Loading 7.62x54R - are .303 Brit rounds usable?

[WarriorPoet]

I posted at the Kalashnikov SVD web board about loading 7.62x54. I can find everything for loading this caliber, but cannot find the bullets themselves.

Someone posted on the SVD board that British 303 rounds have a diameter of .311 (suggesting that these can be used for 7.62x54 loading).

Would this work?

[RogerL]

Thats what I use, 150gr .311 calibre bullets, speer or hornady brand
Rogerl

[Bret]

Most rifles chambered for 7.62x54R have at least a .310 diameter bore. I have heard that some of the Finnish rifles have .308 diameter bores. The only way to know for sure is to slug the bore of the rifle that you will be shooting. It is suppose to be dangerous to shoot a bullet with a diameter greater than the bore diameter, but I'm not sure if .003" is enough to matter. Loads with the bullet diameter and the bore diameter the same are suppose to be more accurate, but if you're not shooting a real high end rifle I doubt that it matters. The Lapua and Norma ammunition that I bought to get my brass had .308 bullets. The Sellier and Bellot that I recently bought has .311 diameter bullets. I've always used .308 bullets in my reloads because the 150gr FMJ's are cheaper than the .311 HP's that I could buy. My rifles using these loads are more accurate than I can shoot.

- Bret

[bossman]

My hornady manual discusses the fact that the 7.62x39 has a .311" bore and hornady makes bullets in .310 specifically for those rifles,however the manual goes on to state that some shooters have had respectable accuracy using .308 bullets in those rifles.The problem lies in using .310" bullets in rifles with a .308" bore(like a Ruger mini-30) as higher pressures will certainly result.
I know you are speaking of the 7.62x54r cartridge but the aforementioned info seemed relevant.
The manual states nothing of the 7.62x54 rifles being a certain diameter,all the bullet choices listed are for .308"projectiles.
I agree with the advice of having your barrel slugged to make sure what you`ve got.
The manual speaks highly of this cartridge and a load is listed for the 168g BTHP match bullet,I would be interested to find out how well it does in your rifle.
By the way,what rifle are you shooting this round in?I have been interested in aquiring one of the finnish M39 rifles to shoot in our local military rifle matches.
Bossman

[ 04-19-2001: Message edited by: Bossman ]