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Special ammo for century old rifles?

TeufelgundenArmory

TeufelgundenArmory

Operator
Pardon my lack of knowledge, and thanks in advance for any advice and knowledge you can provide me.

Yesterday, I purchased one of my favorite bolt-actions (it's 89 years old - 1936 Tula factory Mosin) and it dawned on me that I don't know that much about ammo when it relates to older rifles. With today's technology and advancements in powder/ammo/ballistics/etc, do you have to use a specific type of ammo for older rifles, or will any 7.62x54R work?

Note: I won't be shooting it a lot, primarily because I want to see it make it to that century mark. That being said, the shop I bought it from is a small shop in Michigan that doesn't have the capabilities to test-fire, so I plan on shooting a couple rounds through it for that purpose.

Thanks again for any insights you can give.
 
Any ammo will work.

Corrosive is no big deal as long as you clean properly afterwards; either used a water-based cleaner designed to neutralize the primer salts, or simply pour hot water down the bore before doing a normal cleaning routine, making sure to use a protectant oil afterwards.
 
From...

thecmp.org

M1 Garand - Civilian Marksmanship Program

M1 Garand rifles sold by CMP are authentic U.S. Government rifles that have been thoroughly inspected, with a variety of available grades.
thecmp.org thecmp.org

Dear CMP Family,

The CMP advises to not use .30/06 ammunition in M1 Garands, 1903s, and 1903A3s that is loaded beyond 50,000 CUP and has a bullet weight more than 172-174gr. These rifles are at least 70 years old and were not designed for max loads and super heavy bullets. Always wear hearing and eye protection when firing an M1 Garand, 1903 and/or 1903A3 rifle.

This warning is an update/addition to the Ammunition section in the Read This First manual enclosed with each rifle shipment (M1 Garand manual-page 6 and M1903 manual-page 10).

Civilian Marksmanship Program

and...

www.thefirearmblog.com

CMP Warns Against the Use of .30/06 Ammunition In Certain Rifles

In their latest site update, CMP warns against the use of certain types of ammunition inside specific rifles that are at least 70 years or older.
www.thefirearmblog.com www.thefirearmblog.com

and I think this logic should be applied to "any" similar rifles of this era.
 
Talyn said:
From...

thecmp.org

M1 Garand - Civilian Marksmanship Program

M1 Garand rifles sold by CMP are authentic U.S. Government rifles that have been thoroughly inspected, with a variety of available grades.
thecmp.org thecmp.org

Dear CMP Family,

The CMP advises to not use .30/06 ammunition in M1 Garands, 1903s, and 1903A3s that is loaded beyond 50,000 CUP and has a bullet weight more than 172-174gr. These rifles are at least 70 years old and were not designed for max loads and super heavy bullets. Always wear hearing and eye protection when firing an M1 Garand, 1903 and/or 1903A3 rifle.

This warning is an update/addition to the Ammunition section in the Read This First manual enclosed with each rifle shipment (M1 Garand manual-page 6 and M1903 manual-page 10).

Civilian Marksmanship Program

and...

www.thefirearmblog.com

CMP Warns Against the Use of .30/06 Ammunition In Certain Rifles

In their latest site update, CMP warns against the use of certain types of ammunition inside specific rifles that are at least 70 years or older.
www.thefirearmblog.com www.thefirearmblog.com

and I think this logic should be applied to "any" similar rifles of this era.
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This is exactly what I was looking for. Just didn't want to unknowingly damage it as it's so old, ya know? Thank you!
 
Recusant said:
Don’t shoot any cheap surplus ammo because the primers are likely corrosive. Most are good shooters but accuracy varies. Oh, they kick like a mule so I hope you like recoil.
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I've seen a lot of people use the Tulammo 7.62x54R on youtube and other sites. I'm not sure if Tulammo has any relation to the Tula factory where this Mosin was manufactured, or not. I'll probably do a pro-con spreadsheet of different ammo before making my purchase. Thank you.
 
Talyn said:
and I think this logic should be applied to "any" similar rifles of this era.
Click to expand...


Not really. That's mostly specific to Garand Operating system , or possibly certain early '03 with heat treatment issues .

IF your Mosin is in good condition, and SAAMI , CIP spec ammo will be safe .

MilSurp ammo was covered above , in regards to cleaning protocols for corrosive ammo . But today is now , and 20 years ago was the era of dirt cheap surplus 7.62 x 54R ammo .
 
TeufelgundenArmory said:
I've seen a lot of people use the Tulammo 7.62x54R on youtube and other sites. I'm not sure if Tulammo has any relation to the Tula factory where this Mosin was manufactured, or not. I'll probably do a pro-con spreadsheet of different ammo before making my purchase. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Considering 7.62x54R ammo is almost exclusive to the Mosin then Tula and any other brand loading that caliber likely sticks to the OEM pressure typical of that round.
 
There's no hot rodded 7.62x54R on the market that I have found.
My ex was gifted a Mosin-Nagant that was still packed in cosmoline. After 2 weeks of cleaning and scrubbing that hard as a rock stuff out of the stock and trigger group. I bought ammo and of course let her shoot it first. Trust me that was worth the peice of admission to watch it knock her on her bottom. LoL she shot it once and said "get rid of that MF'er" .....😂😂😂
I shot the rest of the box of ammo. They are hard on the shoulder but mine was accurate as all get out.
 
Good rule of thumb on corrosive vs non-corrosive:

If it comes in a modern looking package similar to most other caliber ammo—it’s most likely non-corrosive.

If it comes in paper wrappers and/or has Cyrillic stamping on the package it…most likely corrosive.

If you buy it in a 440rd spam can—DEFINITELY corrosive.
 
Pitdogg2 said:
Agree 100%, chances are pretty good you're not picking that up at Walmart or Basspro.
That was my point.
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Most commercial 7.62x54R ammo on the shelves is boxer primed except Tula & mil-surplus.

PPU is an example and readily available in the Big box stores & LGSs.
 
Talyn said:
Most commercial 7.62x54R ammo on the shelves is boxer primed except Tula & mil-surplus.

PPU is an example and readily available in the Big box stores & LGSs.
Click to expand...
Yes I know.
my comment was that you're not picking up any hot-rodded reloads at the big box stores.
All that you described will NOT hot-rod ammo and readily available at most stores.
 
And the OP was asking what ammo was available for the Mosin.

It's always good to advise folks are new to a older rifle to be careful on what they feed it.

Safety first.

Nuff said.
 
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