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comparison of 7.62x39 available ammo types- the good and bad aspects we should know

48K views 134 replies 30 participants last post by  Ivy_Runner 
#1 · (Edited)
its getting to be like a minefield out there these days trying to find an ammo brand that has less bad features or all the right ones your happy and shoot best with. wouldn't it be great if all the info on all brands was posted in one spot? if theres a forum like that somewhere feel free to post a link. it would be great to add all the info we can get on all brands over the decades and keep piling on that info until were in the know when we see something. I know ive been craving info on the ammo I often buy and go to shoot as all to often its damaging in different ways or just not up to specs. steel-copper bimetal shavings at case mouth or corrosive primers misadvertized come to mind.
if you've got it post it here with all the box, container, listed contents and ACTUAL when verified if corrosive or not and so on. feel free to jump in with pics, description, paper accuracy target tests anything that explains the dos and donts, the good and bad of each brand and type of 762x39mm ammo so we know which guns like what and all about what ammo we find, buy and hoard. heres some old Hungarian mfs ammo for starters. Microphone
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if anyone can jump in and say much about this one id like to know. my tests years ago in mid 2000s yielded that its definitely the dirtiest ammo ive ever fired. id like to know if its corrosive. ill take a magnet to the jacket and find out if its bimetal next. so far I see no sealant or case mouth metal shavings. ill disect a rd. and find out if air pocket steel or lead core exists. does anyone here have experience with this? last I had a few cases I shot it up in no time and didn't think much of it.

findings:
corrosive: to be edited
bimetal jacket: to be edited
fmj or fmjbt boat tail: to be verified and edited
lacquered steel case or other: lacquered steel case
primer sealant: no
accuracy: normal/average? to be determined
bimetal shavings stuck or loose on case mouth: to be determined after more close inspection
steel core: lead core iirc on test specimens, to be verified again and edited
air pocket in tip with reduced powder charge: tbd
123gr. as advertised: tbd
clean burning or dirty: dirtiest ammo ever on batch I tested in mid 2000s, this batch looks like the same stuff but came from a later different source.
reliability: reliable
 
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#70 ·
Ammunition Metal Bullet Gun accessory Coin
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arsenal code 13 over 88 this is not to be confused with north Korean arsenal code 13 im told. this is definitely south African but what nobody can tell me yet is if its definitely non corrosive. they might make it both ways is what one ammo dealer mentioned on the phone lately that tried to trade me out of it. super clean looking ammo. ive not tried it yet. I have a few loose rds. to disect if no info comes forward. one thing about this ammo is all seem to like it whether its corrosive they just don't know for certain. very accurate im told
 
#72 · (Edited)
Cosmetics Ammunition Material property Lipstick
not sure until I disect one of these but I think these came in inside military spam cans marked hunting ammunition or something at one point. I think that because I bought and later sold off several spams of it and remember thinking why wasn't that lead core???. if this is the same stuff im thinking of it looks military but is just lead core heavy ball if mil spec at all. the military issue boxes, markings, primer sealants and format certainly make it look like military ammo if it isn't. I wish I had more of this. if anyone can add info on this ammo id like to know more about it.
 
#73 · (Edited)
heres another laq cased fmj from Russia. this one is from uly or Ulyanovsk. imported early- mid 2000s then stopped. great stuff! send more over please! Text Font Label
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I shot all this up and couldn't restock it. I later shot the contents of my last box looks like so it must have been pretty good ammo I needed in a pinch.

this is going to sound dumb to someone who knows but ive heard about this and cant remember exactly what 7,62x39-8m2''effect'' ammo means. I thought effect ammo was narrow hollow points or something when I heard it mentioned here before. school me on it please. is it air pocket lead core light ball or something?

note: this box is white and purple not white and blue as it appears in pics. the camera and lighting could not be adjusted easily to reveal its true color. this ammo also came in many color coded types like hollow points etc. in the same basic style packaging.
 
#75 · (Edited)
there were so many types of Russian ak ammo prior to customs post 911 curtailing that it was hard to keep track of all the types available at the average gunshow. it was a buyers paradise. they were giving the stuff away at cost it kind of seemed like. I remember thinking how can they make all those individual rounds so precise so quick so cheap. I was never a fan of hollow points but I did buy a guy out for 30 dollars per 1000 rds on 14000 rds at a Dayton gunshow once. it was a one time event and he was selling the stuff for a church member who died. he and fam set up at Dayton hara arena show and sold it all to me during dealer setup. by time show opened they were going home. came with free 40mm ammo cans. Metal Lock
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my problems with these hollow points jamming on feedramps became so frequent that I decided to do a double angled feedramp in my vector rpd and maybe 2 dozen of my akms. the issues went away but it was a lot of work. I should have just sold that ammo and bought fmj. to this day I still only shoot fmj.

can anyone identify the arsenal this was made at and if its early or later modern type of hollow point ammo?
 
