What is this 7.62x54r ammo?

[ThePenguinKnight]

I brought home a crate of 7.62x54r ammo for the the Mosins, and I'm curious if it is what I think it is. Here are some pics:





The headstamp reads "10" on the top, "71" on the bottom. I haven't been able to find the exact headstamp on the interweb, but I found this ammo on 7.62x54r.net. Mine appears to be the same stuff except marked "10" instead of "188", but I'm not sure how they did headstamps back then.

Any Mosin ammo experts out there know what this stuff is, exactly? Did I get the Russian silver tips like I think I did, and is this considered "good" surplus ammo?

Thanks in advance

 

[funklord12]

Its Bulgarian lightball, copper-washed steel cased made in '71.

 

[tyeo098]

Circle 10 is trademark Bulgarian
Silver tip means light ball.

Its machine-gun ammo for machine guns for spraying large volumes of fire.
It'll work just fine in a Mosin (I have a few boxes myself).

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

Aha. Thank you guys.

I should have recognized the famed Circle-10. First time I've seen it in person.

 

[303tom]

I brought home a crate of 7.62x54r ammo for the the Mosins, and I'm curious if it is what I think it is. Here are some pics:





The headstamp reads "10" on the top, "71" on the bottom. I haven't been able to find the exact headstamp on the interweb, but I found this ammo on 7.62x54r.net. Mine appears to be the same stuff except marked "10" instead of "188", but I'm not sure how they did headstamps back then.

Any Mosin ammo experts out there know what this stuff is, exactly? Did I get the Russian silver tips like I think I did, and is this considered "good" surplus ammo?

Thanks in advance

Check this out here, it`s pretty cool...........

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

 

[tech30528]

I bought a crate of that as well. Sold thru Cabela's as Wolf NONcorrosive milsurp. From what I'm told the corrosive stuff will leave a greening residue, this stuff did not. It left a fine white ash on my muzzle brake. Shot a bunch of it last weekend at a distance clinic, it performed well. I couldn't find a listing for this headstamp on 7.62x54R.net either, ran a ballistic chart for 188/ 71 russian milsurp with a .377 BC and it matched exactly out to 500 yards. Going to grab more of it while it lasts.

 

[hang fire]

RE: 303tom

Check this out here, it`s pretty cool...........

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

Thanks for posting that link, very informative.

Just checked head stamp on my milsurp ammo, it is 188/77, (Russian?) which is not shown at link.

 

[303tom]

Thanks for posting that link, very informative.

Just checked head stamp on my milsurp ammo, it is 188/77, (Russian?) which is not shown at link.

The 188 is Russian, the 77 is the year it was made..........

 

[rojocorsa]

That's just Bulgarian light ball.

 

[Shadow 7D]

ALL milsup x54 is corrosive, to believe otherwise is rather foolish
and when your gun is rusted out, well that's on you too.

 

[snakeman]

just clean your gun well when you get done shooting that stuff. I'll be getting some for mine too. I believe windex will get rid of the corrosion but not sure.

 

[Old Scratch]

Make that Bulgarian steel core light ball...how does it shoot?

 

[_N4Z_]

ALL SURPLUS x54r should be treated as corrosive primed ammunition. ALL OF IT.

Rinse the bore out with hot water after a shooting session, and then clean as you would normally. The water flushes the salt residue out. Very important extra step.

Skip that step and there is a high probability the salt residue remains, which attracts any moisture from the surrounding air, which causes rust and pitting.

 

[kingcheese]

Location is speculation, the only real way to know the origin of the aammo,would be to look for an arsenal stamp on the crate, not sure if they'd even put one on it, i like using windex to clean my nagants

