Ammo for My New PU Sniper

[bigskybound]

I now need to find something to feed my new (to me) PU Sniper. There is a good deal on some 7.62 x 54R Light Steel Core 148 Grain Silver Tip ammo, but I do not know if it is corrosive or not. There is some FMJ Yugo ammo and some FMG Wolf steel case. Anything I should absolutely avoid? I do not worry TOO much about the corrosive stuff, as I clean all of my rifles after shooting. Somewhere in my cleaning box I have some stuff specifically designed to neutralize the bad stuff in corrosive ammo.

[P. Greaney]

I suggest you go for the good deal.
If there is some ammunition that should be avoided, I am unaware of it.
Graf's has some Soviet manufactured target ammunition for sale.
http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/25120
A very accurate cartridge is the one from Hornady with their HPBT 174gr bullet but that is over one dollar per round and you can do just as good or better reloading.
John Plaster, author of "The Ultimate Sniper" asserts that Eastern block snipers preferred light ball from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and some lots of Russian ammunition for use in the 91/30 sniper.
Anecdotal evidence from people posting on various internet bulletin boards is that the dedicated Soviet sniper cartridge produces results similar to light ball and is therefore not worth the premium price. However, the Soviet manufactured match ammunition generally referred to as "EXTRA" has produced the kind of results that one would expect of match grade ammunition, unfortunately not currently available from commercial vendors.

[Tuna]

The Wolf steel case will be non corrosive but the Yugo or any Russian or eastern block country ammo should always be considered to be corrosive primer.

[Marcus]

You need to pick up examples of each of the various Comblock surplus ammo available and see which one your rifle likes best. As mentioned above, all surplus Comblock 7.62x54r ammo should be considered corrosive.

[lonegunman762x51]

My rifle likes Russian target ammo, Graf's had it the last time I checked. Try a few different types and see what works best.

[leftyo]

mine does about 1 1/2" with the old silver tip. dont worry about the corrosive nature of it, your rifle has had corrosive ammo through it before. clean well afterwards, and its no issue.

[Art]

I assume your rifle is a Mosin.

The sight on your rifle, if you set it up and zero it according to the original proceedures is calibrated for light ball, so for me light ball would be the first choice.

All of the silver tip I've seen has been milsurp (military packaging and headstamps.) Assume any Com Bloc military suprlus light ball to be corrosive. Not a big deal with a bolt gun, just clean with soap and water or some other water based solution promptly after shooting.

Wolf, which has been quite difficult for me to find is supposed to be non corrosive manufactured for commercial sale, I've found all I've shot to be as advertised though I have heard some reports indicating that some corrosive ammo has found its way into Wolf and other commercial boxes.

[Ken in Iowa]

I would treat any factory 7.62x54r ammo as corrosive. Mosins are quite easy to clean so you don't need to chance it.

The Yugo M30 heavy ball is excellent in most Mosins. It is one of the few surplus 7.62x54r that does not have steel in the bullet so it passes the magnet test that some ranges require.

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinAmmo010.htm

[Tuna]

As Art stated. The 91/30 Mosin sniper rifles were set with a factory scope made for the light ball ammo. If I remember right the accepted normal group size was the 1 1/2 inches at 100 meters.

[MJ1]

My best results have always been with the .311" 174g Sierra Match King in Lapua brass and 4064 but here you get close to $1 for the first shot but what price do you put on accuracy? I don't spend all day running 300 rounds through the rifles week after week. I take my shots to verify and move on. If I can get MOAH at 500 yards I'm a happy camper. After that the factory 10 yellow tip heavy ball but it is magnetic glided jacket is very good to and past 300 meters, just my observation nothing written in stone just works in my rifles. I have never used the spam-can light ball in my rifles but use the 150g Sierra Game King and 4895 with good results and as a bonus the same components work in my Enfields. All this is subjective and your mileage may vary.. I am not an expert on anything these are just my observations. Good luck and please report you results.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/montereyjack/DSCF0032a_zpsebdf6480.jpg