7.62x54R

[texasinjuly14]

Hey guys I'm new on here. Just wanted some knowledge. I just bought a modernized mosin nagant (I know but it was cheap and a buddy needed money) I want to convert it to my new coyote gun and shoot a low-grain round out of it. What do you guys think for a round/charge? Am I stupid for even trying?

[Thundermaker]

What's wrong with shooting them with surplus ammo? Just curious.

[texasinjuly14]

We'll first I think 147 grain FMJ's are a little much for a coyote. And the surplus ammo is all corrosive which I don't like putting down tube.

[Outpost75]

I shoot cast in mine, #311299 cast from wheelweights, sized. 313", with your favorite lube and 16 grs. of #2400 works well in most guns. For a heavier hunting load about 30 grains of any rifle powder you have lying around, RL7, 3031, 4895, 4064, Varget all work.

[texasinjuly14]

I use varget. And do you use that for predators or just to sling lead?

[texasinjuly14]

And I was told from a friend. (He was a sniper in vietnam and takes all his loads mega serious) but he told me not to run anything over .311 down bore.

[303Guy]

A heavy boolit may be more than a coyote needs bit it may be what the gun needs to shoot straight and the coyote won't live long enough to complain, I'm sure. With a heavy you could fit a a large wide hollow nose or just a wide flat nose for effect.

Any cast boolit that fits the throat will be fine. Your friend was talking jacketed bullets and even then, as long as it fits the throat and the case chambers with room for the neck to release the bullet you're good to go but if an oversize bullet is to be used it might be an idea to allow for the small increase in pressure. Consider that the two-groove 303 essentially squeezes a .311 bullet down a .303 to .304 tube with a little relief at the grooves with no pressure increase allowance - the grooves are only 40% of the bore.

[rnhathaway]

I size my bullets to .314 as my barrel slugged at .313. I'm using a Lyman 314299. I wouldn't take much advice from your friend if that's what he told you. It will all depend what your bore dia. is. Slug you barrel and add 1 or 2 thousandths(.001-.002).

[texasinjuly14]

Well PA just put a $25 bounty on all coyotes killed. So I mean I'm not looking to make a fortune but. I'd like to save some fur for auction you know I could rake $75-100 bucks for a coyote. Unless I start aiming for the head. Idk it'll definitely feel 150 grains quick sending it at 2400 FPS

[texasinjuly14]

Okay thanks! Ill look into it.

[texasinjuly14]

Also I saw people running 120 grain 7.62x39 .310 rounds through these. I may just use the old surplus ammo. I mean if its good enough to kill a nazi. Its good enough to kill a coyote.

[Outpost75]

I use varget. And do you use that for predators or just to sling lead?

Varget makes a good 200-yard target load which also kills deer.

[Thundermaker]

Well PA just put a $25 bounty on all coyotes killed.

Are they that bad? Just so you know, spraying some brake cleaner down the bore before a standard cleaning eliminates any corrosion problems you might have from surplus. Trust me. I've shot a lot of it.

[texasinjuly14]

Really I didn't know all of that. Thanks!

[texasinjuly14]

Yeah they're running wild up here no natural predators. So we put to gether 2 3 man hunting teams were gonna get as many as possible!

[Outpost75]

And I was told from a friend. (He was a sniper in vietnam and takes all his loads mega serious) but he told me not to run anything over .311 down bore.

With jacketed, that is correct, but cast loads should ALWAYS be sized to throat diameter, measuring a chamber cast, to determine the diameter of the unrifled portion in front of the case mouth, before the rifling starts. Use this to determine correct bullet size, not the groove diameter.

[Thundermaker]

Also, this place has some cheap 123 grain .310 bullets.

http://www.polygunbag.com/bullets.html

A mosin nagant barrel has the same twist rate as an ak barrel, so a load that replicates 7.62x39 velocities would probably be a good place to start.

