The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

OK, so i have been searching and searching and searching and searching an... ZzZzZ, you get the point; of what kind of paper is used to wrap up the surplus ammunition in the spam cans. i know i cant reseal the spam cans but if i can get my own paper i can at least put the bundles back into the crate or store them that way in an ammo can. i dont want to reuse the paper because most of the time i end up ripping them getting the staples out. CAN ANYONE TELL ME what kind of paper it is? Greatly appreciated.

Friend, you have a massive case of OCD kicking in, and I am pretty confident that you are joking here. Quit tearing the paper and reuse the original if you are intent on re-wrapping your ammo. Go to the office supply store or Dollar General and get yourself a staple remover. That paper is special Russian anti corrosion inhibitor and is a secret formula and that is why it has the special smell.
Or.........put your ammo in a 30 or 50 Cal green ammo can and toss in a desiccant pack for moisture protection.

One more thing that I forgot, welcome to the forum. We do have quite a few Dragonov owners here so be sure and show your stuff in the semi-auto section. also, as for my comment on the paper being treated, I don't think that is the case on the newer stuff in the green spam cans, but I had some Bulgarian that seemed to use treated paper of some sort.

Paper is not an ideal way to store ammunition. The soviet steel case ammo is either copper washed or lacquer coated, rarely brass. Paper can contain acids that over time will react with brass case ammo causing it to badly discolor, or corrode green. Acid free paper is available, but not in the weight and color the Soviets used and it's expensive. The Soviets used the cheapest paper they could find, typical brown paper bag material, but they were not reloading ammo with good quality bullets, and brass cases. Any number of suppliers can sell you some 20 round plastic boxes to store your ammunition, or you can simply store it loose in a 30 or 50 cal USGI ammo can.

Well Yes i do indeed have OCD, I do realize that paper is not IDEAL for storing ammo but it would be put into a .50 Cal ammo can. i have searched for the plain white boxes and i haven't found any specifically made for this caliber. i dont like the idea of having loose ammunition, but, thats my OCD kicking in again. Also for the reloads i would be reloading the berdan primed steel cases. which is why i wanted to know what the paper was. i have PLENTY of desiccant packs to put into an ammo can so moisture is not an issue. and totally not joking. i spent a few hours trying to find what this stuff was called. but, in all regards in a second mindset the paper would only get reused once or twice whereas a plain white box would last a bit longer. Thanks for all the help anyway!

Somebody here is, it's not easy as it requires a supply of Berdan primers and tools to remove and replace such primers in the case. I forget who it is.

Get the plastic ammo boxes, I have at least two that I use in my range bag to hold 7.62x54r

I feel that to reload steel case ammo, id have a dedicated set to do so with, as well as converting the berdan primer pockets to boxer primed, with really isnt all that difficult. and once converted you can process it like boxer primed continuously. of course there are several methods to remove berdan primers, mostly using the tool, which is a pain, or water hydraullic, which is wet. But ive never seen someone drill out a primer. which could be a good idea, but ive never tried it myself

For 48 bucks, I bought a bag of new unprimed brass cases, 100 total, to go with all of the once fired cases I have been collecting. Cases came from Grafs.com

Yes ive seen both of those.

I have a Dillon 650 and a couple Lee progressive presses and it is still cheaper to buy ammo by the tin or case.

All the steel cased 7.62x54R I have seen has .254" diameter primer pockets. I used to buy RWS .254" Berdan primers from the original Old Western Scrounger, which ran out of them about 1990, then went out of business. The OWS that exists today is entirely different.

Berdan primers come in a vast array of sizes, heights, hardnesses and explosive strengths, but few have been imported to the US in quantity. If you can believe what they post on the Internet, many manufacturers in Europe still make most sizes, they just are not imported.

PMC brought in some Russian .217" diameter Berdan primers about 2001, the KV762N made at Murom, suitable for full power cartridges such as the 7.62x54R, but too small for all the steel cases I have seen. Recently, the TulAmmo people have been bringing in this same Berdan primer, plus the KV24N .217" Berdan primer suitable for the 7.62x39.

I have seen two types of 7.62x54R with .217" diameter Berdan primer pockets: all Albanian and very early Bulgarian, both brass cased. The PMC/TulAmmo/Murom KV762N works well in the Albanian brass. The primer pockets on the 1948 Bulgarian ammo I have fail about once every 40 rounds, venting a lot of gas back through the action and burning a .217" ring on your bolt face. The Bulgarian came on chargers, which is really the only reason I bought it.

Reloading 7.62x54R Berdan empties is not difficult, taking only one more step than Boxer. And yes, the steel works as well as brass.

I, too, have the Dillon XL650 set up for .223 Remington. Even though I bought the carbide dies, they still recommend not using steel cases. Other than that, once set up, and it's not that hard, it runs like clockwork. So what equipment are you using that allows you to reload the steel cases, or do you only use that ammo in one weapon and skip the resizing?

As far as storing the reloaded ammo, I use zip-loc bags inside of old coffee cans. The zip-locs won't hold up to rough handling, but their OK for one-time use. Take the can to the range and pull out a bag at a time.

If you want to see something strange, after you've cleaned your old brass, set an empty coffee can on top of your vibratory cleaner. As you inspect each shell and blow the cleaning medium out of the inside and ensure the primer hole is clear, throw it in the vibrating coffee can. As the can fills up, the cases will auto-magic-ly stand on end with the primer side down. At least my .223 Rem. & .41 Mag cases do.

The steel case 7.62x54R that I used to reload with RWS .254" primers, and the steel case 7.62x39 I have reloaded with RWS and Murom .217" primers, were sized in RCBS steel dies, and trimmed on a Forster mini-lathe. No problems whatever, but use a good lube like Imperial wax.

I've seen a few posts here and there from folks worried about roughing up their reloading tools on steel. This vid is pretty interesting.

[BBvideo 425,350]http://youtu.be/qBAh_8usXBI[/BBvideo]

The reloading equipment i would use would probably be Lee or Dillon. and id use the standard dies. since steel is a little stronger than brass it wouldn't need much of a resizing. if at all. i have also found that i wouldn't need a dedicated die set. mostly cuz it would be all steel anyway. The cases i get from the spam cans are cheap enough to learn how to convert a few and get my technique down properly. Also for storing i would only use the USGI Steel 50/30 caliber ammo cans, I'd probably use a 30 cal as 7.62x54r is still near a 30cal if you really want to think about it. Also as for weapons use it would only be for a Mosin-Nagant and a Dragunov SVD. once i can get the 7.62x54r barrel. as the Dragunov Tigers, are in .308. and 7.62x54r surplus is hella cheaper than modern .308.