Turkish ZQ MKE Ammo

[Maddmax]

I've had some of the MKE brass with the staked primer pockets. I just use the hornady primer pocket reamer like I do on every other crimped case. I just remember it being mediocre stuff. I don't load 5.56 pressure in my mixed brass too much. So it's usually just a .223 load.

Thanks. At $0.74 a round I don't have much to loose and might gain a bit if I'm lucky with the brass. It "looks" good next to my high $$$ 308 match ammo brass,but we know how that can go. You can put lipstick on a pig,but it's still a pig.... Their (ZQ1's) website has some nice video's shooting (I'd love to see the out takes). I figure at these Roll-Back prices I'll just keep stocking up on it until they revert the price back up. Not like people are standing in line to get it and the only limits of 3 are still on the 22's.

[markm]

I'm a major league scrounger when it comes to brass. I'll load anything that will hold a primer and a bullet... So if I find MKE brass, I'll load it for sure... it's just not the most durable out there.

The worst Brass I've found is what I believe to be from Norinco ammo. It's got the Hardest shoulders, and the softest case heads. I can literally feel a norinco case when I'm sizing.... I just throw it into scrap when I find one.

[Maddmax]

I'm a major league scrounger when it comes to brass. I'll load anything that will hold a primer and a bullet... So if I find MKE brass, I'll load it for sure... it's just not the most durable out there.

The worst Brass I've found is what I believe to be from Norinco ammo. It's got the Hardest shoulders, and the softest case heads. I can literally feel a norinco case when I'm sizing.... I just throw it into scrap when I find one.

BINGO !!! That's what I was looking for. Back when ammo was really cheap (waaaaay back), I bought factory to build my reloading brass. I was hoping I could do the same with this stuff but was a little leary,do to the cheap price and not knowing much about 7.62X51 NATO MKE and ZQ1. With all the throw-away stuff nowadays,you can't really trust things. Turkish,MKE,ZQ1,NATO don't tell me much more than It Should Fire Once and hit some where infront of you... At least now I know for sure to not press my luck reloading and it can be done. From one Scrounger to another,Thanks.

[Winnerkd]

I can't speak to the specific loading, as I've never used MKE ammunition that was branded ZQ, but my experiences with MKE ammunition are largely negative. And if given the chance I wouldn't purchase any more ammunition from MKE in the future. The only rifle I own that, as far as I know as I haven't tested the MKE in the SCAR 17S, that will fire MKE ammunition is my LaRue PredatAR. It's failed to cycle the action on my LMT MWS, Colt SP901 and M14SA. Now, I realize the chamber pressures are different between 7.62 NATO and .308, but all of the above function flawlessly using German surplus.

[Maddmax]

The bottom of the case is stamped MKE 13. On the side of the box it says Exclusively Distributed By ZQ1 Ammunition. Made In Turkey.

It does mention- Improperly Reloaded Ammunition Can Cause Serious Injury. Kind of gives the assumption of. But as we all know,Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups.

Then-Says this high quality ammunition is made to NATO Specifications and lot tested to assure less than one minute of angle at 100 meters.

No one there answers the phone (one horse operation ?). Nothing back from e-mail but the web-site is running. I love a good mystery....

Looks like a good one to keep records on once I get running.

Thanks for the help and any any future info that might pop up. Might be awhile before I get up and running. I'm just getting over one surgery and getting ready for one or two more. But I will post my findings in this same thread. Good or bad. If I can get the one MOA at 100 yards and a couple reloads I'd be content.

[SOW_0331]

I don't reload, so I can't comment on brass. I've been buying a few boxes a week of the 7.62x51 NATO as I prefer not to shoot deer ammo for training purposes. It shoots clean, they have cycled flawlessly, and I was keeping a consistent 2-3MOA performance at 300m. Keep in mind, this isn't shooting off a lead sled or bipods, but in the same way we train with a carbine...difficult, uncomfortable, shitty positions.

I've recorded the dope for the rounds and when confirming zero have not seen noticeable variation across what I can only assume is several different lots. Right now I use it for my LMT the way most of us load up green tip 5.56, it's an effective general purpose round. I'm not expecting 165gr SMK performance out of it.

While it being in stock varies, I would think the reason it is usually still on the shelf is the box and caliber markings. Most of the Wal-Mart ammo buyers are buying what they know. Few own a weapon marked 7.62x51NATO, and few know anything outside of Federal/Winchester. It's the same way at some of the outdoor stores in my area like Bass Pro or Cabelas, the fudds are lining up to complain about no .223 when there are boxes of 5.56. They don't know what they don't know, and I'm okay with that while I'm saving money and building on ammo stock.

[whick1]

can't speak to the 7.62 or 9mm but the 5.56 is decent. A buddy of mine owed me some $$ and gave me a Walmart gift card for some of it so I bought a couple boxes to try it out. It was a little under $14 for 30 rds much cheaper than other brass cased. I ran all 90 rds thru my DDv5 without any issue. It may be a little dirtier than Lake City, IMI or ADI but not as bad as steel case. Do not have a chrono but accuracy was on par with Lake City but not hardly as good as IMI. I do not reload but sell or trade the brass to a friend locally. According to him it reloaded OK but he preferred Lake City, IMI, etc to it. Not sure if he has reloaded it more than once but will ask next time I see him.

I would not hesitate to buy again especially at roll back prices. But if at same price I would take LC, IMI, ADI, etc. to cut back on cleaning time.

[Maddmax]

I don't reload, so I can't comment on brass. I've been buying a few boxes a week of the 7.62x51 NATO as I prefer not to shoot deer ammo for training purposes. It shoots clean, they have cycled flawlessly, and I was keeping a consistent 2-3MOA performance at 300m. Keep in mind, this isn't shooting off a lead sled or bipods, but in the same way we train with a carbine...difficult, uncomfortable, shitty positions.

I've recorded the dope for the rounds and when confirming zero have not seen noticeable variation across what I can only assume is several different lots. Right now I use it for my LMT the way most of us load up green tip 5.56, it's an effective general purpose round. I'm not expecting 165gr SMK performance out of it.

While it being in stock varies, I would think the reason it is usually still on the shelf is the box and caliber markings. Most of the Wal-Mart ammo buyers are buying what they know. Few own a weapon marked 7.62x51NATO, and few know anything outside of Federal/Winchester. It's the same way at some of the outdoor stores in my area like Bass Pro or Cabelas, the fudds are lining up to complain about no .223 when there are boxes of 5.56. They don't know what they don't know, and I'm okay with that while I'm saving money and building on ammo stock.

We can't hunt Deer here with center fire (I think you can in Southern IA). It's shotgun deer slugs or bow only. Mine is for varmits and banging the gong. What you discribed for performance at 300 yards is livable shooting from those same positions. A reasonable GP round is what I'm looking for. So it "shouldn't" be too bad for bench shooting,just nothing to write home about.

That was also my thought about the round still sitting on the shelf. Fear of the unknown do to the name, 7.62X51 NATO markings and plain jane box. Most people stick to what they know like glue. I've stumbled into some great deals not following the crowd. My plan is taking advantage of the roll-back while it lasts and build some stock to play with,then just keep slowly plugging away at it if the prices go back up.

Thanks for the help.

[Maddmax]

can't speak to the 7.62 or 9mm but the 5.56 is decent. A buddy of mine owed me some $$ and gave me a Walmart gift card for some of it so I bought a couple boxes to try it out. It was a little under $14 for 30 rds much cheaper than other brass cased. I ran all 90 rds thru my DDv5 without any issue. It may be a little dirtier than Lake City, IMI or ADI but not as bad as steel case. Do not have a chrono but accuracy was on par with Lake City but not hardly as good as IMI. I do not reload but sell or trade the brass to a friend locally. According to him it reloaded OK but he preferred Lake City, IMI, etc to it. Not sure if he has reloaded it more than once but will ask next time I see him.

I would not hesitate to buy again especially at roll back prices. But if at same price I would take LC, IMI, ADI, etc. to cut back on cleaning time.

My stock of 5.56/223 is sitting nice (I've always keep a fixed supply),so I didn't freak out when the ammo shortage popped up. I've been grabbing a few boxes of the 5.56 now that they did the roll back. Figured at that price and it doesn't shoot that bad for plinking.

[SOW_0331]

We can't hunt Deer here with center fire (I think you can in Southern IA). It's shotgun deer slugs or bow only. Mine is for varmits and banging the gong. What you discribed for performance at 300 yards is livable shooting from those same positions. A reasonable GP round is what I'm looking for. So it "shouldn't" be too bad for bench shooting,just nothing to write home about.

That was also my thought about the round still sitting on the shelf. Fear of the unknown do to the name, 7.62X51 NATO markings and plain jane box. Most people stick to what they know like glue. I've stumbled into some great deals not following the crowd. My plan is taking advantage of the roll-back while it lasts and build some stock to play with,then just keep slowly plugging away at it if the prices go back up.

Thanks for the help.

Yeah, I think I'll go grab a few more boxes today on my way to work.

I know 2-3 MOA isn't inspiring a lot of confidence for some folks. When I shoot, I tend to mix in a lot of physical activity. To help understand why I was impressed with that performance, I was shooting at my private area for a team movement drill. It started with the 7.62 gun on a ruck that I threw on after 40 pull ups, a bunch of kettle bell raises, some high-rep dead lifts, and a ton of jumping jacks. Then we cleared numerous "trenches" which are targets at different angles nailed to pallets, literally in trenches that were dug out long time ago, with carbines. That's the 0-200m of the plot, with transitions. As it was in this event, my LMT was the spotting gun for a 300WM bolt gun that was hitting much further out. My targets were two steel silhouettes behind cover, and a 10" silhouette painted on an old propane tank (empty....relax) hanging from a chain. I engaged those little buggers while the bolt gun shooter moved. Once he got on target, I picked up and caught it.

It's pretty good for getting the heart rate up. I'm certain you could get much better performance even just shooting off a bag. When I say 2-3MOA, it's based off the size of target. All my rounds are in the target, so that's what it was capable of, and I'd say nearly all the variation was shooter error. Plus it was rainy and cold, who likes getting down in that?

It's good enough ammo. Worth the $14 for a box of 20. Now I just need more mags...