Faulty 7.62x54R surplus ammo?

[marktx]

Picked up some random 7.62x54R not long ago at a local gun shop, not sure the age or manufacture. Upon closer examination some of the stuff seems like it would be a bit dangerous. The bullet pretty much fell out of the cracked case and I'm assuming that similarly cracked cases would be unsafe to fire? How about cases that have dents/creases in the neck area? I'm guessing it's the result of poor QC in former Combloc countries?

Is this sort of thing common to see in surplus MN ammo? Can anybody identify the head stamp?

 

[Dgreno]

I don't think I would shoot the ones that look damaged. You can never be too careful. YMMV

 

[ak_milsurp]

54r Id

Looks like Albanian Ammo.... "3" is the country code for Albania, "53" is likely year of manufacture.

Lots of the Albanian ammo had QC problems. I have fired a bunch of it, and it shoots fine. Not the most accurate.. but it goes bang and kills bowling pins well!

here a nice reference link for 7.62x54R identification:


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

 

[jonnyc]

That is 100% Bulgarian ammo. You will have to separate out the bad cracked rounds. Mil-surp ammo can be a real crap-shoot, some good...some bad. Most Bulgarian I've used has been fine.

 

[Franco2shoot]

I've run across 1 round of Hungarian heavy ball that had a similar dent in the case like the one you show. It fired OK, but I was nervous.

KKKKFL

 

[CBS220]

Small dents are not a problem. They are a common mistake made in reloading actually and they buff out when fired.

Cracks in the case would cause me to throw it out, though.

 

[Ash]

Bulgarian. 3 is the code for Albania, but 10 is the code for Bulgaria and this is Bulgarian. More to the point, there has been no 1950's produced Albanian ammo in the country. I doubt they produced ammo in that time period (but they could have).

Some brass can become brittle over time. Just toss any round that does not look good before you shoot.

Ash

 

[jrfoxx]

Small dents are not a problem. They are a common mistake made in reloading actually and they buff out when fired.

Cracks in the case would cause me to throw it out, though.

Yup. Small dents on any surplus ammo is fairly common in my experiance and reading, and small ones like in the pic are not an issue in my experiance and reading. Case necks that are cracked should be safely disposed of. I personally would not fire them. I know if the cracks are VERY small, and the bullet is still in good tension, some people do fire them still, but for 30 cents each, I would not risk it personally. Those look bad enough that that wouldnt apply though (especially if the bullet practically fell out as you said).They are also not all that uncommon, especially with 8mm Mauser and 7.62x54R for some reason. just scrounge the componants out of them and toss the case (after killing the primer by firing or soaking in oil) at least its not a total loss that way.I've shot plenty of ammo with dents with no issues at all. as said, they disappear after firing if you pla to keep it for realoading (on cases that applies to).

YMMV, and as always, safety trumps all opinions and a few dollars of ammo.

 

[kBob]

I would get an inertia bullet puller and salvage the bullets on any rounds you decide to dispose of. Such a puller will not work on most "good surplus ammo" as bullets may well be laquered or assphalted in position and not be easily pulled. The cracked neck cases may well be salvagable with such a hammer type puller though. One day you might do some reloading or may offer them in trade to a reloader.

Just a thought.

-Bob Hollingsworth

 

[Ash]

Or, for those that are brass, throw them in a bag for selling later (after pulling the bullets, of course).

I have found that enough loose powder from such a thing can be quite entertaining with a fire ant mound.

Ash

 

[kBob]

Ash,

DOn't forget to tell him to pop the primers on salvaged brass.

Spectrcide and Amdro work best on ant mounds....though an older guy I know swears by a one inch iron pipe driven betweeen one and two feet into the ground through the mound and then a cup or two of gasoline. As of this week I think the granuals I use are less expensive by a significant amount than gasoline.

I wonder if fire ants would harvest powder sprinkled around their perimiter and what if any effects it would have on the indoor gardens.
Still it would be fun to see one of thode annoying and dangerous mounds sparkling away......

-Bob Hollingsworth

 

[Ash]

Yeah, you can make your own volcano with some pretty spectacular results. Like Bengal says, "killing fireants shouldn't hard, even if it is fun."

And definitely pop the primers before casting them aside for bulk!

Ash

 

[foghornl]

I bought a bunch of the Albanian stuff...split 2 "Spam Cans" with a Shooting Budd that also had an M-44 to feed.

The ammo had a lot of 'dings' in it, some of them deep & wide enough to insert the edge of a US Penny. Those got bullets pulled and powder dumped. The ammo we bought was approx. 1986 vintage***, without the star on the headstamp.

***Don't remember for certain, but I believe it was 86 as the date code.

Some also had cracks in the neck that would allow the bullet to be pulled with 2 fingers.

 

[mp510]

That's Bulgarian light ball, 1952 production, factory 10. I have the same ammo, and some of the rounds have cracked necks. If you weed those rounds out, the ammo is capable of pretty decent accuracy. I do prefer to single load it, in case I miss one. I have only found a couple defective so far, the first of which fell apart in my magazine. It is sure fire ammo. I shot a 357 out of 400 @ 200 yards prone with my M-39 using that ammo. Had I figured out the kentucky windage and elevation a little quicker, I could have probably added a few points.

 

[lite-box]

I've had good luck with the Bulgarian, sort out the loose bullet & cracked necks and save the bullets for reloading.

 

[MilsurpShooter]

I have some ammo like that, case has some dent's/wrinkles. Most times I just dispose of it but a few times I've missed the dents and found that those rounds either would not load or were very tough to load into the rifle. Bolt had trouble locking down on them. Actually needed to step on the bolt once to get the round out. Dent in the neck was now bright and shiny where, I'm guessing, it was contacting inside the barrel.

Hurts getting rid of a fireable round, but with surplus, the hurt is much less then a new production box would be lol

 

[Arbor]

My ammo looks fine...but the brass erodes away after firing. I can't tell which ones will do it, but 10% get big cracks in them like this. Is this stuff safe to shoot? I have a lot of it

 

[wideym]

I ran into a case of corroded Hungarian ammo a couple of months back. The tins had holes corroded through with most rounds missfiring or hangfiring that I tried. Have you tried asking for a refund?