Reloading for milsurps

Irons78

Irons78

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Hi all - recently started reloading some of the more harder-to-find/expensive calibers, wanted to ask if anyone has experience using alternative projectiles. For example:

308 bullet in swiss 7.5x55 brass
303 bullet in 7.62x54r brass

Also started reloading 8x56r Hungarian, any input on a usable/more available alternative bullet? I'm thinking 8mm Mauser would work (?).

Any input would be appreciated!
 
I have researched reloading 7.5X55 and it seems like you are better off to buy the surplus ammo and keep the brass.

I reload 303 British and some people say that you can use .308 in place of .311. Some same say it will give you a grouping similar to bird shot at 50 m. I would like to know the truth on that as well however I believe the shotgun analogy.

But realistically 54r is plentiful and commie countries are still making it so there will be a flow of it. When they stop making it then I would worry about reloading it. I have been told that the 303 British was cheap and plentiful but then it stopped being produced so now its expensive or non existent.
 
303 bullets work fine in 7.62x54R

finding a source of brass cases, a little harder.

shooting brass cases in the SVT 40, not really a good idea, that old girl gets fed steel cased surplus, the brass cases are for the nagants.
 
Irons78 said:
308 bullet in swiss 7.5x55 brass
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While the specs for 7.5×55 Swiss show the bullet being 7.77 mm or 0.306", every reloading source I have seen for this round list the use of .308" bullets.

You can find reloading data for this round in Hornady's Handbook of Cartridge Reloading, 9th Edition and Lee's Modern Reloading, Second Edition.

I've loaded mine with the following:

* Hornady 150 gr FMJ-BT (Item 3037)
* 150 gr InterLock DTSP (Item 3033)
* 150 gr InterLock SP (Item 3031)
* 155 gr A-MAX (Item 30312)

I've also loaded with cast bullets from this mould: http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=30_351&products_id=343

7.5×55 Swiss can be tricky to load. Many bullets need to be seated pretty deep, resulting in shorter than usual rounds, to get them to chamber properly. I am guessing that this is due to the chamber being sized for the long and sleek ogive of the GP11 bullet. The ogives on the Hornady bullets are squat and fat in comparison so you need to seat things deeper. While they are a bit pricey, I really liked the 155 gr A-MAX bullets in this round -- the assembled rounds look really good and the bullet depth is not too deep.

For some reason I always have a hassle setting up the Lee sizing die for this cartridge. Not sure why but I always get it wrong the first time and end up squashing a case. With most cartridges you screw the die into the press until it touches the shell holder on the raised ram. But for this cartridge I think you need to screw the die down until it encounters the case mouth in the shell holder. The die I am using is an older Lee die that I bought used and that did not come with its instructions.

All of my reloads have been in either previously fired Prvi Partizan brass or new Prvi brass from Tradeex.

I don't often shoot surplus GP11 but when I do I keep the brass. It is Berdan primed so it will need some re-work to convert it to Boxer primers.

I bought an RCBS pocket primer swager -- http://www.rcbs.com/Products/Case-Preparation/Accessories/Primer-Pocket-Swager-Combo-2.aspx -- for this and plan to use the technique where you swage small bits of copper tubing into the primer pocket -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkKJfvMyuDg

I've been happy with my Swiss reloads. The accuracy I get out of them, as kludgy as they are with shorter-spec-overall lengths due to the need to seat some of the bullets so deep, is a testament to the quality and abilities of the K11 and K31 rifles.

I've also made up 7.5×53.5 rounds for the Schmidt-Rubin 1889. Those use cast bullets from the NOE mould noted above and loads based on 30-40 Krag data for cast bullets.

Good luck with your loading!
 
I shoot cast bullets in all those calibers plus at least a half a dozen others. Moisant Nagants have bore sizes ranging from 308/309 for some Finn variants to 314 (or more) possible for the Russians. I shoot 314's in all my MN's except 311 in a M39 Fin. Lee Enfields can vary from 311 t0 314 or more. 314 cast in all my 303's. My 8x56R slugs at 329 and I shoot bullets sized at 331. Jacketed bullets (329) are available but could be getting close to 50 bucks/100 now. I've found most milsurps with good bores will shoot cast bullets quite accurately but at lower velocities than jacketed. Other advantages are less noise and recoil as well as little bore wear.
 
For the 7.5x55 Swiss, these bullets are very close to GP11 in weight and length:
Berger VLD Target .308 175 grain #30412
Berger VLD Hunting .308 175 grain #30512

GP11%20with%20Berger%20VLD_zpssorbsdkt.jpg~original
 
woodchopper said:
303 bullets work fine in 7.62x54R

finding a source of brass cases, a little harder.

shooting brass cases in the SVT 40, not really a good idea, that old girl gets fed steel cased surplus, the brass cases are for the nagants.
Click to expand...

