Range Report 2-21-16 Monarch ammo .308 and 9mm

[Lowdown3]

So after figuring out last weekend that it was MONARCH 9mm sold at Academy sports that was the culprit (see last Range Report thread) I decided to make sure the other "Monarch" ammo was good to go.

My M1A has been a finicky beast from the very beginning. I actually sent it back to Springfield not long after I first purchased it because it would not shot surplus ammo and would sometimes triple fire on "soft" primers used in commercial ammo- principally match grade Federal. I received it back with a note that Springfield had replaced the barrel. It still would not shoot that same surplus ammo afterwards but the triple fires on match grade are very rare now. Needless to say I don't trust it enough for daily carry. It's my last remaining semi auto 308 however, having went through FN's and an HK91 all that proved to be less than reliable enough for regular use.

So I had to assume that this Monarch 308 would be totally FUBAR in the M1A given it's tendency towards only nicer ammo. I was however pleasantly surprised to not have a single issue in about 300 rounds. What's nice is that I don't have to dig through LTS to root out a bunch of 308 that isn't reliable :) I cleaned out two stores of this ammo when it was on sale at $7.99 per box around the holidays, most of it going into LTS.



Now keep in mind 300 rounds isn't much of a test- at least in my book- so be sure to test any Monarch 308 with YOUR rifle.


The Monarch 9mm.....

Is still totally FUBAR.



Rooting through the pistol range bag, I noticed about another dozen mags that seemed to have green cased ammo in there. So needing to make sure I got rid of all of this crapola, I shot these mags up. Sure enough a similar ratio of dud rounds was found as there was last weekend.

I'll definitely be avoiding any MONARCH 9MM as it's totally FUBAR. Once again however, all of these rounds fired again on the 2nd time through.

I know preppers are always looking for cheap crap and trying to pinch every penny till Lincoln coughs, but the MONARCH 9MM is not a place you want to pinch pennies- avoid at all costs.

[protus]

The monarch +39 was ok....just ok. No failures (ak after all ). But it was extremley dirty and smokey. Even dirtier than russian (insert color and animal here) brands. Accuracy was ok. But again still sub par to imports. Its paper punching ammo only.

[Lowdown3]

Is the Monarch x39 in light BLUE boxes? I think I've run into that a time or two.

Only x39 I've ever seen give any problems was some really cheap crap back in the early 90's that have squiggly line writing on the box- think "dirka dirka" writing. A close friend's Polytech blew up from that- bolt carrier spitting back in his face and broken shell in chamber. Actually cracked his trunion. Don't know for sure but it wouldn't surprise me if this was some boobytrapped ammo one army left for another army. That stuff happens. I've never seen more of that ammo thank God and he pitched the remaining that he had.

[protus]

Blue and white. Writing was blue iirc .mostly shot through it as paper killing. Just dirty as get out. After 300+- rounds boltface /chamber looked like your 26 before that class up in albamastan.

[Rmplstlskn]

My M1A has been a finicky beast from the very beginning.... It's my last remaining semi auto 308 however, having went through FN's and an HK91 all that proved to be less than reliable enough for regular use.

You know there are some AMAZING AR-10-style .308 BLACK RIFLES now days.... Tackdriving, reliable beasts... Just say'in... :rolleyes:

I know preppers are always looking for cheap crap and trying to pinch every penny till Lincoln coughs

I am the opposite... I prefer to spend the $$$ on the best I can buy and the best quality.... Probably why my bank account is always low. LOL! I don't even buy Wolf/Tula anymore, unless for my '74... IMI and other top-shelf ammo only now days. Life is too short for cheap crap... My stuff may need to be passed on to the next generation via son-in-law one day.

Rmpl

[Lowdown3]

Only time I've seen an AR10 in action it was at a class I was teaching up north- it performed no better than any of the ARs there- by the end of Day 1 of the Rifle part it was jamming. 10 out of about 13 AR platforms went completely teats up during that week. The "Carbon 15" was the worst- it didn't make it through noon the first day.

2nd year/trip up there, the whole group had Arsenal AKs LOL. We got a lot more training accomplished when I wasn't clearing jams for new'ish shooters.

[Rmplstlskn]

OK, you force me to pull my TRUMP card... LOL! (My hand would play well if you weren't in the sweltering south....)

https://youtu.be/CVe7d7xJdAo

[protus]

OK, you force me to pull my TRUMP card... LOL! (My hand would play well if you weren't in the sweltering south....)

https://youtu.be/CVe7d7xJdAo

So.
Junk build rifle...with junk.plastic cool daddy parts...
With him admitting he sprayed extra water into the piston ports off camera ..along with what it shown we he drops the safety lever and sprays more into the trigger/bolt/springs..
Vs
Lets just spray some on the outsides of the others....

No bias there at all.....

[Hawkeye]

For the record, knowing Tim on a personal level, he is an AK junky and far prefers them for personal over AR's. He didn't do anything off camera in that video. You can see him spray the water into the gas ports, etc.. He dropped the safety lever and sprayed water in there because it is an open area... he sprayed water into each guns open area's. Some just have more open area's than others... :D

[Lowdown3]

Is this crap worth 16 minutes of my time or no? I really can't maintain attention on these youtube blah blah blah gear videos.....

Does the customized AK freeze up in cold water, is that the jist of it? A MAGPUL accessory goes to crap, is that it? Well hell no major announcement there, I've had US Palm parts go to crap.

Wonder how they ever function in flipping SIBERIA then? Someone surmise it for me and I'll freeze one more solid than Han Solo in carbonite next time we get a hard freeze.

[Rmplstlskn]

To each their own... I posted it to be a humorous devils advocate... I personally like the torture test videos. I thought the mud and sand ones interesting. More educational than watching Fox News and the Trump-a-thon...

Not intended to get ones dander up...

Rmpl

[Lowdown3]

Not at all, if someone posts at what time frame the AK "test" starts, I'll try to watch it, but 15 minutes of new shiny guns and hearing about them on and on = SnoreFest4000

I'm guessing the customized, almost no longer truly an AK variant "froze" up when frozen?

[Lowdown3]

Blah blah, don't give a crap about your watch...

[Lowdown3]

Takeaways- blah blah blah watch, love this gun, blah blah blah

Magpul stock = bull@hit add on. No surprise there. The AK mags they make aren't overly impressive either. I don't own a single one of them, but people I know that shoot probably 1/10th of