7.62x54r load question.

[atalkingsausage]

Hey guys, I hope this is in the right section. I am wondering if anyone has a good 3-400 yard load worked up for their Mosin Nagant. preferably using Varget powder with a bullet in the 160's to 170's grain weight but I'll give anything a try. Thanks!

 

[longebow]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

This is my 7.62 x 54R load that works well in all of my combloc rifles:

Sierra 0.311 174 grain MatchKing HPBT
Lapua cases (prep once, good for 15+ reloads)
44.5 grains VV N140
Federal 210 Match primer (replace with CCI No 34 primers for semi-auto rifles that do NOT have a spring-loaded firing pin).
COAL 3.00
2480 fps 60 degrees F

Hope my recipe works for you...

Disclaimer: conditions vary, use at your own risk...

 

[Joop]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

I've used a similar load as longebow's above, only with:
Prvi brass,
Varget powder (start at 43 grains and work your way up. Had really good luck in the 44-45 grain range, depending on the rifle).
Primer of your choice (I use Tula and Winchester)
OAL: 3.00"

Another of my favorites, which works very well in M39s, but has also shown MOA/better groups in a couple snipers:

Lapua 200 grain D166 (.310)
Prvi brass
Winchester primer
43.0gr Varget
OAL: 3.00-3.037", depending on rifle.

For hunting, I would recommend the .311 diameter, Sierra 180g soft point. This bullet has shot well for me in 7.62x54r, .303 British and 7.7 Arisaka. It's not always a tack driver, but accurate enough and very consistent. Seems to like just about every powder I've put under it, too (Varget, IMR4895, IMR4831, W748).

I should also add that you really need to check the freebore of the individual rifle you're loading for. They can vary, widely. Also, it's a good idea to slug the bore. Some rifles can work with .308s (I've had a fair amount of success with the Nosler Custom Competition 175gr BTHP, in rifles with tight enough lands), but .310 and .311 are usually the better bet, especially on refurbed Soviet rifles. An OAL in that 3.00" range is usually where mine end up, give or take a couple hundredths.

Happy shooting!

ETA: If you're loading for the SVT or PSL (or any semi, for that matter) be careful. I would not recommend using bullets over 150 grains. There are plenty out there who will argue this point, but it's commonly accepted as SOP to avoid them.

 

[Joop]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

Here's another one I pulled up. This bullet (Hornady .310, 124g FMJ) is intended for the 7.62x39, but makes a nice little plinker. I seated it to the cannelure and gave a light/medium crimp with a Lee factory crimp die. It's jumping quite a bit to the lands, but I think the cupped base expands enough to keep it straight. I have to admit that I was a little worried about pulling the trigger on 51 grains of Varget in this caliber, but pressure and recoil were normal, given the light bullet. This was fired from one of my restored snipers ('43 Tula PU), at 100 yards.

 

[DirtyDave]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

^^^ I use the HDY 123gr SP bullets (intended for 7.62x39 also). They shoot really well and are pretty cheap for plinking. They work great on pigs too.
I started getting into reloading by just pulling the bullets out of surplus ammo and loading them with these bullets. Great way to plink if your range does not allow the steel-core bullets.
Now I am loading new brass etc. I've loaded Barnes TTSX, Sinterfire Frangibles, Barnes RRLP, and Seirras, with mixed results. Dont really have a good load worked up yet to offer you though.

 

[atalkingsausage]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

Sounds interesting, what is the cost per round with that load if you don't mind my asking?

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

When you get all done working up loads, you're probably kinda likely to notice that they look a lot like good .308 loads, except with .311 bullets.

When I started making up loads for an M39 Finnish Mosin, that was the advice I followed. I think it worked rather well.

Greg

 

[Joop]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: atalkingsausage</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sounds interesting, what is the cost per round with that load if you don't mind my asking? </div></div>
Not counting the brass, I figure it at about 45 cents per round, using Midway's price on the Hornady 123gr. bullet. However, I think you can find the bullets cheaper, elsewhere (that's the only place I looked) and/or on sale. It sounds expensive for plinking ammo, but being non-corrosive and comparing it to SMK or Lapua bullets, it's quite a bit cheaper. Even compared to the cheapest commercial ammo, it's about the same price, but you're getting a lot more for your money.

 

[Joop]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Greg Langelius *</div><div class="ubbcode-body">When you get all done working up loads, you're probably kinda likely to notice that they look a lot like good .308 loads, except with .311 bullets.

When I started making up loads for an M39 Finnish Mosin, that was the advice I followed. I think it worked rather well.

Greg </div></div>
Very true. A lot of the powder charges are almost identical. Where you start to notice the difference, is in the heavier bullets, where you can get away with a slightly bigger charge than with .308 Win., due to the larger case capacity. I've found most of my 174-180gr. loads are in the 43-45 grain range, using Varget. I've loaded the 200gr. Lapuas with 44 grains of Varget and it was fine. However, it seemed to be more accurate in the 43-43.5 range. Faster is not always better!

