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Ammo
Sniper
Ammo 7N1
Many
people have written to ask about ammo sources for their Mosin Nagant.
Surplus ammo abounds for these rifles and can be purchased via mail
order by virtually any adult through trade magazines like Shot Gun News
and on the web. The only special requirement is that it is shipped
marked OrmD and you usually need to show proof of age by faxing or
mailing a copy of your drivers license or your C&RFFL. Always
check your local and state laws regarding the purchase and storage of
ammo.
When
purchasing surplus ammo, inspect it closely. You will be ordering
7.62X54R. Do not confuse this with 7.62X51 or .308 Nato.
Make sure that it is clean, not dented, and not covered with
any kind of film or  chemical
substance. Also be cautious of ammo intended for use in machine guns.
Those types of rounds are dangerous when fired in a rifle due to their
greater pressures. Also, if you are not familiar with the ammo you want
to purchase, buy a limited quantity for test fire purposes. When test
firing new ammo, take appropriate precautions to guard against
potential hazards. Prior to firing any ammo, ensure that your rifle has
been checked for proper headspace and that your firing pin is correctly
adjusted. Safety glasses should be worn at all times when firing a
rifle or hand gun anyway. If you are satisfied with the ammo, order it
in bulk and gain the price savings that normally go with bulk purchases.
Bulk Ammo
Ordering ammo in bulk
enables you to save a bunch of money. A package of 20 rounds of the
same ammo would cost you as much as $ 40.00 (Current
Cheaper-than-Dirt price for 7.62 Russian Norma Rifle
Cartridge, 180-Grain Soft Point Bullet) as
opposed to roughly $7.00 when bought in bulk.
Typically, bulk ammo comes in 440 round cans
This particular batch is
dated 1981 and came from factory 60 as indicated on the head stamp. The
first thing you are confronted with is how do you get the can open. The
most expedient method is a drill with a carbide disk. You just grind
the top of the rim all the way around and the top will come right off.
If like me you don't have a drill, the alternate method is a hammer and
chisel. Even better is the handy-dandy Ivan's State Issued heavy duty
can opener.
The
can opener is used just like it's puny civilian equivalent.
Once the lid and inner liner
are removed you can pull the paper wrapped bundles of cartridges out by
removing the first bundle with the ribbon lifter.
Open one of the packages just
to perform a quick visual inspection for condition.
Loading a Stripper
Clip
One of the more frustrating
chores in using a Mosin stripper clip is loading the rounds so that
they don't catch on each other jam up when you attempt to chamber a
round. Each round needs to be placed in the stripper clip so that the
rim of the preceding round is behind the round being inserted
into the clip. This prevents the round from being jammed by the rim of
the round below it when it is being loaded into the chamber.
Illustration
by Drew Cartwright
If you hand feed the rounds
into the magazine, they should go in the same way.
Notes
Most of the ammo on the
market today is coming out of the former Soviet client states in the
Balkans. Many people have complained about the lacquer coated ammo
causing their bolts to become hard to open. Often, this is a sign of a
dirty or badly pitted chamber and is easily corrected by cleaning the
chamber correctly.
There also seems to be trend
of favoring heavier bullet weights. These rifles were designed to fire
the 148 gn. standard ball. The heavier weighted rounds are primarily
designed for use in the SVD and light machineguns. I have tended to
avoid these after a catastrophic failure that occurred while shooting
East German heavy ball manufactured in Czechoslovakia.
A note on corrosive ammo: Consider all military
ammo for the Mosin Nagant as being corrosive. That being said, don't
let it scare you. All you need to do is clean your rifle promptly and
correctly after firing. For the cleaning process, refer to the
"Cleaning" section on this site.
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