7.62 X 54 R Questionss??

[HOGGHEAD]

I ran across a good deal on an Encore barrel in 7.62 X 54 R cartridge. I am going to buy it. I like the rimmed cartridges in my Encore rifles.

I have never reloaded for this cartridge. So my question is about the brass. I do not have any brass yet. I was thinking about putting a wanted to buy ad in the classifieds.

Would I be able to use some of the Russian Military brass in this barrel?? What do I need to look for, or look out for??

The only ammo I have seen for this cartridge is corrosive. I realize they probably make non-corrosive. But as I said, all I have seen is the corrosive stuff. Are there any good deals on non-corrosive ammo that I could shoot, then reload the brass??

I am also looking for some direct links.

I think this round with a good bullet would make an excellent deer round. And I was looking at a 30-40 Krag barrel-and the Russian is a bit better cartridge than the 30-40. I do prefer a rimmed cartridge for the Encore. Tom.

 

[The_Hoff]

Re: 7.62 X 54 R Questionss??

Ok i have been down this road before

first off all mil-surp 7.62x54R is corrosive and all berdan primed, this means there are two flash holes rather than one like a boxer primed shell. Now I found there is a special way to reload these shells but it is hard time consuming and expensive. also almost all mil-surp 7.62x54R is steel cased ammo.

However, there are some commercial producers of this ammo but it is VERY pricy! so i would look into either buying unused brass and loading that or buying some quality brass shells shoot that then load those puppies up.

but in my opinion stay away from mil-surp unless your second religion is endless cleaning lol.


just my .02

 

[gunsnjeeps]

Re: 7.62 X 54 R Questionss??

US made ammo is pricy but reloadable. I've seen Norma and Lapua brass. Norma is $140/100 at Midway; Lapua is $85/100 at Powder Valley.

 

[kraigWY]

Re: 7.62 X 54 R Questionss??

I have a M91/30 with an excellant barrel I'm planning on using for Vintage Military Matches. I don't want to use surplus crap in it, and I couldnt find any brass. Cabela's had Winchester loaded stuff for 19 bucks. I picked up 100 rounds to tied me over until I find some brass. Re-loaded with SMKs (.311 dia) it shoote excellant.

 

[buyobuyo]

Re: 7.62 X 54 R Questionss??

As mentioned, Norma and Lapua make brass, but is over $1 a piece. For cheaper brass, look for Privi Partizan (PRVI) manufactured brass. You can find it at Graf&Sons (www.grafs.com) for $46/100. If you can find it, Winchester used to sell brass, but is getting out of it. If you have a dealer that can order from Black Hills Shooters Supply, they had primed Winchester 7.62x54R brass on clearance for ~$0.41 per piece. Brass may also be listed under the Finnish designation of 7.62x53R.

Reloadable, non-corrosive ammo is available from PRVI, S&B, Winchester, Wolf, and Norma.

Make sure you slug your barrel, so you know if it is .308 or .310. The original Russian round used a .310 bore and Finland used a bore closer to .308, especially in their match rifles. So make sure you know which bore size is used on your Encore barrel. I'm pretty sure that most commercially available ammo uses a .310 bullet. Standard twist for military rifles is 9.5".

If you're thinking about casting for this round, Lyman's 200gr RN 311299 and 314299 work very well.

 

[bohem]

Re: 7.62 X 54 R Questionss??

Grafs has PRVI brass for about 45-46 bucks a bag shipped usually. If it's not in stock I think I have a new bag I can spare, I'll ship it out for whatever the replacement cost would be when it comes in stock.

PRVI isn't as good as Lapua brass but it does prep into very good brass that's capable of shooting very well.

Send me a PM if you need it. Good luck, this round is a lot of fun to shoot and it's very capable. Much like a 30-284 or 7.5 Swiss in performance.

 

[HOGGHEAD]

Re: 7.62 X 54 R Questionss??

The MGM barrel is .308. I may pass on the deal if the brass is that expensive(plus I still need to buy the dies). I was going to order a 30-40 Krag barrel. And I have some 30-40 Krag brass and the dies. So I will have to do the math and see which one would cost the least.

Thanks for the information on the military stuff. I knew alot of it was corrosive, I just thought there might have been some that wasn't. Good information, Thanks, Tom.

 

[longebow]

Re: 7.62 X 54 R Questionss??

Greek military ammo (HXP headstamp) is non-corrosive and boxer primed. It is harder to find these days, but another option.

 

[bohem]

Re: 7.62 X 54 R Questionss??

The grafs price I quoted you is about 2 months old, but that's 100 pieces of brass, not the usual 50 that Win, Rem, Fed, etc. include. Half the price of Lapua.

 

[HOGGHEAD]

Re: 7.62 X 54 R Questionss??

Thanks guys for the info. It was a good deal on the Russian barrel, but I passed. By the time I added up all the prices on the components and dies it was cheaper to order the 30-40 Krag barrel. And I can get the Krag barrel to the specs. I wanted. And the Krag is more than ample to do what I want. I also think the Krag barrel will make a better cast bullet round becase the Krag has a longer neck. Thanks Again, Tom.