#76 · (Edited)
heres another type of Russian ammo this time hollow points again imported early -mid 2000s and then quit just like countless other brands and types when the ammo prices spiked. doesn't make sense why these all vanished when prices went sky high. Text Font Label
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#77 ·
#78 · (Edited)
some of you type 1 ak fanatics are going to love this next one. Russian m43 ak ammo 1950 dated arsenal code 60 [who?] brass case original box untouched until just now for taking pictures. Text Font Technology
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I don't always shoot Yugo aks for shtf but when I do I choose early brass case m43....:rolleyes: joke...really though this ammo was given to me at a northern ohio gunshow around 2003 and came with a funny story. it was imported as a boat anchor...literally. it came over as a ships ballast to be dropped in port during the late 60s or early 70s. the guy just couldn't remember it had been so long ago. this lot with some others escaped. this story happened decades ago. recently century had a small lot of so called russian m43 ammo but later dates and only available to law enforcement post sample buyers and they had to sign for it to never sell it. I tried to get my buddy to buy it all but he passed. I never got to see the fresh batch just the century add 4 years ago roughly.

if you've ever wondered what ammo they used in a Russian type 1 or 2 early on this is probably what it looked like.
 
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#79 ·
this next one is really neat. gotta love soviet quality! arsenal code 539 over a 1971 date code. nice stuff inside the box! Wood
Box Wood Cardboard Paper product Rectangle
Box Cardboard Tile Hand Paper product
Tobacco products Ammunition
Ammunition Bullet Gun accessory Metal
 
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#80 · (Edited)
this box of ammo looks so nice ive thought of naming it with a Russian gals name. I cant remember where I found it but the quality of the ammo is just amazing. when you open the box it just has sex appeal.
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if anyone has other examples like this please post em here when you can. Id really like to see more of the mid era soviet ammo.
 
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#81 ·
heres one your likely to encounter at gunshows on occasion still. it was ultra popular and had a great reputation for fire balls on the muzzle end a little bigger than most. norinco yellow box ''flame thrower'' ammo. Lead
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#83 · (Edited)
I came to the ak scene at the tender age of 14 in 1994ish, started filming at knob creek first in 1991 then again in 93 but never actually got my first ak until 94. by 1994 the Chinese ammo was already on its way out but ive heard the never ending stories how cheap this stuff was at one time until they banned it. good stuff.

if anyone can add the much needed info on this im lacking please add in your findings. by looking at it id say its run of the mill decent Chinese thick painted steel case fmj. the paint does not seem to be peeling off on this batch but ive seen it happen on others out of china. some batches from china were mislabeled non corrosive just like recent Russian batches from klimovsk and maybe others. some Chinese ammo types exhibit cracked necks and or copper shavings at undeburred case mouth.

most Chinese ammo types are corrosive, reliable, fmj or maybe fmjbt? and steel cased either copper washed or later painted super thick laquer if you want to call it a lacquered steel case at all. the types of Chinese ammo are many.

this would be a good spot for someone to jump in and totally go nuts posting their Chinese ak ammo collection so I don't have to. cheers!
 
#86 · (Edited)
arsenal 04 seems pretty common for east german ammo. this ones 04 over 66 date code. this is the stuff that came over in big wooden crates then became banned from import as pistol ammo. it was later reloaded in Germany and reintroduced with a new made lead core fmj bullet repacked in nice looking white boxes we saw some 2 examples of earlier. copper washed steel case and lacquered steel case various dated surplus repackaged in the same white boxes. Ammunition Office supplies Pencil Pen Writing implement
Material property Cylinder Office supplies Metal Ammunition
Ammunition Pen Office supplies Bullet Metal

this ammo is super nice looking and lacks the case mouth sealant. it has a super fine dark purple primer sealant and smooth lacquered steel case. many swear by this ammo as being the best. I find it hard to disagree.
 
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#87 ·
I've never compared the Chinese ammo I posted with Golden Tiger. When I switched to GT, I really didn't notice a lot of difference in power, but GT is more
accurate and stable at distance, IMO

I also have some of the EG ammo with the red stripped boxes, it is a high quality and reliable cartridge with repeatable accuracy and power.

