Author Topic: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases  (Read 17441 times)

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IrishRebel92

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source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« on: October 11, 2014, 07:24:19 PM »
hello all, I've decided to reload for my mosin to make some custom loads and since I've already started casting and reloading for 7.62x39, i have everything except the cases.

i'm looking for sites that sell once fired 7.62x54r cases with no preference to brass, steel, berdan, or boxer primed. if i can't find any, i'll probably just buy a spam can and use those, but i'd like to maybe save a little money and find someone who's already fired their surplus ammo and is willing to sell the cases. my range doesn't let you pick up your brass, so that is why i don't have any of my own fired brass. (they claim it's for safety reasons to keep people from picking up and reloading damaged brass, but i call B.S. on that)

also, before anyone mentions that they're berdan primed or that steel can't be reloaded, i plan on swagging the pockets and converting them to boxer primed and have reloaded steel cased 7.62x39 with no ill effects to my dies.

oldchet

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #1 on: October 11, 2014, 07:42:17 PM »
The only places I know of are Colorado brass currently $47.95 per 100 uncleaned, mixed headstamp. and grafs.com, PRVI new unprimed $45.99 per 100.
Chet Vetter

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #2 on: October 11, 2014, 07:47:18 PM »
I'd suggest this if you want to pay a bit extra but get decent quality brass:

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/771?

However, you really need to iterate to your range that the cases are are your property. I assure you their behavior is because they are selling the cases or reloading themselves - not for safety etc. If they insist and you have no other options, at least make sure you destroy the cases with a pair of pliers or ask them to reimburse you for them. That is some BS...

mogunner

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2014, 07:59:30 PM »
I won't shoot at a range that won't let me keep my own brass. Period.

res45

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #4 on: October 11, 2014, 08:44:12 PM »
Back during the summer a friend of mine who own a LGS / reloading / bullet casting business was buying 55 gal. barrels of mixed brass from some indoor range.  He cleaned and reloaded the common calibers for the range to cover the cost of the brass and kept the rest from his own use either selling the cleaned brass or reloading it for sale to the public or other ranges as well as the local PD for practice ammo.

Among the barrels of brass were quiet a few once fire PRVI and Winchester 7.62 x 54r case which he sold to me and my brother for $15 a 100.  We ended up with around 500+ cases each.  I just finished the last batch of 150 cases which we were able to get which are now all sized,cleaned,trimmed to length and bagged and tagged.

Once fired 54r brass is just something you don't run across hardly ever other than the stuff we were able to get just by pure luck,I've only ever seen new unfired brass online.  Graf has about the best deal going.

Reloading berdan primed 54r cases is pretty much a waste of time unless you have some of the Albanian brass case ammo.  The problem is that with the exception of the Albanian 54r berdan brass the berdan primer pockets on all other 54r ammo brass or steel are much larger than the available berdan primers sold at Powder Valley or DAG Ammo which are made for mainly these calibers http://www.dagammo.com/shop/non-corrosive-berdan-primer-c-7/kv762n-large-rifle-berdan-primers-5000-primers-p-47.html?zenid=510ac077e74ef32beafa8fc234122b96 as are the ones at Powder Valley.   

Both stores also carry the LR berdan primers that will work in any steel or brass case 7.62 x 39 ammo that requires berdan primers to reload without having to modify the case. I'm sure your aware you can swage a piece of brass or copper tubing into the over sized berdan primer pocket 54r case using the RCBS primer pocket swage die so that it will take a standard LR primer but case life will be short on the steel case and I don't recommend any full power loads,just light cast bullet plinker loads,but thats just me being on the safe side.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2014, 07:59:51 AM by res45 »
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IrishRebel92

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #5 on: October 11, 2014, 11:58:09 PM »
Back during the summer a friend of mine who own a LGS / reloading / bullet casting business was buying 55 gal. barrels of mixed brass from some indoor range.  He cleaned and reloaded the common calibers for the range to cover the cost of the brass and kept the rest from his own use either selling the cleaned brass or reloading it for sale to the public or other ranges as well as the local PD for practice ammo.

Among the barrels of brass we quiet a few once fire PRVI and Winchester 7.62 x 54r case which he sold to me and my brother for $15 a 100.  We ended up with around 500+ cases each.  I just finished the last batch of 150 cases which we were able to get which are now all sized,cleaned,trimmed to length and bagged and tagged.

Once fired 54r brass is just something you don't run across hardly ever other than the stuff we were able to get just by pure luck,I've only ever seen new unfired brass online.  Graf has about the best deal going.

Reloading berdan primed 54r cases is pretty much a waste of time unless you have some of the Albanian brass case ammo.  The problem is that with the exception of the Albanian 54r berdan brass the berdan primer pockets on all other 54r ammo brass or steel are much larger than the available berdan primers sold at Powder Valley or DAG Ammo which are made for mainly these calibers http://www.dagammo.com/shop/non-corrosive-berdan-primer-c-7/kv762n-large-rifle-berdan-primers-5000-primers-p-47.html?zenid=510ac077e74ef32beafa8fc234122b96 as are the ones at Powder Valley.   

