7.62x39 Steel Core

Jethro82 · Mar 30, 2016

Just wondering what something like this might be worth if anything beyond wolf or tula prices.

Norinco 7.62x39 steel core. Pulled bullet and cut open. Appears to be the steel jacket with a very very thin layer of lead then the steel core. I am able to make marks in the steel with a file.

HarryHaller · Mar 30, 2016

It's worth much less, I'll take all of it off your hands cheap...

Kidding. Definitely worth more than the price tag on it says. Prices fluctuate a lot, and it seems to depend on just finding the right buyer. I would say from 50 cents to a dollar a round. Completed listings on gunbroker seemed to be between .50-.75 cents a round.

So yeah. Definitely worth more than typical Russian stuff.

CLT65 · Mar 30, 2016

It's desirable because people think it armor piercing, and legally it is, though practically it is not.

My understanding is that the soft steel/iron core was used in M43 ammunition for economic reasons mostly. Personally I wouldn't pay more than "shooting ammo" price for it, but on the other hand some people certainly will. I have a couple tins of the stuff I should sell someday. I sure can't afford to shoot it, as much as some are willing to pay for it.

Jethro82 · Mar 30, 2016

Yeah this is the fist time having any of this. The steel core is just about as long as the steel case

Capn Jack · Mar 30, 2016

A lot of ranges wont allow steel core bullets.

Some of them don't even want lead (cast).

Stomper · Mar 30, 2016

Norinco ammo is also somewhat "collectible" as Chinese armament imports were banned ages ago..... very stupid.

AMProducts · Apr 5, 2016

Wow, norinco ammo, that stuff has not aged well, buddy of mine found a case of it someone had stashed for Y2K, and brought it out to the desert, after a few misfires, a squib and some feeling that the stuff was way hotter than it should have been. We threw the rest of it out. This stuff shot ok back in the day, I don't think they used any stabilizers in the powder, and it's deteriorated badly over the years. I would not shoot this, if you want, keep it as a collectors item (this stuff was banned from import ~1995 IIRC), but it's junk, not actually AP, and dangerous to fire.

PS: It was banned from import because it was made by the chinese arms company, not because it was fun or dangerous at the time.

CLT65 · Apr 5, 2016

You must have had some that was stored badly or something. I shot some norinco ammo a couple years ago and it shot like it was made yesterday.

ditchtiger · Apr 14, 2016

I found some repackaged, 80 rounds loose in vacuum bags for $24 in a Junction City shop. Regular FMJ is still cheaper by the case so I may pass on it.

Martini_Up · Apr 14, 2016

The good ol' days!!

As said above, it's not practically AP. Only legally. True AP will have a black tip. There is a very small amount out there but it's collector value puts it in the 'too expensive to shoot"*

*unless the zombie hordes at the door

AMProducts · Apr 16, 2016

CLT65 said:
You must have had some that was stored badly or something. I shot some norinco ammo a couple years ago and it shot like it was made yesterday.

Yea, I've shot 100 year old ammo that was kept at the back of a camel pen in turkey that shot better than this stuff. I think by far the worst ammo I ever fired was POF (paki) .303 brit. Every round that went off was a hang fire of about 2-3 seconds, which was only about every 4-5th round... absolute garbage.

ZA_Survivalist · Apr 16, 2016

Anyone pulled the projectiles from Norinco ammo? Would it be worth it?
I mean its just mild steel.
If the charges sucked as stated causing possible squibs Id assume not shoot mine. I did buy it only for collector value. I have about 8-20 boxes of the mild steel core Norinco ammo.. It'd be nice to use some of the projectiles in a proper load.