Does Tulammo not go by SAAMI specs?

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Potatohead

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Just bought some .223 Tulammo at WM and the guy in line told me he'd seen Tulammo explode in a gun and that they dont abide by the SAAMI specs that most of the good ammo manufacturers go by...i thought everyone had to go by those..??? (forgive me if i called it by wrong name, its something like SAAMI, you know what im talkin about...) i know Tulammo is not the greatest ammo out there (by a longshot) but do they not abide by the specs that evryone else does?
 
They don't have to. SAAMI is an American organization. CIP is the European equivalent but I don't know if Russia is a member.

Either way, they would not knowingly sell dangerous ammunition that would get their US importer sued out of business and lose them the trade.
But it is cheap ammunition and you are liklier to get a lemon than with a name brand.
I wouldn't worry much if I used cheap blasting rifle ammo. But I don't, so I really don't worry about it.
 
Don't believe everything you hear. SAAMI is an organization of American manufacturers and CIP is a regulatory body for european countries. Russian happens to belong to CIP. I'm sure that any reputable seller of ammo would only sell SAAMI or CIP certified ammo. Tula brand is sold in Europe and America. I've shot a lot of Tula both in 9mm Luger and 7.62x54R and not had a single problem. :)
 
If anyone tells you anything negative about Russian ammo, other than it's a littler dirtier than its competitors, they are probably lying to you or have no clue what they're talking about.
 
they are probably lying to you or have no clue what they're talking about.
man thats what im thinkin because my wife and i went through a couple hundred .380 rounds last weekend and our p238 ate em all no problem whatsoever..it really wasnt that much dirtier than usual either
 
European ammo has to meet CIP standards, rather than US SAAMI, although the two organisations cooperate to a point. Just about all imported ammo is made to CIP standards.
CIP Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives, or "Permanent International Commission for Firearms Testing"

Tula Arms Plant has been around since 1712 in Russia. Kinda hard to think they would risk it all by producing out-spec ammo, especially since their home customers were the Tsars then Uncle Joe Stalin and now Putin.
 
Had an SKS rendered inoperational due to Wolf ammo--same ammo that used to be imported under a different name. The primer pierced and the gas had enough force to bend the firing pin and wedged it tight. It was scorched and blackened when I hammered it apart.

Never used steel case ammo since.
 
yikes! thx waywatcher...it seems that people either have had zero problems w it or will not use it. must be inconsistent
 
SAAMI creates pressure, velocity and dimensional criteria that ammo/firearm manufactures voluntarily follow. There is no rules/laws make them do so. Most major manufacturers follow these guidelines for consistency across the board and to make sure their ammo is safe in modern firearms.


Anything you hear from a guy standing in line at WalMart needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
 
SAAMI is all about chamber and brass dimensions, and has nothing to do with powder charges or performance standards. Powder, bullet, and brass manufacturer's use SAAMI specs to build those components to fit SAAMI spec chambers, as per cartridge applications. So if the ammo is chambering properly in a SAAMI spec chamber, then SAAMI specs have been adhered to.
I learned this a little while back form another THR member who corrected me, regarding what SAAMI provides within this industry.
GS
 
All of you guys need to make sure that you don't ever buy any steel case ammo again!

(Just leaves more for me! ;))

I can't count how many hundreds of thousands of rounds of it we've gone through in training in the last couple of years with no problems at all. But hey, if the Walmart guy and waywatcher say it's bad, then you ought to believe them!
 
Wolf and Tula Ammo

I have been shooting guns since the middle 70's . Wolf has never given me any problems.It is dirty and you do have to scrub your chamber in AR15's if you run brass afterwards. As for Tula it is total crap the very first box i tried last year was enough for me 1st shot was low second shot short stroked and the 3rd shot blew out the primer split the case it blew parts of the primer back inside the firing pin channel and jammed it up and bent the retaining pin.At that point i stopped and will never shoot that stuff in my AR again . so for me Wolf = OK not clean or very accurate. Tula = A hand grenade waiting to happen in AR15 . Pistol ammo might be ok but im not taking the chance for 2 bucks a box difference in price.
 
The only problems I have had with steel cased ammo is the 55 gr. Tula and the 55 gr. that Cabelas sells under the Herters brand name won't cycle the action on my PSA upper. The 69 gr. stuff works great.
 
While Wolf and Tula are not my favorites I use their ammo, and probably will use more in the future. Several years ago my buddy got a bunch of Tula 9mm that had many, many hard primers - didn't work in any of our 9mm guns (including carbines).

I tend to prefer "Bear" ammo (Golden, Silver, Brown) - never had a problem with that. Some people say all the above are made in the same factory, or group of factories, but I think Tula and Bear are different companies (?)
 
I've shot thousands of rounds of Tula and Bear through my H&K P-30 9mm and have never had a single problem. I've gotten away from it due to starting to want to purchase reloadable brass as opposed to steel casings from the cheapo ammo. That being said, if all you want is cheap plinking without the hassle of reloading, the Tula and Bear both fed just fine in my gun.
 
45_auto said:
But hey, if the Walmart guy and waywatcher say it's bad, then you ought to believe them!

I didn't say it was bad, or good, for that matter. I detailed my experience with it. It is just my experience, and the decision I made. I leave it up to the reader to make his own judgment on the ammo.

I would only use it again if it was literally the last ammo left on the earth, and not a moment before.
 
The only trouble I had was some Wolf Military Classic in 30 M1Carbine. My WWII Inland would not fire it reliably. It worked OK in my Ruger Blackhawk however. I found the primers were a bit harder and the Inland needed to have the firing pin replaced.
 
Some high school kids I passed had accidentally put a .223 (5.56) round in their AK-74 chamber, which requires 5.45x39.
They asked for a cleaning rod.

They realized they had messed up, but whether it was stuck in the chamber or they had a bullet in the bore, I did not want to ask and embarrass them.
 
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I have shot tula in several calibers with success. However, when I shot 223 tula in my sig 516 it short strokes ejects but doesnt cycle the bolt back far enough to pick up the next round. If I change the piston setting to adverse it works about half the time. I should also note that all other brands of ammo cycle properly with the 516s piston set on normal or adverse.
 
Anything you hear from a guy standing in line at WalMart needs to be taken with a grain of salt

No doubt...you should have seen him too. The quintessential WM gun/ammo customer..camo shirt, sweat pants, and hiking boots..<[i[deleted[/i]>
 
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