SniperCentral

madgunsmith · Joined: 04 Oct 2004 Posts: 1755

The best thing you can do is buy lots of Wolf Ammo. This ammo has hard military priimers and this is what you need if you have an AK-47.

Most versions of the AK-47 have floating firing pins. This means that the firing pin can contact the cartridge before the bolt locks home. It sometimes possible to experience out of battery detonations when commercial primers are used.

So try to stick to Wolf Ammo. Now Wolf ammo is berdan primed and steel cased. This stuff is not worth reloading.

If you have a large quantity of commercial brass, you should carefully full length size and trim your brass. Then you might want to try George Nonte's load for the 7.62x39mm.

Around 1972 Nonte wrote a piece about reloading for captured SKS rifles that came back from Vietnam. He used IMR-4198. I remembered this and years later, I decided to load up some rounds with this powder and Hodgdon's clone, H-4198.

In a Chinese Norinco AK rifle, ( this rifle had a spring loaded firing pin ), I used 25.0 grains of H-4198 powder with the Hornady 123 grain bullet. ( the .310 grain bullet )

This load shot sub 2 MOA groups at 100 meters. It shot so well that I stuck with this powder.

IF you are going to load that Federal brass, you should get those military primers that are currently available from wideners. Wideners has CCI brand military primers. So check it out: http://www.wideners.com

And make sure that you use the Lee Factory Crimp die to crimp those bullets in place. And do it today. Remember the Democrats are coming.

Mad.

MikeD. · Joined: 09 May 2009 Posts: 585

Have you used the Ruger mini-30 and military hard primers?

I have many misfires with that combo but the rifle runs reliably with Winchester ammo.

Just curious, seems the mini 30 n 14 use the same skinny firing pin. The AK pin is much bigger.

Any experience with the ruger n wolf ammo???

FluffyTheCat · Self-proclaimed genius Joined: 06 Oct 2005 Posts: 1811

It is interesting that you should ask. I was at the range a year or two ago and a gentleman there had a Ruger Mini 30. He was trying to shoot Czech military ammo with the "bxn" headstamp.

He was plagued with misfires and it seems that the Ruger was never designed to work with East European military primers.

Were I you, I would stick to commercial primed ammo.

Fluffy

jeffdorr · Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 4:18 pm Post subject:

I've loaded for my Mini-30 with no such mishaps. I use CCI military primers. I have used surplus ammo without mishaps. My Mini-30 is from the late eighties.

Using Surplus ammo in the Mini -30 isn't generally a good idea, due to the corrosive nature of that ammo. I can cause damage the Mini's gas system. Egyptian ammo was the best as far as surplus went, although that dried up years ago. It could be reloaded easily , as it was brass and boxer primed.

Jeff
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MikeD. · Joined: 09 May 2009 Posts: 585

Fluffy-
This mini is 'the wife's'... mine is a one of the older long/heavy barreled chinee AK types.

Have been runnin a bunch of different ammo through both, from old blue n white box State Unitary Enterprize, production association Ulyanovsk machinery plant, anyone still have any of that??? to the more modern Wolf stuff- guess callin it mil-surp was incorrect.

Still the AK clone eats it like crackers n the Mini hocks up hairballs.

Not sure the lineage of this Mini.. its a stainless picked up years ago at a gunshow second hand.

After comparin the firin pins on both the AK n Mini-30 I see quite a difference. I then the specs for the mini-14 n mini-30 it looks like the same firing pin is used in both.

So as idle thoughts do drift through my mind I wondered about a machinist turnin a new thicker nosed pin and a gunsmith drillin a new hole in the breechface. (the firing pin design is one contorted mess... bless those engineers at ruger!)

Second was a stronger spring to drive the firing pin. Not sure if the ruger 'balance' of gas n mass can drive over the stronger spring like an AK would, but as it is my wife's rifle...

It just sits there singin sad songs to itself...

muzzleblast · Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 5:48 pm Post subject:

Mike D, your idea is entirely right. the AK, SKS, etc firing pin hits a primer with a lot more "oomph" than the Mini's does.

Would you have a line on any cheaper foreign SP ammo? I'm using Prvi Partizan and Igman in my SKS, and they are nice shooting ammo. Costs more than Czech surplus ball, mind.

Maybe if there is still any South African ball around? That was nice stuff too. I don't know how the primer is in comparison with hardness though.

I remember a year or two back hearing Ruger didn't even want their rifles fired with Communist military ammo at all. Is that true or just a rumour?
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MikeD. · Joined: 09 May 2009 Posts: 585

I have no idea-
Seems everything has dried up... I bought a ahhhhh 'few' rounds back a bit ago when they were throwing in ammo cans.

Kind of not been payin alot of attention, but does seem the pickings have gotten slim.

Good luck though

muzzleblast · Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 3:00 am Post subject:

Thanks!

The Czech surplus is no prob, but I was totally out of SP ball after it was banned from US exportation, I had been relying on Remington before that.
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MikeD. · Joined: 09 May 2009 Posts: 585

Well that s*cks!

I use mine for coyotes and feral hogs so its HP and FMJ for me. I dont plink with mine so I probably have a few years worth on hand...

Until we get senseable on what cana dn cant be shipped I guess your only hope is handloading... I cant justify payin what winchester and Remington wants for M43 type ammo but once n then reload the snot out of it...

But brass police call after a good AK session is a bit of an adult Easter Egg hunt!!!!

Good Luck....

xsmokex · Joined: 16 Apr 2008 Posts: 129 Location: Central Iowa

I hand load for my sks, but luckily it is the Yugo version so I just set the gas valve to the grenade launcher setting and I can manually eject my cases like a bolt gun =) Keeps me from having the adult Easter egg hunt for brass.

BigCheeseStick · Joined: 15 Oct 2009 Posts: 10 Location: SC

Just my experience, but I've got an SKS that I've put a Murray's spring loaded firing pin in because anytime I chambered a round and didn't fire it I'd find a pretty good indentation in the primer. After putting in the spring loaded firing pin the gun still does it with commercial primers (I use Federal), but hardly makes a mark on military primers.

My AK, and LR-308 dent commercial primers to a scary degree as well.
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GlockRulz · Joined: 12 Dec 2009 Posts: 24 Location: West Texas

Since the day I got my AK I have only fed it Brown Bear. I heard some bad thngs about Wolf.

I have never had a problem accept the onr below and have put over 1500 rounds through her.

The last time I went to the range I had 1 cartridge that didn't fire. Ejected it and it had an indentation but didn't look deep enough.

Other than that... nothing. I don't think I'd use anything else.

R788 · Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 5:04 pm Post subject:

Only reliability trouble I've ever had w/ my Norinco SKS was the first day I took it to the range. I thought I'd cleaned out all the cosmoline ... wrong! I took it home & tore it down further and got it really clean.

I've fired several surplus & foreign types of ammunition through it. Lately Brown Bear, but I've got a little bit (my wife thinks it's more than a little ... but who's counting?) of Yugo stuff I haven't tried yet.

I did try some handloads a few years back. To keep the cost down I loaded hard-cast lead bullets of .308 diameter rather than .311. Boy, was that stupid! I had to measure my groups w/ a yardstick!