need help clarifying CTG

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skizzums

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I was studying on making a 6.5x54R Vostok from a blank and a stripped mosin receiver. After messing around looking at PTG for a reamer, I came across the 6mmx54 "rimmed". My interested soon switched to the 6mm, one since they have the reamers for rent and also with the 6mm's success with sub 40gr's of varget shooting extreme long distance, a case capacity that would likely be similar to a necked down 54R(I know it's not the same, but I think it could possibly be quite accurate). But after looking at the dimensions of this 6.5x54R, they seem to be a little off from my sized 54r brass. Is this particular ctg something else entirely? there is a lot of confusing ctg names out there that end with 53-54R with very little info out there. anyone know anything about the 6mmx54R? can it be made from 54R Russian brass?

here is the reamer that stoked my interest. google shows my very little information. can you tell me what firearm this was for and if it has a parent case or if this is just an old and forgotten ctg. at first glance I was joyous assuming their was a rentable reamer for a 54r wildcat...
http://www.4-dproducts.com/displayitem.php?rowid=414&tname=rental

I am also reading that instead of getting special dies made with the kit from PTG, you can just use a standard 54r FL and buy neck sizing dies for your desired caliber, assuming keeping the shoulder angles of course, this for the Vostok anyways.

As I narrow down my desired chambering and whether I can find a reamer out in the market or have to have one custom ground or hopefully rent, I will be asking many more annoying questions. thank you to anyone who can help me out. this will be my first venture into a custom rifle, which I why I plan to keep it on the low end using a mosin as a base platform, plus the mosin appears to have the strength to most anything I could imagine with a modern barrel, many 300WM out there and I was reading earlier a 405 win and 416, craziness. I was just want a soft recoiling, flat shooting, possibly sub MOA custom rifle that I can say I made myself. I figure the 6mm may be the ticket, although 6.5 seems more interesting.
 
I unfortunately can't help with your cartridge question, but I do have another thought.

If you're looking for a 6.xx millimeter cartridge, flat shooting with low recoil, have you considered a Mauser? They're available in 6.5X55 and 7X57 which are both known to be flat shooters with relatively low recoil. The Mauser platform allows for other non-rimmed cartridges and would open up your options a bit. Mausers are known platforms for custom target rifles.

If you just want to do it on a Mosin for some reason, that's cool too. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the cartridges you're asking about.
 
I know it makes no sense to many people, and I totally understand why. I could spend less dough on a new ruger in 6.5CM and be out shooting in a day with a likely more reliable and accurate rifle. this is just something I am dying to do, my brain I stuck on it and can't think about anything else. when I get like that, it's over, it must be accomplished or at least attempted and failed.

I do have a few sensible reasons for the mosin donor though. always dozens of stripped homeless receivers for sale in the 40-60$ range. bolt assemblies are a dime a dozen and has thick and strong lugs. I have just invested a couple hundred dollars on several hundred rounds of virgin 54r brass. The rounds I am contemplating will require no mods to boltface/extractor and should feed just the same from stock mag(will stick with archangel mags hopefully). if I screw something up I am out very little money for parts. Plus, I don't see why a good trued up/tight receiver with a match barrel and a large capacity parent case can't be as accurate as any other target rifle, so long as I build up recoil lugs and a solid chassis(obviously won't be a BR champion or anything, but I think if done properly could stand it's own with target mausers). I have enjoyed the simplicity of the moin nagant rifle since I first laid eyes on one. I have bought and sold a half dozen in the last couple years and still hanging onto three. I think this will be a good and affordable option for a first fully custom rifle build. when I feel I have the experience I will move on to better suited target actions, but for now this is within my reach. I know nothing of mausers except I do think their actions seem tough to beat for tight lock-up, but just not wanting to go there yet, and I already have so much of the components/parts for what I am trying to do.

