7.62 X 25 mm ammo ? ? ?

[Banker Billy]

Hello one and all,

Well, my CZ-52's are hungry, and looking for something to feed them . . .

Found some "Bulgairan, brass case, 1950's manufactured" ammo at a local dealer, but have no experience with this ammo.

And . . . now I see that AIM Surplus is getting in some Romanian, brass cased, 1980 manufactured ammo.


Any ideas/opinions on either one of these two types of ammo.

I have a few boxes of S&B, and have seen the Winchester in the "white-box", but looking for good, reliable "blasting ammo".

Thanks ! !

[Calvert1]

The Winchester and S&B are exactly the same ammo made in the same factory, so if you want non-corrosive, just pick whichever is cheapest in your area.

The Bulgarian is OK as long as you stay away from the 1955 vintage. This ammo has been problematic with some people. The new Romanian ammo is getting good reviews from those that have used it.

Personally, I prefer S&B. There have been reports of blown primers and OAL problems with it, but I've had nothing but good results so far.``

[Clark]

I got a Letter from Ted Curtis ballistican at Accurate Arms in March of 2000. Ted Curtis, a very old ballistican already was bald and had jowls in his 1966 photo in "Speer 7". All the typos are Ted's:

"7.62 X 25 Tokarev

Due to the large number of handguns imported into the U.S. chambered
for the 7-62 x 25 Tokarev Accurate Arms has developed the following load
data for those shooters who wish to reload the little powerhouse. In
determining the appropriate pressure limit for our load data we tested
various military ammo from China, Russia, Austria Bulgaria and the
Czech Republic. Commercial ammo produced by Sellier and Berloit was also
tested. Based on these tests we arrived at a maximum pressure for our
lad data of 42,000 C.U.P. Only the single lot of Russian ammo was
significantly below this pressure averaging 31,000 C.U.P. The consistent
pressures between all other type sand manufactures was a welcome
surprise . Indeed, the fact that CZech ammo, made for the CZ-52 pistol,
produced the same pressure as that of the other countries was perhaps
the biggest surprise of the whole project. This in spite of the "tribal
lore" regarding this particular handgun and the ammo loaded for it
claiming that shooting Czech ammo in any other firearm so chambered will
causes spontaneous disassembly. The pressure data produced by the ammo
tested certainly doesn't support this theory.

The pressure data shown here was developed in a 9" pressure barrel. We
then fired the same loads thru an issue CZ-52 with a barrel length " to
record the velocities. We felt that this would give a much better
picture of the field performance of this data. The CZ-52 was kindly
provided by Mr. lane Pierce without whose participation in the form of
aid, equipment and ammo this project could not have been completed. We
feel that the maximum loads shown here are suitable for the CZ-52 so
long as the firearm is in good condition. Other models of foreign
handguns of a lessor quality should probably be loaded in a more
cautious manner.

Test Gun Douglas test barrel / CZ-52
CTG/Case Starline
Primer CCI 500

Bullet/Wt Powder Chg/WT Velocity Pressure O.A.L.
Sierra 85 RN NO 2 IMP 6.5 gr 1640 fps 41,500 C.U.P. 1.316""

[and the rest of the load published in Accurate Arms Load Book Number
Two" in later 2000]

That book has some of the information of the letter:
page 80:
"7.62x25mm TOKAREV
This handgun is increasing in popularity in the U.S. In determining the
appropriate pressure limit for our load data we tested various military
ammo from China, Austria, Bulgaria and the czech Republic. Commercial
ammo produced by Sellier and Berloit was also tested. Based on these
results we arrived at a maximum pressure for our load data of 42,000
C.U.P.
The pressure data shown here was developed in a 9" pressure barrel. We
then fired the same loads through and issue CZ-52 to record the
velocities. We felt that this would give a much better picture of the
field performance of this data. The CZ-52 was kindly provided by Lane
Pierce.
We feel that the maximum loads shown here are suitable for the the
CZ-52 so long as the firearm is in good condition. OTher models of
foreign handguns of lesser quality should probably be loaded in a more
cautious manner."

[masman]

Originally posted by Calvert1

Personally, I prefer S&B. There have been reports of blown primers and OAL problems with it, but I've had nothing but good results so far.``

same here.i also run polish surplus and have had no problems to date