SKS/Tula ammo test results

B

BJung

New member
I went to the range yesterday and did the first of three test using Tula ammunition (box of 40) I purchased at Walmart.

I pulled 20 rounds apart and reloaded 10 with the average powder weight, most common bullet weight, and most common case weight. The remaining 10 were used for Barnes 123sp (5) and Speer 123Ssp (5).

I left 10 rounds to compare to the improved lot mentioned above. Another 10 rounds were pulled apart and I made a ladder test of 150gr Hornady SP with them.

The test was made at 100 yards. I place 2-1/2" red paper dot in the center of a large white sheet and centered it in the front sight hood and held the front sight just under it. I am looking for groupings.

Result: No difference. The same percentage grouped the size of a fist and abut the same flyers.

Barnes showed promise with a 2" group near the dot. Speer, no.
 
Tula can not be made accurate. Interesting. My guess, poorly made bullets. Voids in the lead core, thin or thick areas in the jacket, many things could be going on that you can not control.

I had a case of Tula in .223 that had terrible bullet runout. I ran some through a Lee Factory Crimp Die and believe it or not, it reduced the bullet runout by quite a bit. Didn't help accuracy at all. Still looked like shotgun patterns at 100 yards. I ended up selling that case for a loss.
 
TulaAmmo 122gr Specs

These were my measurements:

Ball Powder: 24.1, 24.4, 24.3, 24.2, 24.1, 24.2, 24.1 ,24.1 24.3, 24.1
Bullet Weight: 121, 123, 123, 124, 124, 124, 126, 126, 128, 128
Case Weight: 106, 103, 106, 103, 106, 106, 106, 106, 103, 106

A: Factory Load
B: 123/124gr bullets with 24.2gr ball powder and 106gr cases
C: Ladder Test with Speer 123gr sp
D. Ladder Test with Hornady 150gr sp. Promise at 24.6-24.8gr ball powder
 
I tried the same a while ago, but with Golden Tiger. I'm surprised how close the powder charges are for Tula, that's actually pretty good (for cheap Russian ammo).

As Mike38 said, the main issue is the bullets themselves. They just aren't as concentric as what we in the West come to expect from Barnes/Speer/Hornady/etc. Also, the weight variance is kind of eye catching. I'm surprised they can vary that much. Even though you tried to standardize on the bullet weight, my guess is the internal concentricity, jacket irregularities, etc. don't combine for sub MOA accuracy, even on a good day.

Though you evened out the powder charge, my prejudice is that the cheap Russian powder just can't be counted on to burn evenly from one cartridge to the next as we would expect with any Western powder.

The last 2 components that are consistent with all your cartridges is the primers and steel cases. Again, I question the consistency of the cheap Russian primers and steel cases. The Barnes/Speer/Hornady bullets should still have the expected terminal effects, but given the variability of the primers, cases & powder, I wouldn't expect as good of results as if you started with good brass/primers/powders too. You could hunt with a 2" group, but when you up the quality of the other components you'll see the true accuracy of you rifle.
 
Non-Tula Bullet test

I pulled a number of Tula bullets and replaced them with Speer 123 and Barnes 123gr bullets. The results were disappointing with a standardized powder charge. The group size of each was about the size of a tennis ball. I replaced 10 bullets with Hornady 150gr bullets and made a ladder test. I estimate the powder to be lose to 1680 per the published MV. Accuracy shows promise at the highest load range of 24.5 and 24.8gr with the printed holes being within an inch (100yards). Using R7 and 150gr Barnes bullets, two bullets of the consecutive increasing loads were horizontal and 1/2" apart and placed at the Point of aim.
 
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