redfish28 50 Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Just want to get a feel for what type of ammo ya'll shoot? silver bear any good? I would be most intersted in the non corrosive stuff. I'm not scared of corrosive ammo just am not always able to clean right away. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chevyman097 2,579 Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 All the bear brands are great, Golden Tiger is my fav for my x39. Happy hunting! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted February 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 All the bear brands are great, Golden Tiger is my fav for my x39. Happy hunting! Is the tiger corrosive? What do you like about it? Better accuracy? cleaner? Where do I find good deals on the stuff? Who makes Tiger? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Just want to get a feel for what type of ammo ya'll shoot? silver bear any good? I would be most intersted in the non corrosive stuff. I'm not scared of corrosive ammo just am not always able to clean right away. I shoot Silver Bear and Wolf when I don't feel like cleaning. They're cheap and available. But I prefer the 7N6 corrosive stuff for shooting most days, and also for loading the gun for self-defense. More lethal, and very accurate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted February 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 I shoot Silver Bear and Wolf when I don't feel like cleaning. They're cheap and available. But I prefer the 7N6 corrosive stuff for shooting most days, and also for loading the gun for self-defense. More lethal, and very accurate. More lethal? Tell me more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TX-Zen 287 Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 I wouldn't be afraid of the corrosive issue, just read the cleaning thread here in the 5.45 forum. It's really not bad stuff but for some reason alot of people (myself included) start out with a lot of misconceptions. In practice the stuff is completely safe to use if you take a little extra time when cleaning. 7N6 is Russian service ammo and has a certain interior design to maximize bullet yaw when it hits a target, I don't believe commercial ammo like Wolf and Silver Bear are produced the same way. I've never cross sectioned the commercial stuff but I'm pretty sure it's not the same as 7N6 Accuracy can be very different with commercial too...7N6 service ammo is 53gr, commercial is often 60gr or 70gr which can affect accuracy due to the twist rate of the barrel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulry 50 Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Silver Bear followed by Barnual! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 More lethal? Tell me more. I'm relying on the reports of others who have cut open the rounds. And they were only talking about Wolf, but until others report definitively otherwise, I'm going to assume it's the same for other brands too. Basically, the commercial rounds have the air pocket of the 5.45 military ammo, but not the (misnamed) steel penetrator. So while the 7N6 has been proven to begin tumbling in flesh after about 1.5-2 centimeters, the commercial stuff will begin tumbling after about 6-7. Besides the cutting open of the rounds, there is a fellow on another forum who hunts deer with his AK 74, and photo-documents the bullet wounds. He usually hunts with 7N6, but used Wolf (or Silver Bear, I don't recall) once. The results were less impressive with the commercial ammo, although one round was still sufficient to kill the deer. Accuracy can be very different with commercial too...7N6 service ammo is 53gr, commercial is often 60gr or 70gr which can affect accuracy due to the twist rate of the barrel. Yep. I've gotten my best groups with 7N6. As Krom is fond of pointing out, you can't beat 7N6 for value. Jim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gtnichols 51 Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 I like the Golden Tiger too, it burns cleaner and seems to me to be more consistant than wolf with Brown bear a close second, Silver bear is good too, but it's is harder to find and the Zinc coating seems to corrode faster. ammunitiontogo usually has good deals. All the bear brands are great, Golden Tiger is my fav for my x39. Happy hunting! Is the tiger corrosive? What do you like about it? Better accuracy? cleaner? Where do I find good deals on the stuff? Who makes Tiger? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chevyman097 2,579 Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 The golden tiger is make in Vympel, its non corrosive. I prefer it because its clean, consistant and has a nice lacquered case, not that an ak wont eat anything you put it in, but it seems to feed noce. Everyone has their own personal fav, some just like whatever is cheap. You will find yours too. I havnt seen any in 5.45 though, I also havnt really looked. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted February 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Well I noticed that the 7N6 is a smaller grain, but if it does a better job I'm all about it. Where can I find some of this 7N6? What about hollow points? Any thought on those? I'm mostly interested in home defense/critter bustin capabilities. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Well I noticed that the 7N6 is a smaller grain, but if it does a better job I'm all about it. Where can I find some of this 7N6? What about hollow points? Any thought on those? I'm mostly interested in home defense/critter bustin capabilities. I get it from AIMSurplus because they are the cheapest (as far as I know). I don't know much about performance of hollow points in this caliber. 