7.62x54R reloading – The ExhaustNotes Blog

By Joe Berk

I’m learning a new video program (new to me, at least) called Premiere Pro. It’s part of the Adobe Creative Studio suite, and it is way more complicated than anything I’ve ever used before. Well, maybe that’s not fair: The only video program I ever used in the past was something called Pinnacle. It was a low-bucks affair at Best Buy 16 or 17 years ago. I bought it because I was doing a lot of videos for CSC Motorcycles and the kid at Best Buy said even an old guy could use it. You can see many of those videos (along with the excellent ones Joe Gresh created) on our YouTubby page.

About that YouTubby thing: The Chinese marketing guys at Zongshen were following the CSC blog closely back in those days, and they knew me from the videos before I went there and met them for the first time. When they saw me, they pointed and exclaimed, “Youtubby, Youtubby!” They didn’t realize the “e” in YouTube was silent. I didn’t realize what they didn’t realize, and my first thought was “yeah, I guess I am carrying a few extra pounds.” My second thought was that the Chinese don’t hold back (I later learned that they do; in fact, as a group the Chinese are the most polite people I’ve ever known).

To get back on topic, when good buddy Greg shot a video of me doing my thing with the Mini 14, I decided it was time to learn Premiere Pro. I’ve been paying for that program for years because it is in the Adobe package, which you have to buy as a subscription. Sometimes, you just have to set your mind to doing something, and that’s what I did. Between my firm commitment to learning Premiere Pro, Google’s help (I asked it a ton of questions, because the program is anything but intuitive and the Adobe tutorials are close to useless), and a lot of trial and error, I was able to create the Mini 14 video.

Then I did the one on the Monster Guns a few days ago.

I like both the above videos. In creating them, I used maybe 1% of what Premiere Pro can do. It is an intricate software package and I have a lot to learn. It keeps my mind going, as does writing this blog. I guess that’s the good news.

I never made any money off YouTube. I’ve heard of folks having insanely high view counts and making maybe 37 cents. Nope, I’m not in it for the money. But the two gun videos above got me thinking: Maybe I should do more gun videos. Then came another surprise: I already have. In reviewing my videos on YouTube’s summary page, I found several gun videos I had forgotten. These were all uploaded either directly from the camera, or I assembled them using the old, cheap, easy-to-use Pinnacle program. I thought I’d post them here in case any of you had nothing else to do or you have insomnia. Enjoy.

Here’s one that’s a little unusual. I have a 50-year-old Weatherby Mark V chambered in .30 06 and sometimes I can sometimes coax a 1-inch group from it. I bought a borescope and, surprisingly, you can make a video with the borescope as you run the fiber optic cable through the rifle. The marks you see in the bore are pretty typical machining marks made during the rifle barrel fabrication process. Most folks are alarmed when they first use a bore scope and see this sort of thing. I was. But hey, the thing groups pretty well for a glamour gun.

Here’s one that’s pretty cool. My buddy Mike, a retired chief of police, goes to the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention and when it’s on the west coast, I go along as his assistant (I got a badge out of the deal, but no gun). One of the exhibitors had a video/handgun-based training system. Mike and I both tried it. It was awesome.

Here’s one from long ago that could use Premiere Pro’s lighting adjustment tool. It’s my buddy Duane shooting reduced loads in his World War II bring-home Mauser 98.

I recently mentioned my Model 52 Smith and Wesson here on ExNotes. It’s an amazing pistol. What’s part of the wow factor is how well it feeds wadcutter ammo; in fact, it’s so good it will feed an empty case.

I have a Weatherby that has a custom Douglas .300 H&H barrel on it. The .300 H&H is an amazing cartridge with plenty of energy. Here’s a video of a couple of shots on the gongs at 100 yards. That .300 H&H energy really makes them jump around.

My buddy Paul is a serious black powder shooter and collector, and his enthusiasm (along with watching Lonesome Dove about a hundred times) convinced me my life wouldn’t be complete unless I owned a Colt Walker. I ordered one and created a video unboxing it. It’s a thing people do. So I did it, too.

