Welcome to the forum Meelis. Rules are simple, be nice and join in.

I'm not much of a wildcatter so can't help you, but I'm sure some of our members will join in and let you know whats been done to that old Russian cartridge.

 

Thankyou. I hope so too.

 

Lots of wildcats based on the 7.62x54R, mostly developed in Finland. I'm aware of a .25, a 6.5mm, a 7 mm, an 8 mm, a 9 and 9.2mm, and there are undoubtedly others, even a straight cased shotshell.

 

I have heard about them too, exept the shotshell. I know that russians made a bolt action shotgun based on Mosin(i own one that´s made in 1948), but it had a 32 gauge bore(diameter 12,7mm).
The thing is i made a wildcat of my own(7x53R), but it´s nothing like the 7x53R that SAKO used. So i wanted to know if there is anyone who has experinented with the 7,62x54R cartridge?

 

Actually I had a question about this myself. I have an m44 mosin-nagant and I use .311 bullets with really good results. The Lee dies that I bought for reloading came with a .308 expander, I had to get the .311 seperately. It did get me thinking though, how much trouble would it be to replace the barrel with one that had a .308 bore instead of a .311 bore? It may be silly of me to think of such a thing for a $100 rifle but it doesnt hurt to ask I suppose.

 

This was a question I often heard in my gunshop. Barrel blanks can run from 80 bucks for an Adams & Bennett blank to near 300 bucks for a Shilen Match Grade blank.

You also have to factor in the cost of installing the barrel which means a smith has to turn the threads and install and headspace the barrel. Cost of that can run from a hundred to two hundred.

You may end up with a shooter, but it's never going to be a pretty rifle compared to a Ruger, Remington, any commercially available rifle for about the same investment.

For me I'd say no, but given enough money anything is doable, it's your money.

 

It´s strange to read how cheap mosins are in The States... I bought mine for almost $200... and had to change the barrel too...(barrel was $375)

 

faucettb

Thanks so much for the info. Its not really feasible financially for me to do much of anything right now but I thought it would make for an interesting rifle sometime. I did actually read about a sniper competition in a recent magazine, the name of which escapes me at this time, where the writer said the coolest gun he saw, probably for sheer niftyness factor, was a custom mosin-nagant in 300 WSM. From the way it looked the guy spent quite a bit of money on that thing. He seemed to be competitive too althought I dont think he won.

Snarf

 

Actually I thought of another question. Is there anotether action that would work with the 54R case?

 

British Enfield could be made to work I would think. Would have to open the bolt up a bit and rebarrel or set back the barrel and rechamber. Already have a magazine that works with rimmed cartridges with this rifle. Since this rifle was also chambered in 45-70 makes me believe its more than a possibility.

 

Hello.
Anybody heard of wildcat cartridges based on 7,62x54 Russian?

I knew a gunsmith who was converting maximum revolvers to bigger calibers. One was based off the 54R, opened to a .458" diameter, and trimmed to 1.6" Maximum cylinder length.

 

Actually I thought of another question. Is there anotether action that would work with the 54R case?

A model 98 Siamese Mauser will work, May need to open up the bolt face, but it has a magazine designed for rimmed cartridges. I know of quite a few in 45/70's, and I have a .444 Marlin built on one with a 22" barrel.

 

I'm looking into expanding the neck of the 7.62x54R case out to take a .411 bullet. I have a Siamese Mauser and a .411 contoured barrel.

I'm thinking that I should be getting close to a 405 Winchester or maybe a .411 Hawk

CA Dude

 

This is my first post in the forum. I know this is an old thread but the following is both relevant and new.

CA Dude, what you are looking for is the .405 Grenadier. It is made by fire-forming 7.62x54R ammunition or cases. The cartridge was originally designed for shooting 300gr .405 Winchester bullets in the Marlin 1895 rifle. It works wonderfully. A new barrel is fitted and no further alteration is required. That said, a simple alteration of the Marlin 1895 to accept 2.65" cartridges would make it a little more versatile. But I have not made that alteration.

.45-70 case, 7.62x54R cartridge, .405 Grenadier cartridge w/300gr bullet, .405 Grendier fire formed case

.45-70, .405 Grenadier, and the 300gr bullets they each shoot.

.458 Sierra
Dia = .458"
Wt. = 300gr
BC = .145
SD = .204


.405 Hornady
Dia = .411
Wt. = 300gr
BC = .215
SD = .251

It also works in the Mosin-Nagant. Again, all that is required is a new barrel. The Marlin has a tubular magazine so only round nose or flat nose bullets are suitable. However, the Mosin-Nagant magazine allows the use of longer bullets as well as pointed bullets.

The Mosin-Nagant takes four 7.62x54R cartridges in the magazine and one in the chamber for a total of five.
With the .405 Grenadier you only get three in the magazine and one in the chamber for a total of four -- but that's four BIG ones.

Two Siamese mausers are in the process of conversion. More to follow on that as the projects develop.

The cartridge has been proven "in the field".
The cartridge was loaded with a 300 grain .412" Woodleigh SN bullet producing 2,138 fps/3,045 ft lbs at the muzzle.
Deer is a Columbia Blacktail. The deer was shot quartering away. Here you can see the exit hole.

 

I know this is an old thread but I think the following information is relevant.

What CA Dude is looking for is the .405 Grenadier. The .405 Grenadier was primarily designed for shooting 300 grain Winchester .405 bullets in the Marlin model 1895 rifle. The basis of the .405 Grenadier cartridge is the Russian 7.62x54R case. All that is required to change the Marlin 1895 from .45-70 to .405 Grenadier is barreling to the new cartridge. Slip a Russian in the Marlin and pull the trigger. You get a shwumpang! and eject a .405 Grenadier case. I don't expect any shortage of brass.

Left to right: .45-70 case, 7.62x54R cartridge, .405 Grenadier cartridge, 7.62x54R case fire formed to .405 Grenadier (both neck and shoulder are blown out)

The .405 functions and ejects from the Marlin rifle without issue. The biggest advantage of using .411 bullets is the increased sectional density over the .45-70's .458 bullets. The benefit is realized both in flight and in game. Bullets of .410" and .412" are also suitable for the shooting in a .405 Grenadier.

.45-70, .405 Grenadier, and the 300gr bullets they each shoot.

.458 Sierra bullet
Dia = .458"
Wt. = 300gr
BC = .145
SD = .204


.405 Hornady bullet
Dia = .411
Wt. = 300gr
BC = .215
SD = .251

This is exactly what I've been looking for, Grenadier! Any information on where to get a reamer and the best way to go about rebarrelling a mosin?

 

Welcome to the forum.

This thread happened in 2007, but was resurrected by a drive-by member in 2019; who hasn't returned in a couple years.

Cheers