[kartoffel]

EDIT: Range report on the milsurp 1952 Bulgarian light ball. Scroll down to last post for details.

Last Friday before labor day, on a whim, I picked up a Mosin Nagant 91/30. It was super cheap. Cleaned the bore real good and whaddaya know, it was still shiny and nice. Scrounged up a handful of ancient blacktip AP ammo from the local fishing tackle store (who knew) and went to the local range.

Something snapped inside. Four days later, I've got a C&R application submitted and 1000 rounds of Bulgarian 148gr light ball on the way. CZ-52's are starting to look appealing.

Anyone else suffer from this particular disease?

 

[Adler]

I have 8mm mauser syndrome more than anything. Love that round. Shoot it in my Mausers and my FN 49. I bought 3k rounds of it when I heard the supply was running low.

 

[fatcat]

I am to 7.62X54R and 8mm, I dont shoot it alot but when I do.. I shoot the crap out of it... Man its fun shooting Mosin's The deffening Boom the huge muzzle flash and that explosion of hitting sand stone 100 yards away. Best of all... dirt cheap.

I went nuts and got 5K of each... Lucky I did because 8mm went up alot.

I dont think il ever shoot that much from some bolt action guns so Im going to hold on to it and sell it.

Keep in mind, most is corrosive so clean them well.

 

[einzelherz]

with mosin's it's better to get several types of ammo because strangely, each gun likes a specific type better than others. I only have albanian light ball and hungarian heavy, but i'm poor right now and can't even afford to go shooting.

C&R + available cash = less available cash.

 

[Adler]

Mine hates the copper washed stuff, but loved the laquered czech light ball.

 

[brucelee]

The M44 barks like a mother f'er. Much more than its bigger brother the M91/30... Wish I had a reliable original soviet scope for it that would stat on zero. Neat little rifle with some crazy history (not to say other rifles don't have history or anything like that... I just happen not to have many classics so eat it!)

 

[Adler]

Other killers I have seen are the 8mm M38 Carcanos, which some dude was dumb enough to shoot with full 8mm loads as well as the Steyr Straight pulls.

 

[einzelherz]

Other killers I have seen are the 8mm M38 Carcanos, which some dude was dumb enough to shoot with full 8mm loads as well as the Steyr Straight pulls.

k98 tankers

 

[samit]

The M44 barks like a mother f'er. Much more than its bigger brother the M91/30... Wish I had a reliable original soviet scope for it that would stat on zero. Neat little rifle with some crazy history (not to say other rifles don't have history or anything like that... I just happen not to have many classics so eat it!)

the cut down 91/59 kicks way worse than the m44, you can also see some serious fireballs out of it when it gets dark

 

[kartoffel]

The ammo fairy paid a visit today.

Not bad for 55 year old ammo. If I ever get into reloading, my setup WILL include the ability to reload this beautiful Berdan-primed brass.

Why stop with at FMJ when you can have AP?

 

[Adler]

What is the nation of origin for that ammo? I am going to guess its Finnish since Ruskies and their satellites almost always use steel casings.

 

[kartoffel]

What is the nation of origin for that ammo? I am going to guess its Finnish since Ruskies and their satellites almost always use steel casings.

It's 1952 vintage Bulgarian. The military-grade Berdan primers are pain the rear to decap the first time you reload, but afterwards the regular non-corrosive Berdan primers aren't so bad to deal with.

 

[fatcat]

heh... those tins are a pain in the ass to open.. i almost had to get stitches from opening one.

That is some good looking ammo. I have no idea where mine is from but it smells.

 

[Blindeye_03]

heh... those tins are a pain in the ass to open.. i almost had to get stitches from opening one.

That is some good looking ammo. I have no idea where mine is from but it smells.

lol...whatcha putting your nose up to it for?

 

[kartoffel]

heh... those tins are a pain in the ass to open..

Probably one of the reasons that Mosins were issued with those huge-ass bayonets.

 

[einzelherz]

It's 1952 vintage Bulgarian. The military-grade Berdan primers are pain the rear to decap the first time you reload, but afterwards the regular non-corrosive Berdan primers aren't so bad to deal with.

is that the stuff that was available a few months back? if it looks like that i'm kicking myself for not buying any

 

[kartoffel]

Range report on the Bulgarian 148gr ball ammo--

80 rounds fired. No failure to fire. No punctured primers.
2 split cases.
Kicks a bit harder than modern heavy ball made in Barnaul (aka Silver/Brown bear)
No chronograph, but it could penetrate 3/4" of A316 stainless at 100 meters.

Cleanliness: better than Wolf, not as clean as Sellier & Bellot or Barnaul. It's corrosive, so be sure to bring a bottle of windex and a cleaning kit with you to the range. The rifle gets cleaned BEFORE you take it home.