Shooting com bloc 54R in M39 not marked 'D'

[desert drifter]

I have a 43 Sako M39 that is not marked with "D".

[imageleft]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/l ... zabdxe.jpg[/imageleft]

After researching on line and my own books I am at the conclusion that when the M39 was being make all of the M39s were made with the more generous chamber to accommodate the D-166 requirement.

I have learned that recently there are M39s that are clearly marked 7.62 x 53R.

I cant imagine that any country would make a solid steel bullet. Firing a .311 hard steel bullet in any .308 bore or .311 bore would quickly wear the rifling out of the barrel.

I removed the bullet from a typical batch of late 70's Russian ammunition. It did measure .311 measured with a micrometer.

[imageleft]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/l ... rfllke.jpg[/imageleft]

I then cut the boat tail off. This revealed a steel core with a rather thick jacket as you can see in the picture.

[imageleft]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/l ... ydpmnc.jpg[/imageleft]

With a pocket knife I sliced a thin sliver of this jacket. It was soft and rather easy to slice much like copper. It is on the side of the bullet below.

[imageleft]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/l ... aehxrr.jpg[/imageleft]

The jacket is ferrous. The small sample cut off was magnetic.

So knowing that the jacket is soft, and that all M39s were "D" chambered even if not marked. Am I safe in thinking I can shoot the surplus 54r in my M39? Is there something that you gents know that I missed?



Really sorry about the pictures being like they are. I have no clue what I did wrong.

'drif

[Remiel]

Yes its should be fine, I have put about 50 of the 188 factory surplus thru mine w/o issue. and besides I thing someone here shared that the Finns used to steal ammo from the Russians w/ their own radio calls. Others my chime in but I got most of my info on the M39 from here and 7.62x54r.net

[millman]

It is fine. Have fun at the range.

[steelbuttplate]

The guns marked D are for shooting D-166 or 7.62x54 either one. A regular Mosin not D marked should not shoot the D-166. SBP

[Bugelson]

Like said, m/39 and surplus ammo is a safe combination. No worries.

Yes its should be fine, I have put about 50 of the 188 factory surplus thru mine w/o issue. and besides I thing someone here shared that the Finns used to steal ammo from the Russians w/ their own radio calls. Others my chime in but I got most of my info on the M39 from here and 7.62x54r.net

Well, there was plenty of own ammo to go with. No need to "trick" the Soviets!

But of course captured ammo was also used when needed.

There just was one great difference with war time Soviet ammo, it had steel jacketed lead core bullet. Lead gives in unlike steel core, so war time ammo was ok to go with m/28-30s too, if needed. I would not shoot surplus with m/28-30 even if it had a D-chamber. Even if there were no pressure issues oversized steel core bullets are not that good for the bore.

With other Finnish rifle models than m/28-30 there's no worries with surplus.

The guns marked D are for shooting D-166 or 7.62x54 either one. A regular Mosin not D marked should not shoot the D-166. SBP

All m/39s have a D-throat from the drawing table. Also there is no problem with any Mosin model if the rifle chambers a cartridge with D-166, then it is good to go.

[desert drifter]

Thanks gents. You sharing your knowledge with me is much appreciated.

'drif

[zeebill]

The guns marked D are for shooting D-166 or 7.62x54 either one. A regular Mosin not D marked should not shoot the D-166. SBP

Note that after a certain period of time they no longer marked rifles with a D but assumed everyone was smart enough to realize that all the ammo you or I have is more than likely safe enough to fire. Most all surplus I have shoots in all my rifles regardless of whether they are marked with a D or not. The only rifles I have that I worry about at all are some and not all of my 28/30's and one crazy dang M27 which is very old and has a unit disc and I think a b or c marking on the badge plate. Bill


Also you need to learn the d refers to the chamber ogive ( not sure of the spelling but in plain words it means the transition area of the cartridge I believe) area of the chamber and has nothing to do with the bore. Please try and learn what you are really talking about before giving misleading advice to someone or you could get them hurt.

[Bugelson]

There just was one great difference with war time Soviet ammo, it had steel jacketed lead core bullet. Lead gives in unlike steel core, so war time ammo was ok to go with m/28-30s too, if needed. I would not shoot surplus with m/28-30 even if it had a D-chamber. Even if there were no pressure issues oversized steel core bullets are not that good for the bore.

With other Finnish rifle models than m/28-30 there's no worries with surplus.

Well, just to test things out I went yesterday at the range to shoot surplus through m/28-30s. I had two with me, the other would not chamber surplus at all and the other would accept only Chinese as it is loaded just a wee bit shorter than the Russian. Neither of those rifles had a D-throat.

