new to steel jacket ammo(7.62x54r)

[alex12/7]

Hey fellas, newbie here, plz help with prolonging barrel life w/steel jacketed lead core 182gr Hungarian yellow tip7.62x54r)Are these mild steel jackets?Thin? My '39 Tula and '43 Ivshvesk 91/30's have found a loving home and I want to keep 'em in the family for my young sons.I'm a proud gun owner and reloader for the past 25 years, but I'm new to milsurp G & A and know only cupronickel. Gentlemen, thank you in advance for your reply, plz help

[ninwnc]

I reload my own using .311 bullets from Sierra. I am no expert on barrel wear, but i would think it's gotta be easier on the bore than steel.

Welcome to Gun & Game.

Nick

[myarmor]

Welcome to GunandGame. An experianced reloader is always nice to have around the woods.
I personally have never shot the Yellow Tipped ammo yet. I am not a fan of steel jackets, mainly due to the danger they pose. I have shot many many 8mm steel jacketed rounds, and from my experiance they will put a hole in dang near almost everything they touch, and won't break up. Also the Silver Tip steel core ammo...this stuff is like a laser.
Steel on Steel will always wear down a barrel quicker than Copper or lead will, of course.
But there are always other options out there for 7.62x54 ammo, besides these. They just cost a little bit more.

[alex12/7]

Thx myarmor for your time and reply,I'm finding out from other trusted sources that a bigger enemy to barrel life is the high temp of mid 1950's cold war single based smokeless powders;not so much steel jackets. The steel used is mild and thin enough to fold into paper airplanes, but I wouldn't tell that to any one who has wore out their brakes to the nub!
I look forward to many talks with you fellas and other like minded folk, everybody out here in Sa
n Francisco bay area wants my guns or so it seems.Speaking of erosive effects of early smokeless powder,the 1930's version of the .220 swift and the 60's .264 Win mag got bad press of bbl throat wear. In all honesty, I think my wuss of a shoulder is going to give out before my barrels are going to suffer!

[ninwnc]

Alex 12/7 wrote:
I think my wuss of a shoulder is going to give out before my barrels are going to suffer!

Cabellas has a gel sholder pad called the "Shooter's Friend" and it is the shoulder "de-wussifier". I have one and just bought my son one for christmas.

It is well worth the about $20.00 price. It will reduce felt recoil by at least 50%. I can shoot all day long with very little discomfort. Makes the recoil from my 8mm Mauser seem quiet gentle.

Nick

[troy2000]

Originally Posted by ninwnc

Alex 12/7 wrote:
I think my wuss of a shoulder is going to give out before my barrels are going to suffer!
Cabellas has a gel sholder pad called the "Shooter's Friend" and it is the shoulder "de-wussifier". I have one and just bought my son one for christmas.
It is well worth the about $20.00 price. It will reduce felt recoil by at least 50%. I can shoot all day long with very little discomfort. Makes the recoil from my 8mm Mauser seem quiet gentle.
Nick

And for the same price. It totally eliminates the black and the blue.

I tried it on shotguns, but didn't like it for that. It makes it harder to set the stock into my shoulder exactly the same way each time I bring the shotgun up for a quick shot. And I don't usually pound out several boxes of shells in a day with a shotgun anyway, like I do when I start shooting one of my Mosins, so the little bit of quilting in a cheap hunting vest does me just fine.

[Geo M44]

I have found that a Past Magnum recoil pad makes the Mosin experience much better. Beats black-and-blue...

[ninwnc]

I have 2 of the "PAST" recoil pads, and the "shooters friend" is what I use. It is much more effective than the "Past" recoil pads.

I was using the "past" pad, and shooting my 8mm Mauser, when my gunsmith showed me the gell recoil pad. I tried it, loved it, and ordered one that same afternoon. I think it's the greatest thing since smokeless powder. <G>

Nick

[Geo M44]

Originally Posted by ninwnc

I have 2 of the "PAST" recoil pads, and the "shooters friend" is what I use. It is much more effective than the "Past" recoil pads.

I was using the "past" pad, and shooting my 8mm Mauser, when my gunsmith showed me the gell recoil pad. I tried it, loved it, and ordered one that same afternoon. I think it's the greatest thing since smokeless powder. <G>

Nick

Thanks for the tip Nick. I'll check Cabelas and Sportsmans.

[alex12/7]

Thx Gents,I'm lookin' for a gel pad tomorrow. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who can feel recoil out there.

[toolman]

Alex, Welcome to G&G. I would venture to say that you don't have much to worry about from the steel jacket ammo as the lead core is soft enough to deform easily. My biggest complaint with all mil-surp ammo is the grunge factor-it's all nasty.

