Chinese 7.62x54R, 147 gr - accuracy?

[7x57]

Just got 800 rounds of Chinese 7.62x54R with 147-gr-bullet for free. Was a wrong delivery - wanted another batch of Hungarian heavy ball, but received Chinese light ball. Well, got my money back from the seller in the meantime and he said I can keep this ammo - too expensive for him to get it back. What can I expect from this ammo as far as accuracy is concerned? My friends at the shooting club are rather skeptical about this ammo, but I guess more based on personal antipathy ("Chinese crap") than on own experience...

[lalunette]

Well, got my money back from the seller in the meantime and he said I can keep this ammo - too expensive for him to get it back.

Accuracy? Who cares... you got it for free !!! LOL

Seriously thought, I purchased the Chinese ammo twice now and find it to be as accurate as the Bulgarian stuff I got recently.

[bunkysdad]

You can't even find that ammo in the US anymore. I lucked into a small supply on stripper clips, about a fourth of what you have. That is good ammo. Does it look anything like this? These are really nice strippers too.

[7x57]

Actually I didn't open the package until now - so no idea about the headstamps, but according to the label the cases are copper-washed steel, bullets mild steel core. Surely no stripper clips, because the ammo has been re-packed by the importer as usual here. But glad to hear that this ammo isn't bad.

BTW - 800 more rounds Hungarian heavy ball arrived today, half of them the same like the first lot - lacquered steel cases and 1987 vintage, the rest copper-washed cases of mostly 1970 vintage with a few 1973 and 1974 ones.

[bunkysdad]

Cool. It sounds like you are stocked up for some good range time. What are your shooting range rules and conditions in Germany?

[7x57]

In our shooting club we have 50 m and 100 m indoor ranges for rifle shooting. There is a limit of muzzle energy - I think 5,000 Joules. And of course no armour-piercing, tracer or incendiary ammunition (anyway such ammo is not allowed for civilians). Shooting on static paper targets only (but no targets showing a human silhouette allowed - such targets are only allowed for training of law enforcement or military personnel). Shooting can be done standing, sitting, lying or kneeing, but not while moving.

You can find all kind of hunting and sporting rifles there plus military surplus rifles and sometimes even blackpowder muzzle loaders.

There is also an indoor 300 m range available at an other shooting club in town, where you can even shoot .50 BMG. But this range is expensive to rent. If I want to shoot longer distances than 100 m (until now did it only once and the results convinced me that I need a lot of training before it makes sense to do it again), I wait for the few opportunities when we can use a military range nearby - but this is not indoor.

To shoot in your own backyard normally is not possible in Germany - at the very most someone with an own hunting ground could do this to a limited extent.

[Longcolt44]

I think you should shoot 2 or 300 and give us a report. Getting free ammo is one thing but getting free ammo that we can't even get here is just plain cruel.

[7x57]

These Chinese light ball mild steel core rounds with copper-washed cases are at the moment the most frequently found military surplus Mosin-Nagant rounds here in Germany. Price with shipping is about 230 Euros (ca. 310 US$) for 1,000. Suppliers don't say anything about year of production in their ads and I have not opened my package yet. But I have added two photos "borrowed" from the suppliers' websites.

With some luck you may also find Russian Tula light ball ammo with copper-washed cases (188 stamped - no idea what year of production), price here about 260 Euros (ca. 350 US$) with shipping for 1,000. See third photo - also "borrowed" from the supplier - below.

Heavy ball is only available from Hungary and supplies seem to dry up rapidly - price with shipping here about 240 Euros (ca. 325 US$) per 1,000. The latter is available either with lacquered steel cases (1987 production) or copper-washed steel cases (1970s production, in my lot I found mostly 1970, about 10% 1973 and a few from 1974 and 1975).

In the past there had been available silver-tipped Czechoslovakian surplus also - my friend still has quite a lot of them. Regrettably they are unavailable now since many years.

