[edmoore95]

I recently got a load of French 7.5 ammo for my MAS 36 and MAS 49/56. The French Army ammo shoots well but the ammo in the Arabic/Syrian/Algerian? labeled boxes are all duds. I have tried to shoot about 20 from several different boxes and no good. Is most Arabic/Syrian/Algerian ammo junk?

Thanks!

Ed

 

[Paddyofurniture]

I have never had any luck with Arabic/Syrian/Algerian ammo.

 

[edmoore95]

Here is a picture off the stuff....oh well.

 

[1886lebel]

It is Syrian, not Algerian. Most of the primers on this stuff has gone bad but depends on storage conditions it was stored when it was brought in the US, my stash is still good, but I stored it in a cool, dry closet.

Patrick

 

[ukrifleman]

I bought about 700 rounds of Syrian 7.5x54 ammo and after about 50 rounds trying to get one to go bang, I gave up.

I pulled the bullets and re-cycled them, dumped the powder and got scrap value for the brass, much less hassle.

ukrifleman.

 

[Mike Rockhill]

Ive had similar luck, but all the sellers insist its good stuff. If its cheap enough I buy it and use the powder and bullet in my prvi cases. I dont have written notes but I recall getting groups slightly larger than the french surplus.

* I never assume the powder is good and wouldnt use any that was clumpy or crumbly but ive not run into that. Some of it is ball powder and some stick. The boxes loaded with ball powder have the letters "B.P." in the arabic script on the one side

 

[samnev2]

It is Syrian, not Algerian. Most of the primers on this stuff has gone bad but depends on storage conditions it was stored when it was brought in the US, my stash is still good, but I stored it in a cool, dry closet.

Patrick

Same here, my Syrian 7.5 was bought in the 80's from Century and is still good to go. Like Patrick ii always stored it in a cool dry place.

 

[milprileb]

Same here, my Syrian 7.5 was bought in the 80's and is still good. Like Patrick ii always stored it in a cool dry place.

Problem is you and Patrick got lucky, and most of us got stuff stored improperly or made badly. The overwhelming evidence is this ammo is at best "problematic" and at least high risk of failing.

If this were a court of law : How Does Milprileb Plead ? I would reply: "Guilty Your Honor, I bought the ammo having been forewarned its got Click NO Bang track record but ... I ignored
the warnings".

Got stung and its my own fault. Press on with your own decision cycle and good luck in the minefield.

 

[Vic]

Just shot a 49/56 this weekend. About 2-3" groups. French 1954 ammo- all duds. Syrian ammo all fired with no issues and accuracy was good. I've shot hundreds of rounds of this stuff with very few dudes. I bought mine in the 80s as well from century.

 

[milprileb]

Vic: you must be living right !! Go get a Lotto Ticket !

 

[oneshooter]

I just bought 2 boxes of the stuff. Oh well, guess I just pull the trigger and hope for the best.

Oneshooter

 

[samnev2]

Same here, my Syrian 7.5 was bought in the 80's and is still good. Like Patrick ii always stored it in a cool dry place.

Mine Syrian 7.5 was purchased from Century as well.

 

[mikesm44]

An interesting thread. There is a local guy selling some for $7 for 15 rounds. I wonder what that means.

 

[DocAV]

I have over 15,000 rounds of the stuff...(10 crates plus); it is all "Click some bang, Click no-#$%^&-Bang.

I pull it a bit at a time, replace the Berdan primers, with New Vihthavuori .217 Berdan, reload ( easy, the charge is 3 grams exactly) and fire with good results. Otherwise, "If I am Feeling Lucky" I leave it out in the hot sun, then use it for "Hold-over" practice...( the "Hang fire")...good rifle shooting discipline.

Brass is reasonable ( reloads well) Powder is A-OK, Bullets fly straight...only the Primers seem to be "built-in obsolescence" just like French primers...and in fact, early Syrian Production (1950s) Used French-made Primers)

Doc AV

 

[famas44]

I have probably 800-900 rounds from Syria. I don't reload... It's waiting until I do reload, because this ammunition does the following: normal bang, click...1...2...boom, or my favorite, click and silence... that silence can be awfully loud sometimes... I will just break the ammo down for components when I have the equipment and space.

 

[diss0lutus]

Someone gave me 9 rounds of this ammo, I was amazed when I loaded up 5 and they all fired without a hitch. That was a year ago, no telling how the other 4 will do.

 

[famas44]

Well, make sure you conserve those four rounds.

 

[famas44]

Here is a picture off the stuff....oh well. View attachment 784010

Did your ammo come on clips?

 

[Virdea]

There was a guy out of California who reloaded thousands of Syrian rounds and sold them as new reloads. It was nice ammo - I still have some. He ended up making a mistake and blowing up part of a neighborhood when his powder stores caught, but until then his reloads were really well done and inexpensive, plus he did a lot of interesting loads. I wish he was still in business.