Nagant: Up and Running at Last!

[NVcurmudgeon]

Thanks a lot to Deputy Al, and Scooter, and probably others on this board. No thanks to Lee, and semi thanks to Starline. (Starline makes good brass, but their instructions can lead you astray. Full length sizing loaded cartridges, humph!)

I shot fifty rounds of 7.62 X 39 today without a hitch. Distance was 15 yards, and 38 rounds actually hit an 11" X 11" pistol target repair center, with about half of them going into the six inch nine ring. Naturally all shooting was done two-handed and single action. I found the trigger to break crisply, once the requisite fifteen pounds or so was applied. My load of 3.5 X WW 231 and the Lee 100 gr. RN shot to the sights when I applied my better trigger lurches. Velocity? I don' got to cho you no steenking velocity. If it hits in the middle, it's beautiful.

I started with a set of Lee dies and Starline brass. It was only after much frustration that I learned that Lee dies are made for .32/20 brass, NOT Nagant. Once Deputy Al suggested .30 Carbine dies, I was pointed toward success. The magic combination of dies is:

Decapper Lee, because the RCBS Carbine die flares the case too much if the
die is adjusted deep enough to decap.
Sizer RCBS 30 Carbine-the key to the whole deal.
Expander RCBS 30 Carbine.
Seater RCBS 30 Carbine.
Crimper Lee, better in this application than the RCBS 30 Carbine.
Thanks to having bought two sets of dies, I now have the luxury of never having to adjust a die. All I need new is a dedicated five-hole turret press!

Looking forward to mastering the Nagant trigger. This thing is a gas (seal) to shoot. Yes, pun intended.

[StarMetal]

Bill,

Not nitpickin, but I'm reading see Nagant, I think Mosin Nagant, then I read further, I see 7.62x39...I go huh, then read further.....oh I bet Bill talking about the revolver...you were right? Is that the measurement on that revolver round too...7.62x39? I don't know as I don't own one. By the way do you have a 7.62x39 rifle, don't believe I've heard you talk much about that caliber?

Just curious

Joe

[swheeler]

Good job Bill. Now remember those things are addicting, your thumb and index finger will become bionic, no thumb wars with you! 3.5 grs should be right 800 fps. I keep searching E-Bay, hoping I will find a .314 inch WC in the 90-100 gr range, I understand Lee used to make one? Al mentioned trying the Hornady 90 gr HBWC/.314, I did and it is excellent in my revolter, 2.8 grs AA#2 at 800+. The only problem I have with it, is trying to pry it out of my wifes hand, she loves this thing, her size? Scot

[crazy mark]

Try to find a 313492 or 313445. I have each and they shoot good. I have Lee and RCBS dies. I think it is actually called a 7.62x38r. I use 32-20 brass and have some boxer primed 7.62x38r brass also. I made an adapter to load the original brass with the sealing crimp in it. Mark

[9.3X62AL]

It's good to see that the 30 Carbine dies are working out for ya all. I have an older set of 30 USC dies that use the old DEEPLY ADJUSTABLE decapper that screws into the sizer, so mine get decapped in the sizer die. Some die sets had decapper on the expander stem, which isn't too convenient in my loading regimen--my late 70's RCBS sets have this whatzis feature and the 30 Carbine dies from ~1980 had the cool (and interchangable) decapper. Needless to say, this decapper gets around.

What woke me up to the 30 Carbine die usage was simple--I measured some CCCP cartridges that came with the pistol. Those numbers sure looked familiar, and overlaying a drawing similarly scaled of the 30 Carbine and the 7.62 x 38R leaves no doubt as to the later caliber's genesis. The 30 Carbine, 32-20, and 7.62 x 38R could be pups out of the same litter if DNA was used to test for heredity.

[RalphH]

Greetings, Gentlemen,

This thread from another board may be of interest to some of you.

http://www.gunboards.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14836

[NVcurmudgeon]

Joe, I stand corrected by Crazy Mark on the 7.62 X 38R. I tend to be casual about metric stuff, or anything else from Europe. Why can't those commies, fascists, and monarchists use honest decimal fractions of inches?

[StarMetal]

Bill,

Well not to correct, I was just confused at first until I read the entire post. I never realized that cartridge case was that long.

I guess what is even more confusing is for example: the 303 British, the 7.65 Argentine, and the 7.7 Jap. Alot of us think groove size, the rest bore size. Although those three rounds mentioned have similar bore/groove diamensions, they are different......and confusing.

Joe

[Nickle]

Those numbers sure looked familiar, and overlaying a drawing similarly scaled of the 30 Carbine and the 7.62 x 38R leaves no doubt as to the later caliber's genesis. The 30 Carbine, 32-20, and 7.62 x 38R could be pups out of the same litter if DNA was used to test for heredity.

The 7.62x38R dates back to 1895, long before the 30 Carbine.

The 30 Carbine was derived from the 32 Win Self Loading.

The 3 are strangely similar, I'll give you that.

[9.3X62AL]

Nickle--

No worries, my comments were largely tongue-in-cheek. We're not real insistent on ABSOLUTE SCIENTIFIC CORRECTNESS here, because consistency is the final refuge of the unimaginative. Casting is a lot more art than science, after all.