Milsurp ammo Qs, 8mm Mauser and 7.62x54R

[Coronach]

I did a search, but there are so many varieties of this stuff that my eyes started to bleed. So, I'm just gonna ask. If anyone ever wanted to tell a Mod to use the search function, now is your chance. Freebies...provided you then answer the question.

I recently picked up a Mauser K98, a Mosin-Nagant 91/30 and a M-N M44. I now have two new calibers that need to be fed. There's a metric buttload of ammo in both calibers floating around, but I'm not sure what type is the best deal for either, and in the case of the M-Ns, I dunno if I'd be best served by light or heavy ball.

So? What would you buy, and from where?

Boxer primed and/or non-corrosive would be nice, but I get the idea that I'm looking at berdan and a lot of cleaning with windex. I'm looking to lay-in a stash, so bulk is best. I'd like to get a good deal on some reliable, reasonably accurate ammo.

Thanks in advance, and yeah-yeah, I did a search.

Mike

 

[gp911]

"The search option is your friend..."

<insert 3 threads of varying relevance here>

The light ball vs heavy ball question varies from rifle to rifle. Light ball has less kick to it, but some rifles shoot heavy ball better, and country of origin makes a difference too. Of course you've been to www.7.62x54r.net, right? www.surplusrifle.com (if it is still up) has good info too. There are non-surplus rounds out there with "bear" in the name (golden bear, IIRC) that are apparently good hunting ammo, brass cased and non-corrosive, although I have no personal experience with it I've heard good things. Somebody on here uses it, as it was mentioned in another thread about how hard Mosins recoil. The Czech stuff that is still pretty common is good, and there is some good Hungarian light ball out there. Check jgsales, cheaper than dirt, etc. Basically pick up a copy of Shotgun News and you'll find ads for the big distributors. Right now there seems to be decent ammo everywhere, with no shortages to speak of. I'd be inclined to just pick up a variety of cans of it and see what works best in your particular guns. It is cheap, after all...

gp911

 

[GRIZ22]

I don't know about the Nagants but Yugo ball is about the best 8mm out there. The newer the better. Lots of places have it for about $100 for a 900 rd case. It's cheaper than reloading so berdan cases don't bother me. It's all corrosive as you note but this really isn't an issue in bolt guns just clean after you shoot.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Century Arms 'hotshot' 8mm ammo wasn't as hot as Yugo surplus, but I did find it shot tight groups. I had a 1 inch cluster at 50 yards with it, though it shot 7 or 8 inches low, which suprised me. It's 170 gr soft point. Adjusting the sights helped, but I only bought one box of it, so i didn't want to shoot all of it up on the first outing.

But really that Yugo surplus 196 gr fmj is so cheap, I'd recommend it over just about anything else.

 

[MilsurpShooter]

I'm preferential to the Yugo 8mm for my M48. As far as what and when to buy.... It was told to me once before, don't shoot ammo through your gun from a country you wouldn't drink the water.

I've had a bad turn out with the Ecuadorian 8mm, however I picked up some Polish and Russian Mosin ammo and my Mosin loves it

Good luck

 

[DMK]

The light ball vs heavy ball question varies from rifle to rifle.

I agree with this. I have a lot of duplicate rifles (three M39s, three 91/30s, two M44s, etc), I've found some like the light ball ammo (often has a silvertip), some prefer the heavy ball (often has a yellowtip). That said, the light ball is a lot more fun than heavy ball in a carbine. Light ball also shoot flatter, a plus if you shoot at varying ranges. I prefer shooting light ball. Heavy ball will also shoot to a higher POI on target. If your gun is already shooting a little high, some light ball might bring it down a little.

As far as countries, I really like the Hungarian 7.62x54, both light ball LPZS and heavy ball . Just watch the silver over yellowtip (yellow with the very tip silver). It's really hot, not very accurate and cause me a lot of trouble with extraction. Czech Silvertip is very good in my rifles. My M39s love it. Slightly more accurate than the Hungarian. Some folks complain about sticky bolts with this ammo, but I've never had trouble with it. Yugo heavy ball is the best 7.62x45 I've tried (other than Lapua Match). It's brass cased, has no paint on the tips and comes in 15 round brown boxes with white labels. I've haven't seen it for sale in about 3 or 4 years but if you see some on a dusty shelf some where, snatch it up. Polish Silvertip is good too. I wish I stocked up on some, but I already have way more 7.62x54 than I can shoot in a lifetime.

As far as places to buy, I've got most of mine from www.aimsurplus.com, www.centuryarms.com, www.jgsales.com, and www.southernohiogun.com preferring them in that order.

