Best 7.62x54r ammo?

[LeafsFan]

Here's a question -

When I browse sites I see surplus 7.62x54R that was made in Hungary, Poland, Russia, etc. and I wondered if any one country was noted for making superior/inferior ammo?

Prices all appear the same for surplus, but I wondered if there was an overall quality issue from country to country that might decide which one I buy.

 

[DMK]

All those are about the same. I like the Hungarian ammo quite a bit, especially the silvertip. The Polish silvertip gets good reviews, but I've never tried it myself.

I've had real good luck with Czech silvertip too, very accurate. I stocked up on many cases of it. Some say it doesn't extract well on their guns causing the bolt to stick. My theory is that the ammo is just highly succeptable to sticking in rough chambers.

Keep in mind that silvertip is light ball (148ish grain). Yellowtip is heavy ball (172ish grain). The heavy ball will shoot higher and many surplus guns shoot too high anyway. Light ball is also a little easier on the shoulder. Most of the later ammo is mostly light ball (80s and 90s stuff).

Remember: All surplus 54R is corrosive, so wash out your barrel with soap and warm water after shooting and you're good to go. I just flush it good with Windex right at the range while the barrel's still warm.

 

[rangerruck]

the czech for the milsurp , post 1970's should be good, accurate, consistent, and MAYBE non corrosive.

 

[Pumpkinheaver]

I've had good luck with the czech silvertip.

 

[Koobuh]

Accuracy will differ for each ammunition type for each rifle. Matching a rifle of a certain vintage (Russian, Hungarian, etc.) to the respective ammo (manufacture date range, too!) is a good place to start if you want good accuracy.
Of course, the only way you'll find out for sure is to shoot as many as you can.

I recently test fired several commercial types from my three mosins (Remington M91, Hungarian M44, Finnish M39) and came up with very different results for each rifle between each ammunition.
The yellow tip ammunition is usually used for machine guns, and kicks pretty hard, but it is specified as 'D' type, which the M39 was built to shoot. All the milsurp light ball I tried shot deppressingly poorly from my M39, but it absolutely loves Hungarian yellow tip heavy ball and the heavier commercial loads.

Also, never assume anything that was made prior to the '90s, sold as 'milsurp', and came from an eastern-bloc country is non-corrossive. Quite a bit of the surplus AK ammo coming over here now is corrossive, and most of that was made very recently in historical terms! You would be hard pressed to find corrossive ammo made by any nation today, of course.

 

[dfaugh]

I've had good luck with the czech silvertip.

This is the ONLY milsurp ammo, in ANY caliber, that I ever found to be anywhere near as accurate as commercial ammo. I gave up shooting surplus ammo in my milsurps a while back, because none of it was very accurate. But the Czech stuff is pretty good.

 

[jagdpanzer347]

The 70's vintage Hungarian light ball shoots very well in my M39. That said, buy a tin of several types and see what your rifle likes best. You'll probably end up with more than one Mosin anyway. They seem to be somewhat addictive.

-jagd

 

[ball3006]

Any surplus ammo with the exception....

of the green steel cased ammo. Sticks badly in all of my rifles, except one, where it sticks slightly..........Russian gives the best fireball out of the short Mosins. Albanian is the most accurate, overall. I shot some of that low bullet weight practice ammo this past weekend and it is a hoot, loud bang, big fireball, and next to no recoil........chris3

 

[atblis]

My experiences

Supposed Czech silver tip was rather corrosive. Shot fine otherwise

Supposed Hungarian Heavy Ball Yellow tip was less corrosive, but in the same gun has a habit of blowing primers. Seems to be reasonably accurate

Disclaimer: Ammo dealers don't always know what they are selling.

 

[Bluehawk]

I've shot Chinese, Albanian and Czech silvertip from both of my Nagants. The Alabanian shoots the best from my Chinese Type 52 carbine (Nagant)...very accurate! Amazing since the crimps are horrible and most have shoulder dents!
The Chinese copperwashed ammo was very consistent and accurate but I don't see any of that around any more.
The Czech silvertip has been nothing but a headache...pierced primers on every round in both the Russian 91/30 and the Chinese carbine when temperatures are over 90 degrees. Had to hammer the bolt open every time! I resorted to pulling the bullets and downloading them til the problem stopped...went from 50 grains of powder to 44 grains...now no more pierced primers.
(yes I did check firing pin protrusion and set both to minimum and still had this problem)
By the way...all the different ways I've read (Windex, ammonia, hot water...etc) to clean up after useing corrosive ammo is not necessary. Hoppes No.9 is perfectly suited to wash away any corrosive salts left in the bore by the pot. chlorate from corrosive primers. I've used it for many years with never a problem and the older bottle labels even tell you it's good for corrosive ammo!

