I ordered the 880 round case of 7.62x54r ammo from Classic Firearms & they came today, is there a way to know whether they are Russian or Bulgarian and a way to find out how old they are. I called them today & they said they have no way of knowing, thanx-

Has anyone pulled the bullets,measured the average charge and reloaded all the cases the exact same and reseated the bullet? If so did you get noticeably better groups?
Also any thoughts on using hornadays 174g BTHP in place of the 147g Russian bullet with the Russian powder reduced of coarse.

What is going on?

I recently reloaded some 7.62 x 54r for target work with my MN. I was using winchester brass, standard large rifle primers and Hornady .3105" 174 gr FMJ/BT. I don't remember the exact dimensions of the bore when I slugged it several years ago, but as I recall it was approximately .312. I have used .313 lead bullets that I purchased with good success. I seated the bullets to the crimp groove. Powder was 43 grains Varget. Lee lists that as a starting load for 180 gr. jacketed bullets, so I figured I was safe.

Anyway, my accuracy was good, recoil was manageable, but look a what I found with several of the cases. Yuck! Don't know what caused this. Brass has probably been reloaded 4-5 times with light gallery loads prior with no noticeable signs of wear.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...psf665c29d.jpg
After taking some fine steel wool to the brass this is what I was left with...
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...psa9486397.jpg
and this is what the primer looked like......
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ps63b277cd.jpg

Once I cleaned the brass a bit I looked for cracks, etc, but could not feel any. The primer seems flattened a bit.

If you have any thoughts, please help. Of course I want to be safe.:help:

I would like to know when and how this was used. Thanks

I just wanted to pop in and say hello. Newbe here thanks don

I Recently picked up my first wheel gun: a 1918 Webley Mk VI

The cylinder has been trimmed to fit moon clips allowing one to fire .45 ammo but I have yet to shoot it.

I just swagged the bore and it measures out at .447"

I have done a good amount of research on my own regarding reloading for it and was very surprised to find the bore so small, as I was expecting something larger as this pistol is supposed to shoot .455 caliber ammo, and most lead bullets for this unit are supposed to be about .453-.454.

The barrel does look original, so I cant really understand that his pistol is bored out to actually shoot .45 ammo.

Given this information, what bullet diameter should I be reloading with as now I'm quite confused. :dunno:

After a very productive weekend session casting bullets for the 32-20s, yesterday's attempt was quite the opposite! Spent two + hours and only produced five marginally good 454429 bullets. Apparently the ingots used to replenish the pot were contaminated as the surface tension went sky high. Couldn't get a good fill with any of the three moulds tried. Fluxed the pot multiple times, ran the heat up well past the usual, made sure the moulds were heated well and degreased, all to no avail. Even added some known good linotype which seems to be a waste at this point.

But the worst part was after accidentally dumping the new .43 Spanish mould assembly into the melt. First time for that! More or less encased the mould and the outer portion of the handles in lead. Bother! Finally pried the mess off, only to discover that the lead had grabbed the tip of the handle well enough to break the cast iron off at the screw hole.

And it's the only large set of Lyman handles I own for some odd reason! (Three small handle sets about, which don't seem very feasible to convert, so no help there.) And none in stock for any of the usual suppliers.

Anybody ever attempt repair on a set of Lyman handles before?

All of this recent bullet casting activity has actually been due to the anticipation of getting the .43 Spanish caliber rifles up and running, but it's been one delay after another...:bitch:

Now to purge the pot and hunt up a more reliable source of lead...Never have considered paying other than scrap prices, if anything, for the stuff, but it's another commodity in short supply it seems due to the ongoing feeding frenzy in the US.

Gratutitous photo from an earlier, happier session:

I just came into possession of several thousand rounds of Cartridge, Caliber .30, M2, Ball made at Lake City. The ammunition was purchased from the CMP about ten (10) years ago. It is in 20 round boxes and I believe it was made in the late 1960's (I have not open a box to see when it was made). In the back of my mind I have this vague memory of reading something about this ammunition. That it was not "REAL" M2 ammunition. Meaning that it was not loaded to M2 specifications. I find it hard to believe (or maybe I shouldn't) that the government would say it is M2 ammnition when it really isn't up to specifications. Anyone have the straight story on this stuff?

Some years ago, for reasons which are still unclear to me, I bought one of the Dillon 2001case cleaners. The 2001 holds a whopping 42 cups (2.75 gallons) of media. I personally think this is a bit much when the tumbler is filled to capacity. Dillon claims this unit will clean 550 30/06 cases or 1,200 .223 cases at one time! I had 536 once fired 30-06 military cases on hand, and thought this would be a good time to check out the 550 cases claim.