I'll let others comment on 8mm. I stocked up on a bunch of Romanian and Yugo, but haven't shot enought to comment on it.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

7.62X54R http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/7_62x54R.html

8mm http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/8mm.html

 

[pbhome71]

I rolled my own 7.62x54R. I heard that people complains about sticky bolt with Czech. You might want to try a box to see if your rifle likes it.

For 8mm, I use Yugo, and Romanian. The Romanian has less kick than the Yugo.

I bought most of my ammo from AIM, and Century.

-Pat.

 

[cracked butt]

Yugo surplus is the best I've found for my Mauser carbines. I shoot mostly handloads through my 8mms though- 170gr hornady roundnose over a near maximum charge of 4064 shoots very accurately in all of my mausers- rifles and carbines.
Czech silvertip for my 91/30s.

 

[Coronach]

Thanks, guys.

That's the only problem with buying guns- the sudden need to buy ammo in calibers you don't carry. GP11, 8mm Mauser, 7.62x54R...all new to me.

Mike

 

[Cacique500]

I think AIM has the best deals on 7.62x54R right now. As others have said, you can go to http://www.7.62x54r.com and look in the ammunition section - *the* best info on Mosin ammo.

If you can find it, Polish silvertip (lightball) is excellent, as is the hungarian silvertip lightball (which Aim has right now). Read up on the Czech - it can can potentially cause 'sticky bolt syndrome' - although some folks shoot it just fine. All of my M39's seem to do fine with both light ball and heavy ball out to 300 (if I can hit the gong at 300 that's accurate enough for me ) - YMMV.

 

[Jspy]

How about a link to one of the places for the Yugo ammo, 900 rounds for $100.

 

[jagdpanzer347]

Jspy, check out wideners.com. You can buy a 900 round case of 50's Yugo for sixty-nine bucks. They're good folks to, with quick shipping.

Mike, if you can find any '70s Yugo 8mm, buy up all you can. Then PM me with your source if they have any left! I wish I had bought about five more cases when AIM had it in stock last year.

I to have had good success with the '70s Hungarian light ball. I also just bought some Bulgarian heavy ball from AIM. Haven't tried it yet though. Reports from some other sites seem promising, however.

 

[monsternav]

Ammunition Store has it for 74.95 (1950's). Ammoman for 129.00 on strippers (1970's).

edit: Just checked, ammomans stuff is 1950's also.

 

[Coronach]

Here's a question: Are the sights on the M-Ns calibrated for light or heavy ball? Or, given the attention of the soviets to such details, is that just a silly question?

Mike

 

[dfaugh]

Frankly, I've generally not had good experiences (acuraccy wise) from any milsurp ammo mentioned. In 8mm I've found Sellior and Belliot to be quite accurate, and not much more than surplus.

In 7.62x54R the Czech Silvertip is the only stuff that approaches the accuracy of any commercial ammo.

If you you just want to bang away, milsurp stuf is OK, but don't expect better than 3-4 MOA...with commercial stuff (S&B) and handloads mine shoot ~ MOA.

 

[silverlance]

czech silvertip

I've run CZ through 2 M91/30 1 M91/30 sniper 1 m38 and 1 m44.

All had sticky bolt syndrome. Folks would say, "that's your gun... clean it with a dremel".. etc etc.

Then I tried WOLF GOLD. No sticky bolt!

Therefore, it's not the gun - it's the ammo.

I do however plan to do the following next mosin range day:

I'm going to first clean each round (casing and sabot) with a rag wetted in a little bit of alcohol. Then each round will set out to dry.

My theory is that there's a lot of gunk built up on the surface of these rounds; if you can clean it off it might not cause sticky bolt.

in any case on monday I am receiving also a case of hungarian yellow & silver tip; I'm going to try shooting this through my beat-up m39 & m91/30.

my suggestion is like the others: after much researching the best solution is to buy a case of each and try them all out.

The crap shooting ammo is still fun to make guns go boom with; the accurate ammo you can then buy more of later.

 

[Coronach]

Yeah, I'm thinking about buying one lot of "each" that is on the market, figuring out what works, then laying in a stash of that. And if it goes off of the market before I figure it out, it just means I start reloading (since none of the cheap stuff is boxer primed).

I still wonder about the light vs heavy question though...I mean, you would think that the POIs would diverge enough that the rifle was intended for use with one or the other, but I'm really not seeing anything that says this.

Mike

 

[Coronach]

Also, does anyone know, can you pick up directly from SOG? Their website does not say.

Thanks,

Mike