Will a 30-06 bullet fit on mosin chamber?

S

semi_problomatic

New member
Obviously not asking this for shooting reasons. My buddy says he has an "old military rifle thats been sportarized in 30-06 that he hadn't shot because the bullet is really hard to get chambered... Like it fits, but that last bit is really tight."

I told him to bring it over and I'll check it out, because the only two I could think of (in 30-06) was a 1917 and a 1903. His discription and lack of familiarity made me think as I was leaving of the mosin. Could the longer 30-06 round fit with the wider throat of the 7.62x54r's bullet? Would it be able to extract the bullet after? (I'm not thinking of trying to shoot this, just wondering if he could've forced the 30-06 into the mosin and that's why he thinks it's a 30-06. So I'm still waiting to see it but it's been bugging me and I have no way here to compare.
 
My guess is "No". The only thing I have to base that opinion on is that of course the Russian ctg is 7.62x54, and the .30-06 is a 7.62x63- Nine mm's of length sure seems like quite a bit to be stuffing into the wrong hole.
 
I don't know about a Mosin Nagant, but strange things happen.

There was a long time dealer, writer, and poster here who was of the firm opinion that the 7.7mm Arisaka was purposely designed so a Jap out of ammo could cram in a captured .30-06 round.

A storekeeper in my home town told a customer that while he did not have the ammo the guy's gun was chambered for, he had something that would fit. "Just look here." It fit well enough that he dumped a bullet into the floor between the customer's feet. The customer and my Dad who witnessed the exchange, beat a hasty retreat.
 
A bit off topic but my grandfather told me just last week that he bought several Arisaka Type 99 rifles reamed to 30-06. Not rebarreled just reamed. Then he would use a .311 expander to fit the correct bullet in the shell so it wasn't like throwing a hotdog down a hallway.
 
I believe Bannerman, a military surplus dealer from New York reworked a bunch of Mosin Nagants to 30-06. This was done between the world wars, IIRC.
 
The 7.62X54R means its a Rimmed cart, ( notice the rim). The '06 is rimless. The Mosin bolt wont hold the round.

Also as mentioned, the '06 is longer and wont chamber Unless, the somebody ran an '06 chamber reamer into the mosin barrel. You would also have to replace or rebuild the bolt with would be difficult to say the least.

The cost to attempt such a modification (assuming it could be done) would be prohibitive. You could buy a wheel barrel full of 7.62X54R ammo or better yet buy a brand new Model 70 in 30-06.

Tell you buddy to take the rifle to a gun smith or someone else to do a chamber cast to see what the rifle is chambered for.
 
Jim Watson said:
There was a long time dealer, writer, and poster here who was of the firm opinion that the 7.7mm Arisaka was purposely designed so a Jap out of ammo could cram in a captured .30-06 round.
Click to expand...

A .30-06 cartridge cannot possibly be crammed into a 7.7 jap, I don't think. I read it was the other way round. When a GI was desperately out of ammo, he would chamber a 7.7 jap in his m1 and fire. The pressure would be high and the brass would split, but he would survive.

-TL
 
Last edited:
Blindstitch said:
A bit off topic but my grandfather told me just last week that he bought several Arisaka Type 99 rifles reamed to 30-06. Not rebarreled just reamed. Then he would use a .311 expander to fit the correct bullet in the shell so it wasn't like throwing a hotdog down a hallway.
Click to expand...
That actually is proper. Back in the days .311 bullets were hard to get. Most people just shoot straight .30-06 in those converted rifles. It worked but accuracy would suffer, .308 bullet down a .311 bore.

-TL
 
What fireguymike said x2...

If it is a Mosin-Nagant, in 30-.06, it is likely a Bannerman conversion.

If so, they're generally regarded a collectibles/wall hangers- and are NOT safe to fire. Like low s/n 1903's, the safety issue is debated. When the barrels were set back and rechambered, the forward portion of the new chamber extended into the barrel- not designed for the high pressure developed by the round.

OP, forward this link to your buddy and see if it looks like a match.

http://www.mosinnagant.net/global mosin nagants/bannerman.asp

In any case, whenever there is doubt as to the chambering of any rifle, it should have a cerrosafe chamber cast done to make the determination.
 
