Russian Ammo - GTG?

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  • thperez1972

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    I've mostly stayed away from the Russian stuff since back when most of the stuff was steel. My SKS was the exception. How is the Russian brass stuff? Has anyone seen a significant amount of failures as compared to Federal or something similar? Or is the Russian stuff generally good to go? I'm referring to range ammo.
     

    981GT4

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    Russian steel ammo is good to go, in no way shape or form is steel going to screw your weapon up or have malfunctions. Unless the ammo was improperly made, which can happen. Even with brass cased ammo.

    all russian milspec ammo that is used by military is steel cased ammo.
     

    RustyHammer

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    I prefer brass ... but will shoot steel in my less expensive AR's. It always goes bang and is pretty consistent. In the long run, I figure the money I save will cover the cost of a new barrel if I ever shoot enough to do that. (At least that's what I tell myself!)
     

    981GT4

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    https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/


    Here is a very good read and data analysis of steel vs brass casing

    using 4 rifles 3 of which used russian steel ammo and 1 using federal brass.

    firing 10,000 rounds in each rifle.

    federal had 0 malfunctions the steel had .9% malfunctions out of 10,000 rounds. Which is pretty damn good.

    now the russian ammo did wear the barrel down after 10k rounds , which is normal.

    the barrel wasnt warn down due to the steel casing, it was due to the bi metal bullets themselves used in Russian ammo.


    shooting russian ammo is fine. And if you somehow manage to shoot 10,000 rounds of ammo through your rifle , reguardless of ammo used youre going to be in need of replacement parts anyway.

    one thing the test did provenis TULA ammo is ****, and couldnt make it to 10,000 rounds without major malfunctions every time.

    If anything id stick with wolf or brown bear russian ammo.
     
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    sportsbud

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    I would rate the brass stuff at the same as the steel just the ability to reload the cases... Both use the bi-metal bullet which is what wears the bore like 981GT4 said. I am not afraid of Russian ammo... But some ARs are picky about ejecting steel ammo especially carbine length gas systems. Have had a steel case stick so bad in a bushmaster that I take the barrel off to work it. Remember steel does create more sliding friction than brass...
     

    thperez1972

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    I did see the article. It was that article that actually prompted my question on here. Their testing subjected the rifles to punishment far beyond what ordinary civilian use would subject a rifle to. Most people won't put 2500 rounds through the rifle before any maintenance. The most telling graphic, in my opinion, was the cost analysis of brass vs steel with 0, 1, and 2 new barrels.
     

    Magdump

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    Wolf is good, especially the .22. But if you read the fine print, it’s loaded at the Tula plant.

    The Red Army stuff is good and loaded at different plants all over the eastern bloc.

    The best steel cased ammo I’ve shot besides true mil surp in 7.62x39 is Sellier & Bellot, although the bullets are copper jacketed and not bi-metal.

    When it comes to the SKS rifles and AK variants that were built for combat service, they were built to run on the steel stuff, with heavy chrome lined bores and otherwise rough and tough design. I’ll shoot most any mil surp steel cases in mine.
    The things I usually can’t get past on steel 5.56 in my AR rifles is the lacquer finish that half burns and leaves that superglue residue, the burn off itself choking me out with mustard gas fumes and the worry of making sure I clean the weapon before it’s stone cold. So, aside from 7.62x39, I stockpile decent brass cased ammo, nearly all mil surp, when prices are good. Whatever I could possibly save by buying steelcased is just not worth it to me.
     

    981GT4

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    Wolf is good, especially the .22. But if you read the fine print, it’s loaded at the Tula plant.

    The Red Army stuff is good and loaded at different plants all over the eastern bloc.

    The best steel cased ammo I’ve shot besides true mil surp in 7.62x39 is Sellier & Bellot, although the bullets are copper jacketed and not bi-metal.

    When it comes to the SKS rifles and AK variants that were built for combat service, they were built to run on the steel stuff, with heavy chrome lined bores and otherwise rough and tough design. I’ll shoot most any mil surp steel cases in mine.
    The things I usually can’t get past on steel 5.56 in my AR rifles is the lacquer finish that half burns and leaves that superglue residue, the burn off itself choking me out with mustard gas fumes and the worry of making sure I clean the weapon before it’s stone cold. So, aside from 7.62x39, I stockpile decent brass cased ammo, nearly all mil surp, when prices are good. Whatever I could possibly save by buying steelcased is just not worth it to me.


    To clarify, the TULA ammo is probably crap in an ar-15 platform.

    the AK-47 on other hand, it shouldnt be an issue.

    ive run hundreds of TULA tounds through my russian AKM and 0 malfunctions.


    ARs are more picky when it comes to ammo. ak platforms will eat anything. This is why i prefer the AK over the AR.
     

    Jasarii

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    You asked how the Russian brass ammo was...The .223 Wolf Gold is solid stuff. Brass cased and actually is loaded to 5.56 pressures/specs. Many people have tested this stuff and have gotten very good results with it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    Blue Diamond

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    To clarify, the TULA ammo is probably crap in an ar-15 platform.

    the AK-47 on other hand, it shouldnt be an issue.

    ive run hundreds of TULA tounds through my russian AKM and 0 malfunctions.


    ARs are more picky when it comes to ammo. ak platforms will eat anything. This is why i prefer the AK over the AR.

    If you use specific mags in your AR they work great. Most all problems with them are the mags. Don't ever use any plastic mags. They can't cut the mustard.
     

    981GT4

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    If you use specific mags in your AR they work great. Most all problems with them are the mags. Don't ever use any plastic mags. They can't cut the mustard.


    I belive in that test from lucky gunner, the issues werent mag related, but rounds were stuck in the chamber and failing to extract. i think some were FtF but a majority of the malfunctions with the TULA ammo was more serious.
     

    Bigchillin83

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    theres other kinds of ammo other than Russian for the ak? :mamoru:

    lol Ive had great experience with steel case tula,wolf,redarmy, hearters, brown bear, ect in my ars and aks... hell my glocks even eat them up, don't get me wrong I have a good stash of brass for my ars, but deff don't burn it up when steel case is readily available and much cheaper
     

    sportsbud

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    Well currently you can build a low end AR for under $350 and barrels can be had for 50-80 bucks... I'm probably going to build an 7.5" AR too stray in a lockbox in my truck.
     

    sevenpt62

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    I think what you are asking is how the brass Russian ammo performs. I.e. wolf gold. If that’s your question I think it’s too notch. Actually made in Taiwan I believe. It’s veen very accurate out of my rifle and I’ve fired almost half of the case of 1k I purchased and experienced no failures or malfunctions of any kind. I heard some people more knowledgeable than me say its pretty much a m193 copy and supposedly known to be very accurate. I definitely plan on buying a few more cases to have on hand.
     

    dougstump

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    I have a friend that shoots a lot of the steel case ammo. I've replaced many extractors in his AR-15's, M1A, and Thompson SMG, he also sheared a couple rivets & bent the extractor on his 1919A4 but he had to send that off. The steel stuff is OK in weapons that were designed for it, SKS & AK, but otherwise you're asking for trouble.
     

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