 

[Cacique500]

Here's a link for an excellent reference on all of the current (and some not current) 7.62x54R ammo:

http://7.62x54r.com/MosinID/MosinAmmo.htm

My M39's all seem to like the Polish 147 gr so I stacked it deep. I also have a lot of Albanian but it's hard to close the bolt on the rounds some times...still good ammo though.

 

[ball3006]

By the way.....

all of the 7.62x54r surplus ammo is corrosive, so clean accordingly. Sellers of this ammo will LIE to you saying it is not or mildly corrosive........chris3

 

[OCJ]

Isnt mildly corrosive the same as being "kinda pregnant"?

 

[Shrinkmd]

Pierced Primers?

pierced primers on every round in both the Russian 91/30 and the Chinese carbine when temperatures are over 90 degrees.

I was shooting my mosin and my sks yesterday in 95 degree heat. I had several primers blow in the SKS (I know, I should have stopped after the first one, right?) but the 91/30 ran like a champ with Polish light ball.

Can the heat cause primer piercing? I'm trying to learn as much as I can about this before I give up on my SKS.

 

[OCJ]

I'm having a hard time finding the polish light ball at the moment, does anyone know who has it in stock?

 

[grimjaw]

Cheaperthandirt.com had Polish light ball the last time I check, although it was kind of expensive for surplus ammo.

jmm

 

[OCJ]

What is the stuff in the 340 round can that Century sells? Most i've seen come 440 to a can.

 

[Bluehawk]

Can the heat cause primer piercing?

It sure can!
When a load is developed at a moderate temperature...say around 75 degrees F and it's close to a maximum load then when the outside temperature goes up the internal pressure of the cartridge goes up too...and can be dangerously high!
This also works in reverse....as in a mild load worked up in a warm climate and then fired in a cold climate...you get a loss of velocity because of a loss of internal cartridge pressure....take it too far and you can have a squib load!
I suspect that the Czech ammo was developed for cooler climate fighting than the desert heat of California which is why I had such a primer problem. I checked all the other variables...firing pin protrusion...firing pin condition...headspace...etc and all was ok. The only thing left was the cartridge so as I mentioned in my previous post when I reduced the powder charge the problem went away. BTW...when I reseated the bullets I needed a way to crimp them so I used my Lee crimp die...the collet-type one...on the steel caseings...worked perfectly with no signs of wear. If it does wear out the replacement part is cheap!
*Note* Back in November I brought a few boxes of the military loaded Czech Silvertip with me when I flew to Virginia to try it out in my friends Russian SVT (?) the semiauto WW II rifle...functioned perfectly with normal primer indentations...the temperature was around 60 degrees.

 

[Limeyfellow]

The best 7.62x54r rounds that are best are hard to get ahold of is the 7N14 ammo from Russia. Its a match quality ammo with a 151 grain projectile at 2723 fps. It would be nice if Russia were to import it in any number to the US.

 

[270Win]

It's not the best... but the Wolf stuff - despite the unpleasent smell after firing - is accurate, non-corrosive, and reasonably affordable.

 

[ArmedBear]

Winchester seems to work well, though it's the same price as any other mid-range hunting ammo -- expensive for plinking.

On the other hand, with a couple of all-original Mosin carbines, I don't really feel like shooting too many rounds at a time. It starts to hurt, and I have other guns.

 

[rangerruck]

me likey the wolf as well, they make it in milsurp style, and also several diff loads in the brass. A 150, 185, 200 and /or 205 bimetal. the 185 is a great compromise, for hunting, hits like a ton of bricks, and inside of 100 yds, you dont have to adjust for a 100 yds zero , differently from the 150 grnsrs. however , if you use the bimetals 205, you will deff have to adjust fire, use the rear site, or do the Kentucky windage thing.