Any difference in quality of Russian steel cased 7.62x39 ammo?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Balrog

Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Messages
3,152
Is there any difference in the quality of Russian steel cased ammo? It all looks the same. Seems to be made from about the same components.
 
I can’t tell a difference in my AKs or sks’ but my one rifle that shows a difference is my ruger ranch bolt action. It shoots the wolf polyformance and tula pretty much the same, the red army standard groups open up noticeably more. This could just be a gun + ammo combo thing as well though so take it for what it’s worth. I’ve not witnessed any differences at all in regards to reliability or function.
 
Last edited:
It's mostly the same some may feed slicker and some may corrode slower. All will rust pretty quick if there's moisture. Some is nother then others to. Guys like the stuff with the primer sealer, I may keep moisture out better but when you shoot the stuff sticks to the bolt and makes a mess. In autos that can cause problems.

What are you shooting it in? You can go online and order a 20 round box of each to see what your gun likes.
 
The best and most consistent and accurate shooting in my 7.62x39 rifle is wolf. Brown Bear shoots well in my x39 and X54. Tula is slightly worse in both. Red army is really really bad. Very small sample but hopefully some others post. I’ve not had any issues with function with any Russian ammo, but accuracy definitely varies.
 
My AR pistol and carbine both in 7.62x39 both have a preference for the Wolf polyformance 125gr SP over the brown bear, or Tula offerings. I don't shoot it much as i reload and both rifles like my reloads better. As far as reliability goes I have yet to replicate the internet rumors of x39 AR's aren't reliable, 600-700 rounds of all ammo types and not one failure of any kind.
 
Never noticed any major difference in a couple different SKS's. Some years ago I even ran a bunch of Russian 7.62x39 over the chronograph just out of curiosity. Even included some Chinese production stuff I had laying around. All of it was real close velocity wise, which led me to believe it's all loaded to a certain pressure standard, probably specified by whatever standards organization sets the standard at. Just like our ammo is standardized by SAAMI.
 
I will be shooting it in a CZ 527 that I just got. Any body have experience with what Russian ammo shoots best in it?
 
The biggest difference most people should know is that the laquor coated stuff will store better and not rust nearly as easily as the bare steel cases.
 
I will be shooting it in a CZ 527 that I just got. Any body have experience with what Russian ammo shoots best in it?
I shoot the tula in my 527 because it's the cheapest. I can get wolf cheaper but the 1000 tho. All the steel case I have shot are under 1 moa so use what ever you like.
 
There has been changes in the loadings from Wolf, Tula, Barnaul etc. over the years. Different case coatings, thicker rims, slight bullet weight changes (122, 123, 124 as common FMJ). Putting current production rounds side by side, there are small variations in overall length between brands for same weight bullets. Store branded runs like Monarch, Herters, HotShot and others including the different Bear and Tiger products set their specs with the manufacturers (most are made by Barnaul) so they may have differences in powder speed, flash suppressants, and velocities as well. So in general, yes they are all similar yet there can be a lot of differences in people's experiences with the Russian 762x39 depending on when and by whom it was made. The good news is that at least for 762x39 they are close enough that most users with SKS or AK pattern guns don't notice. When you get into other calibers where guns may be more inherently accurate with closer tolerances like 223 or any number of other 30 caliber rounds then the changes from lot to lot and maker to maker may be significant.

(For whatever it's worth, I have yet to get a single dud 762x39 since I began shooting the stuff in 1990 - Chinese, Russian, east European whether surplus or commercial - I think close to 35k of the stuff. Other calibers from over there, definitely had bad lots with poor performance, ripped cases, duds, and mis-sized rounds that would not feed so although they might have the standard service round down pat they others leave much to be desired at times.)
 
