I really like this little 7.62X25 Tok round and have a question about reloading using lead bullets. I didn't plan on using these bullets in my DI setup, only in my blowback version but if anybody has used lead bullets in their DI Tok, please let me know how well it worked ––  as in lead buildup in the gas tube, bore, etc. I have a lot of the 115gr lubed lead bullets that I originally used in an old single shot rifle and have a lot left over. If you have other reloading info you want to share –– go right ahead!

I went and tried the lead bullets and they work like a charm –– work better in my BB 7.62X25 AR than the commercial S&B stuff. The bullets are common 115 grain lubed lead bullets over 7.50gr of Lil' Gun powder in Starline 30 Mauser brass. The Starline 30 Mauser brass seems to be a hair longer than the 7.62 Tokarev brass and it works fine. I would have used Accurate #9 powder but I was a bit short on that supply so I went with the slower Lil' Gun for testing. The Lil' Gun seems to be a little dirty in this application so I ordered some more AA #9.

The loaded cartridges on the left are at 1.36" COL, the unused brass in the middle and the fired brass on the right. Notice that the fired brass is close to the original unfired shape so the brass will be easy to reform and last for many reloads. I hope I can do the same with the AA #9 powder.

Edit to add; I forgot to mention that I removed the gas deflector and short dust cover on my carbine and replaced with the standard dust cover. I found that the gas deflector was denting the case mouth which caused a little problem in reloading. I also ordered a Lee factory crimp die for the 7.62 Tok/30 Mauser.

Sorry to hijack...but I'm also interested in this round....who's upper are you using....and is it feeding reliably...



thanks

The upper is a blowback I got years ago from Marty at Teppo Jutsu. It feeds like a champ but a little behind the times with all the new DI Tok uppers available. It uses a standard 9mm bolt, 9mm buffer and carbine spring. The difference in the PPS-43 magwell adapter is the addition of an ejector.If you're into straight magazines, the CZ-24 mags can be used with a little mod to the width and mods to an SNS sten mag adapter. The hight of the magazines is a bit different between the blowback setup and DI setup so you can't switch mags if you have both. My DI mags are painted red on the bottom so I can tell the difference at a glance.

Lil Gun is a good choice. 2400 is another. i have also had good luck with H110.  i've been loading a Lyman 86 gr.cast  ball sized to 309 with 2400 powder, that shoots a tighter group than any combo i"ve worked up yet. im running out of a 16" Ron Williams DI (even though Ron advises against lead ball- due to burnt lube fouling the gas system) and i havent had any problems yet. currently nearing 800 rd. count! Leading seems to be a nonfactor in either of my RW barrels. quality bores i reckon


                                                                                                                                                                        Uncle Dave

I agree with you about Lil' Gun, H110 and also W296. They work great in a gas operated setup and I've done a lot of that. This particular AR is the old style BlowBack and I'm using lead bullets with no gas check. I guess you already know that lead slides down the bore a lot easier than copper jacketed bullets so I can get away with using light powder charges –– no need to worry about not enough gas to operate the setup. I just ran a bunch of the 115 grain lead bullets over 8.5gr of AA#9 and it runs clean and the brass still comes out like it went in. The gas setup is great for special hand loads. One of my favorites used the 150gr matchKing bullet. The bullets would just about all go through the same hole.

I'm getting back into using the BlowBack tok carbine because of the cost of lead bullets –– 500 for between $30 and $40. I haven't tried any 86gr or 90gr lead bullets yet but I hope to find a cheap supply of those also.