Russian 7.62 x 39 ammunition which is better or are they all the same?

Status
Not open for further replies.
tahunua001 said:
in my personal experience wolf tends to be the most accurate, consistent, and most reliable. tula is absolute worst with brown bear somewhere in the middle but closer to tula. I have no experience with red army standard.
Click to expand...

I guess stepping up to Geco ammo would be a great improvement over all the Russian Ammo?
 
For 7.62x39, I like them all. I prefer golden tiger because for a while a case of 1k was really 1080. I don't know if this is still the case. If I was buying more now, I'd call SG ammo and see what polymer coated ammo comes packaged in heavy plastic bags. That way I don't feel guilty leaving it in the humidity. I don't think the brands often mean anything, wolf is a middleman. I'd focus more on which factory it came from: Barnaul, Tula, Vympel, etc. And the coating.

Silver bear, or anything zinc coated can get messy when wet. But I don't see this often. Novosibirsk LVE copper colored bullets are the dirtiest, they will quickly discolor your hands or anything else they touch. This is not common either. The laquer coated .223 does not always work well for me., but is fine in 7.62x39.

The pretty brass Yugoslavian ammo, is all corrosive. It is no longer cheaper. It's not bad if you take a class or something and will clean your gun. It sucks in a truck gun.
 
Sebastian the Ibis said:
For 7.62x39, I like them all. I prefer golden tiger because for a while a case of 1k was really 1080. I don't know if this is still the case. If I was buying more now, I'd call SG ammo and see what polymer coated ammo comes packaged in heavy plastic bags. That way I don't feel guilty leaving it in the humidity. I don't think the brands often mean anything, wolf is a middleman. I'd focus more on which factory it came from: Barnaul, Tula, Vympel, etc. And the coating.

Silver bear, or anything zinc coated can get messy when wet. But I don't see this often. Novosibirsk LVE copper colored bullets are the dirtiest, they will quickly discolor your hands or anything else they touch. This is not common either. The laquer coated .223 does not always work well for me., but is fine in 7.62x39.

The pretty brass Yugoslavian ammo, is all corrosive. It is no longer cheaper. It's not bad if you take a class or something and will clean your gun. It sucks in a truck gun.
Click to expand...

Maybe I'll just stick with the Military Classic from Wolf. Or I can move up to Federal or Hornady. In those countries that still use this 7.62 ammo in combat what brand do they purchase from for their armies?
 
Having recently gotten into AK's I've tried about 5 different brands of ammunition, mainly at 200 yds. out of my 20" Saiga. For me, consistently, Golden Tiger was the absolute best and Geco the absolute worst. Monarch did very well too.

35W
 

Attachments

  • Golden Tiger vs. Geco-edit small.jpg
    Golden Tiger vs. Geco-edit small.jpg
    484.3 KB · Views: 7
  • Saiga 100 yd Target-edit.jpg
    Saiga 100 yd Target-edit.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 7
stinger 327 said:
Why are the majority of these low cost Russian 7.62 X 39 ammo magnetic? What is the purpose of this? The more expensive rounds like Winchester, Corbon or Federal are not magnetic. What's the reasoning behind magnetic?
Click to expand...
The cheap Russian ammo uses steel cases and jackets with copper/steel in the bullets. Cheaper. Regular commercial ammo uses brass cases and copper jackets in the bullets, so nothing magnetic.

Not sure if Wolf Gold which is made in Taiwan and uses normal brass/copper components makes ammo in 7.62x39, but it's darn good ammo for the price in .223.
 
Speedo66 said:
The cheap Russian ammo uses steel cases and jackets with copper/steel in the bullets. Cheaper. Regular commercial ammo uses brass cases and copper jackets in the bullets, so nothing magnetic.

Not sure if Wolf Gold which is made in Taiwan and uses normal brass/copper components makes ammo in 7.62x39, but it's darn good ammo for the price in .223.
Click to expand...

What does it mean to have magnetic ammo? Is it a plus or minus?
 
stinger 327 said:
What does it mean to have magnetic ammo? Is it a plus or minus?
Click to expand...
The plus is magnetic ammo is cheaper. There are a couple of minuses. For one thing it causes faster wear on the barrel. Another problem at least in southern california is during fire season a lot or places to shoot won't let you use it. The steel in the jacket can spark when it hits rocks and can cause fires.
 
Many indoor ranges also won't allow steel bullet ammo for fear of damaging their backstops. Magnetic means nothing, just the fact that that's how you check if the bullet has steel in it. I saw on one ammo dealer's site that Wolf has one variety of steel cased ammo with non steel bullets specifically for indoor ranges. Here's a link: http://www.the-armory.com/shopsite_...t-fmj-wolf-performance-ammo-case-1000rds.html
 
Last edited:
railroader said:
The plus is magnetic ammo is cheaper. There are a couple of minuses. For one thing it causes faster wear on the barrel. Another problem at least in southern california is during fire season a lot or places to shoot won't let you use it. The steel in the jacket can spark when it hits rocks and can cause fires.
Click to expand...
Yes I have heard of this before. In past and current wars which ammo and brand do the different military countries use?
 
Speedo66 said:
Many indoor ranges also won't allow steel bullet ammo for fear of damaging their backstops. Magnetic means nothing, just the fact that that's how you check if the bullet has steel in it. I saw on one ammo dealer's site that Wolf has one variety of steel cased ammo with non steel bullets specifically for indoor ranges. Here's a link: http://www.the-armory.com/shopsite_...t-fmj-wolf-performance-ammo-case-1000rds.html
Click to expand...
I
I ordered some Red Army ammo in FMJ and HP as well as some Geco FMJ and HP.
 
Speedo66 said:
Many indoor ranges also won't allow steel bullet ammo for fear of damaging their backstops. Magnetic means nothing, just the fact that that's how you check if the bullet has steel in it. I saw on one ammo dealer's site that Wolf has one variety of steel cased ammo with non steel bullets specifically for indoor ranges. Here's a link: http://www.the-armory.com/shopsite_...t-fmj-wolf-performance-ammo-case-1000rds.html
Click to expand...
That ammo I'm pretty sure hasn't been available for years. I have been hoarding a half a case of that I'm thinking for at least 7 or more years. In fact I tried to sell it in 2010. http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=336553 If you do a google image search no one has had that ammo in quite awhile. It always came in the yellow box as far as I know.
 
Last edited:
Maybe I'll just stick with the Military Classic from Wolf. Or I can move up to Federal or Hornady. In those countries that still use this 7.62 ammo in combat what brand do they purchase from for their armies?

Basically, any of the steel cased stuff is from a former Eastern European Military Factory somewhere. The Soviets built factory cities to supply WWIII, and built multiples of what they needed expecting most of them would be nuked. They also built ammo factories as foreign aid. Tula is its own factory. Barnaul makes the Bear ammo. Wolf used to be made by Tula, I don't know who makes it now. Ulyanovsk, or maybe Tula again? At the end of the day it all goes bang. AKs were designed by a genius to be manufactured by peasants, maintained by idiots and shot by children. No need to overthink it. I'd just get this: http://www.sgammo.com/catalog/rifle-ammo-sale/762x39-ammo

Federal and Hornaday, are probably the few examples that were not built to Mil-Spec. I am sure they work just fine, they are respected commercial manufacturers. However, I don't see the need to spend additional $$$, unless you have a nice 7.62x39 bolt gun.
 
Tula helped cause violent 'popped primers' in both of my nice Yugo M59s: all-matching bolt/action etc.
Part of the phenomenon could be the smaller dimensions of some SKS chambers, per Mr. Murray at SKSboards.

Having used other ammo brands, even though Mr. Murray's specialized gunsmithing treatment 'cured' both SKS, I prefer buying any other types of foreign 7.62x39.

In most SKS rifles 'popped primers' (and 'popped firing pins'!!) won't ever happen, and never seems to happen in AK derivatives or Ruger Mini 30s.
 
In my SKS's & AK I shoot steelcase -I clean my guns everytime
I use them so brand does not bother me.
In my MINI-30 I use brass case & brass reloads
 
HOWARD J said:
In my SKS's & AK I shoot steelcase -I clean my guns everytime
I use them so brand does not bother me.
In my MINI-30 I use brass case & brass reloads
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I do no matter which ammo I use in any and all calibers.
 
giggitygiggity said:
Tula makes awful ammo and components. I don't doubt that some people will chime in about how nothing is wrong with it, but I have personally seen Tula fail to go bang (1 of every 2 rounds) in an AK. When reloading with Tula primers, I have to deeply seat them and in about 20% of the time, the rounds still fail to fire or require double or triple strikes. Don't let the cheap prices tempt you. Wolf, Brown/Silver Bear, and other males are the same price or slightly more expensive and those brands work great.
Click to expand...
Tula is the lowest cost brand of all brands. So perhaps you do get what you pay for?
 
