Questions concerning 7.62x54MMr ammo for a mosin nagant.

K

Kimio

New member
Today I went to a gun show and found a group of ammo dealers selling tins of 7.62x54 for dirt cheap compared to what I'd normally pay. 440 rounds for $85.95. However, I was not able to actually see the round itself, further more the grain was lower than what I am currently purchasing. 175 grain is what I got now, the rounds for sale were 140 grain.

From what I understand they do use corrosive primers and also are made of steel. My concern is if this ammunition is ok to purchase. Any suggestions would be appreciated, I do remember reading somewhere that it is advised to try and buy a familiar brand name when possible, and generally you don't want to buy a crate of ammo that's just bunched in a plastic bag or something.
 
If the ammo is in sealed tins, I'm sure it's fine. I wouldn't have any issue buying it I mean after all, it was produced to be used in 7.62x54R chambered rifles for military use. It was also stored in sealed tins so it would be ready if it was needed.

Even if it's corrosive, if you clean the gun after shooting it you won't have any issues.
 
True, and I highly doubt I'll burn through 440 rounds any time soon. Seeing that I also don't usually shoot beyond 100 yards at the moment with Irons, the bargain price is almost irresistible. You simply can't get a better deal than that if you're looking in a regular gun shop.

So it should be safe? Should I worry about accuracy since it's a lower grain round?
 
You should be fine. I got two tins of this stuff, almost bought it from AIM but got it from an individual for cheaper and it's either Russian surplus or Bulgarian surplus. One tin was opened and the other is still sealed.

I've read the Mosins like to be fed heavy ball and the PSL/Dragonovs like the lighter ball but I can't really tell.

Post a pic of the case stamp markings, someone here should be able to tell you what you got for sure.

If it's in a tin with cyrillic letters all over it you got, I'd assume it's corrosive. Even some dealers (cough, SOG, cough, cough) like to put "non-corrosive" on what everybody else knows is corrosive. Just treat all as such.
 
Probably Czech 'light ball', and it works great. I bought two tins before all this ammo craze for $90, and it amazes me the stuff doubled in price. It was 'minute of man' at 300 yards through my M38.

You're right though, 5 years and I barely got through half a tin.
 
So it should be safe? Should I worry about accuracy since it's a lower grain round?
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It will be fine. Accuracy will be what it is but you won't know until you shoot it but even with that, as plinking ammo I don't think you'll have any concerns with how it performs. Considering you are using open sights too, I doubt you'll notice any difference between it and other ammo.
 
I bought some sealed cans of 148gr. Its the copper-washed stuff and works really well. I try to avoid the laquered cases as they gum up my chambers really fast.
 
I have and have used a few tins of both the heavy and light ball. Yes they are corrosive and each rifle seems to prefer one or the other but either give adequate accuracy. However, with the mosins, either work well. Luckily, I bought them a few years ago when they were between $30 and $40 a tin.
 
Corrosive primer for sure, but if you clean right after firing (like the same day, no need to be withing 15 minutes) You'll be fine. The cases are steel and not reloadable. Some of the ammo has copper washed steel bullets too. These are not allowed on many firing ranges because of the fire danger from sparks. They are Berdan primers and I know of only one outlet in the US for Berdan primers. You CAN reload Berdan primers, but it takes a special tool (easily home made) to remove them. Use your regular primer tool to re-insert them.
 
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