7.62x54r Reloading trouble

[experthunter017]

I been reloading for a while and i this is the first time i came across this problem.

i am reloading 7.62x54r my brass is winchester brass the lenght is 2.11 inches from bass to top (with out bullet) and i am using a sierra reloading book. my bullets are hornday .311 174 gr. my powerder is IMR 4350 smokeless power. Here is my problem:

My book says from min use 48.7 and max is 53.5 grains of powder. i measured out 50 grains of powder (trying to figure out what shoots good thou my rifle) and when i go and put the power into the shell it over flowes. so i check my scale thinking it is a weight problem and my scale works good and is accuarte. does anyone out there have any idea what is going on with this problem?

Thanks

 

[Temp9]

Re: 7.62x54r Reloading trouble

Doesn't sound right to me. This might sound silly, but double and triple check that your powder is what it claims it is. Was this bought as a factory sealed bottle/jug? Double and triple check that your brass is 7.62x54r.

If that checks out okay, weigh an empty case, fill it with water and weigh it again. The difference is your maximum case capacity. It should be around 64gr H2O. Post your results here.

 

[experthunter017]

Re: 7.62x54r Reloading trouble

I check all my brass they all say 7.62x54r i measurerd a random number of brass and all the numbers are the same, the powder it was sealed and i opened it. the can says 4350 IMR, i put water into the caseing and measured the amount of water was 62.5 grains on my scale,

 

[former naval person]

Re: 7.62x54r Reloading trouble

If you have a fired military case, try the powder in it. If if still overflows, you have a powder problem. If it fits, the WW cases have a smaller internal volume. However the internal volume you measure is close to specifications. It is possible that the powder was mislabeled.

 

[Temp9]

Re: 7.62x54r Reloading trouble

The powder is the only potential area for error here that I can see. The internal volume of the cases is fine, so that means the density of the powder must be significantly too low.

 

[scatterbrains]

Re: 7.62x54r Reloading trouble

take one of the problem cases and spoon powder into it fill the case then dump the powder into your scale pan. What is the weight?

You may have powder bridging internally.

Just my guess

 

[Joop]

Re: 7.62x54r Reloading trouble

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: NJHKAR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">take one of the problem cases and spoon powder into it fill the case then dump the powder into your scale pan. What is the weight?

You may have powder bridging internally.

Just my guess </div></div>
I would do this, as well.

I have quite a bit of experience handloading for this caliber. Unfortunately, none of it with 4350. The closest I've come to that would probably be IMR4831. Using the same bullet as the OP, I can load 52.0 grains of IMR4831 and it's a slightly compressed load. Looking at some of the data for both H4350 and IMR4350, my guess is that any of the listed starting loads are going to be compressed loads. I would still err on the side of caution, however, as the amounts of powder I'm seeing don't jive with the cartridges useful case capacity. One load I see has a max of 55.0 grains of H4350 and a 180 grain bullet. I have no idea how one would get that much powder to fit in that case.

Edit: just saw Temp9's post about the water capacity.

 

[Unknown]

Re: 7.62x54r Reloading trouble

I would also make sure that the powder is IMR 4350, not H 4350. Although similar, they are NOT the same.

 

[ksthomas]

Re: 7.62x54r Reloading trouble

You need to use a drop tube. Not an uncommon situation with some of the bulkier, slow burning powders in mid-capacity cases like the 7.62 Russian. You might also want to try a somewhat faster burning powder, such as 4064 or 4895. These are actually better suited to this class of cartridges.

Anyway, a 6" to 8" drop tube will allow the kernals to settle into the case very nicely, with room to spare. Forster makes a pretty decent one, they're inexpensive, and are a very good investment for any number of cartridges that may exceed 100% loading density.

 

[experthunter017]

Re: 7.62x54r Reloading trouble

Well i found out the problem, the bag of brass come in a 50 pack well about 10 of them were the problem, the inside volume was not correct and maaking my powder over flow, it just happen the first 5 were the mess up ones so the powder was good and 40 out of the fifty cases were good. Thanks for your guys imput i appreciate it.