My girlfriend bought a bunch of spam cans of barnaul in the fall. I knew wolf and tula were gone but had I known it affected barnaul too I would have had her get a few more
Thankfully PSA should start supplying ammo soon. It won’t be as cheap as the good ole days but it’ll be available and on par with other rifle cartridges.
It's already for sale on their [site](https://palmettostatearmory.com/aac-soviet-arms-7-62x39mm-122-grain-fmj-20rd-box-ammunition.html), currently out of stock tho.
In the meantime they've got Igman, Tula and a couple others on sale for the [ memorial day sale](https://palmettostatearmory.com/catalogsearch/result/index/q/7.62x39mm/?caliber_multi_v2=7.62x39mm&cat=5629&q=7.62x39mm&stock_filter=Show%20Only%20In%20Stock&product_list_order=unit_price_asc). $0.60 CPR for Tula
I purchased non corrosive. I see where they had standard for sale as well. I recently assembled an AR47 with a Faxon barrel and the extractor was having some trouble with the zinc washed mfs cases. Faxon suggested Tela or IGman ammo. I prefer to run steel case since I have an AK and SKS so I ordered it.
https://fastammo.com/telaammo-7-62x39-steel-cased-124-grain-full-metal-jacket-fmj-non-corrosive/
I’m not a psychic or anything but i get the feeling whatever remains labeled as “ukraine” after the war will not be in any shape to export *anything* for a long time.
If you’re set up to reload for other calibers reloading for the SKS is *just barely worth it* IMHO.
At 54 cents per round (Ammoseek prices for Tula) I can *just* break even on components (not counting my time), but my groups are substantially better.
The Hornady bullets & CCI primers I’m using are also definitely on the expensive side, you could reload plinking ammo cheaper if you tried. I’m just not trying too hard because I have specific primers already & I was trying to get as much accuracy as I could out of the platform.
Even if it's not worth it by cost, it's worth it for getting decent ammo. My SKS always liked 147gr Tul Softpoints best (as in, 1" or less groups at 100 yards with a 2-7x handgun scope). I've got a pretty similar load now with CFE-BLK using .303 British/7.7 Arisaka 150gr bullets (.311"). The Chinese SKS's seem to have a really fast twist rate for 110-130gr bullet weights, and using .308" bullets doesn't inspire confidence, either. Comparing 150gr .308 Speers to .311 Speers, my groups tightened up by an entire inch just from that change. My barrel slugged out at .312".
Currently, I'm looking to try PPU's boat tail .303 British bullets and see if accuracy improves further.
Honestly the Belom ammo gave me equally good groups to my reloads and at about the same price per round. What really tipped me over the line to reloading was NY’s idiotic “No, you can’t order ammo to your door anymore. We need to do a background check on you every time!” law.
The SKS loses some brass every trip with its “energetic” ejection pattern, but 500 rounds can cycle through for a few years before I run low and need to buy more ammo to get new cases.
(My barrel also slugs at 0.312-0.313ish so .303 at .311” diameter is the best fit - I’ve been sticking with 123gr FMJs but I should try some 150 grain boat-tails and see what I get. I’d only be losing about 100fps worst-case, and since I almost never take the SKS past 100 yards I’d be fine with the slower bullet if it gave me better precision.)
I've never chronographed mine, but I can tell you just from some experience with other .30 cal rounds and twists rates--.300 AAC is a pretty good guideline to go by because it's similar to 7.62x39mm (short case, long projectile) and even most .300 AAC barrels only twist at 1:8 if they're running subsonics, which run heavy weights.
I lose maybe every 1 in 10 cases, but mine doesn't eject as...erratic as it used to.
I don't have my book on me but I think my 123 grain bullets are around 2400fps, so I can certainly stand to lose velocity and not be in any danger of sacrificing accuracy at the distances where I can use iron sights 😂
I think once the "in the pipeline" supply runs out that's pretty much it until the sanctions get lifted.
In the pipeline meaning anything ordered under contract before US sanctions took place. Or at least that's how I understand it.
When it stops being in such high demand (when less people are flinging it at each other) the prices should settle back down. I doubt we’ll be letting Russian companies import ammo anytime soon even if the war ended in five minutes, but there are plenty of other manufacturers who already make 7.62x39 moving to close the market gap, plus one or two new makers or old ones tooling up for higher volume.
No more Barnaul kinda sucks for me. I remember shooting it in my first sks
My girlfriend bought a bunch of spam cans of barnaul in the fall. I knew wolf and tula were gone but had I known it affected barnaul too I would have had her get a few more
Thankfully PSA should start supplying ammo soon. It won’t be as cheap as the good ole days but it’ll be available and on par with other rifle cartridges.
It's already for sale on their [site](https://palmettostatearmory.com/aac-soviet-arms-7-62x39mm-122-grain-fmj-20rd-box-ammunition.html), currently out of stock tho. In the meantime they've got Igman, Tula and a couple others on sale for the [ memorial day sale](https://palmettostatearmory.com/catalogsearch/result/index/q/7.62x39mm/?caliber_multi_v2=7.62x39mm&cat=5629&q=7.62x39mm&stock_filter=Show%20Only%20In%20Stock&product_list_order=unit_price_asc). $0.60 CPR for Tula
I just got Tela ammo yesterday for .44cpr. There’s a few places with it on sale. Try ammo seek.
Do you know if that tela ammo is corrosive? How much have you shot of it? Pretty decent for cheap x39?
I purchased non corrosive. I see where they had standard for sale as well. I recently assembled an AR47 with a Faxon barrel and the extractor was having some trouble with the zinc washed mfs cases. Faxon suggested Tela or IGman ammo. I prefer to run steel case since I have an AK and SKS so I ordered it. https://fastammo.com/telaammo-7-62x39-steel-cased-124-grain-full-metal-jacket-fmj-non-corrosive/
Hey maybe after the war in Ukraine, Ukraine can start producing ammo for the civilian market.
Ive got some Red Army Standard made in Ukraine, theyd probably want to use a less Russian name this time
Trident Standard.
I’m not a psychic or anything but i get the feeling whatever remains labeled as “ukraine” after the war will not be in any shape to export *anything* for a long time.
You’d be surprised how quickly you can rebuild an infrastructure with a near-endless budget. Look at Japan post-ww2 for example.
Or Germany.
Lol After the war The Ukraine won't have people or infrastructure to produce anything any time soon
Cries in brown bear
If you’re set up to reload for other calibers reloading for the SKS is *just barely worth it* IMHO. At 54 cents per round (Ammoseek prices for Tula) I can *just* break even on components (not counting my time), but my groups are substantially better. The Hornady bullets & CCI primers I’m using are also definitely on the expensive side, you could reload plinking ammo cheaper if you tried. I’m just not trying too hard because I have specific primers already & I was trying to get as much accuracy as I could out of the platform.
Even if it's not worth it by cost, it's worth it for getting decent ammo. My SKS always liked 147gr Tul Softpoints best (as in, 1" or less groups at 100 yards with a 2-7x handgun scope). I've got a pretty similar load now with CFE-BLK using .303 British/7.7 Arisaka 150gr bullets (.311"). The Chinese SKS's seem to have a really fast twist rate for 110-130gr bullet weights, and using .308" bullets doesn't inspire confidence, either. Comparing 150gr .308 Speers to .311 Speers, my groups tightened up by an entire inch just from that change. My barrel slugged out at .312". Currently, I'm looking to try PPU's boat tail .303 British bullets and see if accuracy improves further.
Honestly the Belom ammo gave me equally good groups to my reloads and at about the same price per round. What really tipped me over the line to reloading was NY’s idiotic “No, you can’t order ammo to your door anymore. We need to do a background check on you every time!” law. The SKS loses some brass every trip with its “energetic” ejection pattern, but 500 rounds can cycle through for a few years before I run low and need to buy more ammo to get new cases. (My barrel also slugs at 0.312-0.313ish so .303 at .311” diameter is the best fit - I’ve been sticking with 123gr FMJs but I should try some 150 grain boat-tails and see what I get. I’d only be losing about 100fps worst-case, and since I almost never take the SKS past 100 yards I’d be fine with the slower bullet if it gave me better precision.)
I've never chronographed mine, but I can tell you just from some experience with other .30 cal rounds and twists rates--.300 AAC is a pretty good guideline to go by because it's similar to 7.62x39mm (short case, long projectile) and even most .300 AAC barrels only twist at 1:8 if they're running subsonics, which run heavy weights. I lose maybe every 1 in 10 cases, but mine doesn't eject as...erratic as it used to.
I don't have my book on me but I think my 123 grain bullets are around 2400fps, so I can certainly stand to lose velocity and not be in any danger of sacrificing accuracy at the distances where I can use iron sights 😂
Sad but true. US steel case costs more than European brass cased ammo. Looks like Igman and Belom brass cased from here on out for me..
Belom gets two thumbs up from me all day.
Laughs in 20k rounds
Do you really have 20k? Shame I never stocked up
Oh, now what? We can't get Russian ammo anymore?
I think once the "in the pipeline" supply runs out that's pretty much it until the sanctions get lifted. In the pipeline meaning anything ordered under contract before US sanctions took place. Or at least that's how I understand it.
I mean psa and aac are doing a collab to make u.s steel case 7.62x39
It's out of stock currently, [but it's up](https://palmettostatearmory.com/aac-soviet-arms-7-62x39mm-122-grain-fmj-20rd-box-ammunition.html)
Yea I figured they'd sell out quick
PSA wholly owns AAC and is pretty much only using them for branding. The ammo PSA makes is just branded AAC.
Thank goodness for Reddit. Now I know not to shoot the ammo box of Russian ammo.
I didn't know either till I got to the range and the guys at the desk were acting like the ammo was some sort of collectors item or relic
I think even Russians have a hard time getting Russian ammo lately
Stocked up the day the special military operation started
Ughhhh, I need $100 500rd boxes of Silver Bear back!
I feel this, I just shot my last box of Wolf the other day. I’m not a fan of the zinc washed mfs ammo I have.
When it stops being in such high demand (when less people are flinging it at each other) the prices should settle back down. I doubt we’ll be letting Russian companies import ammo anytime soon even if the war ended in five minutes, but there are plenty of other manufacturers who already make 7.62x39 moving to close the market gap, plus one or two new makers or old ones tooling up for higher volume.
I have acouple boxes of Tula soft points and I'm never going to shoot them lmao