Thread: Beginner question: Using pistol projectile for 7.62x54r?

I'm a beginner and I have reloaded ~ 100rnds for my mosin (7.62x54r) using Hornady .312 150grs, 42gr of AR2208 with good results.

I see Delta Mike have some pistol projectiles restocked and I see some .313 115gr projectiles...

Would it work? Could it be......dangerous? Do I need a pistol powder for it or AR2208 would work just fine? Any idea what charge weight I should start with and how far deep to seat the projectile...

Cheers.

- Mike

at slower velocity no problem at all....there will be data online for a projectile of same or similar weight.... there are both 308 and 30/06 loads using 110grn so you WILL find it...and if cant..sing out and we (the collective forum) will be able to give you a guide as to what powder and weight of it to use.

Might be too short to stabilize readily . Try it and see.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

at slower velocity no problem at all....there will be data online for a projectile of same or similar weight.... there are both 308 and 30/06 loads using 110grn so you WILL find it...and if cant..sing out and we (the collective forum) will be able to give you a guide as to what powder and weight of it to use.

Thanks for the tips man, I found the load data for 110grs but they are all with .308 dia projectiles, this is .313 and I'm very worried about pressue (and seating it without destorying my brass!)

Will try it and see if they work, cheers.

whats the GOLDEN RULE for reloading????/
start low and work your way up slowly......
the difference between what you have been using and intend to be using is tiny.... .312 Vs .313

and data for 110 will be too heavy of powder charge...being a LIGHTER projectile but yo ushould be able to find 120-130 and split the difference bottom line is,if you cant find same weight,go up to next heaviest projectile weight as it SHOULD be giving you a mild load for desired weight.

The 7.62x54R is halfway between 308 and 3006 in performance. Most loads for 110 grain bullets for them achieve 3000 plus fps however it's possible a pistol bullet not built to expect such speed might not like doing 100,000 plus rpm and disintegrate. Looking at the data you will see that for any powder the lighter the bullet the heavier the charge, that's because smokeless powder needs pressure to burn efficiently and with light bullets you need more to achieve that pressure. Looking at the adi data for a 110 gr in the loads for the 3006 and the 7.62x54r use the same starting load charge of 2206h and honk out at around the same speed.

if its just for plinking or small game...trailboss might well be your new best friend.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

if its just for plinking or small game...trailboss might well be your new best friend.

I intend to use it for light recoil plinking, while being as economical as possible, thanks for the input mate, will start low and see how it goes, cheers.

Yep get a load of trailboss if you can find any and you can't go wrong.
Are they jacketed pistol bullets or lead.
Lead you may want to look at a copper base or just keep the velocity down.

I run TB in both my 243 and 358 for short range goats and plinking.
Just make sure the bullets match the low velocity.
Ie in my 243 I use a varmint bullet @2400fps, in the 358 I use a 357 pistol bullet @1650fps
Z

Greetings,
I went down this road a very long time ago with my .308. While I could get decent accuracy from the 100 grain plinker and 110 grain varminter projectiles they shot a long way away from my 150 grain load. These were the days before dial up scopes. For projectiles to shoot dead on at 100 from a 200 yard zero I found that reducing the charge by 2 grains from my hunting loads did the trick. Later on I started using some of the 155 grain plated Frontier projectiles with reduced loads of AR2206H for practice and short range target. These are probably as cheap as your pistol projectiles. My load of 38 grains of AR2206H chronographs around 2,350 fps but do shoot a lot lower than full power hunting loads. The light projectiles will be stable in your likely 1 in 10 twist but may not shoot that well if the rifle has a long or large dia throat, possibly both.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings,
I went down this road a very long time ago with my .308. While I could get decent accuracy from the 100 grain plinker and 110 grain varminter projectiles they shot a long way away from my 150 grain load. These were the days before dial up scopes. For projectiles to shoot dead on at 100 from a 200 yard zero I found that reducing the charge by 2 grains from my hunting loads did the trick. Later on I started using some of the 155 grain plated Frontier projectiles with reduced loads of AR2206H for practice and short range target. These are probably as cheap as your pistol projectiles. My load of 38 grains of AR2206H chronographs around 2,350 fps but do shoot a lot lower than full power hunting loads. The light projectiles will be stable in your likely 1 in 10 twist but may not shoot that well if the rifle has a long or large dia throat, possibly both.
Regards Grandpamac.

Alright this looks very cursed - I tried to load one up using "seat it at least as far as the projectile diameter", which would give a OAL of 2.440'' (2.110'' casing + 0.643'' projectile - 0.313'' dia.)
My Lee seating die would only go as far as 2.455'' OAL which means I only seated it 0.298'' deep.
Also this handload just looks so, so wrong...
Should I continue? Or this is just as silly as it looks.

looks fine to me....it probably wont feed from magazine but should be otherwise fine.

The bit that contacys the rifleing actualy looks further foward/longer than the spitzer

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

looks fine to me....it probably wont feed from magazine but should be otherwise fine.

Thanks! I loaded two dozen more and will take it to the range on Wed. Will report back how it shoots then, cheers.