Reloading Norinco 7.62x51?

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apokalypse

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Hello,

I picked up some Norinco 7.62x51 for plinking with. I'm wondering if they are reloadable without extraordinary effort... I am under the impression they are copper-washed steel cased, and even though they are Berdan-primed, it's still possible to reload them. Looks like both Canada Ammo and Budget Shooter Supply sell berdan primers, so that seems promising.

Has anyone else tried reloading these, successfully or otherwise?
 
I believe a steel case would destroy your reloading die, also, because steel is less elastic than brass, I'd worry about a ruptured case. It is generally strongly recommended to not reload steel cases, probably due to these 2 reasons.
Ivor
 
I know steel cases are tougher on the die, though carbide die + case lube should be sufficient (based on my research). I have seen other threads on reloading steel cases with some success, but I'm looking to hear from anyone who have played with the Norinco bulk.
 
Have you run the numbers to see if it's cost effective to reload vs buying more bulk Norinco ammo? Most people (well... the few) that I know who reload 7.62x39 do so to avoid running corrosive ammo in their guns. But between the dies, bullets, powder, primers and good brass, it's way more expensive than just shooting bulk surplus stuff. That said, I would never reload steel cases, copper-washed or not for the reason stated above: that the risk of case rupture is too great, plus the added wear on your dies.
 
Berdan primed cases in general are a PITA. I have 1,000 Brazilian Berdan primed, brass cases and I'm not sure I'm interested in reloading them, let alone steel cased.

Try decapping a few cases to see what I mean...
 
apokalypse said:
I know steel cases are tougher on the die, though carbide die + case lube should be sufficient (based on my research). I have seen other threads on reloading steel cases with some success, but I'm looking to hear from anyone who have played with the Norinco bulk.
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I'm new, and did a ton of research on this myself when I thought I could get a sweet deal on steel cased ammo and then reload it.

Here's the problem: most people are going to avoid trying to reload steel cases for the reasons mentioned by Ivor. Technically it is possible, and there are plenty of YouTube videos the gist of which is 'see? I reloaded that #### without bending my press arm into a paper clip', but it's hard on you and hard on your dies.

Add to that the issues with Berdan-style primer pockets. You either have to convert them (PITA) or find Berdan primers. And decapping them in the first place is much more difficult than with Boxer primers.

This adds up to not a lot of people doing this on a regular basis, and therefore not a lot of knowledge around it. So finding someone with extensive experience with it is not super likely, and finding someone who has reloaded your particular flavour of steel cases is even less likely.

Personally, I looked at all the effort involved in processing steel cases and just decided that I would find some good sources for cheap once-fired brass and try not to buy factory ammo at all any more.
 
Some background, I already have a Hornady LNL AP Press for reloading 45 ACP, so I'm not going to be getting into reloading just to reload steel cases - I already reload :). I have just purchased a brand new Savage Model 11 Trophy Hunter XP 308 winchester, and 520 rounds of the Norinco NATO, which got me thinking about feasibility for reloading. I've come across threads of people reloading 7.62x39, 7.62x54R, but didn't see any with 7.62x51 so figured I'd ask.

I'm looking to reload these 7.62x51 surplus for use in a .308 Win rifle. The norc stuff is about 50c/round after tax, compared against brass rounds with a much higher price per round (ends up pretty darn close to $1). I haven't seen .308 brass at a reasonable price that isn't out of stock, and most places have ridiculous prices for unprimed/untumbled.

Berdan primers are $30/1000 at CanadaAmmo and $5/100 from Budget, so they're easy enough to come by. So you have to either de-prime a Berdan every reload separately (outside of the press, not a big deal compared to effort on a single stage), or you to the berdan-boxer conversion and drill out the berdan, which theoretically makes it easier for subsequent reloads (if the case holds up, anyways).

Price-wise, it would seem reloading comes out ahead, and moreseo if it's a steel-cased surplus vs. your $1/round Remington/Winchester/Federal ammo.
 
just a note on the berdan primers being sold by CanadaAmmo and budget, they are meant for 7.62x39mm for the most part and how a low amount of priming compound. i bought 1000 from CanadaAmmo with the intention of reloading my 7.5x55 GP11 brass. the primers for it are .215" and the ones being sold are .217, but they do fit with a bit of effort. the other issue is they are very short, about half the length of the primers i'm pulling out of the fired gp11 but again they fit and 10 fired just fine (primer only). they were noticeably weaker then the factory primers i fired for comparison. i pulled 5 factory rounds and fired the primers, then replaced them with the ones i got and put the powder and bullet back. won't be for a while until i can test them though.
 
Thanks Spawn-Inc, so then I would be getting the high cup berdan primers (KV-762N) primers for this task from Budget if I go down this road.
 
apokalypse said:
Thanks Spawn-Inc, so then I would be getting the high cup berdan primers (KV-762N) primers for this task from Budget if I go down this road.
Click to expand...

just looked on their site and see they have added primers meant for 7.62x51mm, so obviously go with those then.
 
Reloading Berdan brass is done when Berdan is the only source of brass.

So, YES, it can be done. Just like I could attach wings to my car and make it fly.

BUT, when it comes to 7.72/308 there is an unlimited supply of cheap Boxer brass, so there is absolutely no reason to reload Berdan cases in that caliber.

I reload Berdan in a caliber unavailable in Boxer (8x60R), so am familiar with the process. You don't want to go there.
 
Man, I reloaded FN berdan brass back in the 90's, when I didn't know the value of my time.

These days, I think of it as the most interesting man in the world thinks of rollerblading;

[youtube]PRVWuTlU_Tc[/youtube]
 
Before you invest in reloading supplies for Norc 7.62x51 ammo, try shooting 100 rounds and recover the cases. I shoot this stuff pretty regularly out of my M305, and about 5-10% of the fired casings have splits or holes in the neck and shoulders when recovered. I trust the stuff to hold together for the first shot, I wouldn't trust it on a second go.

When I get a reloading bench set up I will invest in either once fired brass or factory ammo and reuse the casings. I understand you should be able to get several reloadings on a set of brass with proper care and technique (rather fewer uses out of a semi-auto). Given the wastage on a single firing of steel and the harder case prep I wouldn't go down the route you're contemplating.

-DF
 
...and I have to add;

I have been thinking about pulling the bullets that come in that coppery ammo, and swapping in some 150gr BTHP, shiz and giggles, you know, just to see, because the stuff is pretty accurate as is. In the name of research ya unnerstan
 
apokalypse said:
I have... at most of the prices I'm better off buying the ammo, shooting it and saving the brass. i.e. $25/50 once-fired brass?

I'll be at the same cost basis with this Norc ammo, and I can shoot it too ha:
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Just sit back and think about this for a moment. You are getting carried away over pennies. If that is really an issue for you, buying very good brass in the first place will actually save you money in the long run.

If you are shooting a bolt action, and with a bit more reloading knowledge, you will learn fairly quickly that you can reanneal your brass when it gets hard. I have some cases, both milsurp and commercial that have 50 to 60 reloads on them. That will never happen with steel cases. It is possible to get as many loads out of brass cases that are Berdan primed. The Swiss GP11 cases for instance are great. So is some of the French brass, both for the 7.5 and 8mm. Now that those cases are available, relatively cheaply, the Berdan primed cases have been relegated to storage.

I have also reloaded the lacquered steel 7.62x39 and x54. The steel is actually very soft. More like malleable iron than steel.

If you're planning on running the reloaded steel cases through an M305 (M14A1 clone), I would very much advise against it. The M305 is hard on casings. Many semi auto rifles are. I have tried Chinese copper coated steel cases in bolt rifles and they seem to be OK. In a semi auto, you lose 10% or more on the first firing. As mentioned above, you are looking for trouble. Cases for a semi auto, need to be full length re sized every time. If you're only loading for one bolt rifle, neck sizing only is an option and not nearly so hard on the brass. I have heated steel case necks to red hot and allowed them to cool in an insulated tub. Usually take 24 hours to be cool enough to handle. A lot of work for little or no gain.

If you get a neck separation in the chamber of a semi auto, it is far more serious than the same issue in a bolt action. This is a very real possibility with an M305 and even more so with some commercial semis.

I see that Canada Ammo has Large Rifle Berdan primers in stock. At very decent prices to. The last thousand I bought, cost me three times that much.

If you want to play around for the experience, do it. You will learn pretty quickly that you are gaining nothing. By the way, I wouldn't even consider using picked up range casings when reloading steel cases.
 
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