7.62x39 questions

A

Aguila Blanca

Staff
I'm sort of passively looking for some bulk 7.62x39 ammunition. Pretty much everything that's available in lots larger than 20-round boxes is Russian, steel-cased ammo. I don't especially care for steel-cased ammo, but I know that's what Russian type rifles were designed to use (AK-47, SKS, etc.) so I guess for an SKS it's acceptable -- not so sure about using it in a Ruger Mini-30.

Looking on-line I see lots of vendors offering Brown Bear, Silver Bear, and Golden Bear ammo. What's the difference among these three bears? Are they all okay, or is one significantly preferable in any way?
 
A

Aguila Blanca

Staff
Disregard.

I knew the difference was the coating. I didn't know that Brown Bear is apparently still available in both lacquer coated and polymer coated -- I thought it was all polymer now. What I was really interested in was performance and storage issues and preferences. After reading a lot of comparisons on the Errornet, I've decided to just bite the bullet (pardon the phrase) and buy Golden Bear.
 
C

chadio

New member
FWIW - my SKS is the only thing I will feed steel cases, everything else (every other firearm that I may or may not own and operate) is brass only. I am a firm believer that the SKS and AK47 / AK74 were designed to run steel casings from the get- go... have fun, let's see the rifle, and let us know what you think
 
T

the possum

New member
I've decided to just bite the bullet (pardon the phrase) and buy Golden Bear.
Click to expand...

If it's not too late, I'd always recommend buying a box or two to try in your gun. It would suck to get a couple cases & then find out your gun doesn't like it.

My SKS has always liked the old Klimovsk hollowpoints. I don't think they're available any more, so I did some testing & found that Tulammo hollowpoints are about the same. Surplus Yugo brass cased stuff also functions well & is comparable in accuracy, but it's corrosive.

The net is full of praise for Golden Tiger. Most guys say it's more accurate, and the boat tail bullets are a bonus. However, my gun hates it. Yours might love it. My gun does not like Wolf either.
 
B

Bamashooter

New member
The Yugo M67 milsurp ammo is brass cased and fairly cheap. It is corrosive though. PPU, S&B can usually be found for $10 a box. My main stash is steel cased but I do have some of these three on hand as well.
 
V

volkstrm

New member
7.62x39 Questions

Hello Aguila Blanca,
I have used the wolf ammo lacquer & polymer coated in my sks's & ak's and it was 100%. The silver bear I have used in my ak,74's in 5.45x39 also was 100%. I really liked the silver bear its nickel plate over steel case. You may want to look at the silver bear? I would have got some in 7.62x39 if I did not already have so much of the wolf ammo. I just love to shoot my sks's & ak's. Got most of that ammo when it was like between $85.00 & $115.00 per 1000 rounds. I still have some(700-800 rounds or so) of that Chinese copper washed steel core ammo that I got over 30 years ago. Can't remember what I payed for that but it was penny's per round. That stuff I save.
 
M

Mobuck

Moderator
I use some Silver Bear in a 5.45x39 AR and it runs well enough. For the 7.62x39 AR's and bolt actions, I use Hornady steel case or brass case reloads. Fiocchi and Privi make some decent brass cased 7.62.
 
D

doofus47

New member
If you haven't already bought a lifetime supply: I'll offer my 3c:
1. I like wolf military classic hp with a poly coat. It's pretty accurate in both my SKS and my AR and my VZ2008. Neither has it yet failed to go bang.
2. Ulyanovsk or Tula. FMJ and HP; both poly coated. These worked very well in my SKS. Although I have several batches left, I haven't yet fired them in my AR nor VZ2008.

happy shooting
 
F

Fishbed77

New member
One one exception, I have only every fired steel-cased 7.62x39mm ammo in my rifles chambered in that caliber (AKs and a vz.58). No issues at all.

That one exception was when I tried to run some brass-cased Prvi Partizan brass-cases soft-nosed ammo in my (otherwise perfectly reliable) Saiga. It just kept choking on them. Go figure.
 
S

stagpanther

New member
1. I like wolf military classic hp with a poly coat. It's pretty accurate in both my SKS and my AR and my VZ2008. Neither has it yet failed to go bang.
Click to expand...
Last time I bought some poly-coat ammo in bulk (might have been Tula's) I was running a failure rate of about 2 cartridges per 20 round box. Primer failure every time. Homey don't do poly-coat anymore.
 
S

seanc

New member
Since you've got an SKS that can use stripper clips, you should get the m67 Yugo ammo from SGAmmo:
https://www.sgammo.com/product/surp...c-copper-fmj-brass-case-corrosive-yugo-surplu

It's on stripper clips and is good ammo, though it is corrosive.

Per JohnKSa's recomendation: Prvi 7.62x39 is good ammo, but the Prvi lead round nose rounds can cause feeding issues. They worked in my SKS, but do NOT work in my AK. However, Prvi does also have pointed soft point ammo that feeds like a champ:
https://www.sgammo.com/product/prvi...soft-point-prvi-partizan-brass-case-ammo-pp73

Also, SGAmmo has Golden Tiger, which is what I have in quantity.
 
S

seanc

New member
volkstrm
the silver bear its nickel plate over steel case
Click to expand...

Silver Bear is zinc plated. Not bad to shoot, but I had issues with stored Silver Bear in the past. I won't be buying any more (even though the 5.45x39 gets great reviews).
 
T

TruthTellers

New member
I've got 7 year old Wolf still shooting fine, but if I was buying in bulk I would probably go with Silver or Golden Bear. Some may say the lacquer or poly coating can't build up, but if you shoot enough rounds at once, and that's doable given how cheap 7.62x39 ammo is, it can build up in your gun and cause issues.

But, if you're not expecting to hoard off a wave of zombies, I think it's tough to beat Wolf ammo for 20 cents a round.
 
I

Ifishsum

New member
Good luck here with any of the Wolf variations as well as the brand Cabela's sells? Red Army I think? Tula not so much, less consistent and some misfires which are rare with Wolf and RA.
 
T

T. O'Heir

New member
Your local gun shop can and will order anything you want in any quantity you want. Expect to pay up front. However, you should not buy anything in bulk until you have tried a box out of your rifle.
A lot depends on what you think is 'bulk' too. So does the primer. Boxer tends to be more expensive than Berdan regardless of the brand.
A net search(Google) for 7.62 x 39 ammo turns up 241,000 sites.
 
L

Ledslnger

New member
TruthTellers said:
I've got 7 year old Wolf still shooting fine, but if I was buying in bulk I would probably go with Silver or Golden Bear. Some may say the lacquer or poly coating can't build up, but if you shoot enough rounds at once, and that's doable given how cheap 7.62x39 ammo is, it can build up in your gun and cause issues.

But, if you're not expecting to hoard off a wave of zombies, I think it's tough to beat Wolf ammo for 20 cents a round.
Click to expand...
One of my buddies that is ex-Special Forces and his son burnt through a bunch of lacquered rounds....albeit in an AR. He told me it took him 3 hours to clean up the chamber.
 
S

Sturmpanzer

Moderator
My Yugo Underfolder eats any ammo...its an AK..nuff said... I use Wolf or Tula...no misfires or anything... Thats over 6K rounds thru my AK...nothing wont feed thru it if its up to specs...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top