7.62x54r Load for Lee C312-185-1r

[edrw]

I have been looking of a load for this mould using Varget but it's not listed in any of my manuals and several hours of searching the net haven't turned up anything. I've had pretty good luck using 25.4 gr IMR 4227 but I was given 1lb of Varget and I wanted to give it a try.

[RU shooter]

Try a start load of 30 grs and a small tuft of Dacron and work that up half gr at a time

[edrw]

Try a start load of 30 grs and a small tuft of Dacron and work that up half gr at a time

Thanks, I'll start there.

[Old Iron Sights]

Let us know how it goes. Going down this rabbit hole myself soon.

[plmitch]

I have this mold and it works great with other powders so I’ll be wondering how this turns out.

[edrw]

Let us know how it goes. Going down this rabbit hole myself soon.

I have them already to try, now if it would just stop raining on a day I can go to the range....

[Old Iron Sights]

Ordered the mold today.

[Jjed]

I'm not using a lee mold but I have good results using the lyman 311332a 180 gr mold and 19.4 gr 2400. the target is at 100 yds.

[edrw]

IF ANYONE READ THE POST BEFORE I CHANGED THE GRAINS, DO NOT USE THOSE NUMBERS! THE NUMBERS LISTED NOW ARE CORRECT

Well I finally got some nice weather to go to the gun range and test my handloads. I went yesterday, got all set up and had my rifle on the bench when a gust of wind came and knocked my rifle off the bench and broke my scope. I had removed my front sight to take the stock apart and hadn't put it back on again so my shooting was over before it began. I took my scope to SWFA but stupidity isn't covered under the warranty though they were nice enough to sell me another scope for half price. The rifle I'm using is your everyday Izhevsk Mosin Nagant 91/30. The scope is a SWFA SS 10x42mm Tactical Rifle Scope, Rock Solid scope mount, and I added a Timney trigger (two good reviews of the scope are http://www.snipercentral.com/ss1042.phtml and http://www.snipercountry.com/InReviews/TascoSS_Rebirth.asp ).

Please don't be jealous of my professional targets.

To eliminate 1 variable I used new Privi brass, full length resized.
C312-185-1R Lee mold. Weighed all bullets and used only ones that weighed 179 gr and resized to .311 (My bore slugs to .311).
Wheel Weight Lead
CCI lg rifle primers
Hornady 308 gas checks
Heavy crimp
Varget Powder
2.790 OAL

I'm only including the results where the accuracy started to be acceptable. I started out way below 40.0 gr but anything below 38.0 would lock up my bolt and not eject the spent shell. I cleaned the bore after 6 shots and used 3 bullets for each test. Here's the results:

My standard is TullAmmo 148 gr and that's what I have my scope zeroed with for 100 yards. $8.00/20 locally and it usually groups under an inch.

3 shots avg - 100 yrds - 70 degrees - 10mph crosswind

38.0gr 1.50"
39.0gr 1.29"
40.0gr .75"

For anyone thinking of trying Unique I tried 12.1gr, 13.1gr, and 14.1gr. They had virtually no recoil, were very fun to shoot, and had 3/4 inch group for the 13.1gr load.

[Gunor]

Great write up and pictures and targets.

If your bore slugs at .311, why resize to same size. i thought standard was to size .002 over?

Also - How far are you off the lands?

Sorry one more question - I understand the need for a crimp - at least for a magazine worth of shells - But wondering during load work up, does this help or hinder?

thanks

Geoff in Oregon

[edrw]

I mainly resize to .311 because that's the only resizer I have and it crimps the gas check on. I've tried super gluing the gas checks on without resizing and although it works fine, the accuracy wasn't as good. I was told on pistol loads you want the bullets oversize but on rifle loads you don't. There's a lot of misinformation on the Internet and a lot of people claiming to be experts who aren't so I take advice with a grain of salt and experiment. Mine works just as well with .308s as it does with .311s, so who knows.

I'm not sure how far off the lands I am. I came to this length through much experimentation with this rifle and it may or may not work in other rifles. Maybe just a good starting place to check where it sits in relationship to the lands. I've been meaning to check that and it's on my list.

I used a heavy crimp because in some of my early loads I was able to twist the bullet in the case. I tried a light crimp but I could see signs of leakage were the bullet is seated. With the heavy crimp (1 turn past touching the bullet on a lee press) I don't see the leakage and the accuracy improved by about 1/2" at 100 yards.