I save all of my older, scarce ammo nowadays and have not shot any of it in recent years.
 
#88 ·
I've shot a lot of Yugo M67 Milsurp ball, and love the stuff, its loaded hot, and very corrosive, so cleaning your weapon at the end of a range session is a must. If you will notice on the boxes packed with 40 rounds on stripper clips, they are labeled 59/66. My Yugo SKS 59/66 loves the stuff, as do my other AK builds.
The only problem I've ever had with Yugo is that the one time I tried shooting some of it through an early milled ChiCom SKS, the eounds would not group at all at 100M. The rifle in question is supposedly a Vet bringback from Vietnam, and was all but new, with little evidence of it having been fired much. When I switched to Norinco ammo, the groups shrank to about the size of a paper plate.

Another thing to remember when shooting M67 Yugo ball is your POI will change if you zeroed with another brand of ammo like Wolff. Since the Yugo ball is loaded Military hot, the POI tends to be a little bit higher when using lower grade ammo.


I've also shot a little bit of EG stuff, and found it to be very good as well, and loaded hot like M67 ball. This stuff is VERY corrosive, and will rot out your barrel and gas system if not cleaned thoroughly that night.
 
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#89 · (Edited)
that would be great if we could document a basic point of impact vs. point of aim pattern with lead core heavy ball hitting low and lead core hollow cavity air pocket hitting middle and where the steel core light ball might land usually. that might teach us what to expect and what to buy just possibly if there is a basic pattern.

id like to know what the formula is. anybody here know already or is there too many variables like powder charges and bullet weights?
 
#91 · (Edited)
heres whats inside the box. Soap Bar soap Box
Cigar Tobacco products Box
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Box


purple primer sealant. no case mouth sealant. copper fmj or fmjbt unverified, annealed brass case, odd center punch type crimps at primer pocket, odd dual crimping method at case mouth both in lines going lengthways with case and concentrically around case mouth.

would be interesting to note if this ammo is made on old m43 Russian machinery or where Egypt acquired this production line from.

if anyone can verify the date and factory info on rounds and box label as well as any other info id be very greatful to find out more about this ammo.

the 50 round box and giant wooden crate nearly too heavy to lift for 2 Egyptian soldiers seems odd. bear in mind Egypt scaled this down from the 8mm mauser ammo 50rd boxes and giant wooden crates packed the same way for the hakim rifle which this more or less replaced.
 
#92 ·
heres a slightly later variation of east german military short range plastic training ammo. this one is marked with more info on back of package [m43 ub] and has an earlier date arsenal code 05 over 78 vs. the arsenal 04 over 88 we have seen referenced here so far.
Ammunition Bullet Pen
 
#93 · (Edited)
more of above with comparison to later batch previously mentioned.
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this earlier batch being shown now has a smooth fine green lacquered steel case and fine line of purple primer sealant with date code 78 arsenal 05 however the 88 date code arsenal 04 has no primer sealant and has a grey lacquered steel case. note that packaging on the grey cased ammo covered earlier had much less info on the outside for verifying its contents.
 
#94 · (Edited)
apparently I shot all my old white box klimovsk and didnt even save an empty box of it. this has me bumbed at moment since I really wanted to compare it to the recent batch of white box klimovsk copycat ammo that has a copied label with different fonts and looks identical except the contents are corrosive when the box still says otherwise. ill be doing a big section on the damage this newest batch of klimovsk ammo did to my chrome plated pistons gastubes and bores but im unable to locate an early klimovsk anything box of ammo so far. if someone can please show one or more types id be off and running! please chip in with pics of a box or 2 if you've got em.
 
#95 · (Edited)
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heres an opened package of ten steel core light ball east german military rounds[ with a few rds missing] for reference. good stuff! corrosive lacquered steel case run of the mill good old fashioned mil spec. not todays so called various ''mil-spec'' commercial ammo.

if you locate this later type packaging it should be late production type stuff. in this case arsenal code 04 over 1984. just 5 years before production stopped forever. the ammo inventory was actually recycled for scrap metal and explosive powders to fertilizer under united nations what didn't ship elsewhere immediately via stazi blackmarket under the table contracts while the east german govt disolved.
 
#100 ·
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arsenal 141 over 72 date Chinese steel core ammo on strips. corrosive fmj with light pink primer and case mouth sealant barely visable.
 
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