[Shane]

I'm looking for feedback on the "Silver Bear" line made by LVE.
I've read several reports of the 120. grn. round causing jams. I've read they've cut this down to 115 grn. They are apparently still also selling the "Brown Bear" JHP in the same weight.
For the last six months I've been getting a "bimetal" FMJ under this name. It states it's a 92 grn. bullet. THESE FEEL VERY HOT AND SHOOT HIGH for me. I'd love to hear other people's experiences with this round!
Safe Shooting,
Shane

[FEG]

Until recently, I had a PA-63, and I didn't trust that pistol's aluminum receiver with the reportedly HOT Silver Bear loading. It wouldn't surprise me if Silver Bear shot high, given that the bullet weight was over 20 grains heavier than the original military specs for 9x18M.

A 92 grain load shouldn't be shooting high, unless it is also very high in pressure. I mostly shot my own handloads and the Sellier & Bellot 95gr FMJ (brass-cased/Boxer primed). These always did very well in the PA-63.

[grizzly]

Don't know about the Silver Bear but the 115gr BiMetal HP are right at home in my 1960 E German Makarov. It eats them like candy. Seems very consistent as well as accurate. Being a non-locking breach it seem like they are hot loads but ya gotta love them. I have some Silver Bear in the shop but it's too dang cold and windy to go get them tonight. I'll try to remember to post the size later. Haven't shot any yet. Last Brown Bears I bought were $6.95/Box of 50. Check out the attached target that show common pistol shooting errors...

[grizzly]

The Silver Bear 9X18 I have is 92gr FMJ. I'll get to the range ASAP and post the results. BTW it was $6.99/Box of 50



I LOVE MY MAK!!!


But if yours is new to you you should check the muzzle for hair and blood...

[Shane]

Dear Folks,
Thanks for your responses.
Grizzly, I'll be interested in what you think of the 92 grn. FMJs. They definitely feel hot to me, as compared with the "green box" FMJ also made by LVE.
Glad to hear your EG likes the Brown Bears. I'm going to try those in my Bulgy milsurp.
Regards,
Shane

[Bert24b]

I've had mixed feelings about the 120 gr silver bear. It feeds flawlessly in my 63 E. German Mak, but even with a Wolff 19# recoil spring (factory is 17 pounds) I can feel some sort of metal flecks hitting my face occasionally when I shoot! That cured me of my bad habit of shooting without eye protection! Stripped it down and I couldn't find any conspicious areas where anything was being battered inordinately, but I'm still wary. Maybe some of the metal cladding on the case flaking off? I believe nickel is quite a bit more brittle than brass...

-Bert

[Shane]

I tried the original 120 grn. SB JHPs and had several jams. I also read several horror stories on another great Mak board at www.gunboards.com. There were even two reports of "squibs", meaning people having their barrels ruined by bad rounds. Wishing we could get a big and heavy (for this caliber), hot JHP at a reasonable price, I started a letter writing campaign to LVE. They improved their quality control and the newer batches appear to be better. I noticed they also downsized the 120 grns to 115. So as far as I know they now sell "Silver" and "Brown" Bears, both in 115 grns. There have been many reports of this round jamming people's guns. Yet there are also several others who say it feeds OK. EG guns seem to feed it better than unmodified Bulgys. For excellant info and pictures on smoothing down your feed ramp, go to the other board I mentioned and search for posts by "Greg S.".
I'm going to try the 115 Brown Bears but won't adopt it as a carry round until I've shot several hundred and know it will feed flawlessly. For now I'm sticking with Hrndy XTPs for my HP round.
Can't wait to hear what other people think of the 92 grn FMJ.
Regards,
Shane