7.62 x 51r

Afro hunter

Well-Known Member
Is there anything else is I can use my Mosin Nagant 7.62 x 54r for apart from target shooting. I strongly think it's a fantastic calibre:rolleyes:?
 
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Is there anything else is I can use my Mosin Nagant 7.62 x 51r for apart from target shooting. I strongly think it's a fantastic calibre:rolleyes:?

7.62x51r Is that a typo, didn't you mean to say 7.62x54r ? Isn't 7.62x51r also known as .30-30 winchester?

Don't see any reason why you couldn't use it for stalking with the right ammunition.
 
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Surely 7.62 x 51 is the standard NATO round.
Similar, but not the same as .308 Winchester.
 
Moisan Nagant is 762/308x54R BUT the Russians had and still have a nasty habit of rounding calibres down. If you slug the bore with some soft lead well oiled and tapped down the barrel using a dowel drift then micrometer the slug you'll find it will come out with a bore diameter of 310 assuming the barrel is in good condition. Hornady do a 303 head which is actually 310.5 diameter and is suitable for target shooting. Using the the Nagant for hunting you can get speer hot core 303 cal 150 grain heads 311 diameter. These will fit extremely well with no over pressure and very accurate.
 
Surely 7.62 x 51 is the standard NATO round.
Similar, but not the same as .308 Winchester.

That's right but .30-30 win can be known as 7.62x51r despite the fact that it is not at all similar to .308win. Thats because it's a30 cal bullet (7.62mm) with a 51mm long case and it is rimmed.

The mosin nagant is 7.62x54 rimmed. I have never heard of or seen a mosin nagant in .308 win or 7.62x51 nato that's not to say it hasn't been done. The 7.62x54r has been used by many Russian and Finnish hunters over the years to hunt deer, bear, boar and moose.
 
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Russian bores are NOT 308 diameter!! As I said in my previous post the bores are 310 diameter! A standard 762 head won't connect with the lands properly and you end up with the rifle shooting all over the shop!
 
I'm aware of that Dragunov but its cartridge case designation that we were discussing. I've never reloaded for the Russian cartridge but a fellow club member does and he uses .311 bullets that were really intended for .303 that you previously mentioned. The difference may look odd to some but as has already been mentioned it's the way they are measured the one being bore diameter and the other groove diameter.
 
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I reload 762x54R regularly. Thats where the name Dragunov comes from. 762x54R is the standard round from WW2 used in the Moisan Nagant which the original poster was asking about. Dragunov is the modern sniper rifle used for squad support and it uses the old 762x54 round. I'm guessing that jcmita mistyped the calibre as 51 instead of the 54.
 
Tomorrow, I will pick up a Dragunov, and I am sure that my dealer said that it is chambered in .308. This is a genuine Izhmash produced rifle, not a Chinese Norinco knock off. I will clarify the calibre and post some pictures as well.

Regards
 
It very well could be Conor - I was reading on another site some weeks ago of Dragunov straight pull rifles in .308win. I few people were surprised that they were being offered in this cartridge in addition to the original 7.62x54r.
 
It very well could be Conor - I was reading on another site some weeks ago of Dragunov straight pull rifles in .308win. I few people were surprised that they were being offered in this cartridge in addition to the original 7.62x54r.

Dont mind if it is 308 or 7.62x54r.............it will be semi auto and not straight pull!

Thanks for the information.

All the best
 
Yes you live in a civilised country that isn't paranoid about semi autos so can enjoy your rifle as it was originally intended. I always fancied trying a real dragunov in the original Russian chambering. Have fun.:drool:
 
Yes you live in a civilised country that isn't paranoid about semi autos so can enjoy your rifle as it was originally intended. I always fancied trying a real dragunov in the original Russian chambering. Have fun.:drool:

Aye indeed, it is a very civilised country.
 
It very well could be Conor - I was reading on another site some weeks ago of Dragunov straight pull rifles in .308win. I few people were surprised that they were being offered in this cartridge in addition to the original 7.62x54r.

Yes they started making them in 762x51 or 308 if you prefer that nomencleture.They are being made for the european market but the originals and Russian issue are 762x54R. You can specify which calibre you want and they'll supply it. They have also made Kalashnikovs/Saiga in 556/223 calibre again for the european market. Here is the link for the UK supplier SVD Dragunov Tigr04 sniping rifle
 
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Yes Dragunov, I have shot a Kalashnikov in .223 some years ago when one of our club members bought one. He liked it but I wasn't too impressed I much prefered the original AK that again belonged to another club member and I had the oportunity to shoot prior to the semi-auto ban. Perhaps that was because we weren't too concerned with how accurate it was but just enjoyed banging away as fast as we could. Funny thing is the .223 was quite ammo fussy but the 7.62x39 wasn't.
 
I've been fortunate enough to have handled quite a few weapons during my career, it's a great pity we lost the right to have semi auto weapons. Of all the weapons I have handled my favourite was the bren chambered in 762x51 closely followed by the #4 mk1 enfield and the FN. The tolerances on the Kalashnikov 762x39 are not as tight as they are on the 223 version hence they're not as fussy about the ammo.
 
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I've also had the pleasure to have fired the L4 Bren long ago, but never was fussed on the No 4. Perhaps that's because I remember it kicking the hell out of me in my cadet days. It was a real pleasure to shoot a .270win by comparison many year later which was my first full bore rifle and on which the stock was properly designed and not just shaped to be used as a club. Now that will probably seem like treason or sacrilidge to some people but I have never looked on a number 4 with any affection as a result. I much prefer sporting rifles.

I also think back to how unpleasant it was to shoot the SLR when I was in the RAF but that was more due to the ill fitting ear plugs they gave us and the covered firing points on the station range. I can still hear my ears ringing today at the thought of it. So much for health & safety. Firing on the station range was an absolute misery.
 
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I have a #4 mk1 here my son used it when he was 9 years old shooting at 600 yards on open sights on Altcar range, I should have known the little bugger was going to be good he dropped 9 out of 10 in the black. I also have a genuine para version Dragunov made by Izmash 762x54R straight pull and the lad is just as good with that. He has matured a bit now though he's 22 so he pays towards the ammo costs.
 
Bore size in Mosin Nagant can depend on where it was made. years ago I bought a new unissued 1954 Nagant M44 from York guns that was made at Radom in Poland. We also bought a case of steel cased ammunition that upon measuring the bullets were 0.308 diameter and they shot superbly well. Depending upon which country one looks at teh Mosin Nagant cartridge is known as 7.62x54R or 7.62x53R.

The Lapua cases I bought are labelled 7.62x53R.

So slug the barrel and see what bore and groove size you have then load bullets to suit.
 
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