milsurps and reloading

H

halhunt

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
I am relatively new to both shooting and milsurps and dont reload (yet). I have milsurps in 7.62X39 and 7.62X54 and find the surplus czech ammo available at a good price.

I am interested in the swedish, german etc. milsurps but dont see commercial or surplus ammo around for them. I know where to get 6.55X55 swede ammo but its the $20+ a box hunting ammo, not $4 a box surplus.

Is there any non-russian caliber surplus ammo around or should I consider getting into to reloading.
 
French MAS, Italian Carcano, Argentine Mauser, French Lebel all impossible/really hard to find. You have to reload just to shoot these pieces, never mind the cost.
Pete
 
For a lot of milsurps, reloading is the only way you'll have ammo. There is lots of commercial 8mm Mauser, but as with any commerical ammo, cheap it ain't. There is some commercial ammo made in other obsolete military calibres, but it's not easy to find and costs the same or more than more common calibres.
Reloading will give you a reliable source and more accurate ammo too.
 
At some point, we need a sticky that will be required reading for those interested in shooting milsurps.

Other than small personal stashes bought earlier, hidden away, and not for sale (or for sale at premium prices) the following milsurp ammo is gone and isn't coming back:

- everything but 7.62x39 and 7.62x54R (and its availability is extremely flaky, even from supposed ammo importers).

You need to reload. You need to reload. You need to reload. "But I'm not allowed to, don't want to, and am not clever enough to". Tough beans then. The milsurp ammo is gone and is not coming back.

This gets tiresome.
 
Last edited:
There are cheaper commercial loads, but in the long run, reloading is going to save you time and money. Might as well get cracking, and not let pre-rolled ammo availability get the best of you. There are a lot of great, unique and fun rifles out there that are still a bargain because the average Joe isn't prepared or willing to reload.
 
REloading can save you money, especially when the ammo you need is no longer available. Try shooting off heaps of 8x60R Kropatschek at $3 a shot, or 11.15x60R Mauser at $4 per shot, or 6.5x58 Portuguese at $3 a shot or .577 Snider at $8 a shot and .577/.450 Martini-Henry at $10 a pop. Any of these can be reloaded for no more than 50 cents a shot, and the more expensive ones are even cheaper due to the cast bullets.

If you want ACCURACY from your milsurp rifles, try HANDloading for them. Same thing, just different emphasis. 1944 Defence Industries (Canadian) .303, if stored well, will still group into 4 inches at 100 yards........ if you can find it. This is entirely useless in anything but cowboy shooting, especially when a really decent .303 rifle, shooting handloaded ammunition tailored to that rifle, can easily keep them all on a quarter at that range, given that you can hold the rifle. I have a Ross that regularly shoots well under a half-inch with handloads; if I need to hit a target at 200 yards, I KNOW the rifle will do it and, if I miss, it's ME that missed, not the rifle, not the ammo. I have no excuses. But it's nice to know what the RIFLE will do. And the key is HANDloading for the thing.
 
Get the lee anniversary kit. About a $150 (?) investment plus a set of dies and your pretty well ready to go. It is all I use. I'll likely get a stronger press some day but for now it is good enough.
 
SKScanuck said:
Get the lee anniversary kit. About a $150 (?) investment plus a set of dies and your pretty well ready to go. It is all I use. I'll likely get a stronger press some day but for now it is good enough.
Click to expand...

x2

Lots of fancier stuff out there but the Lee kit gets the job done. Though I did replace my Lee scale for an RCBS one as I found the Lee one a PITA to use.
 
Ok, so do you recommend starting out with a single stage or progressive press?

Everyone seems to get a progressive press eventually, so I thought about just going that route, although it seems more complicated to a new reloader.
 
does anyone have an experience reloading 30.06? I find shooting my Garand loads of fun, but buying boxes of ammo on a weekly basis makes me weap openly.

are there any online resources that detail how to reload and where to get reloading supplies??

this is definitely a usefull threat!!

cheers guys,
Rob
 
Smoothbore said:
Ok, so do you recommend starting out with a single stage or progressive press?

Everyone seems to get a progressive press eventually, so I thought about just going that route, although it seems more complicated to a new reloader.
Click to expand...

Generally speaking, if you're reloading for a full size rifle cartridge a single stage press is more than adequate. This is because you're more interested in having accurate ammuniton than you are in having a thousand rounds to blow through in a day or two. If you're reloading for short rifle cases (.308 and down) a progressive or turret (which is sort of a hybrid) can be usefull. For pistol rounds, go with a turret to start and then you can switch to a progressive if you feel the need. Keep in mind that reloading isn't a thing you can rush through, if you screw up when reloading you can lose half your face very easily. Take the extra time to develope an understanding of the process, you'll find it's time well spent.

PS. The lee stuff is more than adequate, in fact their rifle dies are an outstanding value, and the Lee Turret press is an incredibly flexible piece of equipment.
 
Last edited:
Reloading is the way to go...
I reload for all my guns including Milsurp's with an old single stage RCBS press...
My favourite loads for Milsurp are gas checked lead bullets over Alliant Unique Powder... this are reduced loads, with little or no recoil, very accurate and dirt cheap to make... and most important: tons of FUN to shoot !

PS:don't use lead bullets in a Garand or other semi auto Milsurp,
 
ian_in_vic said:
Generally speaking, if you're reloading for a full size rifle cartridge a single stage press is more than adequate. This is because you're more interested in having accurate ammuniton than you are in having a thousand rounds to blow through in a day or two. If you're reloading for short rifle cases (.308 and down) a progressive or turret (which is sort of a hybrid) can be usefull. For pistol rounds, go with a turret to start and then you can switch to a progressive if you feel the need. Keep in mind that reloading isn't a thing you can rush through, if you screw up when reloading you can lose half your face very easily. Take the extra time to develope an understanding of the process, you'll find it's time well spent.

PS. The lee stuff is more than adequate, in fact their rifle dies are an outstanding value, and the Lee Turret press is an incredibly flexible piece of equipment.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ian! Great info.
 
Besides the PITA scale I'm very happy with the Lee reloading equipment I have.
I reload:
.303
6.5x55
30/30
7.62x39
And I have .308 dies I have never used.

Sometimes the cost of reloading matches store bought ammo prices, but the performance improvement, and availability of being able to make ammo when needed, and fine tune it for the task, or for any quirks the rifle may have is worth it IMHO.

Don't forget to add a bullet puller to your reloading equipment list. :D
 
Last edited:
Military calibres I am reloading or handloading are .303 (of course, eh?), .30-'06, .30 Carbine, 8x57, 7.5x55 Swiss, .43 Mauser, 6.5 Carcano, 7.62x39, 7.62x54R, 9mm Para, 9mm Steyr, 9mm Browning Long, .455 Webley, .45ACP, 8x50R Austrian, 8mm Lebel, .577 Snider.
And I would still be handloading 7.62x51 NATO, except the CLOWNS in Ottawa decided that my competition rifle was a "terrorist weapon", so I don't handload that any more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom