Ammo Advice: 7.62x39mm

Welseyr

Welseyr

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I wasn't too sure where to post this thread, so I apologize if this is a noob question, but I'd like to know a little more about the ammo options I'm looking at here before I buy. Last month I bought my first SKS, haven't run anything through it yet as I want to do a detailed cleaning first.

Originally, I was looking at these PMC Bronze cartridges since they seem quality enough:

https://www.firearmsoutletcanada.com/pmc-bronze-7-62x39-123gr-fmj-case-of-500-pmc762a.html


However, I also saw these Norinco cartridges for pretty much half the price:

https://www.firearmsoutletcanada.com/norinco-non-corrosive-ammunition--7-62x39-122gr-box-of-20-nor76239-.html


I've heard mixed things about Norinco ammo being corrosive despite being labelled as non-corrosive, or that it's simply a "luck of the draw" type of thing. I've also heard people say that copper-washed steel is rough on the barrel, although I'm not too sure how much truth there is to that. My main concern is that I don't want to run corrosive ammo through my SKS.

What are the major differences between these two (other than the fact that Norinco is Chinese and cheaper)? Are the PMC Bronze cartridges worth it, or am I fine going with these Norinco red boxes? What is the significance in their weight differences? I know those Norinco's aren't reloadable, but I'm not currently too interested in that anyways.

Again, sorry if this is a noob question. This is my first time with an SKS, it's in great condition and I want to treat her right! Thanks in advance for the help.
 
I use a Orin o red box stuff which is non corrosive. It is dirty but works well. I always wait until Cabelas has it on sale for 9.99 and buy a few boxes. I use it in my semi’s as I don’t like loosing my reloadable brass. I never seem to find all my cases.
 
There have been threads on this site about the possibility of some corrosive primers mixed in with non corrosive primers when buying Chinese ammo. In the past, some norinco that was supposed to be non corrosive brought in by importers turned out to have some odd corrosive primers in it. There is a “nail test” to confirm, if it’s corrosive (I’ve never done it), but a general consensus is to treat all Chinese 7.62x39 and 7.62x54r ammo as corrosive just in case. No reported problems with the nato calibers though. Now, there will be plenty of people saying they never had a problem, but some dealers stopped advertising their “non-corrosive” as non corrosive. You should be able to find some threads on this in the search menu.
 
For SKS buy cheap, shoot lots while you still can and clean like it is corrosive. That way you don't get any rusty surprises and its not hard to do.
 
If you buy ammo and need it shipped, order from Tenda. Free shipping over $300 unless you are in a non serviceable area. Nobody is able to beat their prices for me and always got my stuff. I bought the Norc red box just recently and it is non corrosive. That discussion pops up so many times, it reminds me of the bad feeding and ejection discussion of the M1-9 Chiappa, which was still a hot topic 7 years after the issue was fixed.
 
Welseyr said:
I wasn't too sure where to post this thread, so I apologize if this is a noob question, but I'd like to know a little more about the ammo options I'm looking at here before I buy. Last month I bought my first SKS, haven't run anything through it yet as I want to do a detailed cleaning first.

Originally, I was looking at these PMC Bronze cartridges since they seem quality enough:

https://www.firearmsoutletcanada.com/pmc-bronze-7-62x39-123gr-fmj-case-of-500-pmc762a.html


However, I also saw these Norinco cartridges for pretty much half the price:

https://www.firearmsoutletcanada.com/norinco-non-corrosive-ammunition--7-62x39-122gr-box-of-20-nor76239-.html


I've heard mixed things about Norinco ammo being corrosive despite being labelled as non-corrosive, or that it's simply a "luck of the draw" type of thing. I've also heard people say that copper-washed steel is rough on the barrel, although I'm not too sure how much truth there is to that. My main concern is that I don't want to run corrosive ammo through my SKS.

What are the major differences between these two (other than the fact that Norinco is Chinese and cheaper)? Are the PMC Bronze cartridges worth it, or am I fine going with these Norinco red boxes? What is the significance in their weight differences? I know those Norinco's aren't reloadable, but I'm not currently too interested in that anyways.

Again, sorry if this is a noob question. This is my first time with an SKS, it's in great condition and I want to treat her right! Thanks in advance for the help.
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Have fun ;

valczer said:
My friend, if you are going to use as everyday plinking, corrosive or not will shoot just fine thru sks, savage, ruger or the likes, just shoot away and have fun. Even the surplus military ammo is all right and is pretty cheap. Just make sure to clean it and dont worry too much. If you are going to use a more expensive firearms, well…you may consider non corrosive, otherway blast as much as you can lol

Who knows how much longer shooting sks will be legal.

Remember, the military surplus was made for the masses of cannon meat to use it in times where cleaning may not be possible on regular basis but the sks has to work. Also, a lot of the sks we have here and US, has been used in war conflicts and shot nothing but corrosive and look at them now….they are still here and work just fine. I bet you the VC or other commie bastards did not clean them well but they did shoot them a lot.


Have fun ;)
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Shoot corrosive ffs. It was designed for that. Clean the rifle properly. Save your money, and be happy.

It's a bullet hose. Use it like one.
 
My experience with Norinco x39 (white box, new production) has been that it is non corrosive, it shoots pretty accurately as well.

Honestly shooting corrosive is no big deal, it only takes an extra 20-30min in the overall cleaning of it. When I only want to shoot a couple of boxes I shoot non corrosive, if I shoot a couple hundred or more I’ll shoot corrosive as it’ll be filthy no matter what and it’ll need a clean soon enough anyway.
 
I shot pretty much nothing but corrosive through my old one. Cleaning them isn't really that bad, and you can shoot a lot more. You can still find surplus for around .30/shot, whereas non-corrosive will be .50/shot on sale for the Norinco from Cabelas.
 
Thanks for all the informative replies! I think I'll still be going with non-corrosive this time around but it's good to know that I don't have to baby it too much. I'll be cleaning it religiously after every use regardless.

Calahan said:
That Norinco stuff should be fine - I use it a lot. It's newer production, based on the appearance of the box, so it shouldn't be corrosive. Watch out for the older / surplus stuff, as plenty of that is corrosive.

You can get it for even cheaper at Tenda right now...

https://www.gotenda.com/product/norinco-m43-122gr-fmj-non-corrosive-case-of-500/
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Thanks for the heads-up!
 
I'm not sure what suppliers / dealers have currently, but I have a stash of PPU and Norma for when I don't want to shoot corrosive ammo. I'd believe the PMC, S&B, other western made ammo and generally any boxer primed stuff to be non-corrosive.
As already mentioned, I wouldn't trust the labelling or advertisements of Norinco, surplus, steel cased or berdan primed ammo as being non-corrosive - treat all of that crap as corrosive, and clean accordingly.
 
Norinco red box is non corrosive, I nail tested a few boxes. Headstamp is factory 311, 2019 production date.
 
As someone who cleans my guns after every outing regardless of ammo used (because I’m not sure when they will be used again). I really don’t see the big deal about corrosive unless it’s in a gun with a lot hard to clean places. For my sks cleaning corrosive adds like 5mins. Literally I boil a kettle for a water, while it’s boiling I pull all the wood off. Then I go outside and pour the kettle of water through the barrel and gas port. Then I just let it air dry/cool for a minute, pull a dry patch through to get the rest of the water and then just clean as normal which I do anyway. At the very least pull a couple oil patches through to displace the water. Another option is buy a couple boxes of non-corrosive and the rest corrosive. Corrosive for high volume shooting, when you just want to take a shot or two use the non-corrosive.
 
buzzmagoo said:
Pull trigger group drop the stock deploy bayonet stick it in the ground, flower pot so the action is sticking up and pour boiling hog water down the barrel and gas tube. Clean as you would any other rifle oil hef up and reassemble.
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What this man said . make sure you can shoot the ammo your buying at your club . sometimes if a magnet sticks to the bullet they won't let you . also with the boiling water you can put a couple of drops of dish soap in it if you want . from what I have been told many years ago it helps in removing the corrosive salts . like running your car through the car wash in the winter . or just lots of boiling water . in the wash basin will work also . unless your neighbor's are cool. or if your asked a question just look smile and go on your way .
 
Do not buy from FOC, credit card fraud... I use both corrosive and non corrosive norinco ammo, the red box norinco I have runs super consistent and very clean and accurate( factory 311, 2019 headstamp) the canned stuff runs well but is super dirty and you have to clean your gun same day as using it every time. All my ammo comes from solely, the free shipping on top of sales is to good.
 
Adzsask said:
Do not buy from FOC, credit card fraud... I use both corrosive and non corrosive norinco ammo, the red box norinco I have runs super consistent and very clean and accurate( factory 311, 2019 headstamp) the canned stuff runs well but is super dirty and you have to clean your gun same day as using it every time. All my ammo comes from solely, the free shipping on top of sales is to good.
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Yes, the new red box Norinco is non corrosive and clean, plus accurate. Best stuff out there for the price.
 
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