Post by CXM on Aug 21, 2017 13:43:25 GMT -5
Not long ago I posted links to sources for surplus 7.62x51 NATO and 5.56 NATO ammo. I decided to try some of each... here is the first report...
Recently surplus 7.62x51 from Malaya joined the 5.56x45 surplus from the same source. I thought it would be worth having some extra ball ammo in anticipation of what ever cataclysm 'THEY' warn us is the next end of the world...
A couple of days ago the 7.62x51 NATO Spec ammo surplus from Malaya that to join the 5.56x45 from the same source I ordered came in.
The ammo is packed in kraft cardboard boxes of 40 rounds (a convenient number with most M14 type mags holding 20 rounds.) The ammo is clean with very clear annealing. I disassembled one round to take a look at it. The bullet weighs in at 146 grains (vs 147 for U.S. GI ammo.) the powder is some sort of gray looking ball ammo. The head stamp on the ammo I got is MAL 4-84, not particularly old as surplus ammo goes. All in all it looks nice and feeds well.
I dug out one of the Sprigfield M1A rifles for a short trip to the range this morning. The comparison revealed the ammo shoots well and is up to military accuracy standards. I compared it with some Lake City with 1968 head stamp and some Portuguese 7.62 NATO made by Santa Barbara.
I didn't have time to shoot a large amount but after 40 rounds of each I would say I could find nothing to distinguish between the three types of ammo. There were no malfunctions and I don't think there is anything to choose from between the brands except that the MAL ammo and the Santa Barbara are both Berdan primed... the Lake City is Boxer primed.
I also took a S&W AR15T and a Tavor to the range where I fired a small amount of ammo to compare the Malayan surplus 5.56 made by CBC in Brazil with a 1990 head stamp to some mixed year LC 5.56 ammo. The CBC ammo comes in a white 50 round card board box with an OD green label with yellow lettering such as is seen on ammo cans.
Again, both functioned well and both were of military accuracy. Not much to choose from between the two...
All in add I'm pleased with the ammo... there is only one thing mildly annoying with the whole deal... after I ordered the ammo in 540 rd cans, they offered the same ammo in 300 rounds for a lower price!!!
FWIW, here is a photo of almost 150 years of U.S. military rifle ammo... included for no other particular reason than I had the examples at hand.
V/r
Chuck
Recently surplus 7.62x51 from Malaya joined the 5.56x45 surplus from the same source. I thought it would be worth having some extra ball ammo in anticipation of what ever cataclysm 'THEY' warn us is the next end of the world...
A couple of days ago the 7.62x51 NATO Spec ammo surplus from Malaya that to join the 5.56x45 from the same source I ordered came in.
The ammo is packed in kraft cardboard boxes of 40 rounds (a convenient number with most M14 type mags holding 20 rounds.) The ammo is clean with very clear annealing. I disassembled one round to take a look at it. The bullet weighs in at 146 grains (vs 147 for U.S. GI ammo.) the powder is some sort of gray looking ball ammo. The head stamp on the ammo I got is MAL 4-84, not particularly old as surplus ammo goes. All in all it looks nice and feeds well.
I dug out one of the Sprigfield M1A rifles for a short trip to the range this morning. The comparison revealed the ammo shoots well and is up to military accuracy standards. I compared it with some Lake City with 1968 head stamp and some Portuguese 7.62 NATO made by Santa Barbara.
I didn't have time to shoot a large amount but after 40 rounds of each I would say I could find nothing to distinguish between the three types of ammo. There were no malfunctions and I don't think there is anything to choose from between the brands except that the MAL ammo and the Santa Barbara are both Berdan primed... the Lake City is Boxer primed.
I also took a S&W AR15T and a Tavor to the range where I fired a small amount of ammo to compare the Malayan surplus 5.56 made by CBC in Brazil with a 1990 head stamp to some mixed year LC 5.56 ammo. The CBC ammo comes in a white 50 round card board box with an OD green label with yellow lettering such as is seen on ammo cans.
Again, both functioned well and both were of military accuracy. Not much to choose from between the two...
All in add I'm pleased with the ammo... there is only one thing mildly annoying with the whole deal... after I ordered the ammo in 540 rd cans, they offered the same ammo in 300 rounds for a lower price!!!
FWIW, here is a photo of almost 150 years of U.S. military rifle ammo... included for no other particular reason than I had the examples at hand.
V/r
Chuck
