Hey FD,

I hear you loud and clear regarding expensive rifles and surplus ammo. I agree on principle, with an added thought.

Surplus ammo bought in "lots" may be quite consistent within that lot. As an example, I'll mention the South African 7.62. I've not had any problems with it at all, and it is surprisingly accurate. Both lots of mine are from 1981. R1M1 - 81. Relatively clean (considering....), goes bang when I want it to, and groups well. I tested with a bit of it, and bought more.

If a guy can find some surplus of an agreeable price, and test it for its most important aspects, then I believe he should get more. I bought mine at a good price. Now, I will reload using known components on hand, since the SA is berdan, but for go-to ammo, I'm perfectly comfortable with it.

 

Hmmmm....

The Greeks made 30-06 ammo for decades after WWII. Their HXP mil surp is supposed to be some of the highest quality 30-06 out there.

The Russians INVENTED the 5.45X39 round and their mil surp, albeit from the 1970's and 1980's, is considered to be some of the best 5.45 ammo ever made.

I could go on and on.

Of course not all "mil surp" is the same.

But for the most part, mil surp means quality. Youll always find an exception to that, but for the most part, mil surp is generally the best quality.

I would be more afraid of running no name, or WOLF brand ammo than mil surp.

 

That's what I always understood to be true as well. That milsurp was higher quality ammo than commercial stuff. I believe that it is. It's just cheap. South African and German surplus .308(7.62 NATO) outshoots any of the commercial stuff. Greek 30-06 is awesome, far better quality than "discount" commercial stuff. Cheaper, too. 7.62X54R surplus seems to be of excellent quality,regardless of country of origin. And Romanian 7.62 Tokarev is dirt cheap, and more accurate than Wolf in any of my weapons that shoot 762 tok. Wolf is the only company that makes a JHP for the Tokarev though...that's an impressive round. But Wolf 7.62X39 is essentially milsurp ammo. Just boxed up with non-corrosive primers for the civilian market. Same with Brown Bear, Silver Bear and Hotshot and Golden Tiger. It's all just current production military stuff. But without the corrosive primers, it's shelf life is halved.

 

I have never had any problems with Wolf.
I have had nothing but problems with Indian surplus.
I have also shot enough domestic factory ammo to have had small issues with every major brand.
I check all ammo before it is stored.
The only questionable ammo I ever get is the Eastern Bloc x54R but I use it up fairly fast.
My .308s get RECENT production Lake City, South African or reloads from a reliable local vendor. Even then the local ammo is for practice only.
My 1919 gets HXP.
My ARs and SU-16 get Wolf or Federal ammo.

 

I've had good luck calling the distributors and just asking. "Hey, yeah, that Polish surplus you've got......you all shot any yet? How is it?"

The few people I purchase from know their ammo, and they buy it in large, consistent lots.

 

I have a ton of it in all flavor's,and had yet to have any issues with any.
Indian is the only one I avoid.No personal experience,just bad reviews.
As was stated ,storage conditions make a world of difference.
The oldest I have is 1947 Russian 7.62x54r and it runs great.

 

got some serbian 223 that was excellent

 

czech ammo has been good to me so far, corrosive though
reload my own sniper stuff

 

Well, when you are shooting Milsurp rifles Milsurp ammo makes sense does it not? I collect and shoot Milsurp rifles, hence Milsurp ammo. I do not get the problem here.

 

Only milsurp I ever had any trouble with was a mixed bag of cruddy looking .303 British I found at sa gunshop and some unnamed but real cheap 7.62x25 I got from Sportsmans Guide. The former would hangfire while the later had some split case necks when I inspected it.

I'll add that most NATO spec or Commonwealth ammo is good to go.

 

I absolutely HATE hangfires. They scare the heck out of me. Even worse than an SKS slamfire, which nearly killed me during a subzero coyote hunt, ironically as I was explaining to my hunting partner how "with improper oil an SKS can slamfire when it's this colBANG!"

 

I stocked up on the 700-round sardine cans of Romanian Hotshot 7.62x39mm FMJ a couple of years ago. Having cracked open a can or two to shoot in conjunction with my new-production Wolf Military Classic, I see no discernable difference in reliability or accuracy.

 

I've had minor issues with SA milsurp ammo in an M1A, one battle pack presented me with three dud cartridges, not bad considering it was 20 years old and that was the only problem.

I agree with FD on the points made about bullet selection. Easily 95% of what I shoot are either soft point or cast reloads. I'd rather take the time to reload and know I'm getting quality ammunition.

Factory or surplus ammo is in a sense generic that doesn't mean it's a bad thing, just that the ammo has to be made so that it will work in a variety of different makes and models of guns that chamber that particular cartridge...
Reloading allows one to dial in their ammunition to a specific firearm find the accuracy nodes and produce the best possible ammunition for that particular gun...

 

I read the original post here twice and don't get your point.

Many people are stocking up on milsurp ammo just to have something to shoot later if confiscatory taxes are levied on ammo...something which is being more than discussed across the nation.

As for quality, for the type of shooting that the vast majority of shooters do which is simply plinking, milsurp ammo is usually more than adequate, with some being better than others. In my experience, I've never had a bad lot of milsurp ammo and some of it is going on sixty years old....still sealed in cans and still shoots just fine.

As always, know what you are buying and buy from a reputable source. There is rarely a lot of milsurp being sold that there isn't a range report or a hundred posted on the various gun boards so its pretty hard not to know what you're buying with a few simple inquiries.

Always remember....."These Are the Good Old Days", so buy what you can while you can.....it will never be cheaper.