!! urgent 7.62 x 54 R information needed!!

A

AlsoUnknown

Member
Rating - 100%
11   0   0
Location
East of GTA
i am reloading all my 7.62 x 54R FMJ with 180gr 308 SP bullets for hunting - the data i can find on the net says the overall length of this cartridge is 77.xx mm. Mine measure 76.xx to start, and 72.24mm after i change out the bullets.

is this overall length a serious difference? the will be fired with a bolt action mosin not a semi, will this be ok?

thanks for any help, this my first crack at doing this and i don't want to blow up a nice rifle! (or myself)
 
Well I would guess you could get throat errosion and higher pressures. Not to sure what the dangerous point is thouggh.
 
case touching lands and groves is not a good idea im at work right now otherwise i would check my reloading book for max COAL
 
AlsoUnknown said:
i am reloading all my 7.62 x 54R FMJ with 180gr 308 SP bullets for hunting - the data i can find on the net says the overall length of this cartridge is 77.xx mm. Mine measure 76.xx to start, and 72.24mm after i change out the bullets.

is this overall length a serious difference? the will be fired with a bolt action mosin not a semi, will this be ok?

thanks for any help, this my first crack at doing this and i don't want to blow up a nice rifle! (or myself)
Click to expand...

Don't worry, you won't blow up a nice rifle :p


Can't you just not push the new bullets in so far? "They" recommend at least one width of the bullet within the neck, so as long as the rounds will feed and you are around there, you should be good.
 
Well I would guess you could get throat errosion and higher pressures. Not to sure what the dangerous point is thouggh.
 
I had the same questions. I want to be right up to my rifling. The big one in the pic is common surplus 182gr bullet. The small one is a Speers Hot-Cor 150gr .311 hcsp. I've heard that Hornady are the folks who make bullets that long in .311 and .312

7.62x54 bullets.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 7.62x54 bullets.jpg
    7.62x54 bullets.jpg
    64.7 KB · Views: 42
well i am using a lee rifle hand loader, and i set the bullet depth just so the knurled band is partially inside the case....the problem seems to be the soft points are much shorter than the steel tips i had....
i just made 20 to be safe until i can try it out - 19 to sight her in one to kill a moose LOL
thanks for all the opinions guys!
 
To me hunting rifle reliability trumps accuracy . . . within reason. Therefore, I'm inclined to seat a hunting bullet to the cannelure and crimp to uniform the bullet pull weight rather then to seat the bullet out to the lands. I want the cartridge to feed through the magazine without hanging up.

I want to ensure that I'm using a bullet of the appropriate diameter, that the brass is uniformly trimmed, preventing it from extending into the chamber throat and to make uniform crimping trouble free. I want to choose a load that will not lead to a sticky bolt lift due to normal tolerances in case capacity, to normal variances in bullet weight, and powder charges or variances between lots of powder, or due to increased pressure due to warm ambient temperature if I choose to shoot on a hot day. I load in sufficient volumes, that I can seldom be sure of the temperature at which my ammo might be used, and a 70 degree temperature swing (from -35 to 35) does effect pressure.

I want to choose a powder that provides good velocity with the bullet I choose and ideally I want it to fill between 90% and 95% of the cartridge case. Some loading manuals provide the loading density with each load. I don't want compressed loads if I can avoid it, they are more time consuming to load, over time can push the bullet out of the case, and in extreme examples produce less uniform in performance. IMHO, if you need to use a compressed load to reach your desired level of performance, you should switch to a slightly faster powder.
 
Lyman #49 Manual

7.62 x 54r Russian
Case: Any
Trim to length: 2.105"
Bullet: Sierra 180 gr. Pro Hunter SP
OAL: 2.975 or 75.565000mm

The best way to set the Max OAL poor man style is to take a fire case from your rifle and partial neck size the case usually about 1/8" to 1/4" is sufficient. Seat the bullet into the case just enough to hold it in place which leaves it seated long and chamber the rd.

Slowly push the bolt closes and allow the leads of the rifles throat to seat the bullet. Slowly extract the rd. and carefully measure the OAL do this several times and get and average measurement. In general you want to seat you bullet 0.10" deeper. You have to do this with each bullet and case brand due to difference in ogive and rim thickness.

A couple things of note in some military rifles the throat are large and long to accommodate various bullet styles,weights and cartridge OAL. It's entirely possible that when the bullet is set to it preferred OAL that it want fit the magazine or have enough of the bullet seated into the cartridge case to hold it in place. It also entirely possible that in some rifles the bullet can be set out far enough safely that it will even touch the leads due to the depth of the throat.

I don't realy ever shoot the 180+gr. bullets other than surplus and there OAL is over 3.00" and have cause no issues and shoot very accurately however there FMJ's and the ogive is further down the bearing surface of the bullet.

Couple of examples.

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinAmmo010.htm

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinAmmo023.htm
 
If you're shooting .308 diameter bullets out of a Mosin, don't expect a lot of success. Mosin bores are made to shoot a .311 diameter bullet but .312 works much better. At this point, OAL doesn't really matter if you're using the wrong bullet,however, your pressures will be way down because of it. I doubt you will blow up your rifle, but i also doubt it will shoot worth a darn with an undersized bullet.
 
Did I understand that you are pulling the milsurp bullets and switching to soft points? This is a common practice.

If you are using 308 bullets I am wondering why. A 311 to 312 bullet would probably give you better results.

As for OAL, you need to be no longer than the military ammo, to make sure it fits the magazine and cycles properly.

You can go a bit shorter if needed.

Powder charge. If you are loading 180 gr bullets, the factory powder charge is ok only if the bullets are heavier than 180 gr. Most 7.52x54 ammo is loaded with a lighter bullet. if you are pulling bullets that weigh around 147 gr, you need to re-weigh the powder charges and reduce them by about 3 grains.

It would be a good idea to neck size the empty cases, too, if you can do this without a decapping pin.
 
Don't seat them out so far they are touching the rifling as due to bullet variances aside from skyhigh preasures may bite into the rifling leaving a plugged barrel when you least want it IE point blank with a bear.Ask me how I know? Harold
 
hey guys a year later, but if anyone is interested i can tell you part two of this story now:

the rounds fired perfectly, power and accuracy were awesome, HOWEVER the action would not open after each round... locked up tight, took a rubber mallet to the bolt handle to pound it open.

the cases were unfired, so case length was not the problem, i made a very rookie mistake i think! the powder charge was for a 147gr FMJ bullet, i was loading 180 gr SP bullets,,, a more experienced gentleman hypothesized that the pressures to dislodge and begin to push out that bullet were too high, and somehow swelled / jammed the case and bolt....

i had to take along some commercial for the moose hunt, but i am going to learn a bit more about different primers and powders before i try this again!

thanks again to all who helped out!
 
Ganderite said:
Did I understand that you are pulling the milsurp bullets and switching to soft points? This is a common practice.

If you are using 308 bullets I am wondering why. A 311 to 312 bullet would probably give you better results.

As for OAL, you need to be no longer than the military ammo, to make sure it fits the magazine and cycles properly.

You can go a bit shorter if needed.

Powder charge. If you are loading 180 gr bullets, the factory powder charge is ok only if the bullets are heavier than 180 gr. Most 7.52x54 ammo is loaded with a lighter bullet. if you are pulling bullets that weigh around 147 gr, you need to re-weigh the powder charges and reduce them by about 3 grains.

It would be a good idea to neck size the empty cases, too, if you can do this without a decapping pin.
Click to expand...

you were dead on! the winner! you had the right solution all along!

thanks!
 
Pulled bullets need to be replaced with same weight or lighter bullets seated to the correct OAL.Do not substitute light bullets with heavier bullets or your pressures will rise.I will be pulling some of the PRC ball from some 7.62x54R and re-seating same weight SP's .Harold
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom