Picking up a PSL tommorow from JGsales. Should I get some of the russian or the bulgarian ammo for it? Or both?  Or are they both the same?


Also, am I the only one who would like to see a PSL board in the AK section?

I prefer the Russian ammo, but the Bulgarian is very nice as well.  I would pick up a tin of each and see which your PSL likes best, also I think AIMSurplus still has a good deal on Czech ammo as well, might want to take a look!

Aim does have a good deal, but with shipping, it would cost about the same to pick up 2 tins of the bulgarian.

I'm going to pick up some 5.45 there as well since it's about the same cost with tax and the $10 extra as aim costs with shipping.

Best part is, I get to go shoot it the next day.

What ever you get, just make sure it is in the 150gr bullet weight range. Heavier bullets will cause the action to batter the bolt carrier against the stop and actually stretch the receiver in fairly short order. I've used the Bulgarian in mine and it's been surprisingly accurate (for standard MilSurp light ball ammo) thus far.

If this dearth of reloading supplies will ever pass, I plan on handloading some rounds for testing to see if I can tighten the groups a bit more.

I don't see a lot of ammo available that isn't 147 grain. It would be neat to try some handloads, especially in the heavier range to see what the rifle's long range accuracy potential really is.

There is some 180gr (AP) and 203gr (SP & AP) floating around, this is usually older stuff and was intended for the Mosin Nagant rifles (I got some of the 203gr SP with my MN 91/30).

From what I've been reading, the NDM-86, Tigr, & SVD rifles are also suggested to use the light ball, though I did hear of one gent handloading 180gr bullets for his SVD. I didn't get to find out what his results were.

The issue with heavy ball is that the gas system isn't tuned for the higher pressures, so it ends up beating the crap out of the receiver, potentially causing damage in the long run.  Loading heavier rounds with lighter charges may be just fine though.

Would something like an AK bolt buffer help out with that?   A good bolt buffer, not one of the cheap ones that crack like I have bought in the past.  

Also, does anyone have any photos of a damaged receiver from this or does anyone know approximately how many rounds thru the PSL it would take with heavy ball to damage?  

I am not planning on shooting heavy ball (I save that for my mosins) but would like to see these problems.

Thanks!

OK, I'll try to do a range report.


Took it out in the desert, set up some targets at approx 100 yards, ( we forgot the 100 meter length of string ) the 1st few shots where WAY off, but where grouped pretty well, after getting zeroed I really took my time and carefully shot 5 rounds at my target. (I use a paper plate with a black square I draw on it.) My friend was spotting for me, as we get up to go check my target, he says "I think you're going to be very happy."  I posted pics of the groups with a nickel for size comparison below. It could be my fault, or the gun's, not sure since I wasn't in the most comfortable shooting position, which was exacerbated by the way too short stock, which also requires a chin weld to get on the scope. Both are easily fixed problems. Once I get a rubber butt pad extension, and a cheek riser, I'll try again and see if the groups don't improve.

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/turdferguson9725/stuff/?action=view¤t=pslgroup001.jpg

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/turdferguson9725/stuff/?action=view¤t=pslgroup002.jpg

Those look good enough to put down a deer sized target w/o too much drama.  A few adjustments and some practice should shrink the group down for you in short order.

Remember that PSL's are famous for stringing shots vertically as they heat up. To find your best accuracy, you'll want to fire your test groups on a cold bore and wait a bit between sessions to allow cool down time. There isn't much mass in the barrel of a PSL, as a result, they heat up pretty quickly and will cool quicker than something with a heavier barrel (although cooling will still take a while, the 54R cartridge has considerable case capacity for powder, the muzzle blast is awesome!).

Enjoy!

I had shots stringing pretty wildly vertically too when we shot a full mag pretty quickly.

A few questions if anyone knows, how long am I supposed to wait?

Also, I lost one of the screws you losses to adjust windage, there's no way stuff can get inside the scope  through that hole is there?

Oh, and I almost forgot, the BDC and windage on the PSO scope is calibrated for 147 grain?