Well, the other one shot Chinese just fine, no pressure marks or anything. I shot about 100 rounds prone with m/30 sling as a training shoot. The accuracy was just rather poor for an m/28-30 - about 4 MOA at 100 metres.

[zeebill]

There just was one great difference with war time Soviet ammo, it had steel jacketed lead core bullet. Lead gives in unlike steel core, so war time ammo was ok to go with m/28-30s too, if needed. I would not shoot surplus with m/28-30 even if it had a D-chamber. Even if there were no pressure issues oversized steel core bullets are not that good for the bore.

With other Finnish rifle models than m/28-30 there's no worries with surplus.

Well, just to test things out I went yesterday at the range to shoot surplus through m/28-30s. I had two with me, the other would not chamber surplus at all and the other would accept only Chinese as it is loaded just a wee bit shorter than the Russian. Neither of those rifles had a D-throat.

Well, the other one shot Chinese just fine, no pressure marks or anything. I shot about 100 rounds prone with m/30 sling as a training shoot. The accuracy was just rather poor for an m/28-30 - about 4 MOA at 100 metres.

Your results are exactly what I have found through several different 28/30's also. They just don't seem to live up to expectations. Bill

[bunkysdad]

I wish I had a 28/30 so I could enter the discussion but since I reload I feel confident I could prepare a meal that it would enjoy. I have a M28, funny I have had it a couple years now and still don't know how it shoots? I must be slipping these days.

[Lee-online]

I have a couple but don't shoot them too often. This is one I got last winter and haven't shot it yet.

[Darryl]

There just was one great difference with war time Soviet ammo, it had steel jacketed lead core bullet. Lead gives in unlike steel core, so war time ammo was ok to go with m/28-30s too, if needed. I would not shoot surplus with m/28-30 even if it had a D-chamber. Even if there were no pressure issues oversized steel core bullets are not that good for the bore.

With other Finnish rifle models than m/28-30 there's no worries with surplus.

Well, just to test things out I went yesterday at the range to shoot surplus through m/28-30s. I had two with me, the other would not chamber surplus at all and the other would accept only Chinese as it is loaded just a wee bit shorter than the Russian. Neither of those rifles had a D-throat.

Well, the other one shot Chinese just fine, no pressure marks or anything. I shot about 100 rounds prone with m/30 sling as a training shoot. The accuracy was just rather poor for an m/28-30 - about 4 MOA at 100 metres.

Your results are exactly what I have found through several different 28/30's also. They just don't seem to live up to expectations. Bill

Both my M28/30's are as accurate as any of my M39's. Could be just different M28/30's. They have a few more years on them. Dolk

[Bugelson]

There just was one great difference with war time Soviet ammo, it had steel jacketed lead core bullet. Lead gives in unlike steel core, so war time ammo was ok to go with m/28-30s too, if needed. I would not shoot surplus with m/28-30 even if it had a D-chamber. Even if there were no pressure issues oversized steel core bullets are not that good for the bore.

With other Finnish rifle models than m/28-30 there's no worries with surplus.

Well, just to test things out I went yesterday at the range to shoot surplus through m/28-30s. I had two with me, the other would not chamber surplus at all and the other would accept only Chinese as it is loaded just a wee bit shorter than the Russian. Neither of those rifles had a D-throat.

Well, the other one shot Chinese just fine, no pressure marks or anything. I shot about 100 rounds prone with m/30 sling as a training shoot. The accuracy was just rather poor for an m/28-30 - about 4 MOA at 100 metres.

Your results are exactly what I have found through several different 28/30's also. They just don't seem to live up to expectations. Bill

Both my M28/30's are as accurate as any of my M39's. Could be just different M28/30's. They have a few more years on them. Dolk

Do you mean with surplus or in generally? Both of those m/28-30s mentioned above are accurate with good ammo, getting five shots in 1.2" at 100 metres is not hard with those. The one I tested with surplus just obviously did not like Chinese stuff very much. In my experience m/39s do fairly well with surplus in general while m/28-30s could be more picky.

[Darryl]

The one I tested with surplus just obviously did not like Chinese stuff very much. In my experience m/39s do fairly well with surplus in general while m/28-30s could be more picky.

That could be true. I have only fired my M28/30's after market ammo. No surplus. I have fired my M39's with surplus. Not bad accuracy with commie bloc ammo.

I don't have any Chinese surplus. Couldn't say.

Can't shoot anything right now. Our range was closed down for an undetermined amount of time. They had a ricochet report from outside the facility (who knows, could even be bogus) and are closed till further notice.

Dolk