I use PRVI brass cases in my SVT40 all the time,gas set at 1.2 and it runs perfectly.
I just pull the bullets from the surplus ammo,reuse the powder,and don't have to worry about barrel corrosion anymore.
H.
 
Not a bad idea actually (pulling bullets and powder). Nice clean ammo running down the pipe. Ive got a ton of old surplus 762.....I think I know what I'm doing this weekend =)

M1-Garand said:
I use PRVI brass cases in my SVT40 all the time,gas set at 1.2 and it runs perfectly.
I just pull the bullets from the surplus ammo,reuse the powder,and don't have to worry about barrel corrosion anymore.
H.
Click to expand...
 
Well, I can't say anything about the other sizes but a .303 bullet IS the right size for a 7.62x54R. Both guns need a .311 to .312 size bullet. Both are named after the basic bore size instead of the groove diameter.

I know that some have reported that they got decent or even great accuracy from using .308 size bullets in their guns that normally use .311 bullets. I guess much depends on the bore diameter and how much of a bite the rifling can make in the riding band of the .308. This is where "slugging" the bore and measuring the slug might suggest if using .308's will work or not.
 
K-C said:
Last time I ordered from Trade-Ex, the are a Site Sponsor. These are the links:
Berger 30 cal Bullets, 175gr VLD Hunting, BG30512
Berger 30 cal Bullets, 175gr. VLD Target, BG30412

I also reload using the GP11 Swiss military brass with berdan primers. PM me if you would like more info...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the note. I checked the price on those bullets and I think I'll pass for now :)

I'll PM you about the berdan loading -- I'm curious to hear about what you do with it.

Thanks!
 
BCRider said:
Well, I can't say anything about the other sizes but a .303 bullet IS the right size for a 7.62x54R. Both guns need a .311 to .312 size bullet. Both are named after the basic bore size instead of the groove diameter.

I know that some have reported that they got decent or even great accuracy from using .308 size bullets in their guns that normally use .311 bullets. I guess much depends on the bore diameter and how much of a bite the rifling can make in the riding band of the .308. This is where "slugging" the bore and measuring the slug might suggest if using .308's will work or not.
Click to expand...

Slugged the bore on my SVT-40 and that pointed to using .312 diameter bullets; using Hornady's and new PRVI brass for initial loads.
 
BillD said:
Slugged the bore on my SVT-40 and that pointed to using .312 diameter bullets; using Hornady's and new PRVI brass for initial loads.
Click to expand...

I recently shot some initial loads using PRVI brass and Hornady bullets I got from Budget about a year ago. The initial results look promising but I was limited by the need to fire form the brass. So these first loads might not have been as good as they could be. Instead of using up bullets other than this initial test batch of 20 rounds I think I'm going to fire form the rest of the brass first using small loads of pistol powder and a paper wad instead of a bullet. Then I can neck size only and get serious about testing for accuracy.

It's all great fun doing this stuff. But it's a slow process....
 
BCRider said:
...It's all great fun doing this stuff. But it's a slow process....
Click to expand...

Tell me about it! I'll still new to reloading, and I'm only at a few different calibers just yet, but I have a shietload of various rounds loaded up for initial testing - just need to make time to get it all on paper/chrony'd.
 
7.5x55 uses .308 bullets, but use 174grn or larger, up to 190grn. The longest iron sight milsurp shots on record are done by a guy with a K31 loaded with 190grn Sierra Match Kings.

I clean, prep and size a case, but not prime it. Then I load the bullet that I am working with into the case a tad long on purpose. Then chamber it and extract it gently. This I measure, then drop it 2-3 thou. This has worked well on longer bigger bullets. My rifle shoots better with my reloads than it does with GP11 which is excellent ammo.

I have not shot smaller bullets in yet, but I suspect I will just load them to the cannelure with bulk 150grn .308.

I have reloaded the Berdan primed GP11 brass and its excellent, but Berdan primed sucks...Much easier to use Prvi or Starline brass, but those cost more.

I am also working on converting GP11 brass to boxer priming. I have 6 primed up right now, but not loaded yet. :) I swaged a large ball bearing into the primer pocket with a support inside the case using a hydraulic press. This works hard, but you may ruin a couple or so. you have to drill off the anvil and then drill a primer flash hole and its hard to drill it without slipping off the anvil. I suppose if one had a good small lathe it would be childs play, but by hand its kind of tricky.

This does look promising tho. I primed a few more up and deprimed them with a Lee universal deprimer die and they felt exactly the same as boxer primed factory brass.
 
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