Academy's "Monarch" hollow point 7.62x39

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Newtosavage

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Getting it for just $5.49/box around here, and at least out of my Savage model 10, it's a sub-MOA performer. Dropped a 225+ lb. boar with a head shot a few weeks ago, in his tracks. Never even flinched. Can't ask for much more than that.
 
Pretty sure its Barnual, same as "Brown Bear" Good ammo for the price and unless you are buying cases, hard to beat Academy's price.
 
Every Monarch I've seen is PPU.

Of course that's all brass cased. Either way the Monarch is decent stuff for the price.
 
I haven't tried their 7.62 ammo but I have shot a bunch of it in other calibers and have never been disappointed. It's usually well beyond acceptable and on up into the darn good ammo realm. I just wish they had it in more calibers i shoot, especially the handgun 32 calibers.
 
Every Monarch I've seen is PPU.
The brass cased Monarch is usually PPU, the steel cased is Barnaul, as far as I can tell. Its Academy's "house brand". If you buy enough of it the maker will put pretty much whatever you want on the box. At under $6 a box, I'd wager its is steel cased Monarch.
 
Sure enough it's Barnaul, which is pretty good stuff. Nothing too fancy, but better than Tula any day. If you are buying in bulk (to make up for the cost of shipping) you can typically save a little by buying Brown Bear (I avoid Silver & Golden because my VZ eats all of it equally well and Brown Bear is typically less costly). If you just need a box, there's no reason to avoid Monarch.

Edit: I would, however, be a little cautious using any of these for hunting because even the HP & SP rounds tend to have minimal expansion due to the steel jacket. It may sound ridiculous, but handloading is probably the best option for the hunter wanting to use 7.62x39mm (I use Hornady 123gr. SSTs or the elusive/discontinued V-Max bullets). There are some factory loads that afford suitable performance, but they tend to be both costly and somewhat difficult to find.
 
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It may sound ridiculous, but handloading is probably the best option for the hunter wanting to use 7.62x39mm
Before going this route, I'd suggest you try some the 158gr SP 7.62x39 Wolf/Tula ammo. There are youTube videos shooting it in gel blocks. It does pretty well.
 
Before going this route, I'd suggest you try some the 158gr SP 7.62x39 Wolf/Tula ammo. There are youTube videos shooting it in gel blocks. It does pretty well.
I've tried it, but it has delivered subpar accuracy for me, so I tend to stay away from it and just stick to handloads for anything but plinking ammo (which is largely what I shoot).
 
Handloading for the 7.62x39 is anything but ridiculous. I get MOA or better from my model 10 Savage bolt action using "30-30" flex tip bullets from Hornady, designed for their LeverEvolution ammo. Both the 160's and 140's are very accurate, and when I hand load with RL-7 I can push either of them well beyond what most factory loads give me.

Having said all that, this particular Monarch ammo delivers an honest 2500 fps. over the chrono in my gun, a fact that really surprised me. And I would not hesitate to hunt pigs with it. So far I've taken one shot at one large boar, and it didn't take a step. Impressive performance from the little 'ol round I would say. I've seen them go further when hit with a much larger gun.
 
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