cwhitenton

If you want to save some money and shoot cheap ammo you might want to consider picking up a SKS. These weapons, especially the Russian ones, were overbuilt making them soldier proof. You can fire anything through an SKS and not worry about a thing. With that nice Ruger though I'd be leary of using that cheap steel cased Wolf stuff because it may damage or chip your extractor or ejector.

mrc0mputer

ok, results:

Rifle: Ruger Mini-Thirty

Wolf: (FMJ) 7.62x39 2$ per box of 20 @ 100 yards. Groups of 3 1/2 constantly through 20 rounds.

I then cleaned the rifle...reasonable buildup and flakes of red in the action, I assume it was from the primer or casing.

Remington: (FMJ) 7.62x39 8$ per box of 20 @ 100 yards. Groups of 1 1/2 or LESS for 20 rounds.

I then cleaned the rifle, and to my surprise there was barely any buildup at all!


I am a pretty serious shooter and if another brand of cartridge can make that much of a difference, WOW. I think i'll stick with the Remington unless someone can tell me that they've had a good experience with another well priced cartridge.

Eric

Ruger-Redhawk

I personally would NOT shoot any of the Wolf ammunition.I don't want to run any steel case through my guns.I would definately check and see what the bullets diameter is of the Wolf or any other foreign manufacturers ammo.If it's bigger then Ruger's recommendation I would advise against using it.To save a few bucks it's not worth ruining the gun or possible injuries.Right or wrong that's my opinion.
Ruger Redhawk

driftrider

I'd be interested to know what the actual bullet diameter is for those American loaded 7.62x39 Soviet rounds. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were using .311cal bullets, just like the caliber spec call for. I know Hornady offers bullets for handloaders specifically for the 7.62x39 that are 125gr. .311cal. If the bore of a Ruger Mini-30 is .308 then the bore is wrong, not the bullet, and I highly doubt that Ruger would make a rifle with a .308 bore for a cartridge that calls for .311 bullets.

You could always slug your bore and fing out exactly how big it really is. Brownell's sells the kits. I'm betting the bore in your Mini-30 is .311" at the grooves. I'd be surprised if it wasn't.

Mike

icthruu

Well if all 7.62X39mm ammo is made to the correct specs it will have a .311 bullet diameter. That is how the cartridge was designed originally. I don't think with all the surplus rifles out there chambered for it, and all the ammo companies (yes even the american ones use .311" bullets) that ruger would choose to modify the cartridge by using a smaller dia bullet.

Now as for the steel cases, I wouldn't personally use them. I just don't like the idea of it. I have a friend that has a mini-14 and has put almost 2000 rounds of wolf ammo thru it with no problems, but he isn't shooting for micro groups, just to hit milk jugs of water and such, so extreme accuracy isn't a great concern for him.

driftrider

I wouldn't be too worried about the steel cases. The steel is very mild and much softer than the high carbon steel or stainless steel of any guns chamber. The Wolf and most other steel cases are also laquered to prevent corrosion and to make them smoother and function better. I fired literally 10,000+ round of Wolf ammo through my SKS when I had it, and there was no indication of wear due to the steel cases whatsoever.

Also, the Wolf ammo is non-corrosive. Not all imported surplus ammo is, but Wolf is for sure. I've actually hear that the Wolf ammo is just Russian Mil-spec ammo packaged in a prettier box to be sold here. The accuracy isn't worth writing home about, but it's pretty reliable stuff. And for $2 a box (or less), it's cheap as dirt.

Mike

driftrider

The data in my Speer manual calls for .311 bullets for the 7.62x39 Soviet. I'm sure other manuals state the same. If 7.62x39 is also a SAAMI standardized cartridge now, I can't imagine Ruger would barrel it for anything other than .311" bullets.

Mike

Detroit Jay

Contact Ruger and ask about using European ammo they should know.

This was copied from Lee Reloading web site under the tech assistant.



.308 & .311 Bullets

There are some calibers that commonly use .311 diameter bullets in addition to .308 bullets. This is accomplished through the use of a .311 expander as opposed to the .308.

7.62 x 39 Pacesetter dies includes a .311 expander along with the .308.

7.62 x54R commonly uses .311 bullets. To accomplish this, an expander for a .303 British sizing die can be purchased to replace the one that comes in the die.

32 H&R Magnum commonly uses .311 but the sizing die will size the case enough to hold .308 bullets. It would be necessary to purchase an additional expander plug and reduce it's size to .308 in order to have both options. This can be done using a drill press and emery cloth, or for $10.00 plus the cost of the new expander, we would do it for you.

I know that it does not make since in this day and age that there can be the same cartrage with a diffrent bullet diameter. The american manufactures DONT want to get sued so they make the rounds safe. I own a few 8mm (8x57) Mausers and I cant tell you how many times I have read about the old 1898 .318 barrels vs the standard .323 barrels. There are NO .318 barrels left. If you happen to have one that wasnt rebroached in the arsenal in 1903- 1905??? then you have somthing so rare it shouldnt be shot. But all the american manufactures use .323 bullets but with a reduced load. If you buy the european ammo(S&B, FNM) you will notice it is much more powerful.

If you notice all the people who say the Wolf ammo is good have a European gun(SKS, Saiga). The people who say it shoots bad groups usually have a Mini 30. I owned,and reloaded for a Mini 30. I always had to use .308 bullets or I had horrible groups. Thats why I sold it and bought a SKS. I wanted a rifle I could shoot cheap. Wolf uses Painted steel cases on thier ammo to keep the cost down. This paint chips off and gets into your gun. Usually this is no big deal if you clean it good but this makes for more work.

Jay

driftrider

Never said it shot good groups, thats for sure. Unless you consider 4-6MOA good. Wolf ammo sure is a lot of fun though! It's so cheap it doesn't make one feel bad when they blast through a 30rd magazine as fast as they can pull the trigger cause those rounds cost maybe $3. Can't beat that with a stick!

Mike

samfr

I bought a Mini-30, I am the 3rd. owner of this gun, I went to the range and short Wolf ammo 7.62X39, I mic the bullet and it was .308, I put 40 rounds thru the gun and had a hard time keeping them in a paper pie plate, the stuff is not good in the Mini-30.....I bought some 7.62X39 brass on ebay federal brass, bought some Remington bullets 125 gr. SP .308, 125 gr. SP .310 and some 123 gr. FMJ .311, I took my reloading info from Smith Relaoding web site. The load was Reloader #7 25.5 gr., the end results was 1" or less groups using the .308 125 gr. SP bullet at 50 yards, this is the end of the story, great gun with the right ammo...

PS: that Wolf ammo shoots great in my SKS.....Nam 65/66 9th Marines..