VZ-52 / 7.62x45 from PPU Blanks

[spencerhut]

I have a supply of Buffalo Arms Hornady 220 Swift converted to 7.62x45. They work fine, but are like $2 each. Just for the hell of it I got some PPU 7.62x39 blanks to try and convert them to 7.62x45.
1st attempt - clipped off end of live blank with snips. Dumped powder, opened up end of blank with tapered punch and hammer to fit into decapping die. Decapped, annealed, and resized in 7.62x45 dies. Fail Case split.
2nd attempt - Fired blank in AK, grind fired case to approx length on belt sander, anneal, lube with Rooster's Red, and resized in 7.62x45 dies. Result had shoulder in the wrong place. Loaded it anyway, (wavy case mouth and all) 26g of IMR4198 and Hornady 123 SST, salvaged primer from another blank. Fire formed almost perfectly. Hit 100yd gong. Lubed, resized, trimmed and loaded again with Win LR Primer, same bullet and powder. Hit 100yd gong, again. Repeated this for a total of five firings. All five hit the 100yd gong. Case looks great. Should be good for several more loads.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Do you mean Buffalo Arms?

 

[spencerhut]

Do you mean Buffalo Arms?

Yeah, that one

 

[.455_Hunter]

I am somewhat surprised that somebody like PPU has not made occasional runs of 7.62x45mm. They have made 7.92x33mm, which doesn't exactly have overabundant available firing platforms.

 

[Virginia Jim]

I wish someone would. I have a few hundred rounds of steel cased corrosive ammo for mine. I thought about pulling some of the bullets, dump the powder, and punch out the primers. I’d just have to figure a way to seat the bullets with enough neck tension.
It’s an under rated cartridge and has great potential for further development.

 

[FROGO207]

I wish someone would. I have a few hundred rounds of steel cased corrosive ammo for mine. I thought about pulling some of the bullets, dump the powder, and punch out the primers. I’d just have to figure a way to seat the bullets with enough neck tension.
It’s an under rated cartridge and has great potential for further development.

You will probably find it is berdan primed and regular boxer primers will not work in it.

 

[hbentley1]

I have a VZ-52 too (new to me and a long story in itself) and am developing loads for it as well. I bought reloading die from Buffalo Arms (made by CH4D) after being on a waiting list for one year. Nice people at Buffalo Arms. I have a case of milsurp ammo that goes bang about half the time, made of brass, and is very corrosive. I'm pulling the bullets from those and using am the brass for reloads. Graf and Sons has PPU 7.63X51 brass that is easily convertible. I have converted the mil brass from Berdan to Boxer priming with a drill press (royal pain, but works). I think converting the PPU brass is easier. Have to reduce the base/web diameter of the PPU brass to 0.445 diameter in order to make it chamber in my rifle (test fitting as I go). I'm trying loads with four bullets and six powders to find one or two that shoot well enough for plinking and possible hunting.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

l cased corrosive ammo for mine. I thought about pulling some of the bullets, dump the powder, and punch out the primers. I’d just have to figure a way to seat the bullets with enough neck tension.

I have used the Lee rifle Factory crimp die, which is a collet crimper, to crimp steel cased 7.62x54r cases.

I was making Mexican Match ammo - used milsurp ammo, pulled the crap bullet. I weighed and equalized the factory powder charge, and seated a better quality bullet.
Crimped to factory length, and fired.

The Lee Rifle Factory crimp die worked perfectly. It's different from the pistol FCD, in that the rifle FCD does not resize anything; it's a collet crimp die, and works very well - even on steel cases.

 

[EMC45]

Neat project!

 

[FROGO207]

I am going to test how good a primer pocket uniformer will remove Berdan primer centers and then drill a center hole in a lathe. Might be the best way to convert to boxer. Time will tell.

 

[hbentley1]

I've read a few blogs in the past where people were concerned about the reduction in diameter of the PPU 7.63X51 brass web/base from the original diameter to 0.445 inch diameter. Their concerns were mainly related to the reduction in sidewall thickness near the web and the thickness of the web surrounding the primer pocket. Image is of a PPU 7.63X51mm Mauser case side-by-side with a piece of factory 7.62X51 Czech brass. Comparing the two, I think there should be no cause for concern.

 

[hbentley1]

Sorry, I meant to say side-by side with a piece of 7.62X45 Czech brass.

 

[hbentley1]

...and the Milsurp is converted from Berdan to a Boxer primer pocket...