Finnish 28-30 Mosin CB load testing

[flyin brian]

I've been lurking and learning for a long time and not posting much until lately... I'm still a noob with casting and learning the voodoo with these silver boolits

Today was the day I finally made it to the range to test some loads and boy what a great day it was! This was the first time I've had truly positive results from cb in my military rifles.

I was testing 3 molds today: the NOE 365-311, the Eagan MX430ARD and the RCBS 308-165-SILH:



I tried 12 & 13 gr Red Dot and had a hard time getting on paper since the poi it's so much different than with the j-word loads. All shots were fired from the bench at 100 yards.

When I moved to the AA5744 I had the rear sight set at 600 meters and shot the lower group which measures 1.9" the first 3 shots are the 3 touching:


Then I tried 16, 18 & 20 grains of 2400 and the 20 shot the best. Those are somewhere in the upper target along with the RCBS silhouette bullet above 25gr of AA5744.

After 45 rounds of cast boolits I came home and ran this right dry patch through the bore to see what kind of leading I might find... I can hardly believe that no metal came out at all!


Here's the bench shot:


So now I'm hooked.

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[tomme boy]

Are these the Finn ones with a 308 bore?

[flyin brian]

Are these the Finn ones with a 308 bore?

Yes, the spec that's always quoted in the books is .3082 but I've never been able to measure that far down... I have a few of them and the ones with nice bores have slugged at .308

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[Maven]

flyin brian, I used to own a Sako M 28/30, which was one of the most accurate milsurps I owned. Mine loved Ly. #314299 sized to .311" over 22gr. 5744 or 24gr. IMR 4198. Like you, I got no bore leading. My Sako M39, which I still own, is almost as accurate with -299, but it's sized to .312". It has never leaded the bore either. These days I'm using 12.5gr. Alliant Unique with -299 and have been very pleased with the results. Search our archives for more posts/loading data for these rifles.

[flyin brian]

Cool, thanks, I have seen the 299 mentioned quite a few times but I have not tried one. I will keep an eye out and see if I can find one.

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[LAGS]

I am shooting the NOE 198 - 365 sized to .311 out of my two M-27s with 30.0 gr of RL-7
The groups are down around 1" at 100 yards with a scope.
One bore is .310 and the other is a .3105 both Sako's
I have stiil not had time to test the loads any higher like 32.0 grs, but will in the future.
P.S. I also Powder Coat and GC these boolits

[Ken in Iowa]

It is always interesting to note whether or not the Finn rifles had the 'D' throating modification.

I am going to try 311284 from NOE in a couple of these rifles. It drops at .3115

The 311331 would probably be the cat's meow for an unmodified M27, M28 or 28/30.

[flyin brian]

I am shooting the NOE 198 - 365 sized to .311 out of my two M-27s with 30.0 gr of RL-7
The groups are down around 1" at 100 yards with a scope.
One bore is .310 and the other is a .3105 both Sako's
I have stiil not had time to test the loads any higher like 32.0 grs, but will in the future.
P.S. I also Powder Coat and GC these boolits

Hi LAGS, are you sure they aren't Tikkas? I don't think SAKO ever made any M27 barrels but I could be wrong.

I bought some powder from an estate recently and there was a new can of RL-7 in there so I will give it a try, thanks!!

[flyin brian]

It is always interesting to note whether or not the Finn rifles had the 'D' throating modification.

I am going to try 311284 from NOE in a couple of these rifles. It drops at .3115

The 311331 would probably be the cat's meow for an unmodified M27, M28 or 28/30.

Hi Ken, the Eagan mold I am using sure looks a lot like the 311331 you mentioned, it is the bullet in the middle of the photo above (it was supposed to be turned 90 degrees).

I agree the D stamp will make a difference. Most of the 28-30s that I own are not D stamped. I was sure the Eagan MX430ARD would not chamber in my 28-30 and to my surprise the bolt closed easily with no resistance and no marks on the bullet. I have not taken the time to see how far out I can seat these yet, as I am just getting started with them, but I am relieved to know they shoot well enough even with no real testing so far.

[LAGS]

The M27 Custom sporter.
That is the original stock that I Laminated wood to it and reshaped it.

[LAGS]

Just the results from other loads
Do you notice what I do ?
The RL-7 seems pretty consistant with the 155 and 198 gr bullets.
The Powder Coating helps too, and the barrel stays cleaner.

[Maven]

Nice work on the stock, LAGS. Great shooting too!

[LAGS]

Thanks Maven,
That one I built back in 95 when the Finns were plentiful.
The stock was supposed to just be a Pattern to use on a Duplicator.
But it turned out pretty nice, so I decided to just keep it on the rifle.
I have a lot of stocks for other model rifles that I modified the same way, and they end up on the rifles.

[30calflash]

Nice job on the stock and loads LAGS.

Although I've not tried cast in my 28-30 I've good results with the Lyman 311291 and 20 grains of IMR 4198 in my SAKO M39. It's been a while but grouping was less than 2 MOA @ 100 yds, as issued.

[seppos]

28-30 was the pick of Simo Häyhä also, so it has been test proofed well.

S

[LAGS]

The second M-27 is still the way it was back in 1935.
But I am making a Scout Scope mount that replaces the rear sight leaf , since they do not make one.
I dont want to Butcher up the second rifle, or as you would call it on the first one, Bubba'ed
My eyes are not what they use to be, so some kind of scope is needed to check accuracy or consistancy of my loads.

[LAGS]

This is a Finn Rebuild 1891 that was not in the best of condition, and has a .315 Bore.
It still shoots really well with a 316-299 boolit out to 200 yards with 28.0 gr of Reloader 7
Comfortable to shoot with the short barrel ( 20" ) as the pistol grip takes up some of the felt recoil.
That stock is made out of Poplar wood I got at Home Depot, Glued the planks together and then shaped the stock.
I did a coat of fibergkless resin on it , then painted it with Black Wrinkle paint.
Yes, that one too was a Pattern to run on the duplicator also.