# 7.7 Japanese ammo



## Rebel_Ray (Jan 31, 2015)

Hi, I'm new to the forum and to milsurps. I want to start reloading due to the oddball calibers I shoot. I've never reloaded before and need to know what to get started with. I'd start off loading 7.7 jap, 7.5x55 Swiss, and 7x64 Brenneke. Any advice would be appreciated.


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## Rebel_Ray (Jan 31, 2015)

Oh, and I should probably mention that I am a 17 year old high school student. So cost is very important, and I don't know much about reloading in general.


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## muney pit (Mar 24, 2014)

This is all i could find for ya this morning. Thats a hard round to find. I know Norma makes some so maybe call them directly.
http://www.lohmanarms.com/mobile/Product.aspx?id=47411

http://www.gunbroker.com/Ammunition/BI.aspx?Keywords=jap


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

Check out Serbian PPU ammo for brass.

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=AP75SFMJ&name=Prvi+Partizan+PPU+7.5+Swiss+174grn+FMJ+20rd+Box&groupid=738


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## Moonpie (Jun 20, 2004)

You can make 7.7 Jap brass out of .30-06 brass. 
Run the .30-06 brass into the 7.7 die with the expander removed. Lube case well.
Trim resized brass to length. Chamfer case mouth.
Re-insert expander and run reformed case back thru full length die.
Load as normal.


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## Rebel_Ray (Jan 31, 2015)

Any thoughts as to what reloading equipment I should start with?


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## CHARLIE (Jun 2, 2004)

I would suggest that you get some good books and began reading... Wont hurt for some basic information..


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## Rebel_Ray (Jan 31, 2015)

Okay after some research on YouTube in various Internet sources, I have a general understanding of how to do it. Any specific brands or types of reloading gear I should look at?


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## muney pit (Mar 24, 2014)

Lee, rcbs, hornady, and dillion being the best. IMHO. Start with a single stage though.


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## mchildress (Jul 11, 2009)

I have three RCBS presses and they are bullet proof. Unless you are going to shoot them alot it would be cheaper to get the rounds from Norma. Have a 6.5 and 7.7 jap and have bought 7.7 rounds from Norma 180 grain soft point. Killed my first deer with that rifle. I mostly reload 45acp, 44 mag, 22-250, 7mm rem mag, 30-06, 308 which we shoot alot tagets,deer,varmints,hogs.


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## shooterstx (Dec 20, 2011)

Unless you shoot a WHOLE lot, it's a big error to think you'll save $. Reloading can be a great hobby, however, for those who have the spare time.


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## Ernest (May 21, 2004)

*Unless you shoot a WHOLE lot, it's a big error to think you'll save $. *

Amen. You would likely be better served to use the money spent on reloading eq. to simply buy a rifle that uses off the shelf ammo. Used Remmy 30-06, as just one example.


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## MrG (Apr 10, 2005)

I can think of a lot more things that a 17 year old could be doing besides learning to reload. Many of them don't have a happy ending. Reloading can teach you many life lessons. Discipline, attention to detail, problem solving, math skills, organization, and satisfaction of a job well done to name a few. 

You've done some internet research which is good but there is a lot of bad info out there in cyberspace. Get a few manuals first. The good ones can teach you the basics. I started out with Lyman's 49th. I regard the folks on here a valuable resource as well. 

You will not save money but you will learn how to do something that not many of your peers will never even try to learn. 

I say go for it and keep us posted.


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## Rebel_Ray (Jan 31, 2015)

Well my 7.7 arisaka deal fell through, but I did manage to pick up a S.M.L.E No.1 Mk.3. So I'll be needing to reload .303 instead of 7.7 jap. I mostly want to reload as a hobby. And I hunt primarily with a cz550 in 7x64 Brenneke and I want to be able to control my ammo since factory stuff is scarce. So I'm open to whatever suggestions yall have on presses, dies, scales, and whatnot. Your interest is appreciated.


