Mosin light vs. heavy ball

[chainsaw]

I will start reloading 7.62x54r soon and was wondering others' preference as to light and heavy ball ammo.Does light tend to shoot better than heavy?

[Noskov]

I will start reloading 7.62x54r soon and was wondering others' preference as to light and heavy ball ammo.Does light tend to shoot better than heavy?

I use heavy ball in my Mosin M-38. The accuracy isn't bad but I don't have any light ball ammo to compare it too.

[97th Signalman]

I think that the sights on most 91/30 Mosin Nagants are calibrated to heavy ball( 174 grain bullet). This is a guess on my part and some of the experts here may know better.

I shoot and reload mostly light ball stuff in mine. Right now I am loading a bunch of FMJBT bullets that I pulled from some very unreliable bulgarian surplus ammo ( I got a lot of split cases and FTF). They are around 147 grain. I also salvaged the powder and I load them both into prevoiusly fired Prvi Partizan cases. I use the same weight powder charge using the salvaged powder as I measured in the rounds that I took the powder from. I use Winchester large rifle primers.

By the way, using the old powder and bullets in modern brass with fresh primers had been very reliable. I have had no issues whatsoever.

For good reliable surplus ammo my favorite is Hungarian Light Ball. I have never had any problems with it.

[Schmitty]

Are you asking from a shooting perspective or a reloading one? My personal preference is light ball in my Mosin (it's gentler on the shoulder); heavy ball kicks like a mule.

[nevada]

All I have is light ball ammo for my mosins. A few cases of it. It is supposed to be similar in power to the 308/30-06, which I think is around 147gr. It shoots light in my 91/30 and kicks me harder in my M44. My 198gr 8mm mauser ammo kicks me even harder.

I've thought of pulling the bullets from my WWII .303 ammo (hang fires, misfires) but then I would have to buy everything else to reload it, unless the primers were still good. Then I could replace the cordite with powder and reseat the bullets.

[chainsaw]

Are you asking from a shooting perspective or a reloading one? My personal preference is light ball in my Mosin (it's gentler on the shoulder); heavy ball kicks like a mule.Recoil is not an issue with me,I owned a m95 8x56r rifle and shot it a lot,I am looking for accuracy at around 300 yrds,an occasional 500 yrd shot or two.I really shooting open sights,factory sights,and I want to start shooting in military rifle shoots.

[chainsaw]

I think that the sights on most 91/30 Mosin Nagants are calibrated to heavy ball( 174 grain bullet). This is a guess on my part and some of the experts here may know better.

I shoot and reload mostly light ball stuff in mine. Right now I am loading a bunch of FMJBT bullets that I pulled from some very unreliable bulgarian surplus ammo ( I got a lot of split cases and FTF). They are around 147 grain. I also salvaged the powder and I load them both into prevoiusly fired Prvi Partizan cases. I use the same weight powder charge using the salvaged powder as I measured in the rounds that I took the powder from. I use Winchester large rifle primers.

By the way, using the old powder and bullets in modern brass with fresh primers had been very reliable. I have had no issues whatsoever.

For good reliable surplus ammo my favorite is Hungarian Light Ball. I have never had any problems with it.
I guess that was my real question,are they designed for light or heavy ball.thanks

[Noskov]

I guess that was my real question,are they designed for light or heavy ball.thanks

Mosins are designed to fire/handle heavy ball. The light vs heavy ball ammo debate is mostly for the semi-auto rifles; the PSL and Dragunov.

[chainsaw]

Thanks Noskov appreciate the reply,Is heavy ball 178 gr or 182 gr,I think I've seen both?

[Noskov]

I believe 150 grain and below is considered light ball. Anything higher is generally considered heavy ball. I had this problem trying to feed my PSL a while back and ended up selling because I couldn't locate a local source for ammo.

[chainsaw]

Thanks man

[SCDonnie]

Here is a link that gives good insight into Mosin-Nagant ammo selection:
http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinAmmo.htm
Enjoy.