7N6 is known to be very lethal, so that's what I load up my gun with. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted February 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Are you talking about the spam can stuff or is it different than surplus? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Are you talking about the spam can stuff or is it different than surplus? Yep, the spam can stuff. Yet another point it its favor: It will pretty much last forever in those sealed cans. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted February 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Jim, you just sold me on this stuff. I'm buying some tonight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulry 50 Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Hey JIM! I notice AIM is now SOLD OUT! of Russian Spam Cans! Way to go! you where not kidding were you? Let me know when you have a shoot this summer just so I can borrow some to shoot mine! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Hey JIM! I notice AIM is now SOLD OUT! of Russian Spam Cans! Aw crap. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulry 50 Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Hey JIM! I notice AIM is now SOLD OUT! of Russian Spam Cans! Aw crap. I swear they had that notice last night! Tonight they don't WTH? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 I swear they had that notice last night! Tonight they don't WTH? I need to stop promoting the stuff. ;-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted February 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 If anybody has any info on those hollow points let me know. Wolf sells 60 grain hps and If I can get better or close performance to the 7N6 in a heavier grain, I think that would have its advantages. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 (edited) If anybody has any info on those hollow points let me know. Wolf sells 60 grain hps and If I can get better or close performance to the 7N6 in a heavier grain, I think that would have its advantages. For what it's worth, here's a quote from the guy I mentioned earlier who hunts with his AK 74, speaking here about Wolf hollow points: "I do not think the internal damage results were as impressive compared to the 7N6 ammo. My previous hunts with the 7N6 ammo did seem to exhibit the famous tumble/keyhole effect. I think the lung/heart damage on those hunts was more extensive...Although the ammo was hollow point, it did not seem to expand or fragment at all. It acted more like a FMJ. I am not surprised by this considering it is cheap Wolf ammo. Also, I see no evidence of tumbling like the 7N6." Here's something that is a good self-defense alternative to 7N6: Hornady 5.45X39 60 gr V-MAX Steel Case I may end up loading every other round Hornady/7N6 (the latter to make sure to defeat soft body armor). Edited February 6, 2010 by Jim Digriz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted February 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Jim you beat me to the punch. I was just about to mention the hornady V-max. Problem is I cant find anyone who actually stocks it. The every other round thing is a real good idea. I just checked aim surplus, and they seem to have some 7N6 still. I didn't see the sold out yet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Jim you beat me to the punch. I was just about to mention the hornady V-max. Problem is I cant find anyone who actually stocks it. The every other round thing is a real good idea. I just checked aim surplus, and they seem to have some 7N6 still. I didn't see the sold out yet. Let me know if you find the Hornady stuff anywhere. It apparently just came out. I'm assuming it's as good as their other stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieShooter 5 Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 Hey JIM! I notice AIM is now SOLD OUT! of Russian Spam Cans! Back in stock now with the same low price. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nag55 0 Posted February 18, 2010 Report Share Posted February 18, 2010 I really like the Bulgarian and Russian military surplus 7n6. i have many thousands of each. good stuff. affordable, and just clean after the trip to the range. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimdigriz 580 Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 I just searched Midway's website for "Hornady 5.45", and there is an item listed there as "Coming soon". Clicking it for more detail, it says it is expected in stock 3/4/2010. The price is apparently about 40 cents per cartridge, excluding shipping. Not bad, considering that the similar .223 TAP ammo is over a dollar a round. (Just another reason why it's good to have a 5.45 rifle). Has anyone else seen it listed on other sites? Looking forward to trying it out. Will give a report. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
veprk 12 Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 That pic is not of a 5.45! The casing is not tapered Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulry 50 Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 Yes, yes it is a 5.45x39 cartridge profile, as I have many right at my computer desk. Cute little buggers. Just waiting to go BANG! Sunday, I'm going. I swear! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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