Cast Bullet Association Blog Rss Feedhttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/Rss2_.aspxRss 2.0 for the user blogs.en-usFri, 25 Sep 2026 12:15:38 GMTCast Bullet Associationchefreiss@gmail.com(Cast Bullet Association)info@morganids.com (Richard Morgan)360Mosin-Nagant Noteshttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2018/3/144/mosin-nagant-notes This article by CBA member, Bob Sears, was published in the May/June 1996 #121 of the Fouling Shot. The Model 1891 Mosin-Nagant is a rifle of contrasts. Although one of the most serviceabl....
This article by CBA member, Bob Sears, was published in the May/June 1996 #121 of the Fouling Shot.

The Model 1891 Mosin-Nagant is a rifle of contrasts. Although one of the most serviceable bolt action repeating military rifles, almost any other ri­fle of the type is better suited for conversion for sporting purposes. The Ml891 bolt is unnecessarily complicated while the trigger and sear mechanism is wonderfully simple.

Ml891 rifles take the 7.62x54R Russian car­tridge, an early and successful application of metal jacketed bullets. For today's use, handloaded cast bullets suit most purposes better. Ed Harris finds jacketed bullets form the military 7.62x54R car­tridges strike from 4" to 12" above the point of aim at 300 yards when the issue battlesight is in its low­est position. Not a good condition for shooting ei­ther targets or game. Cast bullets at low velocity can usually be made to strike point of aim at l 00 yards. They also can be made to fill the individual barrel's groove diameter. Groove diameters vary widely, with some measuring as large as .314".

From barrels in good condition, Ed gets satisfactory cast bullet results using powders as fast as 700-X and as slow as H4350.

Designed by Russian Col Serge I. Mosin and Belgian arms maker Emile Nagant, the Ml891 served Russian and other armies well for over sixty years. Early in World War I, Remington and New England Westinghouse contracted to make great numbers for the Czarist Russian government. Col­lapse of that government in March 1917 and the Bolshevik takeover in November left thousands un­deliverable to the contract customer. The U.S. gov­ernment bought over 280,000 as ''training rifles", selling them after the war at low prices. Those re­maining were sold commercially with some even­tually reaching Russia.

Others made in France, Russia, Switzerland, and China have long been sold on the surplus mar­ket. Plentiful supply at modest cost made the M1891 in all its variations popular candidates for remodeling. Another surge reached U.S. shores af­ter the Korean War of 1950-53 when remodeling military rifles be­came a minor U.S. industry. Re­placing the crude military sights is the usual first step. Better sights improve achievable accuracy while solving the point of impact problem at the same time.

Lyman's No. 36 aperture sight suits the M1891 receiver. As the boh handle is drawn rearward through the receiver bridge, the handle swings the sight arm to the side. When the boh brought forward, 􀁊- IS spring pressure returns the arm to its normal position with the aperture over the bore. Discussing the Mosin-Nagant in his 1928 book Modern Gunsmithing, Clyde Baker sight for a $3.34 rifle is not nearly as foolish as it sounds. Any Lyman sight is worth its price on any rifle regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude".


Stoeger's ''Peerless" remodeling of the M1891 included a Pacific RI ap­erture sight mounted on the cocking piece. The new stock greatly im-­ proved the rifle's handling qualities as well as its ap­pearance. Together with the polished and reblued barrel, these improve­ments helped justify the 1940 cost of $24. Sadly, the long and soggy trigger pull remained unchanged. Although the trigger mechanism is durable and completely satisfactory for military purposes, its possibilities for improvement are limited. Direct interaction of the two parts operates the trigger and sear mechanism The sear is a long thin bar flexible enough to serve as its own spring. It passes under a lug at the top of the trigger to limit sear engagement with the cocking piece while also acting as the trig­ger spring. The lug also serves as the boh stop. Dennis Bruns' article in CB-118 illustrates the mechanism nicely.

No. 36 on Russian 7.62 m/m Shipping Weight 4 oz.

FOR RUSSIAN RIFLES Model Rl for Russians adjustable for windage and elevation. It is the only practical sight for this type of rifle. Allows the full use of the safety, a very important item with any rifle, is close to the eye, making it especially good for a quick follow shots and built strong enough to stand hard useage. Price for one hunting or target disc.................................$4.00.
EN6. Similar to Rl, but for use on bolt sleeve of Enfield Model 1917.





Lightening the trigger pull by thinning the sear from the underside is safe enough. It reduces force on the trigger, but does not change the engagement of the sear with the cocking piece. Consequently the trigger
pull is lightened but is just as long as ever. Lowering the sear adding shims as descnl>ed in CB-118 should be done cautiously because it can change sear engagement as well as lighten the trigger pull. Cardboard shims are adequate to establish a safe thickness. For final instal­lation I would prefer shims made of metal.

Fred W amer of Og­den, Utah descnl>ed a more complete solution in the June 1931 American Rifleman. He hoped his sketch shown here ''would be of use to those trying to make a gun out of something that is a rather tough proposi­tion". The sear is hinged on a pin forward of the trigger. A block brazed to the back of the trigger holds a light coil spring to operate both the trigger and the sear. This arrangement allows independent adjustment of spring resistance and sear engage­ment. Mr. Warner notes that he "made the whole layout in a few hours with a hacksaw, file and drill, with the services of a welder to braze the block to the trigger and harden the sear block." I have never seen a M1891 trigger altered this way, but the op­erating principle appears completely sound.


