Mosin Ammo - Light Ball vs. Heavy Ball

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  • DoggyDaddy

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    Anyone have much experience with the 182 gr. "heavy ball" ammo? Just wonder how it performs in Mosins of various flavors vs the 147 or 148 "light ball" ammo.
     

    Archer46176

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    I used some heavy ball once when I went to a farm to kill a cow and a couple of sheep for a guy. I was running my own small slaughterhouse and retail meat shop and would do on farm kills for people who were not reselling the meat. I had a sanitary set up for storing and transporting the carcasses after the kill. Anyway, The sheep were out in a pasture and would not let me get close enough to use the .22... I happened to have the Mosin in the truck and decided to use it. There was a LARGE fireball and report. Once the sheep were hit it looked like someone had a pillow fight when the sheeps wool flew out the other side.
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    Thanks everyone. Recoil and fireballs good! :): I was mainly thinking in terms of accuracy. I'm talking milsurp ammo, so I'm not expecting miracles or anything. From what I've seen while poking around on the interwebz I haven't seen too much one way or the other when it comes to 148 vs 182 grain.
     

    David

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    Did you order yours from SGAmmo? That's what got me thinking about it... it was in their email newsletter. Just ordered a spam can to try out myself. :)

    SG it was, they're getting to be the first place I go when ammo shopping. I have not had a chance to try it out yet but I opened one can and it looks nice.

    I did some reading before I bought it too and from what I could tell more people reported good acuracy from it than not, but a lot of people also said the same thing as Johntheplinker, that it depended on the individual rifle. I have a couple 91/30s and a couple carbines, when I get a change i'll do a test of my own.
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    SG it was, they're getting to be the first place I go when ammo shopping. I have not had a chance to try it out yet but I opened one can and it looks nice.

    I did some reading before I bought it too and from what I could tell more people reported good acuracy from it than not, but a lot of people also said the same thing as Johntheplinker, that it depended on the individual rifle. I have a couple 91/30s and a couple carbines, when I get a change i'll do a test of my own.
    Same here. Looking forward to trying it! SGAmmo is my favorite place to order from... good prices, quick shipping.
     

    lmyer

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    Some thoughts why heavy ball milsurp COULD be generally more precise....... These are just thoughts and not presented as fact.

    I have observed while hand loading - in a Mosin with a marginal chamber/bore with rounded/worn lands, light powder loads ALWAYS shoot the best. I have always thought this might be due to the light load slowing the velocity of the bullet down, so that it will actually be able to achieve full spin when it hits worn lands and still exit the gun as a nicely stabilized bullet. I have also imagined that if the bullet does not achieve full spin, then metal would be sheared off the bullet and this damaged bullet would be highly unstable and probably be very inaccurate to the point of a possible key-hole.

    Milsurp loads are quite hot as far as Mosin ammo goes. What if the heavy ball is simply heavier bullets and therefore slower velocity - possibly being a bullet that tends to stabilize more readily in worn chambers/bores? Also, powder used is usually slower with increased bullet weight - could this further reduce the velocity of the bullet when it hits the lands?

    Just some thoughts. What are yours?

    Les
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    Some thoughts why heavy ball milsurp COULD be generally more precise....... These are just thoughts and not presented as fact.

    I have observed while hand loading - in a Mosin with a marginal chamber/bore with rounded/worn lands, light powder loads ALWAYS shoot the best. I have always thought this might be due to the light load slowing the velocity of the bullet down, so that it will actually be able to achieve full spin when it hits worn lands and still exit the gun as a nicely stabilized bullet. I have also imagined that if the bullet does not achieve full spin, then metal would be sheared off the bullet and this damaged bullet would be highly unstable and probably be very inaccurate to the point of a possible key-hole.

    Milsurp loads are quite hot as far as Mosin ammo goes. What if the heavy ball is simply heavier bullets and therefore slower velocity - possibly being a bullet that tends to stabilize more readily in worn chambers/bores? Also, powder used is usually slower with increased bullet weight - could this further reduce the velocity of the bullet when it hits the lands?

    Just some thoughts. What are yours?

    Les
    My initial thoughts were that it might be more accurate because of the increased bullet weight. Aren't most precision match ammo loaded with heavier projectiles? I don't know... As you allude to, there are other variables at play (powder burn rate, load, etc.). I'm good with fireballs and heavy recoil though... :):
     

    Shootin'IN

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    Jan 11, 2010
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    Yesterday I shot the light ball 7.62x54r ammo.
    2hhoxu9.jpg

    And compared it with the heavy ball ammo.
    r8w7dh.jpg

    I did my comparison with five different Mosins, a Polish M44, Hungarian M44, scout scoped M38, Russian 91/30, & a Russian 91/30 sniper.
    It was hard to tell the difference between the two rounds the recoil of the heavy ball was only slightly more, and the heavy carried just a little farther but that was all the difference I could tell.
    n21jj7.jpg
    My Mosin Nagant Family
     

    David

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    Pretty picture! :D

    I expect that I will find the same thing. With a combination of open sights and aging eyes I think that the accuracy of my rifles (or lack there of) will have a lot more to do with the shooter than the ammo.
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    Thanks! I try to keep them looking good but they keep multiplying, about every month or so there will be a new one to take care of. ;)
    Is that scout scope mount on the M38 the type that attaches to the existing rear sight? I was just curious as to how that's been working for you. Any problems holding zero?
     
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