[frkelly74]

I just got around to slugging both my 91/30 Mosins. They both slug .314. I used some 8mm cast boolits driven through the bores to arrive at this measurement. My biggest 30/31 cal mold is one of the TL312-160 which drops at about .313. I was hoping for a more favorable match up than this but looks like a beagle proposition now. I have not played with these rifles too much but I am thinking about what might come next when I get caught up.

[edrw]

I would try it as is, you might be surprised that it works just fine.

[Old Iron Sights]

edrw, you scared me with the charges in your original post. Got my mold today. But, here I sit working on taxes instead.
I try 13 gr red dot in all the cast calibers I have. That load is universal.

[Donor8x56r]

edrw, you scared me with the charges in your original post. Got my mold today. But, here I sit working on taxes instead.
I try 13 gr red dot in all the cast calibers I have. That load is universal.

13Gr of Red Dot is a universal load but like all Jacks of all trades it's master of none.

Try loads 12.5 and every 0.3 up to 14 Gr.
I use Red Dot/Promo for all my casts and none of my rifles shoot best with 13Gr load.Some like 14 (308) others 13.8(7.62x54R) and 8x50 Lebel refused to shoot well untill I got all the way down to 8.9 Gr

Of course there is no filler present in any of those loads...

[Old Iron Sights]

13Gr of Red Dot is a universal load but like all Jacks of all trades it's master of none.
.

True. I need to expand out from there to find the sweet spot. So many load combinations, so little time.

[hk33ka1]

I bought the Lee .314" sizer so I could crimp checks on my as cast .313" boolits without sizing them down or having to wait for a custom sizer. Been shooting this with starting Lyman loads in IMR 4198

[Pigslayer]

IF ANYONE READ THE POST BEFORE I CHANGED THE GRAINS, DO NOT USE THOSE NUMBERS! THE NUMBERS LISTED NOW ARE CORRECT

Well I finally got some nice weather to go to the gun range and test my handloads. I went yesterday, got all set up and had my rifle on the bench when a gust of wind came and knocked my rifle off the bench and broke my scope.

I, like you, finally got to the range to test my new 200gr. GC Accurate bullets. My bore slugged .313 & I sized them to .314. My first three shots were high & to the left but grouped at 1 1/2" at 50 yds.. O.K. need to work on the load, sizing, whatever. I'm good. Using 23grs. 5744. Very light recoil, no adverse pressure signs & a clean barrel.
After trying to adjust my "CHEAP" "CHINESE" scope my shots were all over the target. Tried some factory ammo which shot well with open sights but . . . couldn't get it to zero . . . all over the target. My scope mount is very solid. Can't budge it. My rings are Weaver "Top Mount" . . . have used them for years. The scope is an AIM 2-7x32 which has reviews from very good to very bad. My review is very bad. I knew better!
I might get to the range today. I put a Bushnell 2-6x32 LER Trophy on my rifle.
All the adjustments are smooth as glass and the eyepiece does not have to be readjusted after changing power. I've seen nothing but good reviews for that scope. It came with Butler Creek flip up scope caps which I have on my other rifles.
Going to the range with both cast and factory ammo.
I borrowed the load from another site. I had read that when using 5744 for a 200gr cast in the Mosin, one can fill the case to the bottom of the neck, dump it out & weigh it then multiply times 40% . . . max. 48%. I though I'd try it just to compare to the load I'm using. My case held 51 grs. 5744 . . . x 40% =20.4 grns. Pretty good rule of thumb.
Finally ordered the Lyman 49th manual. It has a lot of cast loads using 5744.

[Old Iron Sights]

Tried the loads listed above (40 gr varget, 13.1 RD) without much success. Groups were pretty poor. Slugged my barrel tonight and the groove is the same as my bullets (.3125). But of course, you sized your boolits to the same size as your bore.
I noticed that my bullet seater made a small ring on the nose of the bullet. Wonder if I need to lap that out slightly?

[edrw]

My bullet seater makes a small ring on the nose of the bullet too. I was wondering if my lead is to soft, but it didn't seem to make any difference shooting them. I also noticed that my groups start out good, but after about 40 rounds they go all over the place. The barrel doesn't seem to be hot and I clean it after about 10 shots when I'm using lead. Anyone else have this problem.