Questions for 7.62x54R loading

[ShooterAZ]

Hello, still new to casting. I have some questions...I bought a Lee 309 120 R GC mold, originally intended for loading in my .30 Carbine. On a whim I loaded some up in .30-06 for my Remington 1903 Springfield and they shot fantastic over 12 gr Unique. I'm wondering if the same boolit would work OK in my Mosin Nagant. The bore slugs at .3095. The boolits drop at .3105-.311 unsized. I have shot some .308 J-bullets with good results in my MN...

I have Lino, and plenty of pure lead to mix. I was thinking 50/50. My questions are:

Should I try loading with no gas check? I only have a 309 Lee push through sizer to seat the GC.

OR...how could I seat the GC without the sizing die? Would .308 Gas checks even work?

OR...Should I just try sized at .309 with GC? Would this be a recipe for leading?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Shooter

[skeet1]

If your barrel is .3095, boolits sized at .309 will be too small. I would suggest that if your as cast boolits are .3105" to .311" I would buy a .311" sizer and size with it. Your .308 gas checks will work fine as they are larger than .308" and will size on your boolit to the size needed.

I have never tried a boolit as light as 120 gr. in a Mosin or a .30-06 and can not tell you if it will shoot well or not but it would be worth a try. Even if it doesn't shoot very well you will be set up for sizing a heavier boolit.

Ken

[Kraschenbirn]

Ken's post on sizing and seating the GCs is right on the money. So far as an allow, 50/50 is way much 'richer' on the lino side than you'll need. For anything under 15-1600 fps, I'd try more like 1 part lino to 5 (or 6?) parts PB with, maybe, a bit of 60/40 solder to up the tin content.

Bill

[StratsMan]

If you have all the components anyway, give it a shot... The real question I have is about brass... what are you doing for that?? Unloading something else??? or did you buy some new boxer primes 7.62x43R brass???

[ShooterAZ]

I bought a couple hundred unprimed Privi 7.62X54R cases from Grafs, and some .311 J-bullets.

[HARRYMPOPE]

shoot the unsized bullet with no GC slobbered in Lee Alox and 5-7g of Unique.No filler or wad needed.i shoot 100-115g bullets all the time in my Mosins.While not 100 yards(about 3"-4") loads 50 yards often are 1".Any alloy similar to WW will work fine but softer is OK too.if you drop to 2-2.5g of Unique it is dead quiet and you dont even need lube. At 50' it will cut one hole and is a good indoor load with little smoke.

George

[Jack Stanley]

Plus one what George said , I just shot a bunch or those using four point eight grains of Universal Clays . Bullets were left unsized and rolled around in liquid alox and left to dry real good . I forget the seating depth but the front lube groove is still visible .

Jack

[TinCan Assassin]

You shooting in Kelly Canyon?

[ShooterAZ]

You shooting in Kelly Canyon?
Twin Arrows area...

[Larry Gibson]

I'd try the .309 sized cast in the .3095 barrel, probably should do ok. Be better if the bullets were sized "as dropped" at .311. I'd simply get a Lee .311 sizer for this.

Larry Gibson

[ShooterAZ]

I'd try the .309 sized cast in the .3095 barrel, probably should do ok. Be better if the bullets were sized "as dropped" at .311. I'd simply get a Lee .311 sizer for this.

Larry Gibson

Thanks...I may try a few and see.

I just ordered a Lee 312-155 2R mold and a .311 Sizer. I think this will better suit my needs.

[Larry Gibson]

Thanks...I may try a few and see.

I just ordered a Lee 312-155 2R mold and a .311 Sizer. I think this will better suit my needs.

+1:D

Larry Gibson

[Kraschenbirn]

...I just ordered a Lee 312-155 2R mold and a .311 Sizer. I think this will better suit my needs.

Another +!! Given a decent bore, 16-18 gr of 2400 under that boolit seems to be a winner in just about any MN. Sized to .313, load will beat ball ammo in my 1938-vintage Tula 91/30 out to 200M and, sized to .311, shoots just as well in my buddy's M39 Finn.

Bill