Tul Ammo

[Survivor87]

I was wondering what everyones opinion was stocking up on Tul Ammo of any caliber was a good idea. My theory behind this is that its cheaper there i can stock up on it easier. This ammo would be a last resort Shtf stock of ammo, either for bartering or for protection. Just a FYI i don't hoard up all the ammo i can get I'm just trying to be prepared.

[wasniper]

I have used some in 223 worked alright, thought i might stock up on some myself. JT

[Survivor87]

I've heard good and bad things about Tul. I know it rough on your firearm but in a life or death situation I believe they would work fine. I've used it multiple times in my XD's and Taurus 9mm's with out any problems besides being very dirty ammo.

[Ranger72]

I've tried some in .223 through my Rock River Arms 5.56 worked well with no issues. Ran dirty but I clean my weapons quickly (old Army habit). I have heard some have had problems in AR's but a lot of those were .223 chamberings not 5.56. I would at least run a couple hundred rounds with it through the weapon it is intended for before I made a decision to stock up in any real numbers.

[Jixijenga]

My friends, family and myself have had so many problems with Tul Ammo that I would never use it unless it was literally a last resort. Even then, I'd carry all the negative things in thwe back of my head and I'd probably be constantly distracted. It's like, they just forget to schedule the quality control people to come into work and all the crap ammo goes in with the good.

I'm sorry, but even for stockpiling I'd get less of reliable ammo rather than more crap.

[Antwan23]

I want some, but i wouldnt be able to use it. All the ranges near where i live are indoors, and the steel core could damage their facilities so its not allowed. I have an xdm and it chews anything.

[billt460]

Tula Ammo, along with the newly resurrected Herter's brand, is simply more steel cased, cheaply produced Russian ammunition that has been flooding the market in this country. A lot of this is due to the rising cost of non ferrous metals, (Copper, Brass, Lead), that is used in ammunition production. Companies are simply looking for a cheaper way. Even Hornady is now following suit and producing a line of steel cased, non reloadable ammunition in both .223 and 7.62 X 39 MM. At totally ridiculous prices I might add.

Guns like the AK-47 have been designed and built from the get go to digest steel cased, corrosive ammunition. They all run well with it. Other American made weapons seem to have issues with it. For one thing it is all filthy. In a close tolerance weapon like an AR-15 that can, and ofter does cause a multitude of issues. Yet many seem to use it without too many major problems.

For people like myself who reload heavily, steel cased ammo is useless. The most valuable component in reloading is the boxer primed brass cartridge case. These can still be had very inexpensively from many sources. In time that may change, which is why I'm currently acquiring as much as possible. I'm looking at brass cases today like Silver change in the late 60's. It's only going to get more scarce, and more valuable as time passes. The only thing holding me back is storage space. If I had more I'd buy more as it has an unlimited shelf life.

If I didn't reload I would still shoot brass cased ammo and save the brass. You can always sell it if you accumulate enough of it to someone who does reload, or else use it yourself if you choose to reload at a later date. If you shop for ammo carefully you can still purchase brass cased ammunition in bulk in the more popular calibers like .223 and 9 MM for not much more than the big ticket stores like Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops sell the Tula and Herter's crap for.

For example Wal-Mart still sells Federal Champion 9 MM 115 Gr. FMJ ammo for just $10.47 a box. This is for brass cased, Boxer primed, fully reloadable ammunition. I just recently purchased 2, 1,200 round cases of M-855 IMI 5.56 MM ammo from Wideners for just $360.00 per 1,200 round case. That was including delivery USPS Priority Mail in just 2 days with zero sales tax. There may come a time in the future that all of this Russian steel cased stuff will offer more of a savings than it currently does, but for now using it in expensive firearms is akin to running cut rate regular in a new Corvette. False economy, nothing more. Bill T.

[randkl]

Fired a couple of hundred rounds through my M1 Carbine and the bro-in-law's, too, a couple of weeks back. No duds and no jams. It worked and it worked well. I have another order in for 1,000 more rounds along with some other calibers.

Going to try their .308 through a couple of FR-8's in a week or so. Looking forward to that.

rich

[Oh Shoot]

It's Tula, from Tula Cartridge Works in Tula, Russia.

My Mini 14 likes it just fine, main thing I shoot through it. Cheap at Wally's.
It's as good as any other Russian make IMNSHO.

- OS

[fire65]

Shoot a good bit of .40 through my Glock with no problems. It is a little dirty but shoots just fine.

[Gladius]

There are no shortages of myths about steel cased ammo out there.

YouTube - The truth about Wolf ammo

There is nothing wrong with using steel cased ammo, and it's not inherently problematic in all rifles other than AK's.

[billt460]

This is typical of what steel cased Russian ammo produces in AR-15 rifles. While not impossible to clean, it certainly is a PITA. Bill T.

[Gladius]

Originally Posted by billt460

This is typical of what steel cased Russian ammo produces in AR-15 rifles. While not impossible to clean, it certainly is a PITA. Bill T.

That's 15,000 rounds fired through that gun without cleaning. I think it's an important point to include that tid-bit of info.

The carbon build-up seen in this image is due in large part to the fact steel doesn't seal against the chamber walls thereby allowing carbon to blow past the case into the chamber. Clean your rifle every 500-1000 rounds and you'll be fine and you won't see anything nearly like that in terms of accumulation of carbon.

I doubt many folks here will fire 15,000 rounds of ammo through their guns without cleaning it. At least I hope not.

Here's what an M16 bolt/carrier looks like after 200 rounds of Wolf:



Hardly anything excessive in terms of carbon build-up. It has a lot more life in it before it needs cleaning.

[billt460]

Originally Posted by Gladius

The carbon build-up seen in this image is due in large part to the fact steel doesn't seal against the chamber walls thereby allowing carbon to blow past the case into the chamber.

That is a good point worth mentioning. Also, Russian powder is known to burn much dirtier. It also smells like baby $h!t.

[Deadstream]

Originally Posted by billt460

That is a good point worth mentioning. Also, Russian powder is known to burn much dirtier. It also smells like baby $h!t.

It's been a long time since I smelled the latter so I'll take your word for it!LOL

[NHP1127]

I can see using cheap ammo for practice and even bartering but to use it to save your life? I'd have a few hundred rounds of top quality ammo for your SHTF magazines and use the cheap stuff for other uses.

[HOG81]

I actually like how it smells....if your worried so much about excessive wear just buy a spare extractor/carrier...I've shot several thousand rounds of wolf with no Ill effect

[Cannon Fodder]

Originally Posted by billt460

That is a good point worth mentioning. Also, Russian powder is known to burn much dirtier. It also smells like baby $h!t.

LOL! I think it's more like burned hair soaked in stale cat urine.

[Ric_Knight]

While I would not rely on TulAmmo for "social" ammunition, it makes an economical training and plinking choice. I have shot a good deal of Tula and other Russian steel cased ammo through my AR with no ill effect.

My Mossberg ATR, on the other hand, now has a brand new extractor because of steel cased ammo. I would stay away from it for use in sporting guns like this one.

[Jaba1017]

I bought a spam can of Tula 9mm. The ammo fires fine, but for some reason I can't get more than 20 rounds of it in a 33 round Glock magazine. The rounds are either just slightly out of spec or the polymer coating is "sticky" causing them to bunch up in the magazine when the spring is depressed past the 20th round.

The casings on the Tula 9mm are nearly identical in material to the casings on the Wolf and Brown Bear 7.62 x 39, so all the Russian ammo is probably coming out of the same factories with different brand names on the boxes.