Last edited:
yugo sks, wasr 10, yugo pistol, ruger american and a windham weapon. All have not noticed anything between any maker. Tho i mostly only shoot 100 yards
 
Hi...
I have two SKS rifles in.7.62x39 and have shot nothing but steel cased import ammunition in them with some very rare exceptions. No failures to feed, no duds...just unremarkable accuracy at 50 and 100yds. At 200yds the groups seem to settle down a bit but still nothing to brag about.

I am wondering if it is even worthwhile to reload for the caliber considering that I can usually find steel cased rounds at really cheap prices. I can't even remember if I have ever seen a brass cased round in that caliber but I assume that somebody makes brass for it. I just haven't explored that option.

I consider my SKS rifles as range toys to make noise with.
 
For 7.62x39, they all work ok for me. Maybe a little slower than advertised (difficult time with tannerite).

For 5.45x39, Tula is garbage. My Bulgarian hates the stuff. I like Wolf and sometimes Brown/Silver Bear when I see it for sale.

Anymore, I just avoid Tula and go Wolf
 
I've not tried any of the 'Bears' but Tula, Wolf, Hot Shot, Monarch all performed about the same. I've only used the 122/123/124 gr HP and FMJ, not tried the lead soft points. I store the ammo inside a climate controlled area so have not had any rusting issues either.
 
I've not tried any of the 'Bears' but Tula, Wolf, Hot Shot, Monarch all performed about the same. I've only used the 122/123/124 gr HP and FMJ, not tried the lead soft points. I store the ammo inside a climate controlled area so have not had any rusting issues either.
I don't get the rusting issue with steel cased/bi-metal jacketed ammo. I've used literally a couple tons of the stuff over the years, with some ammo stored in cars and trucks for years at a time (no discussion on that topic here please) without issues from heat, cold, and humidity so long as it was stored in a waterproof container (as in ziplock bag or ammo can). Unless guys are getting the ammo wet in the rain and letting it sit that way for days on end I just don't think its a real concern.

As for brass cased 762x39, yes it does exist. There is surplus military brass ammo from eastern block countries but that has been drying up ans getting expensive. Most all the domestic manufacturers have brass cased hunting ammo which is usually quite accurate - Winchester and Remington are stocked in many stores around my area anyway. I do notice the primers are softer though. It's common to have a small dimple on an unfired round that was chambered while shooting. Makes me slightly nervous of them even if never experienced an unintentional discharge. Brass for reloading is also available, however it costs about the same or slightly more than complete steel fodder. That brass hunting ammo tends to be quite accurate in bolt guns from what I have heard. You might be pleasantly surprised what your sks can do with good ammo and a steady rest.
 
Last edited:
Of the military issue brass cased ammo in 7.62x39, the Yugo stuff comes to mind but it is berdan primed and I haven't seen it advertised very much anymore. The Russian steel cased stuff, most is fine for cheap shooting except the stuff that smelled like a cat litter box after firing which it has been too long for me to identify which manufacturer had that. On an indoor range, it was quite stinky.

Like illinoisburt, the last of the stuff that I have shot in this has been brass cased boxer primed because I reloaded for this round simply to see if was worth doing about ten years ago. I found the brass reloadable ammo as generally more accurate and my reloads were even more accurate (Russki SKS testbase with Techsights) at 25 to 100 yards. The only issue was that the SKS was hard on the brass and I did have to file burrs off the case head probably from the extractor.
 
My AR’s like the Wolf 125gr soft point the best, with 1” groups pretty common. My AK doesn’t really care, getting 3-4” groups with everything.
 
If you have a "Yugo" SKS, have you read comments about nasty "popped primers"? This expression can be quite an understatement.

If I remember correctly, this is more common in Yugo chambers than in other SKS types, as described by Mr. Murray of Murray Gunsmithing, on his forum at SKSboards.

Am fairly certain that Tula caused the weird events in both of my Yugos, which are the early M59 series (no grenade launchers).

In one of the rifles, the event ** blew the firing pin out the rear of the bolt carrier! **
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top