Lee Loader

GasGuzzler wrote:There's no flies on that second cast load.

Honestly, not sure it will work with a non-gas checked bullet. Can't help with the load beyond that.

I made 5 lead loads with the minimum. The minimum load with the lead bullet is good at 25 yards and all over the place at 50 yards. I will load some with the Speer hot core bullets this week and report back. I think the lead bullets are just really unstable and not fat enough. If I get any decent results form the Speer bullets I will try to get pictures too. I need to clean the gun too, so I start with a clean bore.

I sent Hodgdon an email through the "Contact" section on their website asking about the Hybrid 100V in the 7.62X54R cartridge, (suggesting it may be good to add loads to their manual) the official response is below:

"If we do not show a powder in a cartridge it almost always indicates that the lab manager did not find the powder suitable in the cartridge. The powder either was too fast burning and the pressures got high or the powder burns too slowly and will not make adequate velocity to be useful."

I assume with all the different powders they have, they determine the 'best suited' for each cartridge and use them. Interesting discussion though. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Not sure that reply is always the case. No Varget loads in 7.5x55 is a good example. It is a very suitable powder though perhaps not the very best. I posted in the rifle section a target that proves it works even though it is not listed.

I am sure it will work. I just have to get all the parameters correct and be consistent. Haven't been able to get to the range. I am in the middle of a HUGE project at my house and have been getting some minor surgeries back to back at the same time. Between stitches in my head and neck and now renovation work, reloading and shooting are on the back burner. I will be renovating my reloading are after the house is done, which was not part of the original plan, but after taking out an old exhaust fan from my little work shop we will be able to expand the room. It will add at least a foot maybe 14 inches or so. Very nice surprise. I will have a lot more work to do but it will be so nice to get that extra space.

Best of luck on medical issues. Houses take a lot of time from shooting etc for sure. I will be watching for your results as I have been neglecting my Mosin of late.

I am ready to start doing some load testing on the 7.62X54R again. It won't happen as quickly as I would like, but I am starting back on it tonight. I will report back on my results. For now I am using Hybrid 100V and 180 grain bullets. Hope I catch lightning in a bottle...

I made up and tested 2 different loads of 7.62X54R with the 180 gr Speer bullets and the Hybrid 100V. The results were awful. Did not hit the paper plate at 50 yards and were flying all over the place. I will continue to try different loads, but my main attention is on .308 Winchester loads now, which are doing well. I may also make some 7.62X54R loads following the Hodgdon book (using .308 bullets). Just for a little fun.

Not an answer to your specific question but..... I've had very successful shooting my Mosin Nagants with IMR/H4895, Red Dot, 2400, and Trail Boss and almost any weight of bullet of the .314 diameter. My powder choices and bullet weights are now picked to play nice with the blood thinners I get to live with.

JohnnyEnfield wrote:I made up and tested 2 different loads of 7.62X54R with the 180 gr Speer bullets and the Hybrid 100V. The results were awful. Did not hit the paper plate at 50 yards and were flying all over the place. I will continue to try different loads, but my main attention is on .308 Winchester loads now, which are doing well. I may also make some 7.62X54R loads following the Hodgdon book (using .308 bullets). Just for a little fun.

Sounds like the bullets failed to stabilize. IMHO this isn't usually a powder issue. I ran some QL checks and HV100 fills the case before reaching a useful velocity but I have shot jacketed bullets at the same velocities (1200-1300 FPS) in my Mosins and always hit the targets. What diameter are the bullets? Like all military surplus, especially those from nations that mass produced arms, groove and bore diameters vary quite a bit. The rifle model itself can make a difference also as the Finn's used two different diameters in their modified, refurbished Mosin's. The only way to know is to slug the barrel. My Izhevsk 1932 rifle performs best with a .311 jacketed bullet. My son's 1934 Tula Spanish Civil war rifle needs the same size. Both will shoot a .310 bullet with fair accuracy. The M44 that I sold shot both and punished my shoulder equally well.