Both stores also carry the LR berdan primers that will work in any steel or brass case 7.62 x 39 ammo that requires berdan primers to reload without having to modify the case. I'm sure your aware you can swage a piece of brass or copper tubing into the over sized berdan primer pocket 54r case using the RCBS primer pocket swage die so that it will take a standard LR primer but case life will be short on the steel case and I don't recommend any full power loads,just light cast bullet plinker loads,but thats just me being on the safe side.

yes actually, swagging the primer pockets with copper pipe is what i was planning on doing. I've got a 100 grain lee mold and am going make some gallery loads that should be around 1300 fps give or take.

res45

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #6 on: October 12, 2014, 04:02:07 AM »
 
Quote
I've got a 100 grain lee mold and am going make some gallery loads that should be around 1300 fps give or take.

Just a suggestion but you might want to keep those first test loads in the subsonic range.  My gallery loads use the Lee 32 cal. .314" 90 gr. SWC cast for pure lead with a light coat of thinned Lee Alox lube or powder coat.

I use any LR or LRM primer and 3.5 grs. of Bullseye with no filler,MV runs in the  1100 fps. range and shoot around 2" at 50 yds. with good penetration.
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IrishRebel92

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #7 on: October 12, 2014, 06:56:37 PM »
Quote
I've got a 100 grain lee mold and am going make some gallery loads that should be around 1300 fps give or take.

Just a suggestion but you might want to keep those first test loads in the subsonic range.  My gallery loads use the Lee 32 cal. .314" 90 gr. SWC cast for pure lead with a light coat of thinned Lee Alox lube or powder coat.

I use any LR or LRM primer and 3.5 grs. of Bullseye with no filler,MV runs in the  1100 fps. range and shoot around 2" at 50 yds. with good penetration.

i was eyeing the .32 SWC mold, but bought the 100 grain round nose so i could use them in my SKS also, since i wasn't sure if they'd feed in a semi-auto reliably.

what is the reason to keep them sub-sonic? if it's for lead fouling reasons, i'm actually going to be powder coating my bullets and from what I've seen, it almost eliminates fouling.

res45

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #8 on: October 13, 2014, 07:16:46 AM »
Quote
i was eyeing the .32 SWC mold, but bought the 100 grain round nose so i could use them in my SKS also, since i wasn't sure if they'd feed in a semi-auto reliably.

I've used the SWC in all action types with no problems,I have the 93 gr. RN as well but didn't find it to be as accurate in rifle loads as the SWC design.    The little 32 cal. RN seem to work just fine for 32 cal. handguns an sized to .311" and shot in my brothers CZ in 7.62 x 25.  In the SKS i hand cycle the action as I had no intent for the action to cycle anyways nor would it with the load I'm using.

Quote
what is the reason to keep them sub-sonic? if it's for lead fouling reasons, i'm actually going to be powder coating my bullets and from what I've seen, it almost eliminates fouling.

Sub-Sonic loads using small charges of a fast powder like Bullseye are relatively low pressure loads in rifle cartridges.  They are better suited for action types other than semi autos like lever,pump or bolt guns since they want cycle the action of semi autos due to the low port pressure.

My main point though is a safety issue especially if your modifying the primer pocket to accept a non standard primer ie berdan to boxer by swaging in a brass or copper ring to make up the difference in the diameter of the primer.  There is just not enough data out there on the practice using med to full power loads to know how safe it is.  I should also note that steel  bottle neck case have a very short case life usually only about one or two reloadings.

Lead fouling is not going to be an issues as long as you have good bullet to bore fit and use proper  lubrication and the BHN of your bullet is high enough to withstand both high velocity and high pressure. If your target velocity is around 1300 fps. I don't think cycling is going to be possible in your SKS anyways.   I've only had one SKS a Chinese that would cycle at the low a velocity but I was using 160 gr. bullets and a slower powder like Alliant 2400.
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jlwilliams

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #9 on: October 13, 2014, 10:12:34 AM »
A few years ago I started to load 7.62x54r but have since lost interest.  What I found at that time was the best option for good brass was to buy loaded brass cased ammo.  I bought a few hundred rounds of Remington (IIRC) and I think that there was a European loaded ammo that was good loadable brass.  I don't remember if it was Privi or if it was a Wolf Gold or other Wolf premium line (which would have been made by Privi anyway) That was long before the last ammo crunch.  I don't know what's available now but at that time it was either pay ridiculous money for fresh brass or pay reasonable money for loaded rounds, then reload them.  If the goal is sub sonic loads for a suppressed Mosin (which is what I wanted to do) then a couple hundred cases will last you a long time.

