Why I sort my Albanian 7.62x54

toolman · 01-15-2007, 02:31 PM

I'm with ya there. I bought a tin of Russian stuff from Keisler's Wholesale a couple of years ago that had cracked\split necks, dented cases, and several of the bullets even fell out of the cases. Keisler's was aware of the prob. and made it right, tho.

troy2000 · 01-15-2007, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toolman

I'm with ya there. I bought a tin of Russian stuff from Keisler's Wholesale a couple of years ago that had cracked\split necks, dented cases, and several of the bullets even fell out of the cases. Keisler's was aware of the prob. and made it right, tho.

I only found a handful of bad ones in a whole case (two spam cans) of the Albanian, and the one in the pics was the worst. A lot of them have wrinkled shoulders, but those iron right out when you pull the trigger...

Casull · 01-15-2007, 03:02 PM

Troy, what am I looking at? Is it that the "dents" are actually holes? If they are only dents, they would be safe to shoot.

Geo M44 · 01-15-2007, 05:42 PM

I bought 40 rounds of Albanian at the gun show last month, just to give cheap brass a try. There were 10-12 rounds that looked like they had been dug out of a farmers field (similar to the ones you pictured). The rest looked like !!!! as well, but they all fired without injury.

If they were Boxer primed there might be some redeeming value, but I doubt that I will buy Albanian MilSurp again. It's just too flakey looking.

Full MeTal Jack · 01-15-2007, 05:58 PM

Dang Troy2K, looks like sabotage!

troy2000 · 01-15-2007, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casull

Troy, what am I looking at? Is it that the "dents" are actually holes? If they are only dents, they would be safe to shoot.

They're actual craters that go most of the way through the brass; I could probably push on through with a sturdy toothpick. And the smallest hole has a tiny crack leading off it toward the mouth of the casing, that didn't really show until I polished the brass and took a closer look.

dodoofof · 01-15-2007, 07:32 PM

hmm...I've bought Albanian stuff before with no problem...must be a rarity

troy2000 · 01-15-2007, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dodoofof

hmm...I've bought Albanian stuff before with no problem...must be a rarity

The case of 880 I bought looked like crap: dirty, tarnished brass, wrinkled shoulders, the odd round with pits in the neck or shoulder, a few split necks, etc. But I only sorted out about half a dozen I wasn't willing to shoot; the rest all went "Bang!" first time, every time.

It definitely wasn't as hot as the other milsurp's I've fired though. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, when all you're trying to do is keep the beer cans, milk jugs and paper targets from initiating close combat...keeps your shoulders from getting lopsided.

toolman · 01-16-2007, 12:26 AM

Troy, this jogged my memory. You might want to search the archives, there was a guy here that had an Albanian round blow his gun all to he ll! BTW, what is the year stamp on the ammo? The bad stuuf that I ran across was 1989.

troy2000 · 01-16-2007, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toolman

Troy, this jogged my memory. You might want to search the archives, there was a guy here that had an Albanian round blow his gun all to he ll! BTW, what is the year stamp on the ammo? The bad stuuf that I ran across was 1989.

I'm down to about four 20-round paper wraps, so I guess it's time to head for another gun show.

I don't remember any stories about Albanian going boom instead of bang, but there was a warning going around a while back about some Hungarian Yellowtip, if I remember right. Supposedly it was machine-gun ammo, originally packed in strips.

NRAJOE · 01-18-2007, 03:12 PM

I stick with good 'ol Czech...

Geo M44 · 01-18-2007, 05:04 PM

With some nice looking Bulgarian brass cased ammo around at 300 rounds for $30 why buy the Albanian?

I just ordered some as reserve (rainy day) ammo, as this is still corrosive MilSurp, and I still like my reloads better... but I have been known to get lazy, especially in the summer.

Has anyone here tried the Bulgarian from AIM? They offer both light and heavy ball (147 and 174gr) lead core. It's one of the few rounds I haven't tried.

FeLiX · 01-21-2007, 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casull

Troy, what am I looking at? Is it that the "dents" are actually holes? If they are only dents, they would be safe to shoot.

lol thats what i thought till a case cracked on me and i got some hot gas in my face lol good thing the gun didn't blow up

01-15-2007, 02:13 PM	#1
troy2000 Resident Armed Liberal Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Southern California Posts: 9,406 Images: 9	Why I sort my Albanian 7.62x54 __________________ If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. -Anatole France

01-15-2007, 02:31 PM	#2
toolman Mr. Fixit Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: abilene,tx Posts: 5,566 Blog Entries: 22	I'm with ya there. I bought a tin of Russian stuff from Keisler's Wholesale a couple of years ago that had cracked\split necks, dented cases, and several of the bullets even fell out of the cases. Keisler's was aware of the prob. and made it right, tho. __________________ Don't be messin' with my gun!

01-15-2007, 05:58 PM	#6
Full MeTal Jack Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 1,422 Images: 1	Dang Troy2K, looks like sabotage! __________________ [IMG]http://img287.echo.cx/img287/63/9130110x100a4vb.jpg

01-16-2007, 12:26 AM	#10
toolman Mr. Fixit Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: abilene,tx Posts: 5,566 Blog Entries: 22	Troy, this jogged my memory. You might want to search the archives, there was a guy here that had an Albanian round blow his gun all to he ll! BTW, what is the year stamp on the ammo? The bad stuuf that I ran across was 1989. __________________ Don't be messin' with my gun!

01-18-2007, 03:12 PM	#12
NRAJOE Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Toledo,OH Posts: 19,043 Images: 3	I stick with good 'ol Czech... __________________ U.S. Army 1976-1979 237th Combat Engineers Heilbronn, Germany

01-15-2007, 03:02 PM	#4
Casull Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 256	Troy, what am I looking at? Is it that the "dents" are actually holes? If they are only dents, they would be safe to shoot.

01-15-2007, 05:42 PM	#5
Geo M44 Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: The Desert Posts: 2,172	I bought 40 rounds of Albanian at the gun show last month, just to give cheap brass a try. There were 10-12 rounds that looked like they had been dug out of a farmers field (similar to the ones you pictured). The rest looked like !!!! as well, but they all fired without injury. If they were Boxer primed there might be some redeeming value, but I doubt that I will buy Albanian MilSurp again. It's just too flakey looking.

01-15-2007, 07:32 PM	#8
dodoofof Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 3	hmm...I've bought Albanian stuff before with no problem...must be a rarity

01-18-2007, 05:04 PM	#13
Geo M44 Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: The Desert Posts: 2,172	With some nice looking Bulgarian brass cased ammo around at 300 rounds for $30 why buy the Albanian? I just ordered some as reserve (rainy day) ammo, as this is still corrosive MilSurp, and I still like my reloads better... but I have been known to get lazy, especially in the summer. Has anyone here tried the Bulgarian from AIM? They offer both light and heavy ball (147 and 174gr) lead core. It's one of the few rounds I haven't tried.