In reading some of the Dillon information, they recommend a 50/50 mix of ground walnut hulls and corncob media. What the heck. I had both types of media on hand, so I dumped all 536 cases, plus the recommended amount of media into this monster cleaner. After an overnight tumbling (which was much longer than necessary) the cases came out perfectly clean with no tarnish or staining. The cases are not shiny, but have a burnished low luster finish. If you are cleaning surplus cases on a regular basis, you might try this media mix. If you are cleaning LOTS of cases on a regular basis, you should consider the Dillon 2001.

I recently purchased an M1895 Nagant Revolver and a box of prvi partizan ammo (50 rounds for $25...OUCH!!). After spending a couple hours last night watching The Nagant Man's YouTube videos about reloading the 32-20 case, trimming the rim, reforming the case I got to thinking.......could you take once fired 7.62X38 brass, cut it down to the same length as a 32-20 case and then reload it to the spec's that The Nagant Man laid out in his video...ie... the same powder load, the same bullet and the same OAL. Any thoughts or am I out in left field.:dunno:

Would like a very simple reloader for .223 and .308. Never did it before and I have limited space.
What do I need? Powder type? Bullets? Primers?

I realize that as I get more experience , I will progress to a larger loader etc . Thanks!!

I have two Mk1* lee enfields in pretty good nick with good , early deep rifling in both barrels . I have shot commericial jacketed ammu . [150 and 175? gr ] with 06 and 08 and feel I can do better . Since these rifle barrels were originally shot with a 210 gr prog. I was wondering if anyone out there had already experimented along these lines and possiblely get a 210 gr mold ?! Lee only make a 185 gr and I found another at 195 gr . Im talking about cast bullets of course . Appriaciate all advice - thanks

Hi, Hoping someone can help me here with the actual MVs and projectile weights as Im wanting to reload to mil specs the following rifle cartridges.
(1) 1903 a3 Springfield.
(2) 7.62 x 54R 91/38 Russian long rifle
(3) 7.62 x 53 Finnish M39
(4) .303 British SMLE and No4 Rifle.
(5) 6.5 x 55 Swedish M96
(6) 7.65 x 53 Argentine / Turkish.
Thanks in anticipation.

Forster makes trimmer that requires a set of collets spefifically for the larger rounds but that is not what this post is about.
Some rounds will not even fit the Forster trimmer for one reason or another.
The Forster also does not fit some pocket books.
I have a number of the standard Wilson case trimmers that use a tapered chamber type shell holder to hold the cases for trimming.
I found a pair of the .50 cal cutter bearings on clearance at Midway for $7.50.
The carbide .612 diameter carbide cutter is about $24 at PTG.
Now all I have to do is get a custom case holder made for my 50-70 GOVT cases and I will be ready to buzz them off. In this case (terrible pun intended) I am going to shorten 50-90 Starline to exactly fit the chamber lenght.

So I will drop the hint. The cutter for this tool will actually trim a .577 Snider if you get a case holder made for the big fat round.

hello all,
for spring blackbear I decided it might be fun to take my Arisaka type44 out and see if I can bring smokey home with it. so far all I've shot out of it has been hornady factory 140 gr soft points which are dead accurate, hitting stuff at 400 yards is amazingly fun with this gun. however I'd just like to be cautious and load up some 140 grain nosler accubonds for hunting.
does anyone have a good, accurate load for 6.5 jap?

A friend gave me a large sandwich bag of 8MM this morning. Can anyone identify the country of origin? Brass case and FMJ. Probably corrosive.

Attached Thumbnails

 

I have about 140 rounds of what I believe to be 6.5x55 training ammo with red wooden bullets that came with some gun gear I bought from a friend. My Swede doesn't have the screw on protector at the end of the barrel. Is this worth pulling the wood bullet and reloading the brass? Could I re-use the powder? Any insight or comments appreciated.


It would be the excuse I need to pick up some 6.5 Swede dies....

Hello all.

After a shoot last week a fellow member suggested that i keep the cases for reloading seperate for my SMLE and No.4. He also added that it maybe a good idea to just resize the neck of the case rather than full resizing. I thanked him for his advice, but as we were both in a bit of a rush to go, didn't ask what just how to neck size only.
Looking through my product info for RCBS i can not find anything on neck sizing only so would welcome any advice on this subject.

As always thanks in advance for your time.

Cheers G.K.

Shot this off the bags at 15 yards to see what the gun liked.Now I'll have to practice off hand.

