yet.

[tankgunner59]

I have two Mosin 91/30's and I don't buy new brass. I buy the PPU factory loads, enjoy firing them then reload the brass. If it's any help.
I have actually done the berdan to boxer conversion. It is pretty involved and sometimes difficult. In my opinion not worth the trouble. At best you might get two reloadings from steel cases after you convert them to boxer. But the biggest concern is the chance of damaging your dies. Again, to me it's not worth it. Hope this helps. I once had written up the procedure I used to convert from berdan to boxer, but I don't know where it is.
Fly, if you would like the procedure PM me and I'll try to find it and PM it back to you.

[Jruby38]

Tell Der my Saco Finish Mosin blows away any other rifle in my collection, any I have a lot of them.