need a load for 7.7 jap

[double tap]

i picked up a type 99 today, and since ammo is so expencive and not availably locally i am going to load some of my own, i'm going to get 40 peices of norma brass, and some hornady 174 gr. fmj hornady #3131. i think this will be the best bullet for what i want to do. both reloading manuals i have don't list 7.7 jap. i read online to start with loads for 303 british. please help. thanks

[stripper clip]

double tap,
I have Lee's Modern Reloading manual, which lists load data for either 150 gr. or 180 gr. bullets. Even so, a powder charge listed for a 180 gr. bullet will work when using a 174 gr. FMJ bullet. For example, the Lee manual lists H 380 as one of the powders in their selection. Starting grains is listed at 40.5 and MAX grains is listed at 45.0. What type of powder are you planning to use for your loads?

I once obtained load data for a 180 gr. bullet using IMR 4320 powder. I have loaded this combination at 43.0 grains, and have had good results.

Regards,
stripper clip

[Parashooter]

From Hodgdon's website at http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp -

Cartridge: 7.7 x 58mm Japanese
Starting Loads then Maximum Loads

Bullet Weight (Gr.) Mfg. Powder Diam. C.O.L. Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Grs. Vel. (ft/s)
150 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H4831 .311" 3.050" 50.0 2180 55.0 2445
150 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H4350 .311" 3.050" 48.0 2330 51.0 2514
150 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H414 .311" 3.050" 45.0 2155 48.0 2424
150 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H380 .311" 3.050" 44.0 2169 47.0 2461
150 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon BL-C2 .311" 3.050" 41.0 2289 44.0 2487
150 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H335 .311" 3.050" 41.0 2309 44.0 2499
150 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H4895 .311" 3.050" 41.0 2337 44.0 2529
180 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H4831 .311" 3.150" 46.0 2011 50.0 2233
180 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H4350 .311" 3.150" 44.0 2090 47.0 2309
180 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H414 .311" 3.150" 43.0 2070 46.0 2234
180 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H380 .311" 3.150" 42.0 2090 45.0 2257
180 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon BL-C2 .311" 3.150" 37.0 2054 40.0 2191
180 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H335 .311" 3.150" 37.0 2077 40.0 2202
180 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H4895 .311" 3.150" 37.0 2060 40.0 2230
NEVER EXCEED MAXIMUM LOADS

[Matt Anthony]

i picked up a type 99 today, and since ammo is so expencive and not availably locally i am going to load some of my own, i'm going to get 40 peices of norma brass, and some hornady 174 gr. fmj hornady #3131. i think this will be the best bullet for what i want to do. both reloading manuals i have don't list 7.7 jap. i read online to start with loads for 303 british. please help. thanks

I hope you have the rifle checked by a gunsmith before firing. Some late rifles are very rough, loose and poorly machined. You can go online with the markings on the barrel and receiver and find out just when and where it was made.
For years I shot my 99's using Norma brass, then made my own brass from 30-06 and 8MM Mauser. Then I decided to try and have one of them rechambered in 30-06. That worked out better due to the cost of brass. I still have that one and have used it on coyote's and deer.
I took the best one of the bunch, had a douglass XX bull barrel installed, aftermarket trigger and chambered it in 22-250. I had already had a sporter stock made thru Garrett Accu-glass in Colorado 15 years ago, so the only mod to the stock was to open the barrel channel up. Glass is a Sightron 36X SII scope on Burris Signature Rings. I sold my other three to military collectors and all of the brass went to people who still shoot the japs!
With a 1 pound trigger, I can keep 3 shot groups at 200 yards on a calm day within a dime!
Rechambering to 30-06 is really the way to go in my opinion.
Matt

[BudT]

If you only rechamber to 30-06 you need to keep in mind that you still need to use .310, .311 or .312 slugs so you should open up the inside of the neck of the resizing die and change out the expander ball to work with those bullets. What you really have is a 7.7-06. You should really slug the bore and find out what it really is, like the Brits I have seen the Japs send out some pretty lose stuff. The worst I have seen was a .314 you can imagine what that shot like. Over the years I have seen a lot of these just rechamber to 30-06 things go really haywire just because you couldnt hit the inside of a 55 gallon barrel from the inside of it, they will work out and shoot great if it is done right. Another thought is will the magazine work well enough if your a reloader a lot of us are and if you want to dink around with the seating depth ya better think about that to. Not a flame is any way just some thoughts out loud is all. I like the idea of a rechamber to but if I were having it done and going to keep the origonal barrle I would have it pulled cut a thread or two off and then re chamber just to get the bulg out of the case I have never seen a Jap rifle that didnt have a "lose" chamber.

Have a nice day
BudT

[double tap]

thanks for the help guys. i saw that chart on the hodgdon site, since i don't reload rifle i wasn't sure if a 6 grain differnce in bullet weight was a big deal. the rifle i bought was my girlfreind's grand father. he got it from hiroshima 2 weeks after the bomb dropped. i punched the bore, stripped the action from the stock. everything under the wood is still deeply blued, and the exposed metal has very little finish, but no pitting anywhere. bore was dirty, but now perfectly shiney with no imperfection i can see, and the bore is chrome lined. i think it's okay, oh it's not a last ditch model, but i will have the headspace checked this winter to be safe.

[Sunray]

"...if a 6 grain difference..." Not much.
"... got it from Hiroshima 2 weeks after..." It glow in the dark? Buy the rifle, not the story.

[Matt Anthony]

If you only rechamber to 30-06 you need to keep in mind that you still need to use .310, .311 or .312 slugs so you should open up the inside of the neck of the resizing die and change out the expander ball to work with those bullets. What you really have is a 7.7-06. You should really slug the bore and find out what it really is, like the Brits I have seen the Japs send out some pretty lose stuff. The worst I have seen was a .314 you can imagine what that shot like. Over the years I have seen a lot of these just rechamber to 30-06 things go really haywire just because you couldnt hit the inside of a 55 gallon barrel from the inside of it, they will work out and shoot great if it is done right. Another thought is will the magazine work well enough if your a reloader a lot of us are and if you want to dink around with the seating depth ya better think about that to. Not a flame is any way just some thoughts out loud is all. I like the idea of a rechamber to but if I were having it done and going to keep the origonal barrle I would have it pulled cut a thread or two off and then re chamber just to get the bulg out of the case I have never seen a Jap rifle that didnt have a "lose" chamber.

Have a nice day
BudT

BudT
My rechamber went quite well and I do use cast bullets with it. I should of posted that. I have a Lyman 303 mold, 200 gr. bullet that casts out at .315. The barrel on mine is just over.313. I don't size the bullets I use them as cast using #2 alloy with a gas check.
Another problem I encountered with the rechamber was finding a gunsmith who could rethread the metric thread. Alot of gunsmith's can't do the 17 threads per inch with their lathes. Their lathes go from 16 to 18 tpi. No 17!
Matt

[2571]

"he got it from hiroshima 2 weeks after the bomb dropped. "

Does it still glow in the dark?