Why is newer Russian ammo Berdan vs. Boxer-primed?

[Ignition Override]

Maybe it is linked to their use of steel cases.
Having reloaded some nice (Serbian) Prvi Partizan .303 cases over four times each, would the Russians not make a nice profit using both Boxer primers and brass cases, or would the extra tooling costs and imported brass kill any chances of a profit? Their Brown Bear .308 etc is always Berdan/steel.

The Serbs figured out how to do all of this for several calibers, it seems.
Other than some explosions at one of their plants months ago, were the Serbs making a profit in US and Canadian dollars etc?

 

[Sunray]

"...The Serbs..." They're not Russians and don't have the same social stuff going on.
International economics is a daft thing. Sometimes it's as simple as that. Mind you, I also suspect that Russian factories just can't make boxer primed ammo. Totally guessing though.

 

[ArmedBear]

The ammo sells well because it undercuts boxer-primed brass-case ammo by a huge margin.

Berdan primers are simpler and cheaper; they're basically percussion caps. Boxer primers have internal anvils (striking surfaces) and are far more complex to manufacture.

There is Wolf brass-cased boxer-primed ammo, but it isn't particularly cheap: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...cabelas/en/common/search/search-box.jsp.form1

 

[migkillertwo]

of course, wolf's steel-cased ammo is boxer primed.

 

[roo_ster]

I always wanted to pick up some cheap .45ACP dies and try reloading some of that steel-cased Wolf.

 

[GunsBeerFreedom]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it's because their military ammo plants are the only ones in operations and they use berdan primers in their military because of better performance in the extreme cold, in addition to the cheapness of it all.

 

[-v-]

What GBS said. Berdan is what the Army uses, and Bearden, until fairly recently, tended to be much more reliable and stable for long term storage. If you get any NATO 7.62x51, even the brass cased ammo is bearden primed for maximum shelf-life.

 

[Ignition Override]

Very interesting. Apparently the Serbians either converted some of their old plant facilities or bought newer equipment, mostly to satisfy the appetite for the reloaders.
Let's hope that their mgmt. and workers comply with any new, improved safety procedures for production.

My only reloading began last January and consists of Prvi Partizan .303.

After wading through much of the very long list of .308/7.62x51 at "Ammo seek", you pay about the same for Prvi's reloadable .308 as for Prvi .303.

 

[Steve Marshall]

Just as a small aside, even though Berdan primers are slightly less expensive to produce, Berdan primed brass is slightly more expensive.