Safety of Mil Surp Ammo?

H.A.bie · 04-28-2008, 04:54 PM

Hello everyone. Pardon my ignorance, but I'm a first time poster here and have a few questions I could use some help with.

I'm in the 10 day wait for my first Mosin (M44 from Big5 - California), and ordered some surplus Bulgarian Heavy Ball ammo (yellow tip) online from AmmunitionToGo. Got to researching it more after the order and found some stories of it being dangerous in some rifles (AKs for example). Stories include misfires shooting flame back through the bolt, damaged rifles, etc. With the obvious exception of using visibly defective rounds, does anyone know of any other reason I should be concerned using it in my M44? I like my limbs.

Also, what is the best way to go about pulling the bullet out of rounds that are too damaged to shoot? Does it require special equipment, or can I yank on it by hand?

I appreciate any input you can offer.

GlockMeister · 04-28-2008, 05:00 PM

Google bullet pullers. And I'm sure once one of the many Mosin shooters here see this, they'll have better suggestions on that. As far as the quality and safety of the Bulgarian ball ammo, a lot of Mosin shooters use it and buy it in bulk. I don't personally have a Mosin YET, nor have I ever used the ammo, but if you search the ammunition and Mosin forums, you'll see a lot of info about the ammo.

Lastly, welcome to the G&G forum. Glad to have you aboard...

parad0x · 04-28-2008, 05:05 PM

First of all Welcome!

First thing I did was shoot some new production ammo. That way I knew the rifle was functioning properly, and I could narrow down problems to the milsurp ammo if I had any.

I have a tin of yellow tip and it shoots great, the ammo was also in great condition.

In my experience if the ammo cycles cleanly then it should shoot fine. As you stated, stay away from anything that has a split casing, but if it comes in a sealed tin it should be good to go.

The ammo was inspected when it was put in the tin, then about 20 years later. The bulgarian tag inside the tin has the date of the last time it was opened and inspected.

The ammo for the M44 and the AK are different, so I don't know what stories you have heard.

H.A.bie · 04-28-2008, 05:22 PM

I appreciate the input. I think I may have misidentified the rifle in one of the stories I heard. I think it was actually an SVD or Dragunov, not an AK. Sorry about that.

Cyrano · 04-28-2008, 05:33 PM

Welcome to the forum, H.A. I'll tell you what Louis, the Mosin Kahuna at my gun club, says. He says to shoot heavy ball in M1891s and 91/30s, and light ball in M38s, M39s, M44s and 91/59s. I asked him why and he said the heavy ball seems to work better with longer barrels. I shoot Bugarian out of my 91/30 and it groups really well for me.

Shoottathril200 · 04-28-2008, 05:39 PM

H.A.bie---When you get the ammo shipment in look for obvious signs of damage and water stains or holes caused by rust. If the can looks good crack it open and examine the ammo inside. If you see no deformations of the rounds, water marks or corrosion around the primer area then feel secure in that the ammo is fine and will perform satisfactory.

10 days to wait for a bolt gun????

H.A.bie · 04-28-2008, 06:17 PM

Thanks for the input.

Yes. Ten days for any handgun or long gun in California. They're also in the process of requiring permits to buy ammo in person, and outlawing internet sales altogether.

$imple · 04-28-2008, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shoottathril200

10 days to wait for a bolt gun????

Yes. Actually, more like 11 days because the day you bought it doesn't count and after waiting ten days, you can pick it up on the 11th day.

marion57 · 04-28-2008, 06:41 PM

H.A. welcome to G&G
I have bought hundreds of rounds of surplus and shoot many many and have never had a failure to fire or a safety issue.bulgagian and russian are my favorites .. I would visually look over the rounds before usage.. If you have doubts dont use it!!
If you find a round that has a loose bullet you can pull it with a pair of pliers .I would however make sure it is held secure by some means before pulling it ..Myself i would just load it and shoot it ..
Always error on the side of caution and safety !!

Shoottathril200 · 04-28-2008, 06:49 PM

Glad I don't live in CA, I don't think I'd like having to wait 10-11 days to pick up my rifle. Its like having to wait 10-11 days before you can order a whopper from Burger King.

H.A.bie · 04-28-2008, 06:54 PM

Yeah. Ten days for handguns and long guns. And now they're close to passing a bill through the California state assembly requiring a permit (DOJ background check, thumbprint, wait-period, etc.) to purchase ammo in person, and outlawing internet sales altogether! Gotta love California liberal politics.

Sins-of-Mosin · 04-28-2008, 07:51 PM

I've never heard of any serious issue with x54r ammo in general. I've only used czech stuff so can't say I have experience with the ammo you bought.

04-28-2008, 04:54 PM	#1
H.A.bie Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 4	Safety of Mil Surp Ammo? Hello everyone. Pardon my ignorance, but I'm a first time poster here and have a few questions I could use some help with. I'm in the 10 day wait for my first Mosin (M44 from Big5 - California), and ordered some surplus Bulgarian Heavy Ball ammo (yellow tip) online from AmmunitionToGo. Got to researching it more after the order and found some stories of it being dangerous in some rifles (AKs for example). Stories include misfires shooting flame back through the bolt, damaged rifles, etc. With the obvious exception of using visibly defective rounds, does anyone know of any other reason I should be concerned using it in my M44? I like my limbs. Also, what is the best way to go about pulling the bullet out of rounds that are too damaged to shoot? Does it require special equipment, or can I yank on it by hand? I appreciate any input you can offer.

04-28-2008, 05:00 PM	#2
GlockMeister Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Northern Illinois Posts: 5,504	Google bullet pullers. And I'm sure once one of the many Mosin shooters here see this, they'll have better suggestions on that. As far as the quality and safety of the Bulgarian ball ammo, a lot of Mosin shooters use it and buy it in bulk. I don't personally have a Mosin YET, nor have I ever used the ammo, but if you search the ammunition and Mosin forums, you'll see a lot of info about the ammo. Lastly, welcome to the G&G forum. Glad to have you aboard... __________________ I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6!

04-28-2008, 06:41 PM	#9
marion57 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Missouri Posts: 2,883	H.A. welcome to G&G I have bought hundreds of rounds of surplus and shoot many many and have never had a failure to fire or a safety issue.bulgagian and russian are my favorites .. I would visually look over the rounds before usage.. If you have doubts dont use it!! If you find a round that has a loose bullet you can pull it with a pair of pliers .I would however make sure it is held secure by some means before pulling it ..Myself i would just load it and shoot it .. Always error on the side of caution and safety !! __________________ You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead fingers!(Charlton Heston)

04-28-2008, 07:51 PM	#12
Sins-of-Mosin Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: IL Posts: 194 Blog Entries: 3	I've never heard of any serious issue with x54r ammo in general. I've only used czech stuff so can't say I have experience with the ammo you bought. __________________ Leave me alone I am not an angel yet. [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...13/themets.png

04-28-2008, 05:05 PM	#3
parad0x Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 4	First of all Welcome! First thing I did was shoot some new production ammo. That way I knew the rifle was functioning properly, and I could narrow down problems to the milsurp ammo if I had any. I have a tin of yellow tip and it shoots great, the ammo was also in great condition. In my experience if the ammo cycles cleanly then it should shoot fine. As you stated, stay away from anything that has a split casing, but if it comes in a sealed tin it should be good to go. The ammo was inspected when it was put in the tin, then about 20 years later. The bulgarian tag inside the tin has the date of the last time it was opened and inspected. The ammo for the M44 and the AK are different, so I don't know what stories you have heard.

04-28-2008, 05:22 PM	#4
H.A.bie Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 4	I appreciate the input. I think I may have misidentified the rifle in one of the stories I heard. I think it was actually an SVD or Dragunov, not an AK. Sorry about that.

04-28-2008, 05:33 PM	#5
Cyrano Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 2,359	Welcome to the forum, H.A. I'll tell you what Louis, the Mosin Kahuna at my gun club, says. He says to shoot heavy ball in M1891s and 91/30s, and light ball in M38s, M39s, M44s and 91/59s. I asked him why and he said the heavy ball seems to work better with longer barrels. I shoot Bugarian out of my 91/30 and it groups really well for me.

04-28-2008, 05:39 PM	#6
Shoottathril200 Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: New Mexico Posts: 50	H.A.bie---When you get the ammo shipment in look for obvious signs of damage and water stains or holes caused by rust. If the can looks good crack it open and examine the ammo inside. If you see no deformations of the rounds, water marks or corrosion around the primer area then feel secure in that the ammo is fine and will perform satisfactory. 10 days to wait for a bolt gun????

04-28-2008, 06:17 PM	#7
H.A.bie Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 4	Thanks for the input. Yes. Ten days for any handgun or long gun in California. They're also in the process of requiring permits to buy ammo in person, and outlawing internet sales altogether.

04-28-2008, 06:49 PM	#10
Shoottathril200 Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: New Mexico Posts: 50	Glad I don't live in CA, I don't think I'd like having to wait 10-11 days to pick up my rifle. Its like having to wait 10-11 days before you can order a whopper from Burger King.

04-28-2008, 06:54 PM	#11
H.A.bie Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 4	Yeah. Ten days for handguns and long guns. And now they're close to passing a bill through the California state assembly requiring a permit (DOJ background check, thumbprint, wait-period, etc.) to purchase ammo in person, and outlawing internet sales altogether! Gotta love California liberal politics.