AK users, I need some advice.

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rocpyro

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So I finally bought an AK, and am wondering about 7.62x39 ammo. I have tried all types that I can find, and am getting pretty consistent 4" groups with everything, and everything chambers. Now I want to stock up on something, and dont know what to get. I have looked and havent found many ballistics comparisons between brands and bullets, only 7.62 compared to 5.56 comparisons. I'm probably going to go w/ wolf, but which one? FMJ, hollowpoint, soft point? This is a hog rifle/shtf rifle for me, so that would be the usage. Should I go w/ one over the other? I know about this bullets tendency to tumble a few inches after impact, so what would be the advantage of the hollowpoints or the softpoints? And Monarchs also seem to work fine, should I steer clear of them due to the laquer coating?
 
I know when SHTF, you want penetration for body armor and shooting through walls, etc so for that I would go with mil spec FMJs. Hogs, well, never shot one, but HPs are good for tearing up flesh, so maybe some of both. Make sure the rifle shoots whatever you buy well. Try a few boxes of each before dropping $200+ on ammo that may jam a lot and is inaccurate. It seems like you have done this for the most part. AK rounds are generally 123GR. I use Wolf, Silver Bear, Golden Tiger, etc in my SKS. I usually buy the cheap stuff; whatever is on sale.

Enjoy!
 
I can tell you that you shouldn't expect great accuracy from Wolf FMJ. I am not a big Wolf fan, but I have certainly found that the SP's and JHP's are much more accurate.
 
I'm actually very pleased w/ the accuracy from this rifle, considering all I had been told. I've shot others, and mine seems more accurate. I'm perfectly happy w/ 3-4" out of it at 100 yards. I've got other rifles for tack driving.


So far everything has done fine w/ feeding and extraction, so it kinda comes down to bullet performance. Someone said they had better results w/ HP ammo? Does anyone know of terminal ballistics testing w/ these? gelletin? Wound profiles? Any experience or info is greatly appreciated.
 
Oh, and any comments on monarch? I heard somewhere that the coating can build up in the chamber, but I figured that would only be in automatic or rapid fire, when it gets hot enough to melt it. I dunno, what do yall think?
 
Wolf Military Classic HP. This is loaded with a bullet that will reliably expand/fragment. Most hollow points in this caliber are just FMJ with the tip drilled out. The bullet in this load is actually pre-scored and will/should reliably expand and or fragment depending on the distance and target.

Visit here and do a little research, it has been discussed at length and in more technical terms than I can recall.

I know that AIM surplus has this ammo in stock, that is unless I've bought them out. My folks live near there and I've been sending dad money to buy me a case every couple of weeks or so for a while now. I've collected quite a pile of the stuff.
 
The Golden Tiger from ammoman.com is reasonably cheap and has functioned 100% in my rifles. It's the steel jacketed M43 type bullet with lacquered case and sealed bullet and primer. I can get sub 3MOA with this ammo out of my SKS. BSW
 
Monarch is made by Barnaul, who also makes Brown Bear, Silver Bear, and Gold Bear.

I did this couple years back and decided that Brown Bear is cleaner, and a tighter shooting than Wolf. BB will make 4" groups @ 100, which I cannot repeat using Wolf.

They all work, but I went with BB.

Been through a good 5k rounds of the stuff.

And yes I've heard yammering about "coating" build up, but I've never seen it in mine, or anyone elses rifle.
 
Another vote for Golden Tiger. I dig around on other forums as well, and GT is easily the most popular steel cased AK ammo around, rare to find a bad word said about it. Me and several freinds have used it for a while now, and we've been very happy with it's accuracy and reliability. Copes Distributing is a great operation to get it from, about $200/case delivered,last I checked.
 
Wolf Military Classic HP. This is loaded with a bullet that will reliably expand/fragment. Most hollow points in this caliber are just FMJ with the tip drilled out. The bullet in this load is actually pre-scored and will/should reliably expand and or fragment depending on the distance and target.
Click to expand...
I started buying the classic 124gr HP after reading that thread and after working about halfway through a case of wolf 154gr black box SP stuff (which was fine also, but I haven't tested either for reaction in a medium).
The cool thing about AKs is they actually LIKE the "cheap commie ammo" :p
 
I have had better luck with golden tiger than wolf, but wouldn't use the HP's on hogs. They don't expand everytime, so SP's would be much better for hunting.

And in all reality the S probably won't HTF so stock up ammo that you will use in a normal day.
 
I picked up a few cases of Golden Tiger from Cope's and my T56SHTF loves it.
I'll shoot the GT and keep my copper washed steel core safe for more serious situations.
 
Wolf Military Classic 122-grain JHP for SHTF and general plinking, and Wolf 154-grain softpoint for hunting, would be my suggestions.
 
Finger smack?

The ammo; any has worked well in my folding stock AK47, any magazines have worked also.

The trigger every now and again whacks the back of my trigger finger? what is that all about?

Keep Safe.
 
The trigger every now and again whacks the back of my trigger finger? what is that all about
Click to expand...

Trigger slap. Depends on the particular fire control group parts in your gun and how they're aligned. I seem to remember reading that Century had an issue with this on guns they imported a couple years ago. One of the AK's I've shot had a severe trigger slap problem that made it painful to shoot. It is not a problem with all AK's, and some makers specifically advertise that their guns, or their FCG parts, do not cause trigger slap.

Some other guns can have trigger slap too, such as the Kel-Tec P11.
 
If I were you sir, I would go with the FMJ, only because I have seen what the hollow point does. When I bought my AK ( WASR 10), it came with a Tapco trigger installed, so i didn't have any trigger slap whatsoever. I recommend this trigger highly. I have not seen any hollow point rounds in 7.62x39 that have expanded at all, so I would go with the FMJ. And I would go with Wolf as well, only because I have never had a misfire.
 
I forgot to mention that some rifles do not like the SP or HP ammo. I'd try a box or two before I'd order an entire case.

It would benefit you greatly to do some research on that Wolf Mil Class HP. It is definitely not your garden variety wolf HP, this is a HP bullet that is engineered to expand and fragment.

I found the thread that deals with this round specifically and shows many pictures of expanded and fragmented bullets. This round is nasty.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=4&f=54&t=103296&page=2
 
Z-Michigan said:
I seem to remember reading that Century had an issue with this on guns they imported a couple years ago.
Click to expand...
No, it has everything to do with the fire control group design that Century commissioned here. They used this FCG in most of their earlier imported Kalashnikovs and have only stopped using it a couple of years ago. This FCG of Century's is what put "trigger slap" into the vernacular.

A low-cap WASR-10 with all Romanian parts will not exhibit trigger slap.
 
I swear on all that's holy that all "animal brand" (Monarch, Brown Bear, Wolf) ammo shoots the same with ONE exception. Silver Bear seems to shoot "differently". I think it's due to the zinc coating. I can't say that it shoots better, but it feels a little different. Honestly, though, I wouldn't go out of my way to stock up on it. Just buy whichever of the animals is cheapest. There should be ZERO functional issues no matter what you put through your AK. An AK will fire a turd if you attach a primer to it.
 
I've had good luck with Golden Tiger in both my SKS (now sold), Saiga and CZ carbine.

Definitely get the Tapco trigger group. Inexpensive and really a great feel.
 
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