Was wondering what was the standard bullet weight issued back in 1940? Buying ammo and wanna get close to original ammo. Not surplus, but some off the shelf stuff.
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Was wondering what was the standard bullet weight issued back in 1940? Buying ammo and wanna get close to original ammo. Not surplus, but some off the shelf stuff.
The standard weight back during WW2 is the same as it is today for the 7.62x54. The 148 gr bullet was the standard and still is. The 180 was meant for use with machine guns but could be used with the rifles if need be. Some rifles shoot it better then the 148 while others don't.
Hello Celtic,
I have the Ordnance Manual put out by the U.S. Army Ordnance Bureau in 1954. Here is what it says about Russian ammo. I hope this helps. If not helpful I hope you find it interesting:
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From:
MANUAL FOR SOVIET MOSIN-NAGANT
MODELS OF 1891 -- 1910 -- 1891/30 -- 1938 -- 1944
RIFLES, CARBINES, &
SNIPER RIFLES
ORDI 7 - 101
CHAPTER 2
ORDNANCE CORPS MAY 1954
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SECTION IV. AMMUNITION
18. DESCRIPTION
Standard Soviet rifle ammunition (Fig. 33) is of 7.62mm caliber (cal. .30), has a rimmed bottlenecked case, and is 3.03 inches of length. Ground machinegun ammunition, which is identical in appearance except for color markings, may be used in rifles and carbines; however, only the light ball M1908 and heavy ball M1930 are recommended for this purpose by the Soviet Army. No color markings are found on the light bullet M1908 but the heavy bullet M1030 has a yellow tip.
NOTE: ShKAS Aircraft machinegun ammunition should not be used in rifles since it may damage the extractor. ShKAS ammunition can be identified by te Russian symbol III (Sh) stamped on the base, in addition to the stamped symbol, ShKAS rounds sometimes have red shellac coloring on the primer.
Soviet Rifle Ammunition (Light Ball and Heavy Ball)
19. Packaging
(The packaging methods, how many to a clip and to a box, etc., I skipped due to the fact that we know how they are when we buy them.)
There are no color on the packaging of the light bullet M1908; however, the heavy bullet M1930 has a yellow stripe on both the inner metal and the outer wooden packing boxes.
(The manual or booklet also has an illustration of a wooden ammo box showing all the markings and what all they mean, who made them, where, type, lot, factory, and year, propellant, calibre, number of rounds, bullet type, etc.)
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All the military surplus stuff that I have pulled apart have had the FMJ Boat tail with the lead core exposed on the base of the bullet. And when I bothered to weigh them it was 147 to 149. as a maximum spread with about 149 grains of powder.