Can anyone identify this 9mm Makarov ammo?

USMC Doc · Apr 23, 2021

Need a little help identifying this ammo loading. I haven't seen or found anything on the commercial market that matches this. It's 9mm Makarov, loaded in Starline brass, but I've never seen bullets like these. Got a bunch of theses, in a yard sale bin, with some reloading stuff. They were in an old cookie tin with a bunch of, what I've been told is, Norinko 95gr ball ammo. They are too uniform to be a homemade mod. Does anyone recognize these?

eb in oregon · Apr 23, 2021

Maybe you just ought to shoot it. I'm not aware of any commercial ammunition manufacturer that uses Starline brass, and reloaded ammunition made in your garage or basement can and most times does look like new. If the guy who made it was careful and paid attention to detail.

USMC Doc · Apr 23, 2021

eb in oregon said:
Maybe you just ought to shoot it. I'm not aware of any commercial ammunition manufacturer that uses Starline brass, and reloaded ammunition made in your garage or basement can and most times does look like new. If the guy who made it was careful and paid attention to detail.

I've seen a few manufacturers that use Starline brass, Black Butterfly, Underwood a couple. I'd shoot it but I don't have a Makarov to use. If these are reloaded though, where this person get the bullets? No way these are HP bullets that were modified in someone's garage.

eb in oregon · Apr 23, 2021

USMC Doc said:
I've seen a few manufacturers that use Starline brass, Black Butterfly, Underwood a couple. I'd shoot it but I don't have a Makarov to use. If these are reloaded though, where this person get the bullets? No way these are HP bullets that were modified in someone's garage.

Prvi Partizan, Speer, and Hornady have all made bullets of that kind for the Makarov. I'm sure there are others.

Edit: I'd point out that Vernon Speer started out scrounging .22LR brass for jacketing material (World War Two was in full swing and .22LR cases were all he could get for jacket material) and ironing out the cases and then swaging the bullets using them in his garage. I've seen pictures of those bullets and the indent from the firing pin is still visible. Yet if those bullets weren't consistent, accurate, and reliable I don't think he could have established his company. Being made in a garage or home shop doesn't necessarily mean those bullets can't be top quality.

SUPER X · Apr 23, 2021

Ive seen Bitter root valley , and HSM use starline brass . I have a few 380 rounds that have that style of projectile but with a open tip. They are 25 + year old home loads gifted to me many moons ago. they functioned great in anything i put them in.

billdeserthills · Apr 24, 2021

USMC Doc said:
Need a little help identifying this ammo loading. I haven't seen or found anything on the commercial market that matches this. It's 9mm Makarov, loaded in Starline brass, but I've never seen bullets like these. Got a bunch of theses, in a yard sale bin, with some reloading stuff. They were in an old cookie tin with a bunch of, what I've been told is, Norinko 95gr ball ammo. They are too uniform to be a homemade mod. Does anyone recognize these?

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The rounds on the bottom are self defense ammo, I still have some in stock. I thought the name was 'extreme ammo' but don't see it on my search engine. I'll take a look at them next time I'm in the shop

eb in oregon · Apr 24, 2021

USMC Doc said:
I've seen a few manufacturers that use Starline brass, Black Butterfly, Underwood a couple. I'd shoot it but I don't have a Makarov to use. If these are reloaded though, where this person get the bullets? No way these are HP bullets that were modified in someone's garage.

Well, as I've not bought any commercial ammunition other than 12 gage shotgun and .25ACP for over 30 years (but I've been gifted some) I wouldn't know what cases were being used by small manufacturers or who those manufacturers were. But I've been using Starline brass myself (for the most part) for the last 25 years or so. The only other brass I've used was because Starline didn't make it or it wasn't available at the time.