7.62x54R FMJ alteration

[dualsport]

The Russian 7.62x54R fmj ammo is a bargain, if you have a MN. I'd like to find a way to grind off the tip to make a 'soft point' for silhouette practice. Shooting the rams with fmjs isn't allowed where I shoot. I tried a hand file, too inconsistent and wild accuracy. Messing with loaded ammo is dicey, I know, but somebody has thought of this before me, I'm sure. The few I did file for a test were hard as heck. I've seen tools from Sportsmans Guide for hollow pointing some fmj pistol ammo.

[Plinkster]

I think most of that stuff is steel core so a file will probably be needed. I'd drill a 2x4 to poke the round through and use that as a type of jig to file em close to the same length. Not sure how to keep the 2x4 from being filed away also except for careful measured strokes.

[Splatter]

I know that this has been done for about a century.
I also know that occasionally a core separates from a jacket and the jacket stays in the barrel and the next bullet hits that bore obstruction, and that's never a good thing.

How about you make some "Mexican Match" ammo instead? Pull the FMJ and replace it with a match-type bullet of the same or slightly heavier weight.
I think you'll be a lot happier with the results, and it'll be a little safer too.

[texassako]

I am pretty sure taking the tip off is a pretty bad idea. It would be hard to make each one consistent plus some is steel core(so not really making a soft point) and some does not have a jacket on the base. My current batch is '52 Russian lead light ball that has a hollow, unjacketed base, and would probably shed a jacket in the bore if soft pointed. I think shooting it as is or pulling and replacing the projectile is a much better option.

[bob208]

many years ago there was a set up that drilled the point of millitary ammo to make hollow points. as has been stated a stuck jacket will happen sooner or later.

[dualsport]

Hadn't thought about the jackets seperating. Nevermind that idea. No free lunch, eh? I will try the Mexican Match though. Thanks for the input.

[Freightman]

If you pull the bullets and dump the powder then you can weigh each charge and get a lot more consistency. I pulled the FMJ's and lowered the charge and loaded with boolits, I had more powder to load and they shot better, then sold the FMJ's for enough to buy some dies and brass. Win Win situation.

[Stonecrusher]

I don't recommend doing this either. There is a possible danger of a blowup. But, has anyone ever looked at the Hollow point bullets that Wolf loads in their 7.62x39 ammo? I had a round a few years back that rattled when shook. The core was loose in the jacket. I pulled the bullet and noticed there was a large open base just like a FMJ, but with the hollow point as well. I've never heard about a jacket being left in the bore with Wolf HP's. Perhaps the jacket material and the smaller hollow point keep this in check.

[eric123]

Can you pull the bullets and seat them backwards? I would lower the powder charge a hair just to be safe too. A lot of the old timers would still do that when I was little. I tried a doing that to a few 30-06 in my younger days and surprisingly they shot just as well in my Springfield...

[Griz44mag]

The steel cores in the surplus will still disqualify it for shooting steel targets, flat point or not. A good RO will be checking with a magnet, and steel projectiles are a no-no.

[gew98]

Hadn't thought about the jackets seperating. Nevermind that idea. No free lunch, eh? I will try the Mexican Match though. Thanks for the input.

Pulling the slugs and loading real soft nosed bullets oft the same weight into the surplus cases can actually give you geat results. For example I found that brass cased 7,62x54 heavy ball ( yellow tipped ) ammo when the bullet was pulled and a surplus M62 7,62 tracer bullet was placed in the case it was dang acurate with Mosins and a hoot to shoot and watch going down range !.

[I'll Make Mine]

Yep, I'll agree that trying to file or clip surplus ammo is a bad idea -- virtually all the currently available surplus is steel core, whether it's 147-148 grain or 174-180 grain loads, and it'll beat up (or perforate) the rams even with the nose flattened. If you're budget constrained, I'm going to add a vote for pulling the surplus bullets and replacing them with a lead core bullet the same weight (get a boat tail soft point and you'll get similar enough ballistics that your military sight will still work out to 300 or 400 meters).

[dualsport]

Laziness is my motivation. I shoot in way too many competitions and so am always 'getting ready'. I bought several thousand rounds of the old Turkish 8mm from Sportsmans Guide when they were selling it cheap. It's dirty as it gets but is fairly accurate from my Turkish Mausers. Tried the bullet switch with that, most of the necks split. It's early 40's.

[Splatter]

... Tried the bullet switch with that, most of the necks split. ...

Really? I'm assuming that you didn't get many neck splits on firing, am I right there?
Which operation of the Mex-match process caused the neck splitting?

And anyway, we're talking about the 7.62 Russian, not the 8mm Mauser, and you've been warned about the possibility of steel core in the Russian ammo; but if you are still going to go for it,
Sinclair makes a meplat trimmer that might help you make more uniform noses.

sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=36562/Product/Sinclair-Meplat-Trimmers

[PAT303]

It was common back in the day to grind the tips off Mk7 303 ammo in Oz,I've shot thousands of them and millions have been shot in Oz and even though the rumour persists about the jackets getting stuck I have never met a single person who has had it happen to them,it's always someone else. Pat

[Four Fingers of Death]

It was common back in the day to grind the tips off Mk7 303 ammo in Oz,I've shot thousands of them and millions have been shot in Oz and even though the rumour persists about the jackets getting stuck I have never met a single person who has had it happen to them,it's always someone else. Pat

I'll second that, I went through a average sized wooden tool box of 303s as a young un' clipped the points off with an old vet's dog claw clipper. They shot pretty well without any problems.

I used a heap of 7.62 F4 Nato ammo and the more modern Aussie approach is to knock the tips off on a grinder wheel. You get pretty good at it and they perform well. Bob Penfold was a big Safari operator and I remeber reading an article he wrote where he described knocking the tips off thousands of 7.62 ammo for guests to use culling pigs and donkeys in the Northern Territory

They never reported any problems. I wouldn't hesitate to try it, but a hundred Privi Partisan cases are pretty cheaply reloaded and will last a long time with care. I'd be using the milsurp for plinking and maybe military shoots.

[dualsport]

The old 1943ish Turkish 8mm splits the neck if you look at it wrong. Many are split just from age, no help needed. I shoot 'em anyway. Haven't caused any major malfunctions so far. Just takes days to clean up after. I'm encouraged by the news from our southern brothers. Maybe the stuck jacket thing isn't such a risk.

[Splatter]

The old 1943ish Turkish 8mm splits the neck if you look at it wrong. Many are split just from age, no help needed....

OKay.. so if the 8mm stuff was so unusual, why even bring it up when we were talking about the 7.62x54?

And making the Mex-match is a quick process, especially if you have a press that swaps dies quickly.
- Pull the bullet,
- neck size (I'd probably use a .300 WSM FL die)
- Seat the new bullet

And you're done, almost as fast as you read it. Really not much slower than trimming the noses if you are going for any degree of uniformity.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I think it was mentioned as an observation on old mil surp ammo being prone to neck splitting if you started pulling bullets. They have a very stout crimp as a rule, have been under a considerable amount of tension for many years and the bullet is invariably stuck in with Tombac or similar and they fight when you pull them.

[DukeInFlorida]

And, if you are talking about those cheap *** damned steel cases, you don't want to be messing with pulling those apart and reassembling them.

The cheapest 7.62X54R ammo I have found are the ones I make from PRVI Partizan boxer primed brass, and some 314299 cast boolits installed. Must cheaper than that "surplus" **** from the can.