[ttwinsupra]

so i want to get a couple crates of 7.62x54r witch type shuld i get; Russian Surplus or the Bulgarian Surplus

[Sprout47]

Quote:       Originally Posted by ttwinsupra

so i want to get a couple crates of 7.62x54r witch type shuld i get; Russian Surplus or the Bulgarian Surplus

I have shot both, I find the Russian surplus to be a little dirtier, could of just been the powder lot # though. Both are 147 gr. I believe. You just want to avoid the higher grain ammo like the 174/203.

[pico]

I second avoiding the higher grain bullets. Those work great for mosins. I have shot a bunch of Yugoslavian, which seemed to be not too dirty. The worst ammo I have ever shot was Olympic. It was not dirty, but was not accurate either.

[Sprout47]

Quote:       Originally Posted by pico

I second avoiding the higher grain bullets. Those work great for mosins. I have shot a bunch of Yugoslavian, which seemed to be not too dirty. The worst ammo I have ever shot was Olympic. It was not dirty, but was not accurate either.

Ya I didn't realize how dirty the Russian Surp. was until I fired some Brown Bear 174 gr. after shooting the surp. There is a big *POOF* of smoke when firing the surp and my rifle would smoke after firing a few rounds. There was absolutely none while shooting the Brown Bear.

I have fired the Yugo 7.62x39 ammo and found that to be dirty as well, but that is probably because the only other 7.62x39 I have is Winchester and Wolf ammo.

FWIW the 174 gr. Brown Bear pounded the hell out of the recoil buffer I was using. So apparently that is too high of a grain to use safely in a PSL.

[Diatribes]

The "grain" in ammo is the bullet weight. Higher grain is heavier slugs.

[Sprout47]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Diatribes

The "grain" in ammo is the bullet weight. Higher grain is heavier slugs.

Yes, we know this lol

It is advised to not exceed 150 gr. bullet weight on these rifles as the higher grain 7.62x54r bullets come with higher recoil force due to their powder loads. Don't want to be sending our bolt carriers crashing into our rear trunnions, it makes you look silly at the range.

[Diatribes]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Sprout47

Yes, we know this lol It is advised to not exceed 150 gr. bullet weight on these rifles as the higher grain 7.62x54r bullets come with higher recoil force due to their powder loads. Don't want to be sending our bolt carriers crashing into our rear trunnions, it makes you look silly at the range.

Also isnt good for your AK variant. Ive heard of instances where rear trunions look like theyve been literally hammered upon repeatedly.

[ttwinsupra]

so i guess i should go bulgarian, i did check and the bulg is 148g and russ is the 147g but its still called light ball so i guess ile be safe.

[rondog]

Witch ammo? Is it witch season there?

[Sprout47]

Quote:       Originally Posted by ttwinsupra

so i guess i should go bulgarian, i did check and the bulg is 148g and russ is the 147g but its still called light ball so i guess ile be safe.

Yes, the Bulgarian is fine.

Be sure to check the year it was made, some stuff is better than others.

Check this link out, it will give you some good info and they have performance reviews of the different lots.

7.62x54r Ammunition Evaluations

There is info on Identifying the ammo type from the sardine tin markings here;
7.62x54r Ammunition Identification

You will probably find the type for sale under the Steel Core Light Ball column.

I have both 1971 and 1986 Russian surplus and the 86' is a tad cleaner and more accurate. Both are some of the better 7.62x54r surplus out there though.

[just_a_car]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Sprout47

Yes, the Bulgarian is fine. Be sure to check the year it was made, some stuff is better than others. Check this link out, it will give you some good info and they have performance reviews of the different lots. 7.62x54r Ammunition Evaluations There is info on Identifying the ammo type from the sardine tin markings here; 7.62x54r Ammunition Identification You will probably find the type for sale under the Steel Core Light Ball column. I have both 1971 and 1986 Russian surplus and the 86' is a tad cleaner and more accurate. Both are some of the better 7.62x54r surplus out there though.

+1, though it's mainly a mosin site, it's very useful for other x54r firearms.

Big thing to just watch for if they don't list the grain weight is when they mention "heavy ball", as that will be in the 174-210 gr. range (or so).

[AK Hunter]

Quote:       Originally Posted by rondog

Witch ammo? Is it witch season there?

To help you and others sort it all out try this link.

An index of all the headstamp and cartridge pictures on the site
7.62x54r Master Cartridge Reference

Ammo Evaluations
7.62x54r Ammunition Evaluations

For ballistic calculations click on the DATA under the country's name.

There is a lot of info there, it would be a good idea to put in your favorites.

[just_a_car]

AK Hunter, you're almost exactly 24 hours too late there, bud. Sprout already posted that at the bottom of the first page, which I then quoted in the post before yours.

[Sprout47]

Quote:       Originally Posted by just_a_car

AK Hunter, you're almost exactly 24 hours too late there, bud. Sprout already posted that at the bottom of the first page, which I then quoted in the post before yours.

Lol I wasn't going to say anything, but I love how that happens ALL the time here.