I don't know exactly where to post this but just wanted to warn all of you so you don't ruin your rifles like I did. I just got in the New Red Army Standard Range Packs that is advertised by everybody as non corrosive but it's not. It is VERY corrosive. We shot This Sunday afternoon and I have been swamped so I cleaned my rifles this afternoon, you should be OK cleaning in 48 hours if it's non-corrosive. All four rifles are ruined, the inside of the barrels are solid rust and the face of the bolts have a black ring that I can't get off with anything. That was (3) Rare Unissued M39 Sneak rifles and an Unissued 1932 Hex Tula 91/30. If anybody starts a lawsuit, I'm in.
WARNING-New Red Army ammo is CORROSIVE
- Thread starter knc1105
- Start date
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sourdough44
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the heads up. I see it is out of Romania, with a 'lacquered steel case'. That's at least 2 'fails' for me. That is ammo from behind the former iron curtain & the steel case with lacquered finish, which has been known to 'melt' sitting in a hot chamber.
You would think a gun could sit 2 days without rust, besides a muzzle-loader.
You would think a gun could sit 2 days without rust, besides a muzzle-loader.
I know they import 7.62x54R and 7.62x39 and most folks will have at least one rifle in those calibers even on a Long Range Hunting site that specializes in precision rifles and optics. AK's, Mosins and Dragonovs are still popular. I'm not a member of all the Military Gun Sites but I hope the word gets out over there.
I doubt that your rifles are ruined. It takes quite a while to pit a bore. Soak them in Kano Kroil Penetrating oil a day or two. It will get under the rust and corrosion and lift it away.
I learned a looooooog time ago to treat ALL military surplus ammo as being loaded with corrosive primers. A quick patch or two of soap and water down the bore will kill the salts left behind by the priming and keep it from drawing moisture and casing things to rust.
I learned a looooooog time ago to treat ALL military surplus ammo as being loaded with corrosive primers. A quick patch or two of soap and water down the bore will kill the salts left behind by the priming and keep it from drawing moisture and casing things to rust.
Sully2
Well-Known Member
Why fired those particular rifles ( because of rarity etc..etc...) using ANY ammo? They are worth MUCH MORE in pristine condition than in rusted condition..??
The ammo is new production 2012 or 2013 head stamp not mil-surp and advertised by Century, Aim Surplus and everybody else as non corrosive new production steel cased ammo just like Silver Bear and others. I just wanted everybody to know it seems to be more corrosive than military surplus and I shoot a lot of Russian 7.62x54R and tons of 8mm and this is dirtier, harder to clean and seems more corrosive than the old cheap surplus. As to why I am shooting those rifles, I am a shooter not a collector/seller. Those rifles will be passed to kids and grand kids and never sold. I don't own gunsafe queens. I built prototype sights for them and all 4 of those rifles shoot sub-MOA. The Finns will hit a 12" plate all day at 500 yards with those iron sights and a consistent wind up to 10mph. We had 3-hits in a row on a 18"x24" plate with a 8 mph wind at 750 yards. Yea it was cool to have the rare rifles even though I'll never sell them, but I have them because they shoot, being super rare is a bonus. It is really cool to out shoot the guys on both sides of you at the range with their big scope bolt guns with what they think is an old surplus rifle and iron sights. It's kinda like winning the Indy 500 in a pick-up truck. And yes I have a bunch of long range precision rifles, but components are hard to find and I'm tired of staying up all night loading to go shooting every Sunday. I've been saving my big stuff and grabbing a Tuna can of ammo and a opener and go shooting. Most of the matches where we shoot give extra or double points for iron sights and have separate classes for bolt guns and semi's so I'm not shooting against a Super Match M1A. Next month with the Finns I'm going to shoot both classes, my National Match M1A Custom and a Finn M39 in the bolt gun.
Thanks for the information on the ammo. I did not realize that it was supposed to be NEW PRODUCTION.
I shoot a bunch of the old military rifles also. My M-39 (unissued) B barrel Finn is a tack driver with my handloads. I have never really found any of the military ammo that is really accurate in this rifle. I went with some friends to an old strip mine to shoot once and we were shooting at a 36" red painted circle on a big rock at just a few yards over 1000 from our shooting position. There was very little wind that day if any. Once I got the proper notch on the iron sights figured out I could hit inside that circle every time from prone with a tight sling. I was shooting the most accurate load I have ever found for all the MANY 7.62X54R caliber rifles I have. 50 grs AA 4350, Prvi case, CCI 200, .311 diameter 174 gr Sierra Match King, OAL 3.000 and I use a Lee Factory Crimp because it makes it more accurate than without. Some rifles of this caliber need a .312 diameter bullet. I use the same load as above but use a Hornady .312 174 gr RNSP, OAL 2.790 .
I won't even get into the outstanding accuracy that can be gotten out of a M-96 Swede Mauser in 6.5X55 or the K-31 7.5X55.
OK, I will relate just one 96 Swede story. A friend and I were shooting pop cans off a rail set up at 200 meters at a local range with these stock open sighted rifles OFF HAND. A couple people came over to watch us. They said that they would not have believed it if they had not seen it with their own eyes.
Those were relatively easy targets with these outstanding accurate rifles.
