There is nothing wrong with the Russian commercial brands (Wolf, Tula, Bear, etc). I've put a few thousand rounds of 9mm Silver Bear through a Kimber and Ruger P89 with no problem. Several years ago this stuff was even cheaper than reloads. It was a great deal and it's a shame that prices have risen. I've had no problems with the Silver Bear and not only is it reliable it's also good for storing. I had a minor flood several years ago and due to poor planning my ammo ended up underwater for several hours. Had it only been a few hundred rnds I probably would have thrown it away. As it was a few thousand rnds I dried it all out and wiped it down a few days later. I had two misfires out of this ammo. Bear in mind that it was a mix of Blazer, Silver Bear, reloads and shotgun shells of various calibers and manufacturers. All of it was good (except 2 rnds) despite being under water (all of the .22lr got tossed without testing).
I will say that the zinc plated Silver Bear ammo can get a odd looking discoloration and film on it after a few years of storage. It still feeds fine and goes bang.
I've got a couple of AR's and I usually shoot Tula, Brown Bear and Silver Bear in them. There have been no problems and they all feed fine. Accuracy is nothing to brag about (55gr Brown Bear seems best-Tula is worst) but these brands shoot as well as some domestic brands (Remington) in brass.
Someone said that the steel cases do not expand to fill the chamber and this causes more fouling. This is true. Some also say that the steel cases are harder on M4 extractors and firing pins. This might be true but the Russian ammo is made from softer steel (still harder than brass though) than the extractors. I haven't had a problem yet but I will say that my M4's are less than a year old and only have around a thousand or so rnds through each of them. Extractors and firing pins only cost a few dollars and I keep an extra in my range bag.
A few people have had problems with the laquer on Brown Bear ammo (and Wolf?). After a lot of shooting the laquer can supposedly cause the bolt to be basically glued into the foward position if it's allowed to cool with the BCG foward. I haven't seen this yet but it's evidently happened enough for AR shooters to know about it. I've read about this happening with Ruger Mini 14's too. Silver Bear is zinc plated and Tula is polymer coated if this is a worry.
One last thing, some people on the forums write about having the rim torn off of the case and having a hard time removing the empty case from the chamber. I haven't seen this either. I do have a broken shell extractor (CheaperThanDirt-$8) just in case.
I shoot at least once per month and have had no problems with Russian ammo. I told you about the internet stories and have no doubt that someone somewhere had problems with laquer and extraction of broken cases. I haven't seen it though and I don't personally know any other shooters that have had these problems. An extra firing pin, extractor and broken shell extractor stays in my range bag just in case and was paid for long ago out of the savings from shooting the cheaper steel cased ammo.
I will say that the zinc plated Silver Bear ammo can get a odd looking discoloration and film on it after a few years of storage. It still feeds fine and goes bang.
I've got a couple of AR's and I usually shoot Tula, Brown Bear and Silver Bear in them. There have been no problems and they all feed fine. Accuracy is nothing to brag about (55gr Brown Bear seems best-Tula is worst) but these brands shoot as well as some domestic brands (Remington) in brass.
Someone said that the steel cases do not expand to fill the chamber and this causes more fouling. This is true. Some also say that the steel cases are harder on M4 extractors and firing pins. This might be true but the Russian ammo is made from softer steel (still harder than brass though) than the extractors. I haven't had a problem yet but I will say that my M4's are less than a year old and only have around a thousand or so rnds through each of them. Extractors and firing pins only cost a few dollars and I keep an extra in my range bag.
A few people have had problems with the laquer on Brown Bear ammo (and Wolf?). After a lot of shooting the laquer can supposedly cause the bolt to be basically glued into the foward position if it's allowed to cool with the BCG foward. I haven't seen this yet but it's evidently happened enough for AR shooters to know about it. I've read about this happening with Ruger Mini 14's too. Silver Bear is zinc plated and Tula is polymer coated if this is a worry.
One last thing, some people on the forums write about having the rim torn off of the case and having a hard time removing the empty case from the chamber. I haven't seen this either. I do have a broken shell extractor (CheaperThanDirt-$8) just in case.
I shoot at least once per month and have had no problems with Russian ammo. I told you about the internet stories and have no doubt that someone somewhere had problems with laquer and extraction of broken cases. I haven't seen it though and I don't personally know any other shooters that have had these problems. An extra firing pin, extractor and broken shell extractor stays in my range bag just in case and was paid for long ago out of the savings from shooting the cheaper steel cased ammo.