Russian 7.62x39mm finally back at full production.

Throughout 2006 there was a shortage of russian 7.62x39mm because the machine plants in Russia were filling government orders. So we saw alot less of the Wolf brand made at the Tula arsenal (black box) and alot more made at Ulaynovosk (Millitary Classic) to compensate. Even the Bernaul FMJ (Brown Bear) seemed to be in short supply.

No more!

yesterday I paid a little visit to my local gunshop who had a whole case of the Bernaul FMJ! *happy dance*.

Unfortuneately, the price of the Bernaul FMJ has gone up $5 a case.

But Im just glad to see the 7.62x39mm well start filling up again!

Originally posted by XphilesPhan
Throughout 2006 there was a shortage of russian 7.62x39mm because the machine plants in Russia were filling government orders. So we saw alot less of the Wolf brand made at the Tula arsenal (black box) and alot more made at Ulaynovosk (Millitary Classic) to compensate. Even the Bernaul FMJ (Brown Bear) seemed to be in short supply.

No more!

yesterday I paid a little visit to my local gunshop who had a whole case of the Bernaul FMJ! *happy dance*.

Unfortuneately, the price of the Bernaul FMJ has gone up $5 a case.

But Im just glad to see the 7.62x39mm well start filling up again!

XphilesPhan,

I decided to order another 500 Winchester Boxer primed brass cases to compliment the first 500 I ordered awhile back. I see this happening again in the future.

I still go to my local shop and by a Hundred rounds or so but the price reflects the shortage. It has close to doubled per 20 round box but it is still cheaper than US made ammo per 20 rnd box.

I intend to be in a position to load my own if it comes to that. This round is not difficult to load or as expensive as ..say 30.06 or 8x57mm.

You are correct the black box has gotten in short supply around here. Some of the tan boxes available and another box..blue as I recall..but the standard Wolf black box not as available here...Virginia.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Well, I think there is alot more coming and hopefully it wont go to far up in price, I am considering stockpiling some just in case.

The black box went up a dollar here, but if you have a gander mountain sports store near you, they are still selling the black box wolf at $4.00 a box.

Tail end of last summer I got a very nice Yugo SKS.

Cleaned it well - I thought and probably did - it wouldn't fire the Wolf brown box.
Appeared to be light primer strikes.

From what I hear and read cosmoline is hard to get out of the bolt so the floating firing pin can float.

Cleaned it again - long soak in kerosene, lots of spray can brake cleaner run through the bolt and the firing pin rattles nicely.

Fired 2-3 Wolf brown box and then it would misfire with an apparent light primer strike.

So I cleaned things again, then read that some Wolf ammo had come through with an overly hard primer.

I got some Silver Bear and am looking forward to trying that.

Right now, it's looking like I got some of the Wolf hard primers.

I'll shoot it next week and see how things work out.

Funny part is, I've been doing a lot of reading about 22 rimfire target shooting and find that Wolf is a favorite and to an extent lusted after 22 LR target round.

Go figure....

Desert Dawg, I had the same problem with my Chinese SKS. Very light primer strikes even after disassembling the bolt carrier group and cleaning it thoroughly.

SKSs have alot of trouble with the millitary classic stuff.

my firing pin appeared to be actually dulled so I sharpened it more to a point and it fires the Wolf MC better.

All bernaul ammo (brown bear, silver bear, golden bear) will fire great through your SKS and so will the wolf black box. I am at a loss to explain the Military Classic however.

Good to see your posts on here again.

I too had the same or similar problem with my Yugo SKS. My problem showed up when I went shooting in below freezing weather.

I wound up taking the firing pin out of the bolt and cleaning it and reassembling it. I ran a pipe cleaner dipped in kerosene through the bolt firing pin hole. Also I took apart the trigger mechanism..that coil spring in the long spike looking mechanism. I believe the preservative on both the firing pin and the trigger spring mechanism is heavily applied.
By the way..that spring in the long spike looking trigger mechanism is difficult to disassemble and reassemble. I did mine in a bench vise.