When I resurrected the Star progressive reloader, I shot a series of short videos on its operation.

Back in the day, a watch company (Gear’d; I don’t know if they’re still around) sent a couple of watches to Gresh and me so we could review them on the blog. I thought it would be a good idea to see how mine would stand up to the recoil after firing a hundred shots of .45 ACP hardball.

I always wanted an 1886 with fancy walnut, but I didn’t want to mortgage the house to get one. So I bought a Chiappa (an Italian copy). This is another video that could have been helped by Premiere Pro’s advanced features.

Some of my friends think I’m fast. The rest know that I’m just half fast.

Here’s one I did years ago on loading cast bullet ammo for the Mosin-Nagant rifle, with accompanying music from the movie, Enemy at the Gates. I used Pinnacle on this one, and I think I exercised all its capabilities.

I guess I had more gun videos than I realized. Maybe I’ll become an influencer (whatever that is). I’ll keep plugging away polishing my very meager Premiere Pro skills, and you’ll see the results in future blogs.

By Joe Berk

When I first saw Mosin-Nagant military surplus rifles for sale in a Big 5 sporting goods store years ago, I dismissed them as junk. Wow, was that ever a mistake. I’ve previously written about being smitten with these Russian rifles, and my appreciation for them continues unabated. Back in the day, you could pick them up for $79. That was after the Soviet Union collapsed and the Russians were sending Mosins over here by the boatload to raise cash. Then, during the Obama administration, the flow of these rifles to the US stopped. Today, a Mosin will set you back $300 or more (and it’s mostly more). I recognized the inherent quality and probable appreciation after shooting the first one I bought. I knew Mosin prices would climb and I picked up several. My two favorites are the ones you see in the photo above.

I use the first Mosin I ever bought (the one on top in the above photo) for shooting jacketed bullets. It has a bore that looks like a sewer pipe, but it is accurate. Here’s a recent 100-yard target.

There are 20 shots on this 100-yard target. The two that went low? Chalk it up to operator error.

I don’t use surplus 7.62x54R ammo in my Mosin-Nagant rifles. Surplus ammo used to be cheap and readily available, but not anymore. Even when surplus ammo was around, I didn’t use it because the primers were corrosive. I shoot only my reloads in the Mosins. Just about any 150-grain, .312 diameter jacketed bullet works well with 43.7 grains of IMR 4320 propellant. That powder is no longer available, but I have a stash. When I use it up, I’ll probably switch to Varget or IMR 4064 (both powders are said to work well in the 7.62x54R cartridge).

My Mosin-Nagant jacketed bullet load. It’s very accurate.

The other rifle Mosin you see above (the one on the bottom) is a beautiful hex receiver with a bore that appears to be brand new. When I fired it with jacketed bullets, it grouped very well, but it also shot very high with the rear sight in its lowest setting. I thought I would have to find a taller front sight, but I tried a few cast bullets and to my surprise, the rifle shot to point of aim at 50 yards. When I tried my cast bullet load at 100 yards, it was a scosh low. I went up one click on the rear sight and it was perfect.

My first 5 shots at 100 yards went low, wo I went up one click and put nearly all the rest in the 10-ring. Cast bullets can be very accurate.

My cast load for the Mosin is a 200-grain bullet sized to 0.313 inches over 18.0 grains of SR 4759. Like the IMR 4320 propellant mentioned above, SR 4759 is a discontinued powder, and like my situation with IMR 4320, I also have a stash of SR 4759. When I run out of it, there are other powders that work well with cast bullets. I’m looking forward to developing a new load with them. The load you see here sets a high bar, but I’m sure I can find a load that will match it.

I hadn’t shot cast bullets in my Mosin in a while. It didn’t matter; the rifle still shoots this load superbly well.

With both the Mosin-Nagant rifles you see above, I’ve refinished the stocks with several coats of TruOil (I sanded the stocks as little as possible to preserve the original cartouches). I’ve also glass bedded the actions and cleaned up the triggers. Both rifles are fun to shoot and both are superbly accurate.

If you would like to read more on our Mosin adventures, you can do so here: