Apple a Day
New member
There I was at the local gun shop...
... and I was looking for some 7.62x25mm ammo to feed a CZ-52 when I noticed right next to it was something strange. It turned out to be some honest to goodness 7.62x38mm Nagant ammo! Well, it was $24 a box of 40 rounds but I figured I needed to feed my little plinker some actual ammo at least once. I usually toss in some .32 S&W Long and I have a .32 ACP conversions cylinder. It is surprisingly accurate with both but I wanted to compare to some real Nagant ammo.
Here are some pictures.
In the first one I have a 9x19mm, a 7.62x39mm , and on the far right the Nagant ammunition. Yes, I saved all of my brass and put them back in the box as you can see from the dimples on the primers.
So, I went to the range with it and shot it all up. First, that stuff stank! I mean it smelled terrible and I am used to funny-smelling Russian ammo. It was a different odor than the laquered, steel-cased stuff I'm used to shooting. Second, the accuracy wasn't any more impressive than with .32 S&W Longs or ACP. With concentration I could put all the rounds in the 3" circle at 25' shooting offhand. Not bad but nohing to write home about. The bullets were seated deeply inside the brass cases, were wadcutter-style and made nice, clean holes in the targets. There were no keyholes, hangfires, hard primers, squibs, or problems of any sort... except for the tremendous, sulfurous stink.
If anyone speaks Russian then I would appreciate a translation of the markings on the box. On the sides not pictured it says "7.62mm" and "40wt" which, I reckon, is the caliber and the bullet mass in grains.
All in all I think it was a fun experience I had to do once. Maybe I'll grab another box of unfired shells and store them away for a special occassion or a trip to the range with a buddy whose an oddball gun fan.
Cheers,
Apple
... and I was looking for some 7.62x25mm ammo to feed a CZ-52 when I noticed right next to it was something strange. It turned out to be some honest to goodness 7.62x38mm Nagant ammo! Well, it was $24 a box of 40 rounds but I figured I needed to feed my little plinker some actual ammo at least once. I usually toss in some .32 S&W Long and I have a .32 ACP conversions cylinder. It is surprisingly accurate with both but I wanted to compare to some real Nagant ammo.
Here are some pictures.
In the first one I have a 9x19mm, a 7.62x39mm , and on the far right the Nagant ammunition. Yes, I saved all of my brass and put them back in the box as you can see from the dimples on the primers.
So, I went to the range with it and shot it all up. First, that stuff stank! I mean it smelled terrible and I am used to funny-smelling Russian ammo. It was a different odor than the laquered, steel-cased stuff I'm used to shooting. Second, the accuracy wasn't any more impressive than with .32 S&W Longs or ACP. With concentration I could put all the rounds in the 3" circle at 25' shooting offhand. Not bad but nohing to write home about. The bullets were seated deeply inside the brass cases, were wadcutter-style and made nice, clean holes in the targets. There were no keyholes, hangfires, hard primers, squibs, or problems of any sort... except for the tremendous, sulfurous stink.
If anyone speaks Russian then I would appreciate a translation of the markings on the box. On the sides not pictured it says "7.62mm" and "40wt" which, I reckon, is the caliber and the bullet mass in grains.
All in all I think it was a fun experience I had to do once. Maybe I'll grab another box of unfired shells and store them away for a special occassion or a trip to the range with a buddy whose an oddball gun fan.
Cheers,
Apple
It's not as accurate as Fiochhi (but the price is lot better than $35/50). I have some of it that I use for range work. I actually prefer .32 H&R Mag reloads in mine. The price is less than 32S&W Long and I've never had any bulging cases.