[Number 6]

Anyone have experience with these Russian .223 bullets?

They are supposed to have a "bi-metallic jacket" consisting of copper over soft steel. I KNOW the steel is there; the bullets stick to a magnet!

My question is whether the copper is thick enough to protect the bore from the steel. Anyone have first-hand knowledge on these bullets?

 

[Triggerbender]

Shot up a couple cases thru my ar's no ill effects bullet wise but found that if you get the chamber hot (rapid fire) the lacquer on the steel cases melts, gumming up you chamber and can cause malfuntions,and the steel case can be hard on your extractor. I had the same reservations and pulled one apart after the magnet stuck to it, the steel cover on the lead is soft. Don't use them anymore found brass cases more to my liking.

 

[Number 6]

Thanks, but

my question concerned Barnaul BULLETS; not Wolf cartridges. I know better than to contaminate my AR's chamber with lacquer from steel cases and whatever that red gunk that the primers are sealed with is. Neither do I want steel cases scoring my chamber any more than I do steel projectiles erasing my rifling.

Sooooo, does anyone have experience with loading Barnaul bullets and, if so, what's the word?

 

[imashooter2]

The copper is just a wash to keep the steel from rusting. That said, the steel in steel jackets is considerably softer than your barrel. You'll get more damage from powder erosion than you will from jacket to bore friction. Don't expect great results in the accuracy department. They are not match quality projectiles.

 

[Number 6]

I have the $$$, 69 grain, BTHP match bullets if I ever need to do some serious shooting. I was looking for inexpensive bullets to load plinking/action rifle loads with, where I'm not shooting at anything more than 100 yards (and usually not more than 50 yards) away.

I generally buy the IMI M193 ball bullets 500 at a time, and thought the 62 gr Barnaul would allow me to duplicate the load for the more expensive M186/SS 109 bullets.

 

[imashooter2]

The Barnaul bullets are a standard lead core and so they're shorter than the SS109 projectiles which have a small steel penetrator at the tip of a lead core. You can't use them to duplicate M855/SS109 loads.

I say buy the IMI M193 for plinking loads. They're all around better bullets.

 

[Number 6]

Steel is steel.

"The Barnaul bullets are a standard lead core and so they're shorter than the SS109 projectiles which have a small steel penetrator at the tip of a lead core. You can't use them to duplicate M855/SS109 loads."


While I have not yet miked each, both the SS 109 and the Barnaul bullets contain steel; the former in the nose, the latter as a jacket. Indeed, the Barnauls likely contain MORE steel than the SS109 bullets, which would make them a tad longer.

The bottom line is that the Barnauls will come FAR closer to duplicating the SS 109 ballistics than the 193's will, at a fraction of the SS 109's cost.

 

[imashooter2]

The Barnaul bullets have steel displacing gilding metal. The SS109 have steel displacing lead. While total steel weight in the Barnaul may be higher than in SS109, a direct comparison is invalid. Lengths for samples from my inventory:

M193= .742
Barnaul 62= .853
SS109= .905

Yes, the Barnaul bullets will come closer to the SS109 BC than the M193 will.

No, the Barnaul bullets cannot be used to make a duplicate M855/SS109 load. They are shorter, have a more pronounced boat tail, a different ogive and no cannelure.

I still say buy the IMI M193 for plinking loads. They're all around better bullets. But since you seem to have already set your heart on the experiment, give it a try and see what happens. What the heck, the price is right.