7.35x51 Carcano loads

Today I tried a few different handloads in my Carcano, as well as some PCI 128gr factory ammo.

My rifle is a Finn marked sporter, someone cut the stock down and added a recoil pad. Bummer since it's a matching stock. I plan to restore it to stock configuration eventually, luckily they left everything else alone.

The thing shot a decent group with the PCI ammo but it was way high at 50 yards. I shoot all my milsurp rifles at 50 since my eyes suck.

The cast loads that shot dead on and really surprised me were with the
Lee .312 155gr cast bullets. This is the mold that was made for 7.62x39, the bullets are pointy.

I cast them and powder coat with Harbor Freight red. Then I run them through Lee style push thru sizers, first a .311 sizer (They measure .316 with the coating), then a .308 sizer w/ gas check, then a custom .301 sizer. I did it this way so I wouldn't strip my powder coating off. Next time I will size before I coat them so I don't have to do that, but I didn't have the rifle when I first coated these bullets (I use them in my SKS and AK rifles)

The load was:
155gr .301" coated cast with gas check
17.5gr 2400
PPU brass, WLR primers
These would chamber fine at max OAL, but I seated them 2.735"

These shot really well, right to point of aim.

I also tried two other bullet styles and they did decent, but not near as well as the 155gr.

The other two loads were:
Lee .308 120gr cast/coated with 17gr 2400. This is a little stubby bullet I use in the M1 Carbine.
and
Lee 180gr .308 cast/coated with 16.5gr 2400

Hornady is making the .300" 128gr SP bullets again, Buffalo Arms and Grafs has them in stock. I got a box of them and will try them out. Too bad I have no way of adjusting the sights, but I'll stick mostly with the cast loads since they shoot dead on.

I was using what I believe were a couple reproduction en bloc clips and they were terrible. They are really flimsy and kept bending out of shape on me. I have a used surplus clip on the way, hopefully it works better.

If anyone else is loading this cartridge, lemme know what your rifle likes.

Good write up.

Since my Carcano's are all 6.5X52 I can't add any insight to your 7.35 loads. Sounds like a fun round to reload.

No surprise your 50 yard shots were way high. The original model 38 iron sights were set at 300 meters.

I don't know if reloading 7.35 has the same issue, but with 6.5 I learned quickly to lube the bejesus out of the cases and do FL resizing in slow steps. There's not much case rim for the S/H to grip. Ripping cases out of the S/H isn't fun. For 6.5 cases the RCBS S/H grips much better than the Lee.

These days I only neck size my 6.5 Carcano cases and load them with the appropriate .268 bullets. That has made a big difference in performance.

Good luck on your project. Hope to see pics of its progress.

These 5 in red were the 155gr load. 8 inch target at 50 yards. Not sure why they opened up on me after those first 5, maybe I was getting some leading or being impatient.

I noticed the Lee shell holder was a bit loose and allowed the case to move a bit when I was priming the cases and had to actually hold them down to get the primers to seat flush.

I didn't notice any other issues with the brass. I cleaned the cases but haven't tried to resize them, I'll see how much they stretched and decide if I want to neck size or not. From the looks of it, it has a pretty tight chamber. Unlike my Ishapore No.1 MkIII which is insanely hard on the brass.

My biggest issue are the flimsy repro clips I'm using.

Gotta love these old battle rifles with the crazy 300 yard zero... That is a nice thing about cast loads, though. They generally shoot dead on in those rifles.

I'll have to go back and check my book on my 7.35 Carcano. I spent a lot of time on loads and got absolutely nowhere!

I do know my rifle hates those 128gr SP or at least I haven't found much luck with them yet. They always soared way high at 50yards.

toolness1 said:

These 5 in red were the 155gr load. 8 inch target at 50 yards. Not sure why they opened up on me after those first 5, maybe I was getting some leading or being impatient.

I noticed the Lee shell holder was a bit loose and allowed the case to move a bit when I was priming the cases and had to actually hold them down to get the primers to seat flush.

I didn't notice any other issues with the brass. I cleaned the cases but haven't tried to resize them, I'll see how much they stretched and decide if I want to neck size or not. From the looks of it, it has a pretty tight chamber. Unlike my Ishapore No.1 MkIII which is insanely hard on the brass.

My biggest issue are the flimsy repro clips I'm using.

Gotta love these old battle rifles with the crazy 300 yard zero... That is a nice thing about cast loads, though. They generally shoot dead on in those rifles.

Click to expand...

Both 6.5X52 and 7.35X51 Lee die sets include a Lee #2 shell holder. Rim diameter is the same on both cases (11.40mm). My recommendation is to take your resizing slow and well lubed.

After having a few case rims slip out of the Lee S/H I ordered an RCBS #9 S/H. It holds the case rims much better. In the pic below you can see how sloppy the fit of 6.5X52 cases is in the Lee S/H (on the right) compared to the RCBS.

$8 well spent...