This section is for reloading and ammunition only, all loads found in here are used strictly at your own risk, if in doubt ask again.
All handloading data posted on Full-Bore UK from 23/2/2021 must reference the published pressure tested data it was sourced from, posts without such verification will be removed.
Any existing data without such a reference should treated as suspect and not used.
Forum rules
All handloading data posted on Full-Bore UK from 23/2/2021 must reference the published pressure tested data it was sourced from, posts without such verification will be removed.
Any existing data without such a reference should be treated as suspect and not used.
Use reloading information posted here at your own risk. This forum (http://www.full-bore.co.uk) is not responsible for any property damage or personal injury as a consequence of using reloading data posted here, the information is individual members findings and observations only. Always verify the load data and be absolutely sure your firearm can handle the load, especially older ones. If in doubt start low and work your way up.
The steel cases are Bulgarian 150 grain silver tip, the brass are reloads with pulled X39 124 grain bullets. It's much cheaper to pull bullets than buy the Hornady ones with the plastic tip.
Not that it will bother you lot in the UK, but brass cases can't be used in an SVT 40 without wrecking them. SVT 40's have fluted chambers to aid extraction.
Last edited by Explosive on Mon Jan 25, 2016 12:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
The gun in question will be a Russian manufactured M44 of 1945 vintage. What is the best diameter soft lead ball to slug the bore with and where can they be sourced, I take it you add the ball at the muzzle end and drive through with a wooden dowel?....it's my first time
If the FB consensus is FL sizing does't badly affect brass life I'll just get a set of Lee Pacesetter dies and start having fun. I've got some H4895 in stock so that should sort me out for a few loads!
A .375" will do nicely, black powder shooters have them beg a couple of a .36" shooter.
Clean and oil be barrel and oil the ball, sit it on the muzzle and hit it home with a soft faced hammer, when in the barrel a ring of lead will come away, push through with a steel/brass rod of near bore diameter. Dowels can break in barrels and cause no end of problems, the slug will push through easily once seated and you can feel for rough/tight/loose spots in the barrel.
Once seated it won't need driving you own weight will push it through easily.
Come on Bambi get some
Imperial Good Metric Bad
Analogue Good Digital Bad
Great, getting a .36 should be easy and with my weight maybe I should put a backstop at the breech! I have a digital caliper, so I then measure the raised grooves on the slug?
The East Germans had a 54r short range training round that used the 124gr 7.62x39 bullet.They were actually produced in Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania to East German specs and had a blackened bullet to identify them as practice ammo.Not the most accurate 54r ammo but the idea was to get recruits used to the recoil of the 54r.
"The only real power comes out of a long rifle." - Joseph Stalin
Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank.....give a man a bank and he can rob the world!.
Well I've just found out that the 54R lee dies I bought on saturday are .308 as standard.
I've now got to buy a lee 303 expander pin so I can resize to fit the correct bullets.
I have a Russian M44 which is .311.
Even more confusing was that .303 bullets arent .303.
Also the reloading data for 54R is for .308 bullets not .303.
Following C E Harris's cast loads for military rifles guidance he recommends a number of low power rounds for gallary and 100m shooting. These loads use Alliant Bullseye which I don't have, however I do use a fair bit of Hodgdons Titegroup. Looking on the latest Hodgdons guidence Titegroup is directly below Bullseye on the burn rate table so these loads should work with TG. Just got to find the 125gr / 150 boolits now
I noticed that in the Lee manual, loads are for .308 bullets, could you let me know where you manage to get the .303 expander from.