''Russian Springfields" sold by Bannermann for $14 are nothing more than ordinary M1891 Mosin ­Nagants with the 7.62x54R chamber reamed to take the longer .30-06 cartridge. Bad idea. The rear of the 7.62x54R chamber is about .02" larger in di­ameter than the .30-06 case. This invites the case to rupture on firing. M1891 actions do not handle es-­ caping gas well.

No amount of alteration makes the M1891 rifle completely satisfactory for sporting purposes. Yanking and twisting the cocking piece to make it serve as a safety is not really satisfactory for a game rifle. Cranking the cumbersome bolt from its far forward position is slow and awkward. Nothing can make the Russian rifle the field or target range equivalent of a remodeled Springfield or Mauser.

The best M1891 rifles are increasingly pre­served as issued. Well finished specimens produced by Remington and New England Westinghouse are proudly shown as ''king of the klunker klass". Even the roughly finished newer rifles made in Russian and China are now altered less and less. The Lyman and Pacific sights for the rifle are no longer made and the days of low cost remodeling are past. As issued M1891 rifles of any kind nearly always bring a higher price than those that have been altered.

M1891 Mosin-Nagant Rifles are still widely available at comparatively low prices. Cast bullet handloads provide an interesting and inexpensive way to enjoy a rifle of particular historical signifi­cance.





]]>Fri, 16 Mar 2018 05:57:10 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2018/3/144/mosin-nagant-notesReloading the 8x56R Hungarianhttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2018/3/142/reloading-the-8x56r-hungarian This article appearing in #152 July/Aug 2001 issue of the Fouling Shot, was written by Joe Gifford and Ric BowmanI purchased a Steyr Mannlicher M-95 carbine a coupleof years ago along with 150 round....
This article appearing in #152 July/Aug 2001 issue of the Fouling Shot, was written by Joe Gifford and Ric Bowman

I purchased a Steyr Mannlicher M-95 carbine a coupleof years ago along with 150 rounds of military ammo.After shooting it a few times I started wondering where Iwas going to get ammo when the supply of military surplusammo ran out.

There are a couple of problems in reloading for thiscartridge. First, there is the odd bore diameter, a .330inch 8mm. Then, while the case can be formed from7.62x54 Russian, it is on the short side. After checkingout prices for case dies, bullet sizer die, mould andcases, I began to wonder if I had paid a little too much forthis rifle at 80 bucks. The reloading equipment was closeto $200.

I ordered a bullet mould from The Ammo Dump, inAustralia, from their web page. It is a brass 2-cavitymould; one is a 200-grain plain base, the other is a 215-grain gas check design. It was easy to work with andmade very good bullets. The dies were purchased fromGraff and Son’s (4050 S. Clark St., Mexico, MO 65265[573] 581-2266), they are an RCBS group “G” and costabout $60. Robert Stillwell, of Stillwell Tool and Die (421Judith Ann, Schertz, TX 78154 [210] 658-0112) reamedan old sizing die out to .330”.

My first reloading attempts met with disappointment.I found it necessary to anneal the Russian cases as theysplit on sizing. Then the first loads I tried were too light toform the cases. If the loads are too light, powder gaseswill come back into your face, not conductive of shootinggood groups.

Anyway, after several false starts I decided towork up some loads. The first thing needed was a loadthat would fireform the Russian cases in a single firing.For this I used surplus WC860.

Cases: S&B 7.62 Russian, Powder: 62 grains ofWC860. Bullet: 215-grain gas check and cast from wheelweights. Average velocity: 1672 fps. Extreme spread: 31fps. Standard deviation: 11 fps. This load groups at justover two and a half inches at fifty yards.

The best load so far shoots groups of less than aninch at 50 yards. It is as follows: Cases: Bertram 8x56R,powder: 12 grains of Unique, bullet: 215-grain gas checkand cast from wheel weights. Average velocity: 1235 fps.Extreme spread: 28 fps. Standard deviation: 12 fps.

I also tried the above load with formed Russiancases. The results were similar; 12 grains of Unique withthe 215-grain gas check bullet averages 1246 fps velocity,extreme spread of 18, and standard deviation 7.

The 200-grain plain base bullet with 12 grains ofUnique in reformed Russian cases gave an averagevelocity of 1295 fps., extreme spread of 30, and a standarddeviation of 12.

I wanted to try a couple other powders so I choseReloader 7 and Alliant 2400 with the Bertram brass. Theresults are as follows: 24 grains of RL7, 215-grain gascheck bullet averages 1427 fps, with an extreme spreadof 187 and a standard deviation of 71. This load is toolight, the cases are blackened and the case neck doesnot expand enough to seal the gas.

The load with 15 grains of 2400 with the 215-grain bullet gave an average velocity of 1179 fps., with an extreme spread of 77 and standard deviation of 29.

I started reloading for this cartridge because I was afraid the surplus ammo would soon be exhausted, as it turns out this has come to pass. Century Arms, Southern Ohio Guns and every other source is out of stock at this time. §

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