Choose the best surplus 7.62X39mm ammo?

[X-man]

I'm in the market for a couple cases of 7.62X39mm ball. Non-corrosive would be ideal, but not the price.

Doing some net searches it now looks like Canada now has a plethora of surplus 7.62mm to choose from, including the by now well-known Czech corrosive stuff packed in 1120 round crates. Also available to Cdn shooters these days are 1400 crates of Russian & Polish origin 7.62mm (at least that is how they're described on various web sites), along with 1000 round crates of Chinese/Norinco and repackaged Czech. Honestly, I'd prefer the wooden crates and sealed SPAM can packed ammo, rather than the opened cans and repackaged boxes, simply for improved storage ability.

That said, in your opinion, which ammo offers the best accuracy & reliability while shooting the cleanest?

This is a mail-order only proposition, so deals that include shipping are much more attractive. Who is currently offering the best deal & actually has ammo in stock at the moment? Any help would be appreciated.

Also, feel free to chime in with your likes/dislikes of the various ammos available. Thanks!

 

[alta780]

You may want to asK that question in the red rifle section as well. I am also interested.

 

[Major Commander]

Canada Ammo has a low price guarantee. They'll match same price/product, and FREE shipping too.

 

[saskcop]

The Czech stuff shoots plenty accurate and is about the best deal. I buy mine in Yorkton for $169 a crate when you buy five crates. I am slowly converting over to non corrosive as my corrosive stuff gets used up. That said, there is nothing wrong with shooting corrosive.

 

[diesel_weasel666]

The 70's Czech production is my favourite. I am too cheap to consider shooting non-corrosive. Other than .22 and shotgun, my Dad shot nothing but Black Powder. Therefore, the corrosive cleaning routine doesn't bother me much after cleaning BP.

 

[deagle2008]

buy small amounts of both or w.e you want shoot them in your rifle and see witch one you like lol and this will answere all of your questions simple task

 

[Sam54]

I have been shooting Polish surplus from marstar; in a wooden box, 700 rounds in a spam can. very reliable

 

[ArtyMan]

The Czech and Polish stuff seem to be about on par with each other. The Russian and Chinese stuff seems to be the least accurate in my CZ.

 

[cainesy]

I shoot the Czech ammo Trade-Ex sells,usually its from the 50's or 60's, its as cheap as I can get, considering I live on an island. Its corrosive, so clean soon after and it stinks to high heaven. Its not the most accurate I've found but it serves the purpose. Have a happy day.

 

[AlbertaGunslinger]

The 1200 round cases of Czech are good cause they are early 90s production unlike ohter surplus. Russian, polish, and 1120 round cases of Czech are considerably older(although because of the corrosive primers they will still last for a good while) and could possibly be less reliable. Also in terms of reliability if your gun was designed to use steel cased ammo then it will generally be more reliable with it.

The Chinese stuff from CanAm is the cheapest non corrosive that you can get at 299/1200 vs somewhere around 400/1000 for MFS.

In terms of corrosive ammo 1000 rounds of russian for 195 with free shipping from Trade Ex is probably the cheapest of the dealers.

In terms of accuracy the general consensus is that Czech surplus out of a 19inch barrel 858 will yield 4MOA groups, dunno about the other choices maybe people who have more use with them can comment.

My choice is the 1200 round cases of Czech repackaged and sealed in plastic(one pack per 10 round stripper clip) although that is partly because I bought it when is was cheaper than you will find now. The idea above of trying different kinds out is a good one.