Ok guys I picked up so old 06 stuff today with some unique head stamps
EW 43
DEN 43 Ok I got that one ---Denver
SL 43
SL 4
FMCS 1951
FN 57
Any ideas what I got? I've got about 25 roubds of the EW 43

I have 6 boxes of factory .338 Lapua Match Grade HPBT FMJ ammo I want to sell, as well as 10 Boxes of factory .280 Rem hunting ammo, but I hate the new format for sales on this site. Hardly anything for sale and nothing seems to move. Can anyone recommend another site I can go to to list this stuff? I don't own a rifle in either caliber and want some $$$ for a new Leupold scope. Thanks in advance.

Was just given 40 rds of Turkish headstamp 8mm ammo dated 1948.

I do not normally collect ammo for collections sake. But the 1948 date is something you don't see every day - or I don't think... Only other ammo I have set aside not to shoot is the 1938 dated 8x56R ammo.

Anybody know anything about this ammo? Worth hanging onto? Is it shootable reliably? Shoot it or keep it?

I'm a "repeat offender" in this category. Did a half-day road trip with a friend today, and the only notable find was a set of .56-50 Spencer dies. RCBS, new in box, but the box is dusty! US$120, which seemed just too good a deal to pass up, considering that a shootable Spencer rifle, either original or reproduction, has been on the want list for a long time!

In non-milsurp dies, there's a set of .44 Automag dies in the reloading room patiently awaiting a pistol.

There's probably others, but the Spencer dies are weirdy morale-boosting.

Just wondering if anybody else gets things quite this bass akwards?

Hi,
I have a Yugo 8MM Mauser rifle i got at a local sporting goods store called Big 5. I was low on .323 bullets so I reloaded some .313 180 grain Hornady bullets using 42 grains of IMR 4895. I used sticky printer labels to "patch" the bullets up to approximately .323 and it seemed to work well. I had a flyer or two outta 20 rounds but it could have been my shooting. I was able to hit milk jugs at 70 yards pretty well. The paper patch bullets seemed to do as well as the .323 I loaded also, with about the same accuracy. Shooting free hand, standing.
Lee

I'm looking for a safe reload for 180 gr Spitzer bullet for the M! Garand. I normally use IMR 4895 for my Garrand loads. Usually with 150 gr FMJBT bullets.

Thanks, Fourbits

Plan Ahead!!!

PENNSYLVANIA CARTRIDGE COLLECTORS
19TH ANNUAL SHOW
AUGUST 16-17, 2013

HOLIDAY INN OF MORGANTOWN
230 CHERRY LANE, MORGANTOWN, PA 19543



BRING YOUR CARTRIDGES:
BUY, SELL, TRADE !!!

AMMUNITION-RELATED COLLECTIBLES: MILITARY, HUNTING, RIMFIRE, INERT ORDNANCE, SHOTSHELLS, BOXES, LOADING TOOLS AND MORE!!!

CALL: 1-610-286-3000 FOR HOTEL RESERVATIONS OR FURTHER HOTEL INFO
(Reserve your room by July 25th to get the Show Rate! Mention “PCC” Group Code)

EIGHT FOOT SALES TABLES ARE $45 EACH – RESERVE SPACE NOW!

*** SHOW HOURS: ***

FRIDAY (8/16) 7:30 AM – 8:00 PM
SATURDAY (8/17) 7:30 AM – 12:00 NOON
(Set-Up on the 15th – TABLE HOLDERS ONLY !!!)

FOR TABLE RESERVATIONS OR
SHOW INFORMATION, CONTACT:

JON COHEN (610) 933-7318 or DAVID SUTTON (610) 415-0572

E-MAIL: pactgshow@verizon.net

I aquired 3 1/2 boxes of surplus Chile 7mm ammo today. Dates are October and December 1976. Boxes marked FAMAE Chile and Polvora Esferodal BELGA. Headstamp - F.M.E. 1976 CHILE

1 - Is it corrosive?

2 - Is the brass reloadable?

As of Jan 4 2013, Several tins of surplus 7.62x25mm are available on Proxibid dot com under Lampi auctions - no bids yet or ridiculously low bids. Auction ends Jan 12. I sold my cz-52 because I couldn't find ammo, so I thought perhaps some of you cz and tokerev fans might be interested.

Looking for a 5.56 load recommendation for AR Carbine. Nothing max, nothing match, just going to use for range fodder.

Components avail are Midway 55 grn FMJ bullets, mixed LC and FC brass, and following powders: Varget, IMR4895, IMR4064, H335 and BL-C(2).

Could go another powder, but would prefer to use the above for now, espec the H335 and BL-C(2). Thanx

The only rimmed shells I reload are .303 British and 7.62X54R. So why does the .303 have head separations more frequently than 54R? I have more than one rifles so I don't neck size.