[svtruth]

As a new shooter, I am asking about feelings/perceptions/experiences with ammo for AK-47. Any advice on price, value, quality, corrosion, etc. will be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.

[DMK]

You'll likely get a lot of opinions. I'm assuming yuo are talking about 7.62x39 ammo since the the most common caliber for an AK.

None of the major manufacturers new production ammo should give you any trouble. Wolf, Barnual, Silver Bear, Brown Bear, Olympic, Cheetah, all are non-corrosive.

Watch out for the surplus stuff though, such as Yugoslavian or Portugese in ammo cans or battle packs. A lot of it is corrosive and it's rarely advertised as such.

Personally, I prefer Barnual, with Silver bear being my second favorite. The Barnual just seems more consistant and accurate than the others. I've never liked Wolf ammo in my AK or in my SKS rifles. It seems to pattern all over the place.

Here's where I get mine:
http://www.dansammo.com/ammo.asp
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com
http://www.aimsurplus.com (they're out of the commercial stuff right now though)

[Chipperman]

Generally people will shoot anything through AKs, but are more choosy about other guns.

I use mostly Wolf in my AKs. Wolf and any of the commercial 7.62x39 is non-corrosive. It smells horrible, is dirty, can't be reloaded, but goes BANG.

[Cacique500]

For an AK-47 get anything that's cheap. They'll feed and shoot just about anything.

Do watch out for the Yugo corrosive - it's not a big deal to clean it out but if you don't it *will* cause rust (and quickly).

Take a look at AmmunitionStore (http://www.ammunitionstore.com) as well - they've got some of the best prices on the net.

Also take a look at AR15.com (http://www.ar15.com) - they have a section there on AK-47's that has a lot of useful info.

[MTMilitiaman]

For what I use my rifles for, Wolf FMJs or HPs work very well. The ammo may not be the most accurate stuff, but it is cheap and reliable. You can pull the trigger 1000 times for around $100.

[longhorngunman]

As incredibly cheap as the various Russian ammo is, I don't see a need in the older corrosive surplus ammo. The Russian ammo works and goes bang as well as anything does. Probably not considered "match" grade ammo, but if that is what you want you wouldn't be shooting an AK to begin with.

[MechAg94]

Is there any particular type that is more accurate? I guess if you were seeing how accurate your gun can be, what would you shoot? All I have is Wolf right now.

And no need for smart ass responses. I am sure I could list most of them in a few minutes if I wanted to. :)

[Sleeping Dog]

If I wanted to see how accurate the gun could be, I'd get dies & brass and start experimenting.

The wolf (and other) ammo is so cheap, I haven't been tempted to start reloading 7.62x39. With a Kobra red dot I can usually keep 100 yd groups of about 5". That's worse than the 2" groups I usually get with the AR (A2 sights, from sandbags, handloads).

Regards.

[DMK]

Is there any particular type that is more accurate? I guess if you were seeing how accurate your gun can be, what would you shoot? All I have is Wolf right now. I think it might depend on the gun. Buy a couple boxes of each and try off the bench.

The African Cheetah stuff is supposed to be pretty accurate. I like the Barnual HP the best for consistancy. Silver bear also gets good marks pretty often. I really think Wolf is the worst of the bunch.

Keep in mind too that some guns might be more accurate with the 150ish grain soft point ammo instead of the more common 123ish grain FMJ/HP stuff.

[KaceCoyote]

I've seen AK's go from essentially shotguns at 100 yards, to truely accurate rifles when going from wolf to handloads.


The 7.62x39mm has alot've potential, and the AK isnt inherently inaccurate or anything.

[MechAg94]

Okay. I'll have to keep an eye out for other ammo.

My first day out with the VEPR last weekend I was doing maybe 12" groups with the open sites. It was hard to line up those open sights very well at that distance. I got the feeling the gun could shoot much better than that. I need to go for the 4X scope I guess.

5" groups with a red dot is pretty good though.

[svtruth]

Thank you for all the good input. I learn something every time I log on here.