Buyer Beware: Herter's (Tulammo) 7.62x39

[DR.NUMBERS]

Hey,

I just wanted to let you guys know of a recent experience I had with Herter's brand 7.62x39, manufactured by Tulammo.

Last range visit I took out my VZ-58 and a 500rd block of the above ammo. Up to this point, in nearly 20 years of shooting I had never had a squib load myself and had only witnessed one once before.
I ran about 30rds of Lapua and 60rds of Bulgarian surplus through the VZ without a problem. Then I moved on to the Herter's. In 40rds of Herter's I had 3 squib rounds. Last I heard, this should be a 1-in-25,000 chance of occurring, 3 out of 40 is disconcertingly close to 1-in-10. What's strange is that after the first squib, I weighed the remaining rounds with my electronic scale and found them all the same and yet still had 2 more squibs.

After this, I stopped shooting the stuff and contacted USSG (the distributor) and let them know what had happened + the lot number, basically all I got in response was 'Thanks for letting us know'.

So, let this be a warning, you get what you pay for and don't expect any measure of customer support.

Lot No. was A707.


EDIT: I think the issue is with weak primers (?) since the rounds all weighed the same, and each squib was accompanied by a plume of powder grains exiting the action.

 

[1911Dave]

Thanks for the heads up. Gonna check mine out

 

[rasputin]

wow, I guss that's why its still on the shelves.

 

[Blake74u]

Thanks for the heads up. I almost bought a case today. I guess I'll pay a bit more for what I'm familiar with....

 

[egl1962]

what is a squib round? i have never had a problem with tula or herters.

 

[VeedUp]

what's the lot number of your squibs?

 

[Vermiform]

Did the case eject? Did you have to knock the bullet out of the bbl each time?

 

[JLouv]

what is a squib round? i have never had a problem with tula or herters.

Generally, a squib round is a round that when fired, does not push the bullet out of the barrel. You can imagine from that point how dangerous it can be if you didn't notice it and fired the next round into your newly plugged barrel.

To go back in history a bit....a squib round is what killed Brandon Lee on the movie set of "The Crow" years ago. It went down like this:
1. For a scene, a revolver was loaded with live ammo that had the powder removed. They wanted to see the actual bullets in the cylinder of the revolver.
2. For some stupid reason, the live primers remained in the empty rounds.
3. Someone fired the pistol one time. The charge in the primer forced the bullet out of the casing but not entirely out of the barrel.
4. Fast forward a few scenes. The same gun is loaded with blank ammo. But the bullet was still in the barrel. The blank charge, when fired, send the bullet out of the barrel and into Brandon.

Some definitions of squibs could also include underpowered rounds. Think "pop" instead of "bang". I feel the OP left out some rather important information as to what exactly he experienced.

 

[Vermiform]

I feel the OP left out some rather important information as to what exactly he experienced.

This^

I have 1k of this stuff tucked away. If they are lodging in the bbl, it is even more dangerous.

 

[JadeRaven]

I have had good experience with herter's/tula, but have not tried 7.62x39.

It does shoot dirty though and I have since started buying more brass instead.

 

[sgt z]

thanks for posting

 

[DR.NUMBERS]

what is a squib round? i have never had a problem with tula or herters.

A squib is when a round is underpowered enough that the bullet does not exit the barrel but is lodged somewhere between the breech and muzzle.

what's the lot number of your squibs?

As per original post, A707.

Did the case eject? Did you have to knock the bullet out of the bbl each time?

No, the cases did not eject. From what I recall, one stovepiped (perhaps pushed there by the action), the others just fell back into the action horizontally. This was one of the factors which told me something was not right (along with the plume of powder and lack of recoil) since I have not had any other FTEs on this rifle.

All three bullets lodged about two or three inches into the barrel and had to be removed with a cleaning rod and rubber mallet.

I feel the OP left out some rather important information as to what exactly he experienced.

Let me know if there is anything else specific you'd like to know.

 

[George]

Stay away from Tula ammo! Its made in Russia and the restrictions aren't that great. I've heard a lot of bad stuff about this ammo

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Vermiform]

A squib is when a round is underpowered enough that the bullet does not exit the barrel but is lodged somewhere between the breech and muzzle.



As per original post, A707.



No, the cases did not eject. From what I recall, one stovepiped (perhaps pushed there by the action), the others just fell back into the action horizontally. This was one of the factors which told me something was not right (along with the plume of powder and lack of recoil) since I have not had any other FTEs on this rifle.

All three bullets lodged about two or three inches into the barrel and had to be removed with a cleaning rod and rubber mallet.



Let me know if there is anything else specific you'd like to know.

Thank you for the update. I'll have to dig out my Herters and look at lot numbers. Last question: About how long ago did you purchase the ammo?

 

[DR.NUMBERS]

Thank you for the update. I'll have to dig out my Herters and look at lot numbers. Last question: About how long ago did you purchase the ammo?

Sorry I can't help you much there. I have two cases purchased myself about a year ago, one traded to me 3-4 months ago and one given to me around the same time and I'm not sure which is which Though the one I opened is A707, I'm not sure if the lot number itself can give information about manufacture date.

 

[Vermiform]

Sorry I can't help you there. I have two cases purchased myself about a year ago, one traded to me 3-4 months ago and one given to me around the same time and I'm not sure which is which

No worries. I have to check my lot numbers anyway.

 

[11Bravo]

I also had a squib with Tula about a month ago. I bought two twenty rounds boxes to try. Pulled the trigger, didn't hear anything. Dropped the mag and pulled the bolt back. Got a face full of powder and the bullet remained in the chamber. Tapped it out with a cleaning rod. The remaining thirty nine rounds fired fine, but I'll never buy it again.

 

[Neil09]

This sucks...I have 300 rounds of it at home. Shot 100 rounds of it so far with zero issues. Thanks for sharing.


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[bigoo7e]

To the OP was this the FMJ variation of the Tulammo 7.62x39? I've got damn near 2,000rds of the FMJ, HP and SP Tulammo 7.62x39 rounds. I will have to check out some of each now in my Vz.58 to make sure everything is fine with this ammo! :-(

 

[DR.NUMBERS]

To the OP was this the FMJ variation of the Tulammo 7.62x39? I've got damn near 2,000rds of the FMJ, HP and SP Tulammo 7.62x39 rounds. I will have to check out some of each now in my Vz.58 to make sure everything is fine with this ammo! :-(

Yes, this was standard fmj.