Casting for your Mosin

[Caster]

I was given a Polish Mosin M44 by my father in law over the weekend. He says I have to keep it, after he dies I can sell it or shove it up my ......but for now, he says I must keep it.

I spent the better part of the morning getting the doodoo out of the barrel. Good god!
It's nice though. Strong rifling, shiny bare metal receiver. Dated 1954.

Any of you guys cast for yours? What mold are you running? I'm thinking a 314299 might be nice.

[musicman]

I don't cast (yet) but just fyi, in some of the reading I've done on Mosins, the bores can be somewhat loose in tolerance. Being mass produced as quickly and cheaply as possible all over Europe can do that, lol! I've read some bores can be as wide as .312, with many around .310-.311.

I'm guessing you probably knew that already, but just thought I'd share. I look forward to reading about your results!

[nightrunner]

The 7.62x54r round is similar to the 7.62x39 in that it has a .311 bore.

[Garufa]

The 7.62x54r round is similar to the 7.62x39 in that it has a .311 bore.

It' actually more similar all around to the .303 British that also uses a .311 bullet


Sent using wizardry.

[Caster]

Actually, I'll be using a .3145-.315 cast bullet. One must approach things very differently for cast bullets.

I know some people slug their bore and that's OK, but for best results, one must fill the throat. You'll have to do a pound cast for that and this one measures .3139-3142. Slightly outta round, but it ain't bad considering it's history.
In filling the throat. You have a better gaurantee that there's no blow by and the bullet gets a smooth STRAIGHT launch.

I've made this statement before but it bears repeating. 99.99% of the time, it's not gonna be possible to chamber a cast lead bullet that would be so large, as to be unsafe. It just doesn't happen....but ALWAYS verify. Jaysouth was an exception with a 30/30 Handi rifle that had a HUGE throat. It was a ver bad factory defect and any caster/reloader competent enough to know how to do a pound cast would come to a screeching halt when they find such an animal.
Jacketed bullets are NOT the same and you can have a very dangerous situation with an oversized jacketed bullet if you are a fool.



But yes, as has been stated, TYPICALLY, the 7,62x54R uses a .311 jacketed bullet, just like the .303 Brit and 7,7 Japo Edited July 6, 2015 by Caster

[Jct1911]

Caster, I haven't seen many here as well versed in casting and its tangles as you are. Seems like you're on the right track, I love the 312-299 in the standard 30's, don't know how you could go wrong here. Can't offer any help, don't own a mosin.

[MrBrian]

Is there any molds that work for 7.62x54r, 308, and 30-06 with the same mold?  I plan on starting to reload for the 308, and if I can get things to work on multiple caliber cartridges, it would be nice.....   also Caster can you post pictures of your rifle?  We always appreciate looking at gun porn

[Caster]

It could be done. You'd need an intermediary sizing die. Push through Lee is best for this so you don't bend the bullets. A very real problem when sizng heavy.

A mold that drops .314 could be sized back to .311 easy enough though.

If you're interested we can discuss more later when I'm on a real computer

[MrBrian]

I'd very much like to discuss it because I'm relatively new to reloading and I don't know much about rifle bullet choices and their diameter....  I figure those 3 cartridges are relatively close but didn't know if they were exactly interchangeable

[Caster]

The biggest problem you're gonna run into is throat design. The leade will be different in each gun. Nose diameter for a bore rider simply will NOT work unless you take up nose sizing. Laborious and aggravating that is.


No, best bet is to pick ONE rifle and get it down pat. Then move on to the next. Maybe one mold works for two or more....maybe not.


The best luck you will have finding a mold to do all those you listed will be a shorter lighter weight. Non bore riding nose. Edited July 7, 2015 by Caster

[Dolomite_supafly]

Is there any molds that work for 7.62x54r, 308, and 30-06 with the same mold? I plan on starting to reload for the 308, and if I can get things to work on multiple caliber cartridges, it would be nice..... also Caster can you post pictures of your rifle? We always appreciate looking at gun porn

As long as you choose a bullet that is like a traditional bullet and not a bore rider it should work with all as long as the bullet will be .313" at its largest.

The 311365 I mention above would be great for all three. And as long as you are not shooting through a silencer you can add a gas check and be fine.

[Caster]

What diameter does the 311365 fall from the mold?  It'll have to fall about .3145-.315 to work.  

[MrBrian]

Is there some kind of handy chart that lists each cartridge, and their diameter bullet, bullet weight, and other information?  Or am I going to have to do the research and make my own chart?

[Caster]

Not really. Barrels vary too much. ESPECIALLY military rifles. Each one needs to be assessed individually.
....not for cast bullets any way. Edited July 16, 2015 by Caster

[jaysouth]

My grandfather used to say that each and every woman and mule was a separate law into itself.  ditto for rifle barrels.