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## TXPIRATE (Jan 28, 2009)

I might get some grief for this but... Get a Lee Classic Loader in 303. Using this reloading kit will force you to go through each stage until a round is complete. What I am getting at is when you load in batches you open yourself up for trouble. The lee makes you do each step one after another until you have a loaded round. If you don't like the hammer thing then you can buy a bottle capper and use it as a press. The kit costs about $27.00. Loading like this is basically the same idea that bench rest shooters do.


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## muney pit (Mar 24, 2014)

TXPIRATE said:


> I might get some grief for this but... Get a Lee Classic Loader in 303. Using this reloading kit will force you to go through each stage until a round is complete. What I am getting at is when you load in batches you open yourself up for trouble. The lee makes you do each step one after another until you have a loaded round. If you don't like the hammer thing then you can buy a bottle capper and use it as a press. The kit costs about $27.00. Loading like this is basically the same idea that bench rest shooters do.


I got a lee after my rcbs to reload 50bmg. Its a great press and there die sets are great for plinking ammo. Then the DILLION . Hence the avatar <-------


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## Moonpie (Jun 20, 2004)

It really depends on your budget and time.
Manually doing everything is less expensive but requires much more labor.
Motorized tools and progressive presses really speed things up but cost more.

I'd recommend you start out with a single stage press.
Lyman, RCBS, Hornady, etc all make excellent equipment. 
Any of them will serve you long and well. 
All of them sell a kit with everything you'll need to get started except the die set. You'll have to purchase them individually. 

.303 is pretty easy to reload. 
Unfortunately brass life is short at full power loadings. 
The old Brit Enfields had oversize chambers to ensure feeding in combat situations. They never intended to reload their brass. Fired brass almost always has a bulge at the base. .303 Brit brass is usually quite thin walled too. The end result is 2 or 3 firings and the brass is toast. 
Loading way down with cast bullets mitigates this a lot and you can get many shots out of a case before it has to be discarded.


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## Del Magic (Mar 19, 2008)

Cheaper than dirt has been selling some hxp 303 at a good price if you need some. I grabbed two cases myself and it was like brand new ammo.


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## ClearLakeClayt (Aug 2, 2011)

Excellent advice on the Cheaper Than Dirt HXP 303. My case was in excellent condition and the brass will be great for reloading. Make sure you get the non-corrosive, Boxer primed stuff, not Berdan primed.

One of the tricks with 303 reloading and brass life is to NOT full length resize. Neck resize only. Yes, the SMLE chamber will expand your cases on first shot, particularly the shoulder area, but after that first firing, you have a casing that is fire-formed to your rifle chamber. Leave it like that and just resize the neck.

Lots of good discussion in the ammo section of the milsurps.com forum, but as mentioned above, be careful with internet reload data - always stay within manual ranges.

See SMLE Knowledge Library forum, as well as the Ammunition and Reloading for Old Milsurps forum:

http://www.milsurps.com/

Tell us some more about your SMLE No. 1 MkIII. I'm guessing it's actually a MkIII*...


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

Rebel_Ray said:


> Well my 7.7 arisaka deal fell through, but I did manage to pick up a S.M.L.E No.1 Mk.3. So I'll be needing to reload .303 instead of 7.7 jap. I mostly want to reload as a hobby. And I hunt primarily with a cz550 in 7x64 Brenneke and I want to be able to control my ammo since factory stuff is scarce. So I'm open to whatever suggestions yall have on presses, dies, scales, and whatnot. Your interest is appreciated.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


If you reload .303, buy the Lee Collet die. It will extend your case life significantly. I used to get at most three reloads with FL dies. When I switched over to Lee Collet dies and sized only the neck I got around seven reloads with medium level loads. Another nice thing about Lee Collet dies is you do not have to use lube. That saves you a lot of hassle applying lube and then clean it after the round is loaded and before you fire it.


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## Rebel_Ray (Jan 31, 2015)

Yea, you are right, it's a No.1 Mk.3* made in 1929. It's got really dark wood, and the guy that sold it guesses that it was used in the Pacific. I'll post a picture when I get it out. It shoots really well. I killed a hog at 137 yds with it last weekend 


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