7.62x39 AK47 ammo / Practice and HD ?

[TX69]

I am getting close to buying an AK so this will be a first for buying this ammo. I have read all sorts of info and still haven't seen much of a difference in the ammo that is available. I did buy some Golden Tiger a while ago as I guess it is revered as the best SHTF stuff. What I do know is that Wolf is just for pinking or at least that is what I get from what I read.

Is there any difference to the different Brown bear, Waddling Duck, Red Elite Operator Tactical Russian ammo offerrings? They are all virtually the same grain weight, steel cased, etc. Some have better seals and a few have HP and I think the GT is a BT designed bullet.

Which 762x39 is the best HD ammo and which would be the best for plinking or target in an average AK?

 

[majormadmax]

TX69

I usually don't find much difference in 7.62x39 milsurp ammo, I have shot Brown Bear, Golden Tiger, Wolf and anything else I can get my hands on at a decent price.

About the only ammo I cherish is Yugo M67. It's brass cased, produces less smoke and a decreased flash signature, and rumor has it a bit more accurate although I am not sure if I believe it.

It also ain't cheap, but I just love shooting it!

As for HD, I really don't think an AK is a good choice for that scenario. It's a battle rifle. In a house there's too much potential for over penetration. A shotgun would be a much better choice.

Cheers! M2

 

[TexMex247]

Your best bet for HD is any offering that features a soft point bullet. 90 percent of what you will find run bi-metal bullets that are very hard in nature and hardly expand at all. I have a good lot of hp ammo hoping it will reduce ricochets when I'm shooting at my buddys place in the country, it seems to help vs FMJ ball type ammo. Also some ranges don't allow ball ammo so hp and sps are worth buying in bulk. As far as brand, most folks don't know that wolf is strictly a brand/importer. A majority of their ammo is made for them by barnaul(brown bear,etc). Golden tiger is prized because people like the storage life of laquer cased ammo and it runs a true boat tail bullet, unlike others. As far as plinking ammo, make sure you run some HP or SP ammo before buying a bunch, some guns will choke on them as they feed. Lastly, don't ever pay more than 25 cents a round for steel cased ammo, buying it in any real quantity should bring the price down to 22 cents a round. Hope you find this advice useful !

 

[Southpaw]

I suppose any SP would be best for SD rounds and Steel cased HP is a joke, it just doesn't perform like you would expect a HP to. There are hours of YouTube videos showing it's effectiveness. It generally doesn't cost any more then the FMJ, so I will use it if that is all that is available. Lately though, I have heard of people complaining about Tulammo HP getting hung up on some guns. Some say that the cavity is larger then the other brands. Haven't checked it out personally, so take it for what it is. I've will say I never had a problem, but never paid attention either.

Golden Tiger is touted as one of the best performing, but personally I liked it most because of it's lacquer coating for longer storage. Also, it has just about disappeared from the market and it's return is not expected anytime soon. Brown Bear/Monarch still comes in a lacquer coatings and seems to be a good substitute for GT as far as long term storage.

I've never had any performance or reliability issues with any of the imported ammo. I've also never bothered with any of the domestic offerings because of that. Perhaps others can fill you in on those.


My only real advice would be to buy ammo for it and buy a lot of it. Being imported, it's availability can be very vulnerable these days and it doesn't take much for imports to be stopped with any amount of BS the government seems to be putting out there these days.


ETA- Didn't get to see the posts above before posting..sorry if I duplicated some details.

 

[Younggun]

Does no one make any hunting ammo for 7.62X39?

Seems the similarities between hunting and SD ammo could make it a viable option.

 

[MitchKov]

There are 124/5 grain softpoints and 154 grain softpoints from the russian manufacturers for .25/rd or so. I think hornady and a few other US companies may make some as well but they are expensive. I saw some videos on youtube regarding the Tula 154 gr softpoints and they did perform fairly well. Academy had them in the past, think they were ~$6/box. Not sure what its at now. I've heard people have issues with the softpoints, but have not experienced them myself.

As stated, the HP's act basically the same as a FMJ.

ETA - Here's some video, don't think that was the one I watched but shows the expansion.

 

[MitchKov]

here's one comparing 124 gr HP and SP. A little long winded so I'll summarize: SP penetrated 17 inches with good expansion. HP zipped through both blocks (32 inches)

 

[Charlie]

I'm in the process of loading the AMax bullet in 7.62x39 for my CZ 527 bolt gun. Because the the chamber dimensions and the long leade of the 527, I'm going to be loading quite a bit longer than commercial loads. Accuracy should improve with the longer pointy bullet as well as being able to use the set trigger of the 527. I'll give reports after the range time.

 

[TX69]

Appreciate the input guys. I have never owned a ComBloc firearm so all of this is new to me. It does appear that the round has some flaws but it there are a few expired dudes from it so it does work as intended. It will be weird to buy ammo so cheap lol.

 

[shortround]

I prefer Wolf and Monarch (Academy Brand). They are made in Russia, burn clean, and are 100% reliable.

Have not seen any re-loadable Federal, Winchester, Fiocci or Hungarian brass-cased ammo in a very long time.

 

[texas skeeter]

Have not seen any re-loadable Federal, Winchester, Fiocci or Hungarian brass-cased ammo in a very long time.

Here's some...







[h=3]Shopping Cart:[/h] Now in your cart 0 items

View Full-Size Image

Fiocchi 7.62x39 123 Gr. 1000rds BRASS CASING ~ Non magnetic!

Availability

In Stock: 39


Quantity:


$ 499.95


Fiocchi Ammunition 7.62 x 39
123 Gr. Full Metal Jacket
Brass Casings
20 Rounds Per Box
1000 Rounds Per Case

 

[texas skeeter]

And Sportsman Guide has it....

Previous
Next



[h=1]320 rds. 7.62x39 mm FMJ Ammo[/h][h=2]Item # WX2-135111[/h]

Buyer's Club $105.44 Non-Member $110.99

Canada/International Shopping InfoExpected availability: 4/8/2015
Add to Cart Select Fitment
Add to Wish List

 

[texas skeeter]

And Able's has it....

Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics Rifle Ammunition 762SOVA123, 7.62 X 39mm, Full Metal Jacket (FMJ), 123 GR, 2375 fps, 20 Rd/bx

[h=2]Price: $12.35[/h][h=3]Bulk Price: 50+ $11.73 each Buy more and save![/h]

MPN: 762SOVA123

UPC: 762344704951

 

[texas skeeter]

And Ammosupplywarehouse.com has it...

[h=1]Arsenal 7.62x39 (NON MAGNETIC) 122 grn. FMJ 400 rnd/case[/h] (Item no: 548)

Price: $200.00

 

[ROGER4314]

I truly love the AK-47 rifles and have owned a shameful number of them over the years. That being said, no matter what ammo you run through that new AK, it still won't become a match rifle! Keep your accuracy expectations reasonable and you won't be disappointed. Reliability will be unmatched by anything else.

What can you expect? I checked out the targets from the latest range effort on AK's. The best targets at 50 yards ran 1 1/2" with iron sights from a rest. Rifles represented many countries and there was one folder.

I have cataracts that are really screwing up my ability to use iron sights, so a couple of the rifles grew scopes over the winter. We'll run those improvements down when the weather clears to see what the rifles will actually do without Human frailty.

Flash

 

[TX69]

I truly love the AK-47 rifles and have owned a shameful number of them over the years. That being said, no matter what ammo you run through that new AK, it still won't become a match rifle! Keep your accuracy expectations reasonable and you won't be disappointed. Reliability will be unmatched by anything else.

What can you expect? I checked out the targets from the latest range effort on AK's. The best targets at 50 yards ran 1 1/2" with iron sights from a rest. Rifles represented many countries and there was one folder.

I have cataracts that are really screwing up my ability to use iron sights, so a couple of the rifles grew scopes over the winter. We'll run those improvements down when the weather clears to see what the rifles will actually do without Human frailty.

Flash

Thanks Flash. I have recently shot an AK WASR at 25 yards and hit the target pretty well. It was a full mag from a standing position out at a friends home and do not know the ammo. I know that the AK is not known for accuracy and have watched the vids on barrel flex. My experience has only ever been with higher accuracy when shooting rifles so yes this will be an experience. But, I want to give it a try and see if I like it or not. The reliability, the action, the history are all very appealing so we'll see.

 

[ROGER4314]

I hate to place approval on accuracy alone as AK 's are my number ONE favorite guns to shoot! They're fun, cool and Liberals HATE them! They are the perfect storm of rifles!

Flash

 

[TreyG-20]

Hornady 123 grain SST and Winchester PDX1 120 grain are about the best you can buy for a defensive and hunting application for 7.62x39. Other wise any steel case Wolf, Tula, Monarch, brown bear, silver bear, golden tiger. Fmj or hp, it's all the same and performs the same for me.

 

[Dawico]

Hornady 123 grain SST and Winchester PDX1 120 grain are about the best you can buy for a defensive and hunting application for 7.62x39. Other wise any steel case Wolf, Tula, Monarch, brown bear, silver bear, golden tiger. Fmj or hp, it's all the same and performs the same for me.

The Hornady offering is good ammo. It is steel cased though which is odd for a US manufacturer.

 

[TX69]

I like Privi ammo so I looked at their AK offering in SP and boy is that a short fat snubby looking bullet. Is that stuff any good? Man if I start buying guns again I am going to have to learn to reload lol