Ammo recommendation for an AK newbie?
I'm soon to be getting my first AK. The order is placed, and soon the rifle will be on the way to my eagerly awaiting paws.
Being new to AK's, I thought maybe I could ask the hive for some ammo recommendations. I'm looking for general purpose SHTF/Range shooting Ammo. For example, for my AR15's I usually stockpile the Lake City M193. Thats my SHTF/Range Shooting Ammo that I buy in bulk. Its brass cased, non-corrosive, works good for me.
I'm not sure what the 7.62mm equivalent of M193 would be? I like to keep my rifles nice. Clean them after each trip to the range and use only good quality ammo in them. I've stayed away from the steel cased stuff for my AR (I realize that they shouldn't hurt anything but I just tend to stick with the Lake City stuff). However, by my reading so far, it seems that coated steel cases are really common for AK guys. All the common manufacturers that offer bulk ammo are a bit new to me. Brown Bear, Tula, Wolf. I prefer non-corrosive ammo that is reasonably clean to shoot.
Any advice or opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Ak's will eat anything and keep on going. If not then you have an issue. Mine favors the kind that goes... BANG!
Its an ak it uses everything lol in lack of a better term and shooting corrosive is not much more in the lines of clean up. Spray windex down the barrel and bolt/firing pin. its just one extra step. also if you plan on reloading remember the 7.62x39 uses a .310 bullet not a .308 bullet
Buy Herters, I believe they're selling it at Cabellas for $4 a box? It is made by Ulanovsk; steel cased non-corrosive. They offer 122 gr. FMJ, and HP, and 154 gr. SP. Many people here prefer it (Ulanovsk) to the other brands of steel cased non-corrosive for its consistency and cleanliness compared to brown bear/silver bear or Tula/Wolf.
Also, Ulanovsk makes the devastating 8m3 fragmenting HP bullet, and it is used in the Herters brand.
I've been asking the same question, for a good quality cheap ammo,
7.62x39 Yugoslavian Military M67 7.62x39 123gr. FMJ seems to be popular, it is accurate and cheapish?
it is mildly corrosive, so a good cleaning will be needed after firing, also I read it helps to shoot a few non corrosive rounds before you shoot the corrosive to coat the metal, and after to
blow out some of the corrosive stuff, this gives you less corrosive stuff in the gun, and a few extra days before a cleaning must be done.
just keep some tulammo or wolf around and shoot 5 rounds before and after.
here is some on gunbroker, averages out to about .30 cents a round.
Yugo M67If you want to try any bullet style other than FMJ, buy a small quantity and test it before buying in bulk.
1Wolf,
Personally I'd prefer Wolf ammo as it's reasonable in price and for sure it's non-corrosive as it says on the box. Let us know how it works cuz my range doesn't allow steel on the range so I'm stuck buying much more expensive ammo like Remington, Winchester or American Eagle.
Originally Posted By 1Wolf:
I'm soon to be getting my first AK. The order is placed, and soon the rifle will be on the way to my eagerly awaiting paws.
Being new to AK's, I thought maybe I could ask the hive for some ammo recommendations. I'm looking for general purpose SHTF/Range shooting Ammo. For example, for my AR15's I usually stockpile the Lake City M193. Thats my SHTF/Range Shooting Ammo that I buy in bulk. Its brass cased, non-corrosive, works good for me.
I'm not sure what the 7.62mm equivalent of M193 would be? I like to keep my rifles nice. Clean them after each trip to the range and use only good quality ammo in them. I've stayed away from the steel cased stuff for my AR (I realize that they shouldn't hurt anything but I just tend to stick with the Lake City stuff). However, by my reading so far, it seems that coated steel cases are really common for AK guys. All the common manufacturers that offer bulk ammo are a bit new to me. Brown Bear, Tula, Wolf. I prefer non-corrosive ammo that is reasonably clean to shoot.
Any advice or opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Unlike AR's, AK's were intended to shoot the steel cased ammo. For range ammo, use whatever Russian steel cased commercial FMJ ammo you can get the best deal on. Common brands you'll see are Wolf, Brown Bear, Tula, Golden Tiger, Herters, Uly. They are all non corrosive, and perform about the same for target and blasting paper. For SHTF, the surplus Yugo is great, but it is corrosive (just properly clean after shooting it and you'll have no problem).
