Cheap Russian Ammo
 

I have recently seen a rash of Wolf and Brown/Silver Bear ammo on the market - sometimes for ridiculously low prices. I'm tempted to pick some up for target practice, but I have some reservations.

Is anyone here shooting this stuff? Is it dirty, corrosive, etc? I see some of the stuff is lacquer coated or polymer coated. Any chance that will mess w/ the internals or barrel on a semi-auto?

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

If you can get it for way less than current prices on Golden Bear, then yeah, pick it up.

It is NOT corrosive. But it is in a laquered steel case that cannot be reloaded.

But it SHOULD go bang every time.

I've shot it, but I don't keep it for anything more than range ammo. My personal choice for Russian ammo is Golden Bear, which performs flawlessly in all my AK's.

Hope that helped.

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

I've used wolf and brown bear - fine for plinking - FMJ stuff, so I cannot speak to how well hollow points feed (if they even make them).

Seems like wolf in particular has lots of powder fouling.

Pricewise, they are pretty much the least expensive on the market.

(edit)

Follow-up to Mick Silver (see below) - yeah, a clean gun is a happy gun, just noticed that there was a lot more gunk to come off with wolf, doesn't really take any extra time, just a couple more patches, q-tips, and some more Hoppe's.

:s1:

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

just clean your guns when done . i thought everyone did that after shooting . i shoot good ammo cheap ammo after i am done i always clean my guns

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

Wolf = lacquer or plastic ("polymer") deposits in chamber, plenty of combustion residue.

Brown Bear = less of the same.

Silver Bear = excellent overall, no plastic since it's (edit: zinc) <s>nickel</s>-coated, but plenty of smoke & soot.

I use Silver Bear when I want new (for Mosins), and copper-washed surplus when I want cheap. Never lacquer/plastic-coated.

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

The cheap steel cased Russian ammo works great with cheap Russian rifles.

I've heard that the steel cased ammo is rough on the extractors of XD pistols though which is why I only run brass in mine.

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I only shoot Russian ammo in Kalashnikovs...works great.

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I've shot a few thousand rounds of Silver Bear 9mm in my Kimber Stainless Target II. That stuff used to be very reasonably priced and I loaded up a long time ago. No problems. If it's harder on the extractor then I haven't noticed. You do eventually get a coating on the zinc cases(some kind of corrosion). It's only on the surface and doesn't seem to affect relaibility.
I got a couple of M4's about 6 months or so ago. I've probaly put about 700 rnds or more of Silver Bear, Brown Bear, Tula, Wolf and Golden Bear through my Bushmaster and S&W MP15. I've had no problems. The Russian stuff is dirtier but I haven't had any problems the ammo. I do keep a spare extractor, firing pin and a broken cartridge extractor in my range bag. With what I save on ammo a couple of spare parts is no big deal. BTW, the 55 gr Brown Bear seems to be the most accurate in my guns. There have been a few people that say that the laquer from the Russian ammo can cause the bolt to be stuck if you get your gun hot and let it cool with the bolt foward. Tula doesn't have the laquer.

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

I've tried wolf, and had problems with jamming, but works fine if you load one round at a time. A lot of indoor ranges don't allow Russian ammo., for whatever reason.

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I shoot Wolf 7.62x39 in my SKS and AK. It's dirty ammo, but I haven't had jamming problems. I wouldn't buy it for pistol calibers.

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I haven't had to buy ammo in a while, but I love the wolf in the heavy duty cans. We shoot a lot of wolf .45 in pistols and I don't find it overly dirty compared to other surplus shit I have shot.
For wolf .223 it's not consistant enough for long range shooting, and the silver bear is slightly better but not prarie dog range consistant.
For the 140 yards at my home range silver bear is very good.
Points given for the sealed, stackable heavy duty sardine cans.

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

Russian ammo has a bi-metal jacket (soft steel with copper wash) that can cause sparks and has been known to start fires in the range backstop material.