Sebastian the Ibis said:
Maybe I'll just stick with the Military Classic from Wolf. Or I can move up to Federal or Hornady. In those countries that still use this 7.62 ammo in combat what brand do they purchase from for their armies?

Basically, any of the steel cased stuff is from a former Eastern European Military Factory somewhere. The Soviets built factory cities to supply WWIII, and built multiples of what they needed expecting most of them would be nuked. They also built ammo factories as foreign aid. Tula is its own factory. Barnaul makes the Bear ammo. Wolf used to be made by Tula, I don't know who makes it now. Ulyanovsk, or maybe Tula again? At the end of the day it all goes bang. AKs were designed by a genius to be manufactured by peasants, maintained by idiots and shot by children. No need to overthink it. I'd just get this: http://www.sgammo.com/catalog/rifle-ammo-sale/762x39-ammo

Federal and Hornaday, are probably the few examples that were not built to Mil-Spec. I am sure they work just fine, they are respected commercial manufacturers. However, I don't see the need to spend additional $$$, unless you have a nice 7.62x39 bolt gun.
Click to expand...

So all of this cheap ammo was used in past wars by different countries?
I would have purchased some ammo from SG but they don't do phone orders. On-line orders only.
 
Yes, the factories that currently make 7.62x39 ammo in Russia and Ukraine were/are former or current military factories. In fact, all Ammo production in Eastern Europe were government owned and production was geared towards military needs. I have shot just about every type of AK ammo over the years and the only one that ever gave me misfires was Tula. Of the current offerings on the market, Golden Bear seems to be about the best and it costs no more than any other steel case ammo. In fact I just bought a few thousand rounds of it and it was cheaper than Wolf.
 
highpower said:
Yes, the factories that currently make 7.62x39 ammo in Russia and Ukraine were/are former or current military factories. In fact, all Ammo production in Eastern Europe were government owned and production was geared towards military needs. I have shot just about every type of AK ammo over the years and the only one that ever gave me misfires was Tula. Of the current offerings on the market, Golden Bear seems to be about the best and it costs no more than any other steel case ammo. In fact I just bought a few thousand rounds of it and it was cheaper than Wolf.
Click to expand...

tHANKS for the info. the consensus seems to be that the Golden Bear is the best. FMJ and or HP?
 
FMJ is the standard "milspec". I believe the typical HP in 7.62x39mm is just the result of a different jacket manufacturing process (to make it cheaper, more uniform?). Others say it's to improve yaw or ballistic coefficient. I don't know, but I do believe it's not meant to expand. The expanding bullet in 7.62x39mm is the SP.

Golden Tiger lists all three on their website, but I've only ever seen FMJ in the marketplace. Unless you're hunting, I would go with FMJ.
 
Dain Bramage said:
FMJ is the standard "milspec". I believe the typical HP in 7.62x39mm is just the result of a different jacket manufacturing process (to make it cheaper, more uniform?). Others say it's to improve yaw or ballistic coefficient. I don't know, but I do believe it's not meant to expand. The expanding bullet in 7.62x39mm is the SP.

Golden Tiger lists all three on their website, but I've only ever seen FMJ in the marketplace. Unless you're hunting, I would go with FMJ.
Click to expand...

Where is a good place to purchase this Golden Tiger or direct from their website?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

P
  • Locked
7.62 39
Replies
14
Views
679
rtroha
R
Z
  • Locked
7.62x39 Golden Tiger vs "Russian Wolf" vs "Russian Military Classic"?
2
Replies
40
Views
18K
J Star
J
S
  • Locked
Cor-Bon 7.62x39mm Is it worth it???
Replies
9
Views
1K
Marlin 45 carbine
M
stinger 327
  • Locked
7.62 X 39 Which brand of ammo to get or avoid?
2 3
Replies
60
Views
9K
stinger 327
stinger 327
N
  • Locked
7.62x39mm HPs or soft points- do any expand?
2
Replies
28
Views
5K
Pug Puppy
P
Back
Top