The brass American made (Winchester, Remmington) is good ammo...but $$$$$$.
Hornady makes a great round with their 7.62 x 39 SST. At $34 for 50rnds it's not for plinking..only for defense.
Thanks to everyone for the info and advice!
Let me ask you guys this...
If you had to pick one ammo to fill the role of range shooting and SHTF, and that ammo had to be non-corrosive and inexpensive so that you could buy it in bulk...what would it be?
I prefer one type of ammo to do it all so that on any range trip I'm training with what I'd be using in a SHTF scenario. I prefer non-corrosive.
Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I'll share my own findings. Based on my own reading and some of the posts in this thread...I've read that the "Wolf Military Classic" 124 Gr. Hollow Points might be a good choice as they are inexpensive, manufactured at Ulyanovsk most likely utilize the Sapsan 8M3 bullet which has shown good fragmentation in gelatin tests. I've read some places that Brown Bear 123 Gr. FMJ shoots alot cleaner than "Wolf" but I'm not sure if it has the stopping power of the aforementioned 8M3 bullet. Perhaps, due to the fact that the Wolf "Military Classic" line is produced in a different factory than the other Wolf ammo...it doesn't shoot so "dirty" as some reviews state.
I've read that the Brown Bear 125 Gr. Soft Points perform very well and still fall within a reasonable price point.
The Winchester Super-X, Federal, & Cor-Bon I've read good things about but its all too expensive for me to buy in bulk.
It seems that many prefer Lacquer coated over Polymer coated when they can get it. It seems that alot of reviews I've read say that the Lacquer resists the corrosion better and that most folks using 7.62 in AK's haven't had problems with the lacquer and would prefer that to the polymer.
If you would choose any of the above, would you have any problem relying on a hollow point or soft point as your SHTF round that you store in bulk? Would you, in any way, feel that hollow points or soft points are less reliable and you'd prefer FMJ rounds?
Thanks for the advice and opinions!
Winders and Sportmans have military classic hp's pretty cheap. I'd just go with M67 classic load, thats what the contractors in iraq use. The Hornady v-max is also good.
Originally Posted By 1Wolf:
Thanks to everyone for the info and advice!
Let me ask you guys this...
If you had to pick one ammo to fill the role of range shooting and SHTF, and that ammo had to be non-corrosive and inexpensive so that you could buy it in bulk...what would it be?
I prefer one type of ammo to do it all so that on any range trip I'm training with what I'd be using in a SHTF scenario. I prefer non-corrosive.
Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I'll share my own findings. Based on my own reading and some of the posts in this thread...I've read that the "Wolf Military Classic" 124 Gr. Hollow Points might be a good choice as they are inexpensive, manufactured at Ulyanovsk most likely utilize the Sapsan 8M3 bullet which has shown good fragmentation in gelatin tests. I've read some places that Brown Bear 123 Gr. FMJ shoots alot cleaner than "Wolf" but I'm not sure if it has the stopping power of the aforementioned 8M3 bullet. Perhaps, due to the fact that the Wolf "Military Classic" line is produced in a different factory than the other Wolf ammo...it doesn't shoot so "dirty" as some reviews state.
I've read that the Brown Bear 125 Gr. Soft Points perform very well and still fall within a reasonable price point.
The Winchester Super-X, Federal, & Cor-Bon I've read good things about but its all too expensive for me to buy in bulk.
It seems that many prefer Lacquer coated over Polymer coated when they can get it. It seems that alot of reviews I've read say that the Lacquer resists the corrosion better and that most folks using 7.62 in AK's haven't had problems with the lacquer and would prefer that to the polymer.
If you would choose any of the above, would you have any problem relying on a hollow point or soft point as your SHTF round that you store in bulk? Would you, in any way, feel that hollow points or soft points are less reliable and you'd prefer FMJ rounds?
Thanks for the advice and opinions!
