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Best ammo for Yugo SKS

ColdDayInHell

ColdDayInHell

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I am new to the Russian firearm world and I just bought a 1976 SKS M59/66. I got 100 rounds of Wolf 122gr ammo with it and I did not have a problem shooting it today. But I know Wolf is back-ordered a lot and I want to know an alternative to Wolf ammo. Is Tula any good? It is very under-powered in my .223, and the .223 Wolf is much more powerful and produces a huge muzzle flash. Any advice on good, cheap 7.62x39 ammo would be appreciated. If you have any advice (recoil buffers, pads for the SKS) let me know as well! Thanks.
 
Avoid buffers. The rifle's design has very little recoil so I've never seen a need for one. Plus the 59/66 has a rubber butt pad to aid in reduced felt recoil when using the grenade launching system.

As far as ammo, Tulammo is ok but I've seen some duds and squibs more so in Tulammo than any other kind out there. Golden Tiger is my pick for the best 7.62x39 out there. Avoid commercial ammo (American Eagle, Remington, etc.) due to most of it having soft primers. Unless you're going to add a firing pin spring kit you'll most likely end up having slam fires if you shoot commercial ammo. Yugo brass cased ammo is often regarded as very accurate but is corrosive and you'll have to clean with some kind of water based cleaner after shooting it.

My advice is go to one of the NH shops and get a case of Golden Tiger. There are a few shops that people mention here on NES that carry it.
 
Thanks a lot Ray. Okay, I didn't think the recoil was bad at all but I thought it might improve the gun a little bit.

I think I heard that Riley's carries Golden Tiger. Is there a shop around here that does?
 
AFAIK the only shops that carry it are up north. You're better off saving some $ and buying a case. The average price is $220 - $240

Sent from my Ally using Tapatalk 2
 
I think there's not much you can do to a sks to make it better......function wise anyway.
I love the brass cased yugo ammo. Shoots great and is consistant. Corrosive yes!.
Golden tiger and silver bear work well also.
Sksray might know specifics. I thought I read that Russian accuracy specs for the sks where something like 10 shot on a 18" plate at 200 meters was good.? I tried some lapua special purpose ammoxout of my Romanian sks. It was only slightly smaller consistsnt groups. Wolf and tula always have flyers. Golden tiger does well. As does Yugoslav.
 
Last edited:
SKS Ray said:
AFAIK the only shops that carry it are up north. You're better off saving some $ and buying a case. The average price is $220 - $240

Sent from my Ally using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

Riley's has the Golden Tiger at $269/1000 case last time I stopped by there. Merrimack Firearms I believe has them too, $239/1000 case I believe.
 
mac1911 said:
I think there's not much you can do to a sks to make it better......function wise anyway.
I love the brass cased yugo ammo. Shoots great and is consistant. Corrosive yes!.
Golden tiger and silver bear work well also.
Sksray might know specifics. I thought I read that Russian accuracy specs for the sks where something like 10 shot on a 18" plate at 200 meters was good.? I tried some lapua special purpose ammoxout of my Romanian sks. It was only slightly smaller consistsnt groups. Wolf and tula always have flyers. Golden tiger does well. As does Yugoslav.
Click to expand...

69.jpg

should be able to do headshot at 100 and torso shot at 200. For some damn reason, mine likes Yugo only. I tried Tiger and Tula, but Yugo is way better for some reason. See what works for you.
 
I had a simular chart that was loosely translated by a polish friend. I read a article in guns or ammo or one of those mags a while back also that was about the same info.
 
My only issue with Silver Bear is that the galvanized (?) coating tended to oxidize fairly quickly; not that a little white powder affected its function at all. It would be my first-out ammo from my inventory, I suppose.
 
Yeah I saw that. Me and Loki are trying to plan a road trip up there. I heard Golden Tiger is the best ammo. I have had zero issues with Wolf so far though and I have about 300 rounds left. I want to check the shop out anyways. Thanks for the reply.
 
ColdDayInHell said:
Yeah I saw that. Me and Loki are trying to plan a road trip up there. I heard Golden Tiger is the best ammo. I have had zero issues with Wolf so far though and I have about 300 rounds left. I want to check the shop out anyways. Thanks for the reply.
Click to expand...

I have shot 1000 rounds of each. I don't see much difference. I would buy either based on price.
 
I use the same ammo in my SKS as I do my AK, steel cased (with I think a polymer coating? Not sure) stuff made in Ulyanovsk, not Tula (or at least, not labeled as Tula). Works just fine.
 
enbloc said:
http://www.murraysguns.com/sksown.htm
earlyrussian.jpg
Click to expand...

When I bought my Yugo SKS, the previous owner had installed a Murray's firing pin. I could never get through a full magazine without the pin sticking. Luckily, I never had a slam fire episode.

When I disassembled the bolt, the spring had become a mass of goo. It took me forever to get all of the broken bits of spring out of my bolt.

Then I tried using the Murray's pin without the spring. This is no good, because without the spring, the pin sticks out too far and punctures primers.

I finally got it all cleaned out, replaced it with an original SKS firing pin, and it's been 100% reliable for hundreds of rounds.

I'm not sure what made the Murray's spring fail on mine, but I'll never go back to one. The originals work just fine if you keep your bolt clean.
 
mclina said:
When I bought my Yugo SKS, the previous owner had installed a Murray's firing pin. I could never get through a full magazine without the pin sticking. Luckily, I never had a slam fire episode.

When I disassembled the bolt, the spring had become a mass of goo. It took me forever to get all of the broken bits of spring out of my bolt.

Then I tried using the Murray's pin without the spring. This is no good, because without the spring, the pin sticks out too far and punctures primers.

I finally got it all cleaned out, replaced it with an original SKS firing pin, and it's been 100% reliable for hundreds of rounds.

I'm not sure what made the Murray's spring fail on mine, but I'll never go back to one. The originals work just fine if you keep your bolt clean.
Click to expand...

I sent my bolt to Murray's for the full workup - "disassemble, clean, stone bolt face lightly and countersink FP hole, polish extractor face, and reassemble" - I was able to remove the original firing pin fine myself, but the extra stuff they do for minimal additional cost seemed worth it.

I've had no issues.
 
mclina said:
When I bought my Yugo SKS, the previous owner had installed a Murray's firing pin. I could never get through a full magazine without the pin sticking. Luckily, I never had a slam fire episode.

When I disassembled the bolt, the spring had become a mass of goo. It took me forever to get all of the broken bits of spring out of my bolt.

Then I tried using the Murray's pin without the spring. This is no good, because without the spring, the pin sticks out too far and punctures primers.

I finally got it all cleaned out, replaced it with an original SKS firing pin, and it's been 100% reliable for hundreds of rounds.

I'm not sure what made the Murray's spring fail on mine, but I'll never go back to one. The originals work just fine if you keep your bolt clean.
Click to expand...

My guess would be corrosive ammo had been used in the gun which caused the spring to rust and fall apart.

Sent from my Ally using Tapatalk 2
 

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