five days ago I knew ZERO about building a custom chambered action outside of the very basics. I have already learned so much in just the last few days and am very excited o work through the process of a total conversion of a rifle. the only thing that will remain "stock" will be the stripped receiver and parts of the bolt. that's an exciting thought for me. other than the threading of the receiver end, I think I will be doing everything else myself. I will play with my lathe some more next week and see if I can't fashion one of those long spider housings with at least 12 brass tipped bolts, and if I can get the old girl to stay true using a barrel indicator rod, I will likely attempt the chambering myself. I was fortunate enough to find a 4-jaw chuck packed away in a box, so that's a good start and also found a backplate which I am unsure exactly what to do with all this, but that's the fun. if I can get the lathe to run concentric, I will ream and turn my finished OD from a semi-rough blank, I will need to talk to some stckmakers (you know who you are" about if I need contouring or if I can just go with a solid straight barrel with the same OD from receiver to muzzle( I can't see why not, but maybe I am missing something).

sorry for the long post. if I cannot find more info on the 6mmx54 rimed here and another forum, I will visit my local smith and see if he can help me out with info. ATM I a only interested in a chambering that I can still utilize my 54R brass as it's parent.
 
After looking at the 6mmx54R again and comparing to the actual 54r, there is no way that's going to work. Actually, I studied every single 6mm cartridge I could find dimensions on, and I don't think any will work, they all appear to be a .100th or more smaller in size at the base, as the 54r tapers up, it starts to get equal or smaller than the 6mm rounds since most don't taper, that would allow for easy fireforming, but with the smaller bases, almost all being in the 4700's with the 54 being almost .4900, I don't see it a possibility.

Is there any way to just ream the case body part of the chamber for the standard 54r, and then just do the neck and throat ream of my choosing in 6mm. Or do I just have to come to terms with the fact that I will have to have a custom reamer ground if I am stuck on the 6mm? If so, I guess I will track down on of the volstok reamers that are floating around. Help me out if any of this is making sense to anyone. Anyway to use available reamers in 6mm that will also allow my case body to fit, is there another way around this? Do they rent reamers that only do the case body, I see many that just do the shoulder and up, and throat only etc.

P.s. I am fully aware that I can get a reamer made for this project. Right now, jist trying to figure a way to avoid that. If its not possible, then its not possible.
 
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The reamer may be the least expensive part of the project. The dies can get VERY pricey on these projects. I did one in 8MMx54R once and just used an 8MM sizer ball with full length 7.62x54R dies. If you experiment with mixing dies (And if you feel capable!), you may only have to have the reamer made for what you can produce. If you watch the depth of your dies when you reform the neck, sometimes you can get away with it. With a 6.5, you are only going down about .025 per side. Going down can be done sometimes. I did a 7MM-40 Krag like that once. Just some options to think about.

If you get a reamer made, you can rent it out a couple times. It should be a hot item.
 
There is only one smith local to me that I trust and respect. After a lengthy conversation I asked what it would run me to have him thread the barrel for the receiver. To my absolute displeasure, he said "sorry, I don't do mosin re-barrels". After replying back that I don't need him to rebarrell or even team the chamber, that I just simply need a barrel blank threaded, it's no different than if I brought you blank for any other rifle. You don't need to take possession of the receiver or have anything to do with the "mosin nagant" itself, jist need a 16tpi thread, .940 shoulder to end, almost identical to a REM 700 threading except a 55* rather than 60*. I said how about I just say this is for a custom BR build and who cares what on going to screw it into. I got a quick reply back, "i am sorry for your situation with your lathe, but I am backed up on custom orders at the time and will have to pass on your project". I had heard rumors that people have a hard time finding a smith that will work on Mosin's, I thought that was just talk. Very disappointed. I guess I will just have it threaded from the barrel supplier.
 
Try sending a pm to Clark here on TFL. He plays around with M-N rifles a bit, maybe he would share some insight on how and what to do.
 
At one time I had a reloading book from that powder company (Vihtavori) in Finland. That is where I got the idea to do the 8MMx54R. That book had a lot of wildcats and loads listed for modified Russian rifles. There were no drawings because they were wildcats. There have been a lot of odd cartridges made from the 7.62x54R over in Europe. It was around over there a long time. You just never heard about them in the US because nobody wanted anything to do with a rimmed case or the oddball rifle it went in.
As for people not wanting to work on them, they suck. Some of the barrels are unbelievably hard to get off, even with the proper tools at hand. I had to cut a groove right in front of the receiver to get one off, and I have a pretty manly barrel vise and wrench set up. You could put the extractor relief cut in the barrel with a Dremel if you are careful, but I think you should take stock of the tooling you will need before you get too far involved in this.
 
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