Surplus 7.62 Nagant converting to boxer primer

[Muddy Creek]

Hey guys I'm working on converting berdan primed Nagant brass into boxer primer, and I could use some help. I've hit a fork in the road and don't know what way to go. I can either ream the primer pocket to fit LP primers, or follow the Berdan to Boxer sticky and use SP.

The equipment I would need to buy is either a large primer reamer, or a small primer swage.

Buying the surplus rounds is the cheapest way to get the 7.62 Nagant brass. I have a milspec load I like to shoot, but I need a better source of brass than buying privi ammo.

[Dutchman]

Which Nagant cartridge are you talking about?

7.62x38R for the 1895 Nagant Russian revolver

or

7.62x54R for the 1891 Mosin-Nagant rifle.

[Muddy Creek]

7.62x38r

[I'll Make Mine]

If you have the equipment, the small pocket has some advantages -- you'll maintain compatibilty with any new brass you might buy, which will have small pockets. Also, some large pistol primers have magnum hardness cups without being marked as magnum, and those might be unreliable in your Nagant; small pistol primers are always the softer cups unless marked as magnum (and you do not need magnum primers for the loads suitable to that revolver).

That said, if you don't have the setup to be able to swage the pockets and leftover primer rings to fit a small primer, just go with large, find out which brand of large pistol primers to avoid, and plan to segregate your brass if you ever buy commercial ammo or cases for that revolver.

[94Doug]

There is a sticky on converting mosin rifle berdan brass into reloadable boxer brass....You might want to read that as a starting point. It covers the number size drill bits needed, etc..

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=143958

Doug