Based on what your looking for, try the Golden Tiger FMJ...cases are lacquer coated and the there is sealant on the primer and top of the case for further protection from the elements. The FMJ bullet on the Golden Tiger is a boat tail round and has a hollow cavity near the tip that many say causes the round to tumble after hitting a soft target...better than the other Russian ammo offerings.
Hollow points with Russian ammo have historically not performed well..except for the Wolf Military classic hollow points for a few years ago. There is debate whether or not the new stuff has the same bullet now (8M3).
Soft points also perform decent.
The main thing is that you have to make sure your particular rifle will shoot hollow points and soft points without issues. The AK was designed to shoot only FMJ rounds..they are the most reliable rounds you can use, which is why most here will use a FMJ round for SHTF.
As far as being a dirty round...it's an AK, dirty ammo will not effect reliabilty of the rifle.
Originally Posted By -Apocalypto-:
Based on what your looking for, try the Golden Tiger FMJ...cases are lacquer coated and the there is sealant on the primer and top of the case for further protection from the elements. The FMJ bullet on the Golden Tiger is a boat tail round and has a hollow cavity near the tip that many say causes the round to tumble after hitting a soft target...better than the other Russian ammo offerings.
Hollow points with Russian ammo have historically not performed well..except for the Wolf Military classic hollow points for a few years ago. There is debate whether or not the new stuff has the same bullet now (8M3).
Soft points also perform decent.
The main thing is that you have to make sure your particular rifle will shoot hollow points and soft points without issues. The AK was designed to shoot only FMJ rounds..they are the most reliable rounds you can use, which is why most here will use a FMJ round for SHTF.
As far as being a dirty round...it's an AK, dirty ammo will not effect reliabilty of the rifle.
Thanks Apocalypto. Much appreciated.
I hadn't actually looked into Golden Tiger until you mentioned it. Widener's had it for a good price so I did some poking around, read good things, and watched some interesting video reviews. Its still difficult to get a solid answer on what the terminal ballistics are on it, but it seems that most opinions point to it yawing early like an M67. I've read a few thoughts that the boat tail might actually counteract the air pocket and stabilize the round, but for now, that sounds like a good option. That was a great recommendation. Thankyou. I ordered a bunch of it.
Thankyou also for the advice on the hollow points. I took your advice there as well and ordered just a few hundred of the Wolf Military Classic 124 Gr. Hollow Points. I'm hoping that they are indeed the 8M3 bullets (and at this point I wouldn't know how to tell the difference so I'll just have to gamble). I figure that should be enough to run through my AK and tell me whether they'll chamber for me reliably...or...whether my AK is a finicky eater and won't eat its brussel sprouts ;)
Thanks again!
I guess I should've stated it more clearly above; Wolf Military Classic no longer has the 8m3 bullet, Herters does. To check, take a sewing needle and run it around the inside of the hollow point. If it is an 8m3 it should get "caught" on the-pre failed cuts in the jacket. Or just pull the head and cut it and look for the same thing.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_4_54/139482_Does_Wolf_MCHP_still_have_the_8M3_projectile_.htmlEverybody already said all the good stuff, damn it. Lol.
I use Tula almost exclusively, not for any other reason than price really. I have had no issues with either polymer or lacquer casings. I've used up a good share of yugo M67 rounds with good results as well. Have no experiance with Brown Bear or Uly ammo... sorry.
For both range and SHTF, again... I use Tula. I have a mix of FMJ, HP, ans SP ammo... mostly FMJ though. I feel that FMJ will be more than adequate for SHTF scenarios, they've been killing people for a very long time.
Good luck!
Originally Posted By MAC21500:
I guess I should've stated it more clearly above; Wolf Military Classic no longer has the 8m3 bullet, Herters does. To check, take a sewing needle and run it around the inside of the hollow point. If it is an 8m3 it should get "caught" on the-pre failed cuts in the jacket. Or just pull the head and cut it and look for the same thing.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_4_54/139482_Does_Wolf_MCHP_still_have_the_8M3_projectile_.html
Tulammo 124gr HP
may have the 8m3 Sapsan bullet. I did the needle test and it passed.