 

Phosphorus32

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2014, 12:51:20 PM »

my range doesn't let you pick up your brass, so that is why i don't have any of my own fired brass. (they claim it's for safety reasons to keep people from picking up and reloading damaged brass, but i call B.S. on that)
Yeah, that's BS!  There's no such policy at my range.  Find a new range with a better policy would be my advice.  May be worth a longer drive to save your valuable cases. Then buy Prvi at $0.70-75 cents per round, enjoy firing it, and reload the brass.

IrishRebel92

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2014, 05:31:42 PM »

Quote
My main point though is a safety issue especially if your modifying the primer pocket to accept a non standard primer ie berdan to boxer by swaging in a brass or copper ring to make up the difference in the diameter of the primer.

ah, thanks for the clarification, that makes since.

Quote
If your target velocity is around 1300 fps. I don't think cycling is going to be possible in your SKS anyways.

the 1300 fps was just for the mosin reloads. my x39 rounds are gonna be regular charges.

jlwilliams

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #12 on: October 13, 2014, 05:38:42 PM »

my range doesn't let you pick up your brass, so that is why i don't have any of my own fired brass. (they claim it's for safety reasons to keep people from picking up and reloading damaged brass, but i call B.S. on that)
Yeah, that's BS!  There's no such policy at my range.  Find a new range with a better policy would be my advice.  May be worth a longer drive to save your valuable cases. Then buy Prvi at $0.70-75 cents per round, enjoy firing it, and reload the brass.

  Yeah.  Not "allowing" you to keep your own brass is crap.

  If you are shooting a bolt action from a bench, you could easily work the bolt slowly and have it pop put in your hand, not send it skidding across the ground.  That's a good way to go if you want to keep the brass for reloading anyway. That is one reason to be shooting the bolt gun instead of a PSL or other semi in the same caliber, to keep the brass. (That's also why 357 is one of my favorite loading calibers, because it's easy to keep the brass with a revolver.  9mm, on the other hand, I don't do as much because when I shoot outside the brass disappears into the grass.)

  You need to have a heart to heart talk with these range Bozos.  This isn't about "safety" it's about the cash value of scrap brass and tumbled range brass on gunbroker.  Let them know that you WILL be cycling your action slowly enough to drop the brass in your own coffee can or you WILL be going elsewhere.

IrishRebel92

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #13 on: October 13, 2014, 05:58:57 PM »

my range doesn't let you pick up your brass, so that is why i don't have any of my own fired brass. (they claim it's for safety reasons to keep people from picking up and reloading damaged brass, but i call B.S. on that)
Yeah, that's BS!  There's no such policy at my range.  Find a new range with a better policy would be my advice.  May be worth a longer drive to save your valuable cases. Then buy Prvi at $0.70-75 cents per round, enjoy firing it, and reload the brass.

i kinda let it slide because they're a family owned free-to-shoot type range that makes it's money from gun rentals, ammo sales and training courses.

their cast "store brand" ammo as i call it, is in white boxes with nothing but the caliber and bullet weight labeled on it so i know thats where peoples brass goes. it's always priced $1-$2 cheaper then anything else but seems reasonably good for what it is.

the bullets are probably cast from range scrap since they don't let people collect that either. (oh, and yes they have manufacturer's license)

i've been on a local gun clubs waiting list for a few months now so until then, i'll just have to deal with this place.

Phosphorus32

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Re: source of once fired 7.62x54r cases
« Reply #14 on: October 13, 2014, 06:23:07 PM »

my range doesn't let you pick up your brass, so that is why i don't have any of my own fired brass. (they claim it's for safety reasons to keep people from picking up and reloading damaged brass, but i call B.S. on that)
Yeah, that's BS!  There's no such policy at my range.  Find a new range with a better policy would be my advice.  May be worth a longer drive to save your valuable cases. Then buy Prvi at $0.70-75 cents per round, enjoy firing it, and reload the brass.

i kinda let it slide because they're a family owned free-to-shoot type range that makes it's money from gun rentals, ammo sales and training courses.

their cast "store brand" ammo as i call it, is in white boxes with nothing but the caliber and bullet weight labeled on it so i know thats where peoples brass goes. it's always priced $1-$2 cheaper then anything else but seems reasonably good for what it is.

the bullets are probably cast from range scrap since they don't let people collect that either. (oh, and yes they have manufacturer's license)

i've been on a local gun clubs waiting list for a few months now so until then, i'll just have to deal with this place.
Yeah, sounds like a much different business model if it's free to shoot.  I think the private indoor range we have here requires that you buy their ammo and you may have to pay to shoot to...not sure, never been enticed to try it.  Waiting lists to join a gun club!?   :shock: Glad I don't have that problem here in the wild, wild west  :lol:  The only problem I have is limited hours of operation (9-3 W, F, Sa, Su), but it's a really great outdoor range and rarely a wait for one of the 20 shooting benches at the small arms range (that goes to 100 for paper targets and gongs from 200-450.