Barnaul any good as a brand?

**piste** · February 21st, 2008, 02:38 PM

Wondering if anyone have thoughts, opinions, experiences with Barnaul ammo in general. I've seen some x39 that I'm thinking about getting but it appears to be both steel cased and lacquer coated....and it seems some folks shy away from both....steel due to causing possible harshness to the weapon/extractor....and lacquer due to buildup/cleaning problems.

**625** · February 21st, 2008, 03:05 PM

I'd like to know as well. I've been eyeing their .223 ammo. Very cheap compared to others.

**RJH245** · February 21st, 2008, 03:10 PM

I shot about 300 rounds of Barnaul through my m44. It all fired well and I had no problems.

I had some laquared cased brown bear ammo in 9mm. I assume it was also made by barnual also. I all went bang through my 92fs however it did jam in my p1 at times but I blame that more on the gun than the ammo.

Rob

**deth502** · February 21st, 2008, 04:37 PM

i wouldnt worry about it.

have you ever had a gun ruined from shooting steel before?? have you personally seen one that was ruined from shooting steel??

didnt think so

**Montell C. Williams** · February 21st, 2008, 04:59 PM

Can't tell it from Wof except for the head stamp

**Holleta** · February 21st, 2008, 08:04 PM

I have shot it before and it was good stuff (7.62x39). I prefered it to Wolf since it was more accurate.

**imashooter2** · February 21st, 2008, 09:47 PM

The 62 grain is the most accurate Rusky .223 I've used. Can't see any difference from the others in 7.62X39.

**Mauler88** · February 24th, 2008, 02:46 AM

I also have about 5 boxes of 7.62x39 Barnaul. It's good ammo i never had a problem with it. after putting about 2 boxes of it through my yugo sks.
i also have Brown bear 7.62x39 sp and wolf 7.62x39. the only one i have problem with is the Wolf brand i have 2 rounds jam my YUGO. get Barnaul if you can especially when it cost the same or less than wolf.

**CavScout88** · December 14th, 2008, 10:20 PM

I shot some .308 Barnaul and it was the worst ammo I have ever shot. I would not dare to use the word "grouping" with that ammo, more like patterning.

IT was about a year ago at French Creek on the 100yd line. The Barnaul shot 7-8inch groups out of my FN SPR. Very disappointing. I then switched to Black Hills after much jeering from my accomplices and put up a sub moa to quiet the peanut gallery. I left the remainder of the Barnaul .308 on the table for the next guy.

**novaDAK** · December 15th, 2008, 09:01 PM

I've never had any problem with brown bear or black box wolf. A little background on russian ammo from http://www.ak-47.us/Article_Detail.p...tent1146681053 :

Currently there is rifle ammo being imported from 4 Russian ammo factories Ulyanovsk, Vympel, Barnaul, and Tula. The Klimovsk factory stopped producing ammo as the last imported was in 2002. Some factories produce ammo under their brand and other brands. Ulyanovsk produces ammo in the blue and white boxes under their name and also the Sapsan brand of ammo. [note: Wolf "Military Classic" is also made by Ulyanovsk.]

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Barnaul produces ammo under the Barnaul, Monarch, and RAM brands. The RAM stands for Russian Ammunition Manufacturing.

Tula produces only the Wolf brand of ammo and Vympel only produces Golden Tiger brand ammo.

The Bear brands of Russian Ammo

Currently there are 3 types of "Bear" rifle ammo imported the Silver Bear, Brown Bear, and Golden Bear. The different colors in the name of the "Bear" ammo denote the type of finish applied to the steel cases.

Silver = zinc plated

Brown = brown lacquer

Golden = brass plated

The Bear ammo is imported with soft point, hollow point, or full metal jacket bullets. The Silver Bear ammo was imported with two types of fmj bullets. The first type of Bear ammo imported was the Silver Bear in 2000 that was made by Klimovsk with a standard fmj bullet. Later the "match" Silver Bear ammo was imported made by Ulyanovsk with a fmj bullet with a nipple on the tip.

The next type ammo imported was the Brown Bear in 2001 and the Golden Bear in 2004. The Silver Bear and Brown Bear ammo imported before 2004 could be mfg. by Barnaul, Ulyanovsk, or Klimovsk. Ordering a case of Bear ammo was a toss up as to which company made the ammo You had to look on the box once you got it to see which company made it except the Match Silver Bear which has only been made by Ulyanovsk. For details on what cartridges and bullet types are available go to the importers website at