IIRC, ages ago Monarch 7.62x39 sold at Academy was rebranded Barnaul ammo.  Is this still the case?   It looks like Barnaul because they are one of the few that offers lacquered cases these days and are 123gr.  Ordered a spam can of it, but thought it odd because the normal Barnaul can is 700 rounds and the Monarch at Academy is only 520.

I bought 200 rds two weeks ago at Academy ( wanted to use gift cards from Christmas) and it was still Barnaul.

It's odd the number in the can as I also have older cans of Russian 7.62 that is 700 rds. Also strange is that their 223 cans are 520 rds also, waste of space as they could get much more in the can if packed different.

Yes here recently it still is


The brass monarch (for the .223 anyway)was PPU last time I bought some .223 from academy.

You can check for the barnaul logo on the package when it comes in.  No matter what brand its sold under, they seem to always have their logo on the carton and the individual boxes.

Google images show the cardboard outer packaging for these new 520 rd. spam cans are marked as being made by Barnaul.

Marketing strategy? Same size can with fewer rounds for the same price? Makes you feel like you are getting what you used to, like with cereal and cans of soup...

Smaller can?

Maybe they are using a larger or different shaped 20 rd. box and can only fit 520 rds.? Edited to add: Per Academy's website, the Monarch they are advertising is in flat 20 rd. boxes instead of the traditional cube shaped ones. This would explain why they can only fit 520 in the can.

Please post what you receive and what the can looks like inside.

Not opening the can because I bought for long term storage, but compared to other 700 round Barnaul cans it has the same dimensions (I didn't measure, but they look the same and stack) and paint.  It obviously weighs less and has marking of M293 over a 3 vs M175 over an 8 on my 700 round cans.  Guessing those are product codes and not batch/date stamps.  Never bought Barnaul ammo by the spam can until recently so not sure what literature indicating date/batch/QC is inside the can itself if any.  Will take me a long time to shoot through my decades of ammo forting AK and SKS food.

Have a bunch of ~20 year old Barnaul packaged in the boxes with the hunter dude on them and it still goes bang so hopefully more recent Barnaul does the same.  My old Wolf works too, but is a bit more spotty with accuracy.  M67 (glad it's showing up again and now apparently comes in non-corrosive flavoring) is probably my favorite ammo, but sometimes I don't feel like doing the corrosively primed ammo cleaning ritual.

I just left the local academy.  They were stocking brand new spam cans of 223 and 7.62x39.  They all say barnaul on the outside.