Just received a scope for my Yugo SKS but did not manage to fit in time this weekend to sight it in. Sure want to send some rounds down range some time soon but my work schedule does not always allow. I put it on my folding stock Yugo and if it works well I will order one like it for my Monte Carlo stocked Yugo.

Keep them in the X rings guys,
Orangetom

Orangetom, my first trip out with the SKS was in fairly cool weather.
Low-40's and windy so that may have entered into it.

Granted, not below freezing, but it gets down to 10-11 degrees F. here now and then.
Bein' an ex-SoCal guy, I just go hide inside.

It's possible the firing pin is short, but I don't think so.
The SKS was one of the "like-new" ones for $50. extra and hasn't been in civilian hands far as I know.

I read yesterday that centerfire firing pins should protrude .050 - .060 (inch figures).
I'll try to get a reading on the SKS firing pin later today.

Kinda funny that next week - or later this week if I'm lucky - the SKS will go out for the 3rd time and the 6.5 x 55mm Swiss Mauser I've had for close to ten years has never been fired - by me.
Seems like we end up doing something different every time we go out and the Swiss gets left behind.

Although I am taking my new Ruger 10-22 T (laminated wood stock, 20" bull barrel etc.) out to get the scope sighted in as well as just plink with it so I can get a couple hundred rounds through the barrel for a good start on the break-in process.

Neat little gun, scoped it with the reasonable in cost, but highly recommended Mueller 4 x 14 - 40mm scope.
The scope is very clear at all magnifications.

I plan to leave the SKS as is and not scope it.
Kinda fun to have a cannon - of sorts - as a plinker.

I got lucky with the Swiss Mauser.
Bought it when Big 5 had a killer sale just to get em out of the store.
Later on, I found how to translate the brass plate on the stock and found everything was about as good as you could get . . . excellent bore, etc.


Xphiles, my SKS firing pin looks to be dull as well.
Right now, sharpening it will be a last resort kind thing.

I did try to remove the firing pin from the bolt block, but the cross-pin was really stuck and I chickened out.
Since then, I've read - in Wikipedia if I remember right - that the SKS firing pins are a little tight in the bolt block bore transversely speaking and filing them very lightly helps free things up.

If the Silver Bear etc. fires ok, I'll get some more and do a little break-in shooting to see if it will loosen up a bit before I get too ambitious with a big hammer.

I know about the new firing pin with spring and it looks like a good idea.
Maybe, if it looks necessary, but if the SKS worked for the Romanian Army guys I should be able to get it to work for me.

I'll let you know how it goes with the SKS this time around.

Originally posted by Desert Dawg
Xphiles, my SKS firing pin looks to be dull as well.
Right now, sharpening it will be a last resort kind thing.

I did try to remove the firing pin from the bolt block, but the cross-pin was really stuck and I chickened out.
Since then, I've read - in Wikipedia if I remember right - that the SKS firing pins are a little tight in the bolt block bore transversely speaking and filing them very lightly helps free things up.

Yeah, that cross pin in the bolt is a real bitch to remove so you'll need a punch to get it out. I used my cleaning rod, DONT DO THAT IF YOU GOT A NICE SKS.

I filled it very lightly and it functioned better, if worse comes to worse, you could always order a new firing pin.

Originally posted by XphilesPhan

Yeah, that cross pin in the bolt is a real bitch to remove so you'll need a punch to get it out. I used my cleaning rod, DONT DO THAT IF YOU GOT A NICE SKS.

I filled it very lightly and it functioned better, if worse comes to worse, you could always order a new firing pin.

Precisely..that is how I got mine out. I have a punch set with different sizes. I removed/disassembled the bolt and firing pin and cleaned it out with a pipe cleaner soaked in Kerosene.

I did not know about the different hardness of the various primers used in the 7.62x39mm ammunition. I will keep this in mind for future reference.

Thanks,
Orangetom