hi guys trying something new here. i notice the lgs have this round for sale but all in steel cases, the price is not that bad but i was wondering what accuracy was like from the factory steel cased rounds. as usual its always more fun trying to tweek the best performance thru reloading, so the questions are who has the components, what is the load data and what can i expect compared to factory rounds. thanks in advance i know there's a wealth of knowledge out there

There are a few shops that sell brass cased 7.62x54R ammo, KGS, WGS and X-Ring have had in the past. There are all different kinds of military surplus and some of that is reported to be match grade ammo. The non mil. surp. commercial steel cased ammo Tula, Wolf, The Bears (brown, silver) are more accurate than I am, lol.

New brass is available online.

To help the aces answer you better what rifle are you loading for?

Inspector to the white courtesy phone...

Addition: Winchester white box metric and Sellier & Bellot 7.62x54R ammo are the same made in The Czech Republic.
I had the cases crack on the first firing with the Win. & S&B. I had no issues with the PPU ammo.

hi guys trying something new here. i notice the lgs have this round for sale but all in steel cases, the price is not that bad but i was wondering what accuracy was like from the factory steel cased rounds. as usual its always more fun trying to tweek the best performance thru reloading, so the questions are who has the components, what is the load data and what can i expect compared to factory rounds. thanks in advance i know there's a wealth of knowledge out there

I reload for this round. I shoot a lot of it actually. As crappy as my Mosin 91/30 is I find it is quite accurate with the right ammo. I love my crappy Mosin so much I put on Mojo sights front and rear and I installed a Timney Trigger. Both the sights and the trigger cost more than the rifle. My rifle was a late production near the end of WWII. The machining is terrible and rough, the stock finish is horrid and the bore is shiny but dark. It probably comes with me to the range more often than any of my other MILSURPs.

I tried the Brown Bear, Wolf and Winchester White Box in my Mosin before I started reloading for it. I found the heavier bullets (175gr and 200gr) were the most accurate. I had a bunch of 150gr that were pretty accurate but the heavier bullets were just a little more so. Sorry, but I don't remember which brand had what weight bullets. I also experienced a couple of cracked cases with the Winchester White Box ammo.

I reload for my Mosin. I bought 100 Lapua cases and a set of RCBS dies from Grafs. I slugged my barrel and it came out to .311. That means I should use .311 jacketed bullets and .312-.313 lead boolits. I started out with some .311 150gr jacketed pulls I got from a friend. They worked well over Varget and H4895. I reloaded some other jacketed bullets in .308 in the 175 to 200gr range. They were okay but as reloads go they were a little expensive. I stuck with the pulls until I started to run low. So I turned to my supply of lead boolits. I have a 200gr LRN sized between .312 and .313 over 21.5gr of IMR4198 and this load makes my Mosin an accurate joy to shoot. The load only goes at 1,500fps but I can shoot it all day long without my shoulder and cheek getting sore. It's great at 100 yards and rings the plates pretty good.

I found good loading info in my Lyman, Lee and Sierra books. Since the cartridge is close to other military cartridges of the period just about any powder used in those cartridges will work well in the 7.62x54R. Powders like IMR4895, IMR4064, and IMR3031 should work well. I use Varget and H4895 quite a bit and I can use H335 for lighter bullets. You can use H4895 for reduced power jacketed loads and IMR4198 for reduced power lead loads.

I hope this helps!

Inspector to the white courtesy phone...

thank you inspector and dustoff alot of great information, i know each gun will shoot differently with the same loads but do you think it will change that much going thru a semi auto?

thank you inspector and dustoff alot of great information, i know each gun will shoot differently with the same loads but do you think it will change that much going thru a semi auto?

Yes. You will probably not want to use lead boolits nor would you want to use a reduced load. I didn't think about the fact you would be loading for a semi auto. I was thinking bolt action. Doh!

I recommend only jacketed bullets. You might be able to get lead to work but I would make sure you have a good load using a jacketed bullet first. Slug your barrel before you start reloading so you know the diameter. Knowing the diameter you can buy the correct bullet for your gun. Typical might be between .308 and .313. Trying to shoot a .308 in a .313 barrel will yield less than desirable results. Shooting a .313 in a .308 barrel might push the pressures up higher than you want. It is good to know what you are working with before you start loading.

Overall I am loading for both accuracy and reduced recoil in my bolt gun. But the reduced recoil doesn't apply in your case. I also shoot for economy. This is where you can really excel with your reloading. You will probably find a more accurate load but also a much cheaper load as well. Unless the spam cans start coming in again.

Anyway, you can probably find everything you need at Graf's.