has anyone tried reloading for a mosin-nagant using .308 bullets? If so, what kind of accuracy are you getting? I was thinking about trying using .308's because there is a lot more choice than with .310/.311. Thoughts? Do you think the boolitt would expand enough to fill the bore?
Shooting .308 bullets out of a mosin-nagant
- Thread starter Papaclaude
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- Wild Rose country
slug your bore first , then you will know what size bullets you'll need.
Yes, excellent accuracy from a Tikka barreled M27 with .308 bullets incl 155 and 168gr Sierra Match, 165gr Sierra HPBT and 150gr Hornady FMJ using IMR 4064 and IMR4320. Avg group size of all handloads @ 100 yds is 2.01" ranging from .6" to 3.7". Best load is with 168gr Sierra over IMR4320 with avg group size 1.62".
Groove diameters are a bit tighter in M27/M28 Finnish rifles than in others. You can slug the bore, but alternatively just shoot it and do a comparison between .308 and .311 dia bullets.
Groove diameters are a bit tighter in M27/M28 Finnish rifles than in others. You can slug the bore, but alternatively just shoot it and do a comparison between .308 and .311 dia bullets.
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the only concern i had, other than accuracy, was possibly gas cutting of the barrel. Do you think it could be an issue? If it's only an accuracy thing, yeah, no problem, I'll load some up and try them. If they're minute of pie plate or better, OK.
You will run into gas-cutting MUCH faster with any boat-tail bullet that doesn't fit, than you will with a flat-base that doesn't fit, Papaclaude. The flatbase bullets upset much easier than do the boat-tails.
My former range buddy and I spent a lot of time playing with MNs and we found that any RUSSIAN MN we ran across ALWAYS shot better with a .312" bullet, even though the American reloading manuals all suggested using .308s. We didn't play with any of the Finn rifles because we couldn't locate one in good enough shape to really work with. BUFFDOG has experience with a couple of VERY good Finn rifles, so he will likely have something to say about these as opposed to the original Russian versions.
Point to remember is that MOST of the Russian rifles are wartime "build-it-fast" rifles, whereas many of the Finn rifles were done in peacetime, when the time existed to do the job right.
But any Russian rifles we tried here ALWAYS shot groups less than HALF the size of the .308 groups, when using .312 slugs.
Hope this helps.
.
My former range buddy and I spent a lot of time playing with MNs and we found that any RUSSIAN MN we ran across ALWAYS shot better with a .312" bullet, even though the American reloading manuals all suggested using .308s. We didn't play with any of the Finn rifles because we couldn't locate one in good enough shape to really work with. BUFFDOG has experience with a couple of VERY good Finn rifles, so he will likely have something to say about these as opposed to the original Russian versions.
Point to remember is that MOST of the Russian rifles are wartime "build-it-fast" rifles, whereas many of the Finn rifles were done in peacetime, when the time existed to do the job right.
But any Russian rifles we tried here ALWAYS shot groups less than HALF the size of the .308 groups, when using .312 slugs.
Hope this helps.
.
as a matter of fact I tried it out three weeks ago with excellent results.
I used Hornady 150grs FMJ with .308 diameter and compared it to my other reloads, Hornady 174grs .311 diameter.
the .308 was much more accurate, and produced 1/2 sized groups.
the rifle was an as new condition Polish M44.
I did the same test with my Longbranch # 4, with exactly the same results.
Actually the Enfield cut honest one hole (5 shot) groups at 50 meters (with open sights).
I used Hornady 150grs FMJ with .308 diameter and compared it to my other reloads, Hornady 174grs .311 diameter.
the .308 was much more accurate, and produced 1/2 sized groups.
the rifle was an as new condition Polish M44.
I did the same test with my Longbranch # 4, with exactly the same results.
Actually the Enfield cut honest one hole (5 shot) groups at 50 meters (with open sights).
Finn Mosins
Finnish Mosins are "reputed" to have a tightger bore than Russian Mosins. The tightest Mosin bore I ever came across was on a Chinese built M44. It had a .309 bore It was beat to hell but shot quite well. My records show that it liked .308 bullets a bit better than .311.
The next tightest bore was on a Finn hex receiver, rebarreled 91, .310. It shoots well with bullets from .308 to .312. It just isn't fussy.
The Remington built 91 I have that was captured by the Finns but not rebarreled, has a worn bore that measures .310 as well. It doesn't shoot anything well. The bore is shiney but worn at the muzzle, probably would have been a good candidate for counter bore.
The Russians I have, the Pole and Hungarian, have bores that measure from .311 to .315. They are pretty good shooters. Some will shoot .308 bullets well. The real surprise is a Russian refurb M38 with laminated stock and .315 counter bored muzzle. It just shoots anything from .308 to .312 diameter into nice 3 inch groups at 100 yards, if Ido my part. It likes flat based 180 grain bullets. It hates milsurp ammunition, unless it's at least 175 grain.
I think Mosins, are like girlfriends, some do, some don't, some will, some won't.
Finnish Mosins are "reputed" to have a tightger bore than Russian Mosins. The tightest Mosin bore I ever came across was on a Chinese built M44. It had a .309 bore It was beat to hell but shot quite well. My records show that it liked .308 bullets a bit better than .311.
The next tightest bore was on a Finn hex receiver, rebarreled 91, .310. It shoots well with bullets from .308 to .312. It just isn't fussy.
The Remington built 91 I have that was captured by the Finns but not rebarreled, has a worn bore that measures .310 as well. It doesn't shoot anything well. The bore is shiney but worn at the muzzle, probably would have been a good candidate for counter bore.
The Russians I have, the Pole and Hungarian, have bores that measure from .311 to .315. They are pretty good shooters. Some will shoot .308 bullets well. The real surprise is a Russian refurb M38 with laminated stock and .315 counter bored muzzle. It just shoots anything from .308 to .312 diameter into nice 3 inch groups at 100 yards, if Ido my part. It likes flat based 180 grain bullets. It hates milsurp ammunition, unless it's at least 175 grain.
I think Mosins, are like girlfriends, some do, some don't, some will, some won't.
This question is posed several times a year. Guys never seem to want to shoot 308 in a Lee Enfield, but do in the Russian stuff - SKS's, SVT-40's and Mosin Nagants. 
The answer is always "slug your bore" and you should - it's easy and inexpensive. You go from there and try to fit the bullet to the bore size. I have MN's that slug from less than 0.310" to 0.316", and since I shoot mostly cast in them, I size the bullet accordingly. The thing to watch is neck clearance - the MN with the 0.316" bore has to have the neck of the brass outside turned to give the 0.002" clearance I want - all others are fine.
That having been said, 308's might work ok, but you need to go with a 0.312, like you would with a Lee Enfield.
The answer is always "slug your bore" and you should - it's easy and inexpensive. You go from there and try to fit the bullet to the bore size. I have MN's that slug from less than 0.310" to 0.316", and since I shoot mostly cast in them, I size the bullet accordingly. The thing to watch is neck clearance - the MN with the 0.316" bore has to have the neck of the brass outside turned to give the 0.002" clearance I want - all others are fine.
That having been said, 308's might work ok, but you need to go with a 0.312, like you would with a Lee Enfield.
