I just got in 2 boxes of this ammo from SGAmmo. Its supposed to be Russian 54R from the 40's, rebuilt by the Yugoslavians in 67. They replaced the primers and sealed the cases. Anybody have any info on these? They're repacked in 15 rd boxes, with the usual Yugo military info on the label. A couple that I looked at have a headstamp with what looks like 188 on one side and what looks like 45 on the opposite side, most seem unreadable. Ammo looks nice and clean, but? Anybody know if the replaced the powder while they were at it, or ?

I pulled one down, and its interesting on the inside too. Bullet weight of 147.2 gr, oddly (to me) its hollow based. Powder weighs 50.5 gr, looks good, has a clean nitro smell. Primer is sealed with the usual red sealer, mouth with some black stuff. I've never seen a hollow based Russian or Yugoslavian bullet before. Can I assume that it doesn't have a steel insert in it? If it wasn't hollow based, it'd be a flat based bullet, not boat tailed like a more modern bullet (that I also pulled down) which weighed 148.4 gr, has a steel insert.

Soviet ammo that old will be lead core with a concave base.

New primers, new powder, original cases and projectiles. The projectiles are standard Russian m1908 or type L lead core ball with concave, conical base. Very typical of the era for these cartridges...

1DD

Very good. That answers some of my questions. I knew the primers were new, and suspected that the powder was too.

I bought several cases of the stuff around 2002(?) For $89 a case. It was not very accurate but went bang every time, I think I still have one of the empty wooden crates laying around in my barn.