[pball942]

I agree with Toolman. As long as you don't mind cleaning up afterwards you shouldn't have any problem with mil surp steel jacket. I shoot quite a bit of it as I can get it fairly cheap around my parts.

Like to use it on p dogs just in case they are behind a log, or just peek'n out of the burrow.

When shooting p dogs with 7.62 x 54R the way you tell if you hit em if the color of the puff. If it's brown you missed. But if it's pink chalk it up.

[billy]

Originally Posted by pball942

I agree with Toolman. As long as you don't mind cleaning up afterwards you shouldn't have any problem with mil surp steel jacket. I shoot quite a bit of it as I can get it fairly cheap around my parts.

Like to use it on p dogs just in case they are behind a log, or just peek'n out of the burrow.

When shooting p dogs with 7.62 x 54R the way you tell if you hit em if the color of the puff. If it's brown you missed. But if it's pink chalk it up.

yup,, montana mist!

[Geo M44]

Originally Posted by alex12/7

Hey fellas, newbie here, plz help with prolonging barrel life w/steel jacketed lead core 182gr Hungarian yellow tip7.62x54r)Are these mild steel jackets?Thin? My '39 Tula and '43 Ivshvesk 91/30's have found a loving home and I want to keep 'em in the family for my young sons.I'm a proud gun owner and reloader for the past 25 years, but I'm new to milsurp G & A and know only cupronickel. Gentlemen, thank you in advance for your reply, plz help

Alex,

I think that there may be a little confusion in this case, as the bullets are steel core (not lead) but copper jacketed, and of course the shell casings are steel with either a copper wash (Hungarian) or varnished (Czech and newer Russian). Both Hungarian and Czech Milsurp use corrosive primers, so bores should be cleaned after every use... And the steel cases have a tendancy to make the bolt hard to open due to left over cosmo, pitting, much slower contraction than brass in the chamber. If your bolt gets hard to open with Milsurp try pre-cocking (pulling back) the bolt before cycling the bolt. This is a little trick one of the seasoned veteran range marshalls let me in on... and it works great.

Newer commercial Bear and Wolf steel case ammo is non-corrosive and seems to cycle similar to brass case ammo (i.e. easily). At $6.95 a box (20) it is pretty reasonable, very accurate, and a good alternative to corrosive (and sometimes sticky) MilSurp.

Brass ammo is still the best, but is getting pretty expensive, so I reload my brass, to keep the cost down. And it's good therapy.

[alex12/7]

thx Geo for yor reply and info, my gsmith said my chamber was as exactly as you described, invisibly dirty, I must admit enjoying talking to all of you and thx 4 your replies/I have learned alot/I really luv all the ammo purchase excuses Imust tell the ball & chain, Time to put some Icy Hot on the recoil bruises

[Geo M44]

Originally Posted by alex12/7

thx Geo for yor reply and info, my gsmith said my chamber was as exactly as you described, invisibly dirty, I must admit enjoying talking to all of you and thx 4 your replies/I have learned alot/I really luv all the ammo purchase excuses Imust tell the ball & chain, Time to put some Icy Hot on the recoil bruises

Where do you shoot... up in Silly-cone-Valley?

[alex12/7]

thx pball/ my younger bro @ 75Ranger Bat at Ft benning and all his friends got a kick out a yer reply;Rangers know all about mist! Since your last post on this thread I've done about 560 rds 182 Hung. heavy ball yellow tip lead jckt w/no ill effect on one of my 91/30's.Rifling stil's shrp and strong/cheap,plentiful and very loud,what else do you want for plinkin'.

[billy]

Originally Posted by alex12/7

thx pball/ my younger bro @ 75Ranger Bat at Ft benning and all his friends got a kick out a yer reply;Rangers know all about mist! Since your last post on this thread I've done about 560 rds 182 Hung. heavy ball yellow tip lead jckt w/no ill effect on one of my 91/30's.Rifling stil's shrp and strong/cheap,plentiful and very loud,what else do you want for plinkin'.

i cant think of anything else i want outa plinkin at the moment ,lets see fireballs, noisy as !!!!,cheap, yup that just about covers it...

[MosinDave]

Originally Posted by billy

i cant think of anything else i want outa plinkin at the moment ,lets see fireballs, noisy as !!!!,cheap, yup that just about covers it...

Always fits my bill too

[arkady]

Originally Posted by Geo M44

Brass ammo is still the best, but is getting pretty expensive, so I reload my brass, to keep the cost down. And it's good therapy.

I know you're kidding, but there's some truth in that. When I reload, I get into a sort of rhythm -- decap, swab pocket, trim; decap, swab pocket, trim... It really is relaxing, in a kind of hypnotic way.