 

[Wannashootit]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

174 grain SMK's over 43.5 of Varget, CCI primers...flier on the right was the shooter

And AMEN on the faster is not always better comment...so far, near max loads have resulted in max accuracy only with our .223...

And also as noted, this is also a very good load with the 175 SMK's in our .308 Savage...I gotta make sure to keep the bullets well separated when loading since they're nearly identical!

 

[longguntoter]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

Thats some pretty good info there, but may I ask how are the bores on your rifles? The bore on my 91/30 is bright, but shows slight wear on the rifling.

 

[Joop]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: longguntoter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thats some pretty good info there, but may I ask how are the bores on your rifles? The bore on my 91/30 is bright, but shows slight wear on the rifling. </div></div>
The picture of the group that I posted above was shot with a restored ex-sniper. The bore shines like a mirror, but the lands are somewhat rounded and the crown is quite worn. Believe it or not, this is actually one of my least accurate snipers (that group is among the best that this rifle has produced, to date). Whomever carried this rifle did a great job keeping the bore clean. However, in doing that, they also put a lot of wear on the crown, presumably with the issued steel rod. It's been my experience that this is usually the key factor in accuracy, as far as the barrel is concerned. For comparison, I have another restored ex-sniper (which is also a '43 Tula, just like the first), but it has even more wear on the lands and the bore is thoroughly frosted; almost dark. But, the crown is in better condition and it's one of my best shooting snipers. A lot of 91/30s have frosted bores and worn lands, but still shoot very well. Accuracy issues in these rifles are almost always a result of bedding and barrel tension issues. The bores are still very serviceable, but you may not know it if you don't know what to watch out for in other areas. That's probably the topic of another thread, however.

John

 

[2ndPanzer]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

Couple of years ago I got in touch with Lapua and asked what the best match for the Finnish round used for the M39, as they were said to be eoughly 1MOA or less with that load before they could leave the factory. They were very helpful, and said lapua cases with the D166 and 40.0 of N140, also listed as their accuracy load in the manual. Not a screamer by anymeans, somewhere around 2350 fps. It was indeed a very very accurate load. I have won a vintage rifle match with it, in slow fire it can hold the X ring at 200 on a SR-1. That D166 is a great bullet for the Mosins. I have also had great success with a 190 SMK, but I have only loaded for finnish rifles and they have been anywhere from .308-.310. I loaded some 147 comblock pulls for an SVT40, but it destroyed the brass. the chamber on these is fluted, and it dings them up pretty bad on the way out. So now I only load for the bolt guns.

 

[atalkingsausage]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

I slugged my mosin's bore a couple months back and if my memory serves me correctly it came out to .310 however I read somewhere about a guy messing his gun up shooting .311 bullets out of a bore that he slugged and thought to be .311 So with that in mind I decided to use .308 diameter projectiles for some of my initial loadings. And the over-all groups came out to be just a hair over an inch which I thought was pretty good. Could I benefit from trying a .310 or .311 bullet or would it be too risky since my rifle seems to be shooting the .308s normally?

 

[Joop]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: atalkingsausage</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I slugged my mosin's bore a couple months back and if my memory serves me correctly it came out to .310 however I read somewhere about a guy messing his gun up shooting .311 bullets out of a bore that he slugged and thought to be .311 So with that in mind I decided to use .308 diameter projectiles for some of my initial loadings. And the over-all groups came out to be just a hair over an inch which I thought was pretty good. Could I benefit from trying a .310 or .311 bullet or would it be too risky since my rifle seems to be shooting the .308s normally? </div></div>
If the rifle will shoot .308s with no trouble, I would use them. What kind of rifle are we talking about, exactly? If it's Russian, I highly doubt that running .311s in it will pose any problems. The ones to really watch out for are the Finn M28 and possibly M27s, as well. They usually have the tighter bores.

 

[2ndPanzer]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

Try heavier bullets. 190-220. Both my Finns have a 1-9.5ish twist and really woke up with the heavier bullets. FWIW, the 310 D166 was a non issue in the tighter bored of the two. It just shoots the 190's better whereas the M39 shoots the D166 better. If you try the steel core pulls from Russian ammo, it can be anywhere from 310-312 in actual diameter and doesn't like to swage down any. I don't run them in the Finns, they can't even go through a lee sizer but a D166 slides through no trouble at all, I had got the sized to get the cheap bullets sized down since they were so big. Absolute no go, but any 310-312 lead core bullet went through easy and were right at 308.

 

[atalkingsausage]

Re: 7.62x54r load question.

The rifle in question is a russian 91/30 hex receiver made in 1935.