BigEd

Picked up 2 Nagants, shoot better than I thought they would even with cheap chinese ammo. Gonna get dies and brass, anybody have any experience loading for this?

762mm

I began reloading for the 7.62x54R 12 years ago, up until the last few years when the market got flooded with millions of rounds of surplus Russian, Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, and Albanian 7.62x54R at super low prices per 440 round cans. I still make and load 180gr .311 gaschecked hardcast bullets for the Mosin just to experiment, (they take to the cast bullet quite well).

BigEd

Is there any significant increase in accurracy with handloads in this cartridge. I would normaly expect there to be some.

"Lord, make me fast and accurate."

Adui13

Greets,

Let me know where you get the brass. I have an M44 Nagant carbine, but I only have 20 rounds of reloadable brass. I have searched and searched, and that is the only stuff I could find at an affordable price. Checked with I think it was Norma, but they wanted $40 a box for ammo. I bought the dies and stuff right after I got the gun, but have yet to reload for it because ammo is so cheap for it.

Just my uneducated opinion!
Terry

BigEd

The brass is Sellier&Belliot. Cheaper Than Dirt has loded ammo at 7.99 a box + shiping. SoftPt., cheap enough to shoot and reload. Probably good ammo to begin with too, going by my experience with thier 7.62x39.

Edited by - BigEd on 03/02/2002 14:07:01

Adui13

Thanks! I have haerd good things about S&B so I will have to check that out! need to get some reloadable brass for mine.. next ?? do you plan to use a .308 cal bullet or .311?? my research suggests its supposed to be >311, but my load books say the .308 will work too, just not as accurate. ( we pulled a bullet from one of the fmj rounds I bought for mine and miced it it was .311, my load book says they often had been rebarrelled for .308 so I was worried about mine, it shoots .311 ok )

BigEd

I'll try both diameters as I already have a bunch of different .308 dia. bullets on hand.(125's-180's) But I expect the .311's to do better and I'll try some 150's in that dia.,.

HogHunter300

Ed dont use bullets that have the groove unless ya wanna crimp the cases.

My loads for my nagant are 55.0 grains of H380 and a 150 grain remington bronze point at 2800 FPS

Chris Johnson

Edited by - HogHunter300 on 03/03/2002 20:52:50

BigEd

OK HogHunter300, I usually don't use bullets with crimp grooves anyways, thanks for the advice and the load data.<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

762mm

BigEd, and lurkers,
Here's one tried and true load for you Mosin fans. I use the Lapua brand brass, it can be had for something like $42 per 100. The Russian Mosin bore begins life at .310 diameter when new. Their 1980's military 147gr FMJ ammo I have measures .3095 on the dial caliper. Best groups will usually come from the .311 diameter bullets available here in the US.

Another load using the favorite H-380 powder you will enjoy is 50gr of the stuff behind a .311 180gr Remington Cor-Lokt RN. It does an actual 2450fps average across my chrono. Using .311-.312 diameter bullets is also one way to make those shot out worn rifling Mosins quite accurate.