Surplus 7.62 Tok powder use

[Neverhome]

Probably 10 years ago I picked up a cheap Zastava M57 and what must have been 400 or more rounds of Bulgarian surplus ammo. Upon firing I was indeed surprised by the surplus ammo. Quite a bit more kick than the current production ammo I’d shot in the gun. Enough that the gun literally started to come apart. The side clip would back off and release the takedown pin. It’s been quite a while back but I vaguely remember it effected the slide lock and in one instance everything got all cockeyed because the pin actually started to back out. This was within a mag or two. Gave up shooting that stuff upon finding info online about the hot Bulgarian surplus. Gun runs without issues on current production ammo.

So my question, if I pulled these rounds down what would you do with the powder?

I did pull down one just now. 84 grain bullet. 8.92 grains of fine ball powder. Berdan primed brass cases. Bullet crimped in with 3 punch marks.
I have very limited access to load data for the Tok but 8.9 grains of powder seems pretty hefty unless it’s fairly slow. Like I said I don’t have much data.

Easy answer might be to download these to some level, though I don’t load for this cartridge and really don’t shoot it either at the moment.

Any suggestions on what else I could use the powder for or what powder it could possibly be close to? Obviously I’d take nothing said as the gospel and certainly observe all standard safety precautions.

[Outpost75]

Expect it would make great fertilizer for your kitchen herb garden, or mix it with sawdust and paraffin to make fire starters.

[farmbif]

maybe you could take 1/2 grain out at a time and see how they shoot then

[Outpost75]

maybe you could take 1/2 grain out at a time and see how they shoot then

By the time he works up a load the powder will be gone. Hardly worth the effort for a coffee mugful of powder.

[dtknowles]

If it was me and I had a few hundred left I would use an impact puller and pull down all the ammo and reload with the same bullets and powder but use only 8 grains, that would be like a 10% reduction. By reload I mean charge with powder and reseat the bullets. With care you can do this without dies, just press the bullets back in. I expect you would have enough neck tension to be good to go but you should check that you don't want the bullets moving before you fire them. You might have to find a way to crimp them again.

I mean eventually if it works well pull them all down. I would start with just 20 or so.

Tim

[smithnframe]

I shot some of the same stuff through my CZ-52...........turns out it was machine gun ammo! Kicked like hell but the gun held up!

[Neverhome]

If it was me and I had a few hundred left I would use an impact puller and pull down all the ammo and reload with the same bullets and powder but use only 8 grains, that would be like a 10% reduction. By reload I mean charge with powder and reseat the bullets. With care you can do this without dies, just press the bullets back in. I expect you would have enough neck tension to be good to go but you should check that you don't want the bullets moving before you fire them. You might have to find a way to crimp them again.

I mean eventually if it works well pull them all down. I would start with just 20 or so.

Tim

If I did I’d probably go a lot higher than a 10% reduction honestly. These are HOT. Or maybe start at 8 and work backwards a half grain at a time until the gun stops cycling. Use the last one that cycles reliably.

What I think I’d rather do is burn it up in something else. Just for kicks though really. It’s not like I need to do anything with it at all! Should be roughly a half pound of powder so as mentioned it’s not worth putting any real effort into but might just be fun to play around with. I’d just have to take a stab in the dark...

[mtnman31]

I too would download them and fire away.
That said, I guess it would also depend on how many rounds you're talking about having to disassemble. Beating apart 300+ rounds of ammo with an inertia puller doesn't sound like fun. In that case, you may be better off trading them with someone for something else you can use.

BTW - the Tokarev is a fun little round. I'd like to find an AR15 that shoots it.

[EMC45]

Years back, I too had a CZ52 and I think I got ahold of some subgun ammo. It was super hot. Accrurate and reliable, but felt like .357 Magnum ammo when I shot it.

[dtknowles]

If I did I’d probably go a lot higher than a 10% reduction honestly. These are HOT. Or maybe start at 8 and work backwards a half grain at a time until the gun stops cycling. Use the last one that cycles reliably.

What I think I’d rather do is burn it up in something else. Just for kicks though really. It’s not like I need to do anything with it at all! Should be roughly a half pound of powder so as mentioned it’s not worth putting any real effort into but might just be fun to play around with. I’d just have to take a stab in the dark...

I consider half a pound of powder worth working up a load for. With proper precautions I expect you could develop 9mm or .357 loads for that powder as long as you don't try for max velocity just mid range loads. If you use the powder for something else what are you going to do with the primers/brass and bullets?

Tim

[swheeler]

Probably 10 years ago I picked up a cheap Zastava M57 and what must have been 400 or more rounds of Bulgarian surplus ammo. Upon firing I was indeed surprised by the surplus ammo. Quite a bit more kick than the current production ammo I’d shot in the gun. Enough that the gun literally started to come apart. The side clip would back off and release the takedown pin. It’s been quite a while back but I vaguely remember it effected the slide lock and in one instance everything got all cockeyed because the pin actually started to back out. This was within a mag or two. Gave up shooting that stuff upon finding info online about the hot Bulgarian surplus. Gun runs without issues on current production ammo.

So my question, if I pulled these rounds down what would you do with the powder?

I did pull down one just now. 84 grain bullet. 8.92 grains of fine ball powder. Berdan primed brass cases. Bullet crimped in with 3 punch marks.
I have very limited access to load data for the Tok but 8.9 grains of powder seems pretty hefty unless it’s fairly slow. Like I said I don’t have much data.

Easy answer might be to download these to some level, though I don’t load for this cartridge and really don’t shoot it either at the moment.

Any suggestions on what else I could use the powder for or what powder it could possibly be close to? Obviously I’d take nothing said as the gospel and certainly observe all standard safety precautions.

Accurate manual #2 says Sierra 85 gr RN and Accurate #5 powder 7.6-1554 fps, 8.5- 1766 fps at 40,400 cup

[Neverhome]

I consider half a pound of powder worth working up a load for. With proper precautions I expect you could develop 9mm or .357 loads for that powder as long as you don't try for max velocity just mid range loads. If you use the powder for something else what are you going to do with the primers/brass and bullets?

Tim

357 mag was probably where I’d use it if I went through with it. I bet I could work up a decent load of 400-500 rounds with it. Takes me a while to get through 500 rounds too!

Regarding the brass, primers, and bullets, the brass is berdan primes. I doubt I’d bother doing anything with it. Primers would have to stay put. I just measured the bullets and they are oddly .307. Far smaller than I anticipated. I could MAYBE use them for plinking in my 308 bolt gun.

[Neverhome]

[/COLOR]
Accurate manual #2 says Sierra 85 gr RN and Accurate #5 powder 7.6-1554 fps, 8.5- 1766 fps at 40,400 cup

Interesting! Thank you.