question re. Lee classic reloader for 7.62x54R

louthepou

louthepou

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Hi everyone,

I have a couple of Mosin Nagants. I have a small Lee Classic Reloader kit for their caliber, and the specified .308 bullets I have are loose in the brass when I reload with that kit.

I will get some dies for my hand press soon, but in the meantime, knowing that the Mosins are often very generous with the bore diameter, would it be a temporary solution to use some .311 bullets that I have with the Classic kit?

I didn't slug the bore of my two Mosins yet.

Thanks for any advice,

Louis
 
I use only .311 bullets with my Nagant. I tried .308 150 grain FMJ loads and they shot like crap at 100 yards, all over the paper. My Sierra 174 grain Matchking handloads shoot 3 shots into a 1" grouping. My nagant is a 1953 Polish M44 carbine, bone stock. WWII Russian nagants vary from .311 to .317 I believe... about the same spread as Enfields.
 
"...the specified .308 bullets..." Your loads are wobbling because you used the wrong bullet diameter. The 7.62 x 54 doesn't use a .308" bullet. It uses a .311" bullet. Remember the name of a military cartridge rarely has anything to do with the bullet diameter.
 
The Lee reloading die I bought last year had a .308 neck expander, So I had to swap it with one from a .303, What a stupid move on their part, I think only the Finnish rifles have a .308 bore so all the European ones had to replace that part.

I use .312 150gr Hornady Interlocks with some success in my M44. At least until I get a line on $5/box Czech or Hungarian.... :bangHead:
 
louthepou said:
I guess this is just another perfect post to show I'm still quite new to reloading! :)

Lou
Click to expand...

Don't feel too bad. In the mid 1950's there were gun writers who were reloading .303 brit with 308 bullets and then claimed the Lee Enfield was inaccurate. These articles got published. I've even seen early reloading information that suggested using 308 bullets if 311 were not available.
 
Thanks again guys.

Well amzingly enough with .311 bullets all is fine win the little classic kit. There's even mention about that size of bullets on the card with the kit, so I don't know how to read obviously ;)

We'll see how accurate these are soon. thanks!

Louis
 
How 's the shoot? I am thinking buying the Lee loader myself for my newly acqured Mosin 91/30.


Is there anything else I need other than the kit?
Thanks.
louthepou said:
Thanks again guys.

Well amzingly enough with .311 bullets all is fine win the little classic kit. There's even mention about that size of bullets on the card with the kit, so I don't know how to read obviously ;)

We'll see how accurate these are soon. thanks!

Louis
Click to expand...
 
10X, it is very refreshing to see someone else talking about shooting in the 1950s. I thought I was the only one on here that tlked about it! And I often refer to that period as the glory years of shooting.
I have also seen .311 bullets pulled from the military rounds and sold just as bullets. A note on the page said they could be loaded and shot in standard 30 calibre rifles.
But, we miss all those gun writers in the many different magazines, even if they sometimes made boo-boos.
There was quite a well known writer named Pete---.
Do you know who I mean, and his last name?
 
H4831 said:
10X, it is very refreshing to see someone else talking about shooting in the 1950s. I thought I was the only one on here that tlked about it! And I often refer to that period as the glory years of shooting.
I have also seen .311 bullets pulled from the military rounds and sold just as bullets. A note on the page said they could be loaded and shot in standard 30 calibre rifles.
But, we miss all those gun writers in the many different magazines, even if they sometimes made boo-boos.
There was quite a well known writer named Pete---.
Do you know who I mean, and his last name?
Click to expand...

That wouldn't be Pete Kuhloff would it ?
How about Warren Page or Clyde Ormond ?
Remember hearing the name Hervey Lovell ...I have one of the last rifles he put together...a Winchester Hi-wall in 219 Zipper Imp...
 
Sure could have been Pete Kuhloff. It seems to me the magazine he wrote in, probably shooting editor, was not the regular sporting type magazine, but a mens magazine, maybe named, "True,' or True--something.
I read, and fully believed, in Warren page's writings, and I think I have a Clyde Ormand, or two, book around.
 
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