[Rangefinder]

If you're intending to stay with jacketed, all the above is a good start. If you're looking to start casting for it, then slug your barrel and work with .001 to .002 over that. Some of these mosins have a rain gutter bore (.314-.316), and running a cast boolit that isn't sized correctly will make a gawd-awful mess really fast. Once that's determined, it's all about what you want to work up. My favorite light-duty varmint load is a Lee TL312-160-2r over 10gr Red Dot. Cat sneeze load really, but plenty for a coyote within responsible range, and frighteningly accurate in mine. Tune yours to what your rifle likes, obviously, but it out to be somewhere between 10 and 13 grains on a Red Dot charge.

[Larry Gibson]

If jacketed bullets are wanted and the bore is decent then Sierra makes an excellent .311 size 125 gr SP that I've used on coyote. The Hornady, Speer and Winchester .310 size 123 gr AK/SKS bullets are very good also if the bore of your MN is not too large. I load them over H4895 and push to right at 3000 fps out of my Russian Sniper. Very deadly on coyote.

If using cast and calling coyote in I have used a 160 gr WFN bullet (GB similar to the RD bullet) cast of COWWs +2% tin and then mixed at 50/50 with lead. I WQ them, Seat/crimp GC & lube in a .314 H&I die and load over H4895 + Dacron filler for right at 1950 fps. They are HP'd with a 1/8" Forster HP tool with the HP to the 1st crimp groove. Also deadly on coyote at closer range calling distances.

Larry Gibson

[xacex]

If you're intending to stay with jacketed, all the above is a good start. If you're looking to start casting for it, then slug your barrel and work with .001 to .002 over that. Some of these mosins have a rain gutter bore (.314-.316), and running a cast boolit that isn't sized correctly will make a gawd-awful mess really fast. Once that's determined, it's all about what you want to work up. My favorite light-duty varmint load is a Lee TL312-160-2r over 10gr Red Dot. Cat sneeze load really, but plenty for a coyote within responsible range, and frighteningly accurate in mine. Tune yours to what your rifle likes, obviously, but it out to be somewhere between 10 and 13 grains on a Red Dot charge.

This is about what I am using too. I use the lee 312-155 instead of the 160, but it is basically the same load.

Using the Mihec 311410 which is a 311-125 to 130 grain with a deep hollow-point, and 13 grains of red dot has been fantastic. Even for such a light shooting load the explosiveness of the bullet would stop a coyote in its tracks.A little zippier than the heavier load,but a pleasure to shoot still. I hate to say it, but it has been more fun to shoot this in the Mosin than the same bullet in the 300 Blackout AR's.

[171raven]

For a heavier hunting load about 30 grains of any rifle powder you have lying around, RL7, 3031, 4895, 4064, Varget all work.
would any of thoes loads need a filler? looking for a good deer load with a 185gr gc cb

[Outpost75]

would any of thoes loads need a filler? looking for a good deer load with a 185gr gc cb

A one grain Dacron fiber filler over the powder will improve ballistic uniformity, but I have found with WLR or Federal 210 primers most rifle extruded powders in charges which fill at least 3/4 of the case volume work quite well without it.

[340six]

We'll first I think 147 grain FMJ's are a little much for a coyote. And the surplus ammo is all corrosive which I don't like putting down tube.

This is the same with me. I have some PPU {privi Partasan} sp? and S&B brass and hope to use my 200 grain 311365 i use in the Garand
So looking at this thread to see what loads guys are using with a 200 grain lead.
My gun is to nice to shoot surplus corrosive ammo

[303Guy]

{privi Partasan} sp?It's Prvi Partisan. :drinks:

[171raven]

A one grain Dacron fiber filler over the powder will improve ballistic uniformity, but I have found with WLR or Federal 210 primers most rifle extruded powders in charges which fill at least 3/4 of the case volume work quite well without it.
yes but unfortunatly where i live there isn't a place that sells dacron filler or any type of filler (unless i can use cotton balls then im good) so i need to know wich powder will fill the case 3/4 full.
p.s. can i use cotton balls as filler?