Compared with what I read about the MN scene in the US, it seems to me that the percentage of Mosin-Nagants in the ranks of military ordnance rifle shooters is much smaller here (in my shooting club at the moment less than a handful out of about 300 members with milsurp rifles). Seems that we are sticking mostly to our K98s, South American Mausers and maybe a few Finnish Nagants. For competition purposes Swedish Mausers or Swiss K11s or K31s are preferred, together with a few Finnish Nagants and even less Springfield M1903A3s (or P17s) and Enfields/P14s (the latter two mainly because of their diopter-type rear sights). So the demand for 7.62x54R ammo here is much smaller.

[TulaTom]

I got some Chinese surplus in a rifle deal last summer and found it fairly accurate, but I've had a handful of rounds that had a half second delay before going bang. One round that never did go bang. My favorite is still the mid 80's Czech light ball. 86/BXN to be exact.

[IUHoosier429]

Pardon my ignorance, and no intention of jacking this thread, but why can't we get this stuff in the U.S.? Is there just no importer of it, or is there some kind of restriction?

Like others have said, I too am interested to read how it shoots. Would be fun to fire this through one of my Type 53s.

[7x57]

Gents, as soon as I tried it out I'll let you know the results. But please be a little bit patient - I'm just preparing for a longer trip to South East Asia and it will certainly last until my return before I'll have an opportunity to go to the range again.

IIRC this stuff is unavailable in the US due to a ban from the Clinton era.

And yes, this Czech bxn-stamped ammo is really good stuff (actually made by Sellier & Bellot in the Communist era). But no longer on the market here...

[bunkysdad]

That is correct. Clinton was ok with cheating on his wife and redefining the definition of what sex is, or isn't, but was very much against our second ammendment rights. Oops, an admin just got political, sorry guys.

Sent from my K1 using Tapatalk 2

[res45]

Norinco 7.62x54R Ammo Review.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnw2TPRIRcY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuCyudUvO2g

[7x57]

Thanks for the video clip links. Mediocre accuracy and prone to cracked cases... For free - okay. For money - never.

Just opened one package - stamping is "61" over "69" - otherwise ammo looks exactly like that on the pictures shown above

[7x57]

Last Friday I tried out this Chinese 148 gr surplus ammo for the first time with my Hungarian M.48. The rounds ignited reliably and no cracked cases or a sticking bolt, but accuracy left much to be desired at 100 m (for comparison purposes I shot Czech 148 gr silver tip surplus, too - this produced quite acceptable results). The smell was rather bad (I shoot at an indoor range) despite ventilation.

[Bugelson]

I have too noticed it to be rather inaccurate ammo.

I wish I would find someday the Czech stuff...nowhere to be seen anymore...

[lalunette]

Living in the Republic of Canuckistan I can buy Chicom ammo and $300 SVT-40s all day long !!

So far I've put about 500 rounds of this stuff through my Mosin Nagant AND my SVT-40. I've been hitting the 100 AND the 200 yard gongs with zero problems. In addition, there have been no cracked cases, no failures to feed and no failures to fire.

I find it on par with the Bulgarian ammo I've since purchased.

Cheers from "Fortress North" (aka Canada)

[Ironnewt]

When we could still get Chinese Imported ammunition, I went through about 3 crates of 7.62x39. Most of it was in Chinese SKS's (Type 56?) and some in my Tula SKS. Not a problem with that stuff and I'll bet it was made in the same factory by the same 'socialist brothers and sisters' of Chairman Mao that made the 7.62x54R

[bunkysdad]

Bugelson, remember the big wooden square crates of that Chevy ammo? A guy on a Facebook group said he walked into a Gunshop last recently and found a full case of that awesome stuff for.175.00! Oh that gives me a chest pain.

[7x57]

Living in the Republic of Canuckistan I can buy Chicom ammo and $300 SVT-40s all day long !!

So far I've put about 500 rounds of this stuff through my Mosin Nagant AND my SVT-40. I've been hitting the 100 AND the 200 yard gongs with zero problems. In addition, there have been no cracked cases, no failures to feed and no failures to fire.

I find it on par with the Bulgarian ammo I've since purchased.

Cheers from "Fortress North" (aka Canada)

As far as I can guess from your pictures yours is a different lot. Mine are of 1969 vintage, yours looks like '67 or '87 to me. Maybe that makes a difference.