How do I open this ammo box ?

[97th Signalman]

I may order some 7.62 x 54R Bulgarian light ball ammo from AIM Surplus that comes in some sort of a soldered metal box. I know that you use one of those oversized can openers on a "spam-can" ammo container but I don't know how you get into these boxes. Who knows how to open these things?

[M1 Tanker]

Mine have a pull tab to rip it open.

[wonderwolf]

My wire tabs always seem to break off. Bust out my swiss tool and start peeling edges back. Some of those buggers are hard to get open. I feel for the guys who have machine guns and have to open hundreds of those

[rustypirate]

heck, I just broke down and used a CETME bayo to open mine.....

Works like a champ!

[Planning]

i have a vice on my work bench, i just put the tab in it and roll the can around and it opens right up. (the tabs open counter clock wise, if you try to open it clock wise it ( the tab) will snap off. ) it is sharp metal so be careful.

[tanstaafl4y]

May I suggest a cutting torch?

Before they became valuable I would open che Chicom 7.62 Steelies with a broken pull tab by breaking the seam with screwdriver and BFH followed by a pair of pliers to peel it open.

[nevada]

One shot of heavy ball should do it.

[SteelCore]

with a heavy bladed stabby knife+brute force...just punched around the edge until I could open it.

Theose Hungarian tins are thicker metal than the bulgy...for those, I grabbed the metal strip with pliers and wound it around them like a sardine tin. Then broke to solder seal after pulling back the tin sheet with pliers.

Examine your bulgy carefully, round by round. Out of 300, I found two with split cases, totally unfirable. I have some with dents, but the dents come right out when you shoot tha thang thru a mosin!

I had some bulgy cartriges that developed small splits upon firing, so I dunno if I'd shoot it in an autoloader...works great in the mosin tho.

I think my faves are the Czech heavy steelcore ball and the Hungarian light ball. Bulgy is fine tho.

[CETME .308]

I just stuck a screwdriver in the seam, and pried.

or you could try :sterb029:

[Seattlefungus]

I used vice grips. The only 3 tools any Merican needs is a a set of vice grips, a roll of duct tape and a can of Bud!!! :hubba:

[tomoshenko]

heck, I just broke down and used a CETME bayo to open mine.....

Works like a champ!
Exactly what I did!

[97th Signalman]

My wire tabs always seem to break off. Bust out my swiss tool and start peeling edges back. Some of those buggers are hard to get open. I feel for the guys who have machine guns and have to open hundreds of those

My tab also broke off. I used a Dremel cutoff wheel and pealed back the cover as I cut to that I could see that I wasn't in danger of opening any cartridges. The box appears to be made of zinc and is very soft and easy to rip open once you get it started.

Thanks to all for you advice.

By the way, the Bulgarian 7.62 x 54R Light Ball ammo looks fairly clean. However, a few cases are wrinkled and/or split at the neck so they certainly need to be inspected carefully. At the rate I am going I think that I will end up with about a 2% rejection rate for this batch due to these issues. There are also a few rounds with small dents but I think those are shootable.

[97th Signalman]

I looks like I was too optimistic in my last post. I actually weeded out 37 "bad" or potetntially bad rounds out of the case of 300. That was a 12.3 % rejection rate. I sent the following feedback to Aim Surplus via email:

Attention Customer service at Aim Surplus:

I just received one 300 round can of 7.62 x 54R Bulgarian light ball ammunition shipped on Invoice 18313. As with all surplus ammo I know that I need to inspect it carefully for my own safety. In this case I found 37 rounds out of 300 total that were in questionable condition. 26 of the 37 rounds that I weeded out had wrinkles or creases around the neck and/or shoulder that appeared to be possible risks for splitting if I were to fire them. 11 of the 37 rounds had necks that were so badly split that I was able to just pull the bullets out with my fingers.

These were obviously manufacturing defects rather than the result of deterioation from age or improper storage. I am not seeking any warranty or replacement and I understand that none is offered. I simply wanted to give you feedback as to the condition of this product.

If and when I need more of this caliber ammo I will probably select something of higher quality such as the Hungarian light ball ammo that you are also offering on you website. In retrospect, that is what I probably should have ordered on this occasion.

I have a high regard for Aim Surplus and that is why I have taken the time to give you feedback from a loyal customer.

Best regards,

Andrew C. Dalzell
Customer ID: 44023-Dalzell

I think that the Bulgarians made this stuff for some third world government that they had little regard for. They surely had no intention foisting this stuff on their own troops.

[jdlilfan]

I just bought 440 of Hungarian Yellow tip heavy ball after a friend just bought some bulgarian and had the same thing with his. Lots of them with split necks. Worth the extra few bucks to get Hungarian.

[97th Signalman]

I just bought 440 of Hungarian Yellow tip heavy ball after a friend just bought some bulgarian and had the same thing with his. Lots of them with split necks. Worth the extra few bucks to get Hungarian.

Jdilfan;
You got that right. I would have been happy spending the few extra few bucks for Hungarian but I thought it would be nice to avoid any lacquer issues by buying brass ammo. Oh well...next time. Now I have to figure out how to dispose of the bad ammo. I dumped the bullets and powder out of the rounds with the split necks but I still have to deal with the other 25 rounds.

By the way, AIM responded today and gave me a credit of $10 for my trouble. I thought that was a nice thing to do.
:thx:

[weasel_master]

The police department will dispose of ammunition if you bring it in.

[okie shooter]

To get rid of the split cases, I would pull the projectiles, take the powder out and mix it into the soil in the garden or get a steel plate and burn it in the backyard or range with plenty of open as not to set things on fire. You can always run the cases if they will fit thru a primer function machine, but if you dont have one of those(heck we dont even have one here at the ammo plant yet) you can just chamber them empty and pop them but you still have to clean the rifle if they are chrossive, as the primer is the thing causeing the problem.

[SteelCore]

No need to worry. Mosin boltguns eat all of it. I would NOT shoot it in an SVT or ROMAK III autoloader tho.

"26 of the 37 rounds that I weeded out had wrinkles or creases around the neck and/or shoulder that appeared to be possible risks for splitting if I were to fire them. 11 of the 37 rounds had necks that were so badly split that I was able to just pull the bullets out with my fingers."

I had more 'wrinkles and creases' in my 300, but they fired just fine. I had some with dents. only 2 of 300 wer cracked so the projectile came right out.

All in all, I had no split cases while shooting the stuff, but I have had a few split in the chamber aftr going bang, the Hungarian light ball (copper wahsed steel case) and the Czech heavy ball (dark steel case)...all in all, no probs with those either.

Conclusion--I like milsurp bolt guns. a bunch. especilly ones that fire cheap ammo.

[g3shooter1]

Very carefully! :p