rollingrock
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Moody, BC
Has anyone here ever tried reloading ammo for this gun? Just wondering. The Czek ammo is dirt cheap, but it's corrosive and inconsistent.
TT-33/T54 reloading
- Thread starter rollingrock
- Start date
rollingrock
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Moody, BC
Surprised someone knows this stuff! Well, I just want to know if the handloads would be as powerful as mil surp ammo.
Rod B
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I am patiently awaiting the OK from the CFC for a Tokarev TT33 I recently purchased.
I plan on reloading for this gun. From what I have been able to research on the web, the surplus military ammo is fairly hot (in some cases 1600fps), steel cases, berdan primed & with corrosive primers. I too have heard that certain lots of this ammo are inconsistant.
Since my use will be strictly target shooting I plan to load it just a little faster than 9mm. I will be using both jacketed & cast bullets at around 1200fps. That said I may have to go to heavier powder charges to cycle the action reliably
StarLine brass & a good selection of .30 cal bullets are available for this cartridge.
I plan on reloading for this gun. From what I have been able to research on the web, the surplus military ammo is fairly hot (in some cases 1600fps), steel cases, berdan primed & with corrosive primers. I too have heard that certain lots of this ammo are inconsistant.
Since my use will be strictly target shooting I plan to load it just a little faster than 9mm. I will be using both jacketed & cast bullets at around 1200fps. That said I may have to go to heavier powder charges to cycle the action reliably
StarLine brass & a good selection of .30 cal bullets are available for this cartridge.
"Well, I just want to know if the handloads would be as powerful as mil surp ammo."
That's up to you, really. You can make your handloads as hot or as mild as you like. My Mauser is something like 80 or so years old so I don't load all that hot. Just enough to reliably cycle the action. I'm by no means a reloading "expert". All I can say, are that in about 10,000 loads of .30 Mauser, 9x19mm, .38 Spcl., .380 ACP, .45 ACP and .32 S&W Long, I've never had any gun blow up or have a squib load. (Knock on Wood!)
So yeah, just buy some Starline brass, primers, powder and bullets and get cracking. I use headstamped ".30 Mauser" & "7.62X25" brass interchangeably without any problem. Starline says there's a difference between the two, but it's so small as to not pose a problem to me. Your Tokarev's chambers might have tighter tolerances. When I can't find lead bullets, I make do with the Speer .30 "Plinker" bullets. They are a tad on the light side, but are available easily enough and work. I'm told that jacketed bullets sold for use in .32 ACP reloading work, but I haven't tried that yet.
Incidently, for what it's worth, I've found that 4.2 grs of "Titegroup" and "700X" have worked well enough for me in my .30 Mauser, 9x19mm AND target load .45 ACP. Off the top of my head though, I can't remember what I had for bullet weights in all those calibres and that will make a difference.
Not entirely sure though that a Tokarev is a gun that makes much sense reloading for... Except for ranges that don't want their backstops destroyed. Stick a magnet to the nose of your surplus ammo. I think they pretty much all have steel penetrators under the copper jacket. I'm not saying it will go through a typical indoor range's backstop, but it sure as heck will pockmark it and cause problems down the road.
That's up to you, really. You can make your handloads as hot or as mild as you like. My Mauser is something like 80 or so years old so I don't load all that hot. Just enough to reliably cycle the action. I'm by no means a reloading "expert". All I can say, are that in about 10,000 loads of .30 Mauser, 9x19mm, .38 Spcl., .380 ACP, .45 ACP and .32 S&W Long, I've never had any gun blow up or have a squib load. (Knock on Wood!)
So yeah, just buy some Starline brass, primers, powder and bullets and get cracking. I use headstamped ".30 Mauser" & "7.62X25" brass interchangeably without any problem. Starline says there's a difference between the two, but it's so small as to not pose a problem to me. Your Tokarev's chambers might have tighter tolerances. When I can't find lead bullets, I make do with the Speer .30 "Plinker" bullets. They are a tad on the light side, but are available easily enough and work. I'm told that jacketed bullets sold for use in .32 ACP reloading work, but I haven't tried that yet.
Incidently, for what it's worth, I've found that 4.2 grs of "Titegroup" and "700X" have worked well enough for me in my .30 Mauser, 9x19mm AND target load .45 ACP. Off the top of my head though, I can't remember what I had for bullet weights in all those calibres and that will make a difference.
Not entirely sure though that a Tokarev is a gun that makes much sense reloading for... Except for ranges that don't want their backstops destroyed. Stick a magnet to the nose of your surplus ammo. I think they pretty much all have steel penetrators under the copper jacket. I'm not saying it will go through a typical indoor range's backstop, but it sure as heck will pockmark it and cause problems down the road.
I am reloading for mine. I have the 2 barrels, 9mm & 7.62 x 25 Tok.
I reload both.
I collected the 7.62 brass by shooting off Belliot ammo which is boxer primed. I have tried some fairly stiff loads as the gun is solid & strong. It's a nice cartridge. It really gets attention when I fire it at the range.
I reload both.
I collected the 7.62 brass by shooting off Belliot ammo which is boxer primed. I have tried some fairly stiff loads as the gun is solid & strong. It's a nice cartridge. It really gets attention when I fire it at the range.
rollingrock
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Moody, BC
I've tried to find a good recipe using W-231 for this cal as I'm using it for my 45 acp too. If any of you can provide the recipe that'd be really appreciated!
Rod B
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Hope this helps.
Richard Lee's book "Modern Reloading" lists one load using WW231
93 gr bullet
Starting gr = 3.8
Never Exceed = 4.2 gr
Min OAL = 1.130
I like WW231 for lead bullet loads in .38 Special & .45ACP. However for the 7.62 X 25 Tok cartridge there are more suitable powders.
rollingrock
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Moody, BC
Thanks Rod! I've read that AA7 is actually designed for 7.62x25, however different manuals have different powder charges. I'm not greedy, I just want to get the same muzzle energy as mil surplus like norinco which my T54 could handle.
