What 7.62x54 do I have?

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Deer Hunter

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I couldn't find it on the net (7.62x54R.net). So does anyone know what kind of batch of ammo do I have?

Headstamp is like this

a star
3 primer 10
51


And now a picture.

PC230147.jpg
 
as said, bulgarian, made in 1951. during that date period it comes in 10 round bundles, 300 round tins.
 
Yep, as mentioned, it's Bulgarian made in 1951. I'd venture a guess that it's light ball (148 gr) as well. All heavy ball Bulgarian I've had/seen has not had the star on it for whatever reason.
 
I think it's the light ball as well. It was the heavy ball, it would plummet to the floor.....
Fired any of it yet? What do you think of it? I've got some in the garage, haven't gotten a chance to run any of it through the rifles yet though.
 
If the bullet tip had a yellow tip, it would be a 182 grain, lead core, long-range "D" ball. If it didn't have a yellow tip, then it's 148 grain lead core "light ball". To verify the composition of the bullet is lead, see if a magnet will stick to either the bullet or the case.

Steel = stick
lead and brass = no stick

And as oneshooter said, guaranteed to be corrosive.

For a 56+ years old cartridge (1951), how did it perform? Was there any "hang time" after you pulled the trigger?
 
I see. I figured it was bulgarian, but since I didn't see anything when I looked it up, I had to check it out.

I know it's corrosive. I clean my M44 after every outing. And it shoots just fine. My M44 doesn't hang up on much ammo, but I was pleasantly surprised at this stuff. Not a single problem, ejected very cleanly and had no hangfires whatsoever. This stuff is as fresh as the day it was made.
 
Good! I have 1500+ rounds of this myself.:evil:

I remember hearing/reading somewhere that the US armed forces dumps their ammo after 40 years of storage. Anybody know why?:confused:
 
Corrosive but that's no problem, any and all surplus ammunition should be treated as if it were corrosive. A bit of Windex down the bore after shooting, when you get home/back to camp clean with Hoppe's No. 9.

That Bulgarian stuff's some good shooting ammo.
 
Nugilum;
Non-Corrosive priming compounds.
These have a maximum shelf life of about sixty years under perfect conditions and the majority of the cartridges will be primer dead after about forty five years under normal storage conditions.
 
I have two 1200 round cases. They are some big and heavy suckers, and the only place is under the coffee table. Don't sweat the corrosive stuff just thorougly clean and dry your barrel after each shooting session. Corrosive ammo has been around quite a long time, so don't over-react. If it was a big deal, I wouldn't have so many 80+ year old rifles with mint bores. I had some reservations about using semiautomatics with corrosive ammunition, but my fears were unfounded.
 
I need to buy some 7.62X54R ammo soon... I like the Bulgarian Heavy Ball ammo and so does my M91/30.

Last year I got a 440 round tin that was actually quite a surprise. When I touched a magnet to the yellow tipped projectile, it STUCK!! Those rounds put a nice little hole in 3/8" steel plates!! :evil:
 
Make sure you check the cases on that. Some of them have cracks along the neck and shoulder right out of the packaging. The last case of bulgarian light ball I bought, I lost 10% to cracks. 13 of them I wiggled the bullets out with my fingers wiht no effort. (Yes the cracks where that bad)
 
When I shoot any of my surplus for my mosins (M44, and now TWO finns!) into the dirt against a backdrop, I get sparks due to the bullet reacting with the rock.
 
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