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Cheap Russian ammo + AK + day at the range = fun. Buy all you can, shoot it, then clean afterwards. :5_1_120:

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I've shot a lot of Silver Bear HP in 9mm in several different handguns. No problems with feeding. I've tried the Silver Bear BTHP in 62gr in my M4's. They feed fine but the groups are a lot larger then they are with the 55gr.

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

How cheap and who is selling it.

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

Buy Russian Ammo for Russian Guns (i.e., AK's, Mosins, etc).

Don't put Russian Ammo in American Guns (i.e., 1911s, ARs, etc).

My $0.02

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

I have seen alot of people shoot the 9mm and 45 in handguns just and it seemed to work just fine. I have heard some say that the steel will wear out the extractor but most people agree that the steel in the cases in a mild steel and will not hurt the extractor. It is all I use in my SKS and AK and I need to buy a box sometime to try in my 9mm.

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The Wolf .380 won't cycle in my Ruger LCP!!!!

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

Many ranges have policies against russian ammo because they collect spent cases and reload them or sell them to be reloaded and the russian steel cases can't be reloaded.


As for the russian ammo. It is fine for plinking.

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

Yea I adhere to this logic too.

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

What about Wolf/Brown Bear/Golden Tiger in a Ruger Mini-30? Breaks the American ammo in American gun rule...but you guys tried it?

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

I've been shooting Barnaul ever since I picked up a bunch back in 2008.

No issues yet.

http://home.comcast.net/~jfreeman16/barnaul39FMJ.jpg

Re: Cheap Russian Ammo
 

I don't have a mini-30 so I can't say that I've tried it. I did shoot a bunch of the Wolf through my old neighbors FAL and no issues, he said it was dirty as hell, but we shot some cheap brass from a local gun shop that day too, so who knows. Also he bitches about EVERYTHING. I just don't like loading cheap ammo in my expensive firearms, it's usually not worth it, of course I also don't like cleaning my guns with solvent, I prefer to clean them with oil and that's not always possible with the wolf.

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Many who do so complain about inconsistent ignition due to the harder Russian primers. Wolff Gunsprings offers a heavier hammer spring for the Ruger to minimize but not totally eliminate this problem.

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Russian ammo was meant to be shot in Russian guns. Ive never seen so much whining and worrying before in my life :tongue_ma:

Ive shot wolf, brown/silver/gold bear, etc in my AK and SKS and have friends that do the same without a hiccup. ITS WHAT THEY WERE MEANT TO DO! What, are yall paying 2k$ for an AK or something??? Its an AK, get over it.

If you shoot corrosive surplus, wash it down at the range with the appropriate cleaning agent and give it a finer cleaning when you get home

You got an AK cause you didnt want to moan and bitch over a 1,500$ rifle thtat need .60 cent+ a round ammo, right?

"Oh no" you say, "I cant get sub MOA group with my wolf ammo and AK at 100 yards." Yeah, and you probably never will. IS there some reason you cant make a 3-4 inch group at 100 yards effective in combat? Shoot, 6-8 inch groups will still land effectivley in a human sized target.

I try to pick up any decent priced Russian ammo I can. Ive got military surplus, but far mor brown bear and would feel more than confidant doing more than "plinking" with it if I had to.

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I don't know about the Mini-30, but a friend's Mini-14 gobbles up the older lacquer coated Wolf stuff (which jams some AR15s) without a hiccup.

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I've shot at least a few thousand rounds of Silver Bear and some Brown Bear through my SKS and never had a problem with it. It's a lot cleaner than and seems to shoot more accurately than Wolf. My favorite was Silver Bear Match, but I don't think it's available anymore.

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I should clear up my little "rant" up there. I was refering strictly to russian rifle and rifle ammo. As far as the .223, Id probably stay away from it in an AR platform. As far as pistol, I have used the wolf .45 in my Bersa without a single issue other than that it was really fraking dirty.