New Molds For The Mosins

Discussion in 'Ammo - Types, Usage, Reloading, ETC.' started by reloader762, Apr 1, 2017.

0/5, 0 votes

  1. reloader762

    reloader762 Member
      13/25

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I've been shooting the usual 150 to 160+ gr. cast bullet loads in my Mosin rifle for several years with excellent accuracy. Recently though I've been wanting to work with some heavier bullet in the 180 to 200+ gr. range with loads up around 2K fps. which in rifles like the Mosin and SKS an other 30 cal. rifles with 1:10 twist bores is about there Max. limit on velocity / stability.

    All my cast rifle bullets are cast from wheel weights with a little Tin and water quenched for added hardness,gas checked and lube after 24 hours. One bullet the Lee 185 gr. RN I've been shooting for a couple of months with 19.0 grs. of Alliant 2400,it's not a Max load but it's plenty accurate at 50 yds. with the factory irons MV is in the Mid. 1600 fps range.

    Last test group I shot with the Lee bullet.
    [​IMG]

    Part of the Lee 185 gr. mold block
    [​IMG]

    To get to the 1900 fps. range I have to use a slower powder to give the bullet a gently push so I'm using H-4895 currently I'm up to just over 1700 fps. with 33 grs. with plenty of room to go as to load density. Most likely I'll run of of velocity/ bullet stability /accuracy before I run out of load density.

    Another bullet I'm working with that I had made by Tom over at Accurate Molds is strictly for hunting although it will do fine for target shooting as well it's just not designed for anything much over 200 yds. accuracy wise as it has a nice flat nose with 215 grs. of lead behind it to smash through bone an muscle of any game that walks in North America. I had a chance to cast up about 200 bullets last weekend to do some load test with,I have them gas check and lube and the OAL length set for my 1933 Tula HEX receiver 91/30. I just have to load up some ladder test loads and shoot them at some targets and over the chrono.

    Dummy rd. loaded to check OAL with the Accurate .314" dia. 215 gr. bullet as cast bullet below before being sized,checked an lubed.
    [​IMG]
     
    Old Geezer likes this.
  2. Tom Williams

    Tom Williams Moderator Staff Member
      330/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Be afine load for elk or bear moose but would ruin alot of meat on deer and annalope. Thesebefine with 150-165grain bullets
     
  3. Arkane

    Arkane Master Survivalist
      275/297

    Blog Posts:
    0
    My thoughts
    I would be seating that projectile somewhat deeper for two main reasons, exposed cannelures attract dirt and seating deeper will
    shrink the case capacity improving consistency in light loads
    and it adds to the overall robustness of the round if mistreated!
     
  4. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    Reloader762, great work, great reporting. Such info on reducing ammo costs and transforming surplus rifles into very useful rifles is always profoundly valuable. On the practical side, think about how much ammo storage space is saved via reloading. With case fillers, you can develop light loads / light report, sub-sonic loads for smaller game. Glad you mentioned your use of gas-checks. Great stuff! Thanx much.
     
  5. reloader762

    reloader762 Member
      13/25

    Blog Posts:
    0
    As to fillers I don't use them. Fillers do work well with Med. slower burning powders to help give uniform ignition which is key to uniform velocity/accuracy. All the powders I use don't require the use of a filler and ignite an burn cleanly especially in rifle barrels. Powders that I frequently use for cast rifle loads are Red Dot / Promo,Bullseye,2400,Unique,Reloader #7 an H or IMR-4895 these an many others in the pistol/shotgun/rifle powder line will work just as well. A lyman Cast Bullet manual will give you bullet options for several commercial bullet mold makers as well as a good selection of powders that work well with a given bullet weight and caliber.

    For most all my subsonic loads I just use 3.0 to 3.5 grs. of Bullseye with a little Lee 32 cal. 90 gr. tumble lube SWC I cast from 50/50 although you can use 3 parts lead to 1 part wheel weights if you want some expansion. It drops from the mold at .315" I size it to .314" for the SKS and Mosin rifles an to .311" for all my US 30 cal. rifles. Average velocity runs in the range of 950 to 1100 fps. depending on case size and charge weight used and all loads are subsonic. Below is a load I shoot in my Sav. pump 30-30 at 50 yds. with the iron sights it works great on rabbits or squirrels or even slightly larger game that needs dispatching.
    [​IMG]

    If I want to step up to a heavier bullet in the 150 to 170 gr. range but still keep the velocity below gas check range under 1400 fps. with the alloy I use Alliant 2400, Red Dot or Unique will fill the bill nicely. For the most part unless better accuracy is provided using the gas check on the bullet I will just leave it off and save them for the higher velocity loads where it is the most useful. Red Dot and Unique usually get the most use for me with these type load with the 2400 reserved for 160 to 185 gr. bullets in the 1600 to 1800 fps. range which is generally where most of my cast loads rifle loads reside. Below is a a 30-30 target at 50 yds. using the Lee 170 gr. RNFP with 7.5 grs. of Red Dot.
    [​IMG]

    It's only when I want to push my cast loads to there limits in both velocity /accuracy that I use the slower burning powders Like H or IMR-4895,I like the Hodgdon version as you can reduce it to 60% of the Max. load with a give bullet weight and work the load up but I have found that when you get towards the upper end of the load using 85% or higher case fill you get much better results. I like IMR-4895 with my 185 gr. RN cast bullets I shoot in the SKS as you can stuff all the IMR-4895 that the case will hold and still not come even close to being overpressure,it's a pretty hard hitting loads but I reserver those for close range bush busting and in general shoot the 155 to 160 gr. gas check cast bullets the majority of the time for general purpose shooting in the SKS and Mosin.
    [​IMG]

    The above 215 gr. FN Accurate Mold bullet was a custom design by a friend who has a long throated Mosin like mine. We both had the same idea in mind,long range accuracy was not important an the bullet was not designed as such as most of all hunting distances around here are 100 yds. of less. What we were looking for was a bullet that fills the throat has about 60% of the bullet engraving the rifling and had good knockdown power out to 200 yds. It has proven itself not by me but my friend who filled all his deer tags with one shot kills.
     
  6. jeager

    jeager Master Survivalist
      272/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    I've had a couple Mosins.
    I no longer have any Mosins and zero desire to have one.
    Mine were pretty much shotguns at 100 yards.
    Accuracy was a bit below my standards and I'm not fooling around searching for a good one.
    I have plenty of modern weapons, far better than a Mosin, with ammo easy to find.
    If one wants a Mosin then that is reason enough to own one.
    Enjoy.
    If I need a longer range rifle I have my Remington in .300 W.M.
    For serious social purposed I have my AR's.
    870 Remington fill the need for a shotgun.
    Tried and true since 1950.
    To each his own.
    ALL my firearms are in calibers with ammo easy to find and always available.
    Survival don'cha'know.
     
Loading...
Similar Threads Forum Date
Bloomberg Article Molds Opinion News, Current Events, and Politics Mar 15, 2021

Share This Page