[Larry Gibson]

171raven

Dacron is the trade name for polyester. Pillows and toys are stuffed full of it world wide. Any fabric store or fabric department in a major store like WalMart will have it.

Larry Gibson

[171raven]

171raven

Dacron is the trade name for polyester. Pillows and toys are stuffed full of it world wide. Any fabric store or fabric department in a major store like WalMart will have it.

Larry Gibson

oh...thx:mrgreen:

[303Guy]

I've used cotton wool (balls) and it works just fine BUT it can ignite and set the countryside on fire. It does not always ignite and in fact, most of the time it doesn't but it can and has done. I have managed to ignite it and is smoulders like cotton fabric does and increases in intensity until it flames up. I found this out using my firing tube. The cotton ignited the catch cloth material.


Dacron is the trade name for polyester.It's the trade name for a specific polyester fibre but not all polyester fibre is Dacron. Polyester filter medium can have two to three times (or more) the fibre thickness and that is no good as a case filler.

[mikeym1a]

We'll first I think 147 grain FMJ's are a little much for a coyote. And the surplus ammo is all corrosive which I don't like putting down tube.

Maybe because I grew up with this 'corrosive' ammunition, I look at it differently. It is the primer that causes the corrosive atmosphere. On firing, it leaves, I believe, potassium chloride in the bore. This is a salt, and salt attracts water. In the case of a bolt action rifle, you pull the bold, clean the bore with hot soap and water, and dry it with patches, and then run a oiled patch through the bore. It's as simple as that. End of corrosion. If that's too much work, then, yes, avoid the surplus ammo. Plus, most of the surplus ammo is berdan primed, making it non-reloadable for most folks. Since all my guns are bolts, I would not hesitate to use foreign surplus in them. Just make sure you clean them when you get home. Shoot, you could even take a field cleaning kit with you and run a Hoppes #9 patch through the bore right there, and finish the job when you get home. Well, lecture done. Happy Shooting! :-D

[Boolseye]

TexasinJuly: Lee TL312-160-2R, tumble lubed, GC installed with .314" Lee push-through sizing die, Lubed again, over 16 grains of 2400 or equivalent. Accurate as it gets out of my M/Ns.
-BE

[Kraschenbirn]

TexasinJuly: Lee TL312-160-2R, tumble lubed, GC installed with .314" Lee push-through sizing die, Lubed again, over 16 grains of 2400 or equivalent. Accurate as it gets out of my M/Ns.

Except for sizing to .315 and using 16.5 gr. of 2400, I shoot the same load in my 91/30. Using issue sights, I get 3"-3 1/2" 100M groups off sandbags which is about 25% better than I get with milsurp ball ammo.

Bill

[Ed in North Texas]

Maybe because I grew up with this 'corrosive' ammunition, I look at it differently. It is the primer that causes the corrosive atmosphere. On firing, it leaves, I believe, potassium chloride in the bore. This is a salt, and salt attracts water. In the case of a bolt action rifle, you pull the bold, clean the bore with hot soap and water, and dry it with patches, and then run a oiled patch through the bore. It's as simple as that. End of corrosion. If that's too much work, then, yes, avoid the surplus ammo. SNIP :-D

If that is too much work, clean with a copper removing, water based cleaner like Sweet's 7.62. It will also remove the corrosive salts, and remove any copper left in the bore from the jacketed bullets. I usually follow with Kroil, leave it in the vise, then return the next day and clean it again. But I do that after any ammo, even my boolit reloads. Just don't put off cleaning till "manana". I've even been known to run a couple of patches soaked with Windex through the bore at the range, followed by dry patch and then Kroil when I'm at the range all day. Clean as above when I get home.

[ShooterAZ]

I use the Lee 312-160 also, over 16 gr 2400.

[singleshot]

Many good loads have been given, in addition, here's one I like: 2.5 cc's of powder in the Rel-19 burn rate range, with COW or dried coffee grounds filled to the bottom of the neck with a 185gr boolit just touching the top when seated (not compressed.)