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

All of you guys with the fear of God for "corrosive" ammo, why are there so many old surplus communist block weapons without rust or corrosion available to buy? Did they have a commissar of cleaning check the weapon after each shot? Or is the whole "corrosive ammo" just a criticism to throw against non-western surplus. The PRIMER uses a compound that attracts moisture over a period of time. What do you think the ratio of primer to gunpowder is and what is the realistic chances of corrosion if you take even basic steps to clean the weapon within a few days of firing? I have been shooting Soviet block weapons and ammo for at least ten years in at least a half dozen weapons without a single instance of corrosion. I do clean them within a day after returning from the range, but I have never used water. I usually spray a good blast of WD-40 into the breech, swab it a few times and then do my regular cleaning routine using Hoppes #9 and either CLP or One Shot from Hornady. Not a single weapon from an assortment of SKS's, Mosin's, or my Mauser show any signs of deterioration, corrosion, or excessive wear. I am tired of hearing the "corrosive ammo" BS and would like to see some proof of its wizardry in destroying a weapon instantly or slowly for that matter. Take your time, I'll wait.

 

[Robert]

I shot Yugo surplus through my K98 and was forced to leave it at my wife's Grandmother's house for a few months becasue of a blizzard and our schedules. When I was able to get it home and took it apart it was full of rust and had stuff growing in the bore. It had been cased most of the winter.

I shot my No1 MkIII* a few months back and forgot to clean it. Pull the bolt open one day and the face is covered in rust and the bore is nasty looking as well.

Corrosive ammo will destroy a rifle if not cleaned correctly. Every soldier knew that his weapon was his life and as such cleaned his weapon when given the chance. The same is true today. There are so many fine surplus rifles out there because so many well trained soldiers took good care of them. Or they were refitted by the armies and put into storage. Either way, ignoring corrosive ammo will do your firearms no good in the long run. And a little hot water will do no harm before a cleaning.

But you do as you like. Me, I run hot water down the bore and then clean like normal. No big deal.

 

[Snowdog]

I stopped using water to rinse the barrel years ago. I just send a couple patches soaked with whatever cleaning spray was purchased on sale followed by a couple dry patches, then clean as usual. Plain water is probably just as good. I've been going this route for well over 5 years and there's not a speck of rust anywhere.

I understand some gun cleaning solutions allow one to skip this step altogether.

 

[CZguy]

I use hot water on Mil Sups. I've done that for forty years, and found the cost to be rather low, and the extra time negligible.

It's your gun, clean it as you please.

 

[tech30528]

The number "10" in the cans and the crate with two circles around it identifies the production facility.

 

[tech30528]

Shot 41/ 50 with it last weekend. Unsupported prone position, 20 inch AQT target, 400 yards. Group was about 3 MOA.

 

[Shadow 7D]

The number "10" in the cans and the crate with two circles around it identifies the production facility.

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinAmmoID05.htm
please take some time to read
the double circles identifies the COUNTRY (as in 10 in the Warslaw pack = Bulgaria)
so
lots and lots and lots of
BAD INFORMATION

read, folks, and it's surplus, it's corrosive except for a FEW countries (swiss is the only of off the top of my head)

EVEN US WWII surplus and up through early Vietnam was corrosive.

 

[caribou]

The crate itsself has a numerical code, painted with what looks like a lower case 'b', then the factory code '66', then the year of manufacture, '71' then the country code "double circled 10" as well as a silver stripe, which indicates "light ball", for use in Rifles and medium machineguns .

I use hot water to disssolve and flush the priming salts away, and have no corrosion problems whatsoever, even hunting in the Ocean.

If theres 'green' showing frn useing corrosivly primed ammo, its the copper from the bullet jacket reacting with oxygen in the moisture thats being attracted by the priming salts we call 'corrosive'.... same as iron reacting and giving out red in oxidation, AKA "Rust" and the green will appear shortly before the red......that bore needs cleaning.

The US Military first used non corrosive priming during WWII in the M1 Carbine, as the short stroke piston could not be cleaned in the feild with out damage or difficulty.
The rest of our ammo was corrosive untill used up as noted above, in Viet Nam.

Very low temperatures caused problems with hangfires and duds,(even today, where I live in the Arctic) and is exactly why the Russians never botherd with noncorrosive priming. Better to clean the gun than not have it work at all..........Its never too cold for combat.


I belive that Olympic shooters for Biathalon still use corrosive priming in their .22lrs, since they scaled down from large bore rifle shooting in the early 70's.This is for fast, sure fire ingition in Winter settings.