A bit off topic but my grandfather told me just last week that he bought several Arisaka Type 99 rifles reamed to 30-06. Not rebarreled just reamed. Then he would use a .311 expander to fit the correct bullet in the shell so it wasn't like throwing a hotdog down a hallway.
Click to expand...
That was quite common.
But, the "hotdog down a hallway" isn't nearly the case. Most Type 99s have .301-.304" bore diameters. As such, they'll positively engage .308" bullets without a problem. You may have accelerated erosion in the barrel, due to gas blowing by bullets that fail to obturate, but they work just fine.

There are a large number of ".32 caliber" mil-surps (7.7x58s, .303 Brits, 7.62x54Rs, etc) whose owners know very well what bullets they are supposed to be using, but choose to stick with .308s because they're plenty accurate and much more readily available.

Groove diameter isn't the only thing to consider. ;)
 
no, 30-06 will not fit in a mosin.
given your friends inexperience with military rifles, is it possible that he has a model 1917 and does not know the difference between a cock on close and cock on open action?
 
FrankenMauser said:
That was quite common.
But, the "hotdog down a hallway" isn't nearly the case. Most Type 99s have .301-.304" bore diameters. As such, they'll positively engage .308" bullets without a problem. You may have accelerated erosion in the barrel, due to gas blowing by bullets that fail to obturate, but they work just fine.

There are a large number of ".32 caliber" mil-surps (7.7x58s, .303 Brits, 7.62x54Rs, etc) whose owners know very well what bullets they are supposed to be using, but choose to stick with .308s because they're plenty accurate and much more readily available.

Groove diameter isn't the only thing to consider. ;)
Click to expand...

No it is impossible to chamber a .30-06 into a arisaka type 99. The chamber simply is too short. It won't work.

-TL
 
Modifying a Mosin to 30-06 was done and at one time was not that uncommon. Since I have never owned one I don't know the dynamics involved and I understand the accuracy is only " minuet of deer " and the cartridges are not reloadable. So, yes your friend could very well have a Mosin reamed out to 30-06. People have a tendency to forget ( or even learn ) that there have been many times in the past that disposable income was not readily available for anything other than rent and food. The US has had have a number of recessions in the last 75 years ( and I have lived thru a couple at a time when there were no safety nets ). So people did what they had to do if they wanted to get by. An old cheap war gun, reamed out to fit a common cartridge was just the thing to bring home a deer. No one never told these old timers that it couldn't be done. I've seen a couple of these guns in lower Michigan in the 1950's. They were used both in season and out.
 
I've never owned a mosin or held a 54R. I do know what the R means. I'm just trying to figure out why he'd have to jam a 30-06 case into a 30-06 and speculating since I can't look at the rifle right now. Didn't know if it had deeper/wider throats since it head spaces off the rim and not the shoulder...etc. I told him not to be shoving anything in there till he figure out what it was.

I'd too heard of the swapping ammo bit on arsisaka. Heard of the larger bore etc on mosins... One thought led to another.

Thanks for the info
 
um.... I was under the impression that "32caliber" referred to 8mms...( .318-.323) not 310-312...:eek: I have never heard 7.7 jap, 303 brit, 7.62x39, or 7.62x54R referred to as 32 caliber cartridges.
 
tangolima said:
No it is impossible to chamber a .30-06 into a arisaka type 99. The chamber simply is too short. It won't work.
Click to expand...
The discussion relevant to that reply was in regards to rifles that had been chamber reamed to .30-06.
Try checking the context. ;)

Even so... My comments addressed bore diameter and bullet diameter, not the feasibility of cramming the wrong cartridge into the chamber.




um.... I was under the impression that "32caliber" referred to 8mms...( .318-.323) not 310-312... I have never heard 7.7 jap, 303 brit, 7.62x39, or 7.62x54R referred to as 32 caliber cartridges.
Click to expand...
You need to get out more. :D
 
terminology

Will a .30-06 bullet fit on a Mosin chamber?

The bullet will fit. The cartridge won't.
I load .308 bullets all the time for use in my Mosin. Accuracy is as good or better than with surplus ammo.
 
I didn't know anybody who fought in the Pacific theater but the ones who fought the Germans said the 8mm Mauser could shoot the 30'06 without alterations. Most of them didn't know the name of the ammo. They would say the German rifle could shoot the American ammo... :eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top