I shoot a bunch of the old military rifles also. My M-39 (unissued) B barrel Finn is a tack driver with my handloads. I have never really found any of the military ammo that is really accurate in this rifle. I went with some friends to an old strip mine to shoot once and we were shooting at a 36" red painted circle on a big rock at just a few yards over 1000 from our shooting position. There was very little wind that day if any. Once I got the proper notch on the iron sights figured out I could hit inside that circle every time from prone with a tight sling. I was shooting the most accurate load I have ever found for all the MANY 7.62X54R caliber rifles I have. 50 grs AA 4350, Prvi case, CCI 200, .311 diameter 174 gr Sierra Match King, OAL 3.000 and I use a Lee Factory Crimp because it makes it more accurate than without. Some rifles of this caliber need a .312 diameter bullet. I use the same load as above but use a Hornady .312 174 gr RNSP, OAL 2.790 .
I won't even get into the outstanding accuracy that can be gotten out of a M-96 Swede Mauser in 6.5X55 or the K-31 7.5X55.
OK, I will relate just one 96 Swede story. A friend and I were shooting pop cans off a rail set up at 200 meters at a local range with these stock open sighted rifles OFF HAND. A couple people came over to watch us. They said that they would not have believed it if they had not seen it with their own eyes.
Those were relatively easy targets with these outstanding accurate rifles.Sounds like you got a fine stable. My shooting buddy has a 6.5 and 7.5 Swede and he's a Military gun nut that got me started with "Mosinitus" He qualified to shot long range at BOTW with his 6.5 Swede and open sights. He bought all of his stuff years ago before they were popular and bought them cheap, he was ahead of the curve. I've built a bunch of prototype peep sights and stuff for mine to shoot long, even but a Bob Jones optic in a Tech Sight rear peep on a Unissued Yugo SKS and won a Top Gun 3-gun match with it. For your 91/30 Mosins not the Finns have you seen the Smith Sights adjustable front sight? Best purchase you'll ever make. I had Josh build me some with .035" adjustable posts and they are awesome. Just got through building a peep sight on the elevator factory 91/30 sight that exactly matches the front hood so you see a peep in a peep if that makes sense, then top of post is POI. With the graduated elevator factory ramp you can shoot long. That rifle was set up for wives and kids to shoot and we put a Timney trigger, extremely lightened cocking piece, and threaded the barrel and put on a Miculek muzzle brake. It's hard to get my turn at that rifle at the range. We use the 1/2 x 28 .22 caliber AR-15 brake and after he screws it on while it's still in the lathe he takes it out to the proper diameter for the .30 caliber so it is perfectly centered. Every rifle that he has done that on from AK's to 300 Win Mag BAR's etc... have all shot incredibly well, all were way under MOA. He has built me some unbelievable stuff, have to have pictures and videos or people don't believe it. I came up with a Long Range peep sight he's doing tomorrow for a new AK and a .047" Tech Sight front sight he's going to turn down to .035". Some of the best off the shelf stuff you can find is at Tech Sights.com and Smith Sights .com we just took it up a few notches with some ultra custom stuff. At our next Service Rifle Match I'm going to shoot my Custom M1A in the Semi Class and one of the Sneaks in the Bolt Gun Class. We shoot 100, 250 and 500 yards Iron Sights Only. Did you know for your 91/30's there is a guy I just bought some Finn M39 two stage trigger kits on GunBroker for $30 from Finland? Gives you a two stage M39 sweet trigger on your standard 91/30 Mosin for $30. Sorry I got carried away, I have not typed this much with two fingers in years. Guess you can see I'm ate up with it, but it sure is fun. Good Shootin, Ken
Is your "B" barreled Finn a 1942 VKT/Valmet? Those high nickel, plum colored barrels were very rare less than 5,000 Belgian barrels were contracted and I've never heard of one till now that made 3- years of the war and never got issued, man I'd give that one a special hug and hang on to it. KenThanks for the information on the ammo. I did not realize that it was supposed to be NEW PRODUCTION.
I shoot a bunch of the old military rifles also. My M-39 (unissued) B barrel Finn is a tack driver with my handloads. I have never really found any of the military ammo that is really accurate in this rifle. I went with some friends to an old strip mine to shoot once and we were shooting at a 36" red painted circle on a big rock at just a few yards over 1000 from our shooting position. There was very little wind that day if any. Once I got the proper notch on the iron sights figured out I could hit inside that circle every time from prone with a tight sling. I was shooting the most accurate load I have ever found for all the MANY 7.62X54R caliber rifles I have. 50 grs AA 4350, Prvi case, CCI 200, .311 diameter 174 gr Sierra Match King, OAL 3.000 and I use a Lee Factory Crimp because it makes it more accurate than without. Some rifles of this caliber need a .312 diameter bullet. I use the same load as above but use a Hornady .312 174 gr RNSP, OAL 2.790 .
I won't even get into the outstanding accuracy that can be gotten out of a M-96 Swede Mauser in 6.5X55 or the K-31 7.5X55.
OK, I will relate just one 96 Swede story. A friend and I were shooting pop cans off a rail set up at 200 meters at a local range with these stock open sighted rifles OFF HAND. A couple people came over to watch us. They said that they would not have believed it if they had not seen it with their own eyes.
