Best 7.62X39 Ammo

[halmbarte]

I've got several sealed cases of the Yugo M67 and it's great ammo. I ran some over a chronograph and got SDs of 12fps. Best group I ever shot with the SKS was using the M67.

Downside is that it is corrosive and it will eat your gun unless you clean with water or live in a desert.

H

[PA PATRIOT]

The best "Bulk" 7.62x39mm is one that will run in your gun 100% of the time, that said over the past year I have seen Q/C issues with Wolf ranging from under power loads, bad primers and bullet diameter sizes running from .308 to .311 just to name a few issues. Brown Bear and Golden Tiger has been consistent and reliable over the years and even Tula has tighten up there Q/C were over the last two years has produced a very decent product being the 124gr H/P which features the 8M3 expanding bullet which has been doing very nicely on wild hogs down south.

I personally would jump on a sale were the Tula 124gr H/P was selling in the $209.99 to $219.99 range for 1000rds, IMHO its the best "Bulk" 7.62x39mm ammunition currently available on the market.

[RONK]

Thanks for the help.I ordered a case of the Hornady ammo to start and will get a 20 rd box of Tula 124gr HP to see if it's the 8M3.

[Swift Pilot]

Best 7.62x39 = M67

It's hands down the most accurate I've found and has the best terminal performance as well. I got caught up in the cartridge back when SKSs could be had for well under $100 and crates of ammo were under $50, over the years I've tried everything and M67 has always stood at the top of the pile. Even compared against modern U.S. 'performance' ammunition it still stands out. Many think I'm a goof because it's all I hunt with now, I started doing so when I was young and it was all I could afford, but I found it did just as good as anything else at 1/10th the cost. I still use it today from elk on down to boar.

M67 has an accuracy edge and will pull sub MOA out of the right rifle, I've found it also has the best performance in critters. A good second choice would be golden tiger, beyond that I don't even bother anymore as the importers seem to just want to sell you whatever makes noise and kicks up dirt.

[RONK]

Thanks,I looked for the Yugo and couldn't find it,I did find Serbian made Prvi Partizan,is it similar?Thanks again.

[Swift Pilot]

Thanks,I looked for the Yugo and couldn't find it,I did find Serbian made Prvi Partizan,is it similar?Thanks again.

That's a different beast. Samco is the only source for M67 that I know of, it's been dried up for about 2 years then suddenly they got a shipment, under 32 cents/rd on strippers, even less for boxed. I bought in when it was still under 10 cents/rd and still have crates stacked high & deep in a storage locker, but given the price of all current x39 loads I would spend a few cents more and get the M67. It's also brass cased as well.

[Ned Christiansen]

My experience with steel jacketed SP's is that they do what SP's are supposed to do, but not in a textbook, perfectly-mushroomed way. This is anecdotal though-- digging them out of soft dirt and shooting a few water jugs. Never put one into gel or an animal.

Another terminal effect comment is from something I read by Peter G. Kokalis (how I miss him) where he commented that lead-cored AK ammo such as, well, such as everything that is not Chinese or Russian SP, HP, or steel-cored, behaves much like M193 ball in that it will start to yaw very quickly upon impact. I don't remember there being a distinction between steel jackets vs/ gilding metal jackets. I believe it's about the shape and weight in this case.

The steel-cored stuff, I have put into gel or been present for same, about 50-60 times over the years. Not much on yawing, it's a puncher-througher as you might imagine.

Accuracy-wise-- I have tested this a fair amount in a bolt gun. Some time ago a pal came to me for advice on how to get the most accuracy out of a small feet of typically beat-up, shot out AK's, for a group of indigenous troops who had been identified as good shooters. Hoping he had the budget and the pull, I said get them new AK's first, and then don't feed them the found-in-a-cave ammo. Get something commercial; I set about finding what I thought was best.

Immediately discount the Chinese and Russian stuff. Long story short, Lapua, Federal, Fiocchi, in that order, with the latter two being about equal, the Lapua being capable of under 2". And all three contain no steel so ought to have that m193-like effect (if that is true).

My approach would be have thousands of rounds of "fodder" and a goodly but smaller ("affordable") supply of something better.

[RONK]

Thanks guys.Any opinions on the Prvi Partizan though?

[Swift Pilot]

Thanks guys.Any opinions on the Prvi Partizan though?

If you're referring to the SP it is a very good performer in game (first hand experience), it mushrooms well and can be very accurate falling below M67 and well above surplus. But it can be unreliable in certain autos due to its much shorter OAL, the lead nose can also dig into the ramp or the whole cartridge even tip. It's very good in a bolt action like the CZ, I've found it's usually reliable in the SKS (maybe 1:50 FTF), but in other autos can be a mess. I've had it function flawlessly in one AK variant, but then in another it jams continuously, sometimes even in the same exact same model it's good in one then sucks in the other, no rhyme or reason. So before you buy in bulk I would buy enough to test in quantity.

Lastly, the older import uses a corrosive primer, great for long term storage just remember to clean accordingly. The newer imports are not corrosive but you still see the old pop up regularly, I can't recall the head stamp for which is which. The FMJ feeds very well, is clean, accurate and reliable, terminal is about the same as the rest. But at the price point of either.... I would just get M67, it's a far better cartridge in all respects.

[PA PATRIOT]

I have a lot of the Yugo M67 sitting in the reserve and shot several cases of it, first it is mildly corrosive so clean your rifle properly after a day of shooting. Second it is some of the most consistent 7.62x39mm ammo I have ever shot and can produce some good groups out a bolt gun or a decently made 7.62x39mm barreled AR. Lastly as to terminal performance I have seen this round shot into numerous hogs and it appeared to act like any other FMJ bullet, it was nothing spectacular in terms of wounding but in hogs penetration is key and these FMJ bullets did what they were supposed to.....Penetrate. I would say other then Hog's it would be unethical to shoot any other game animal with the M67 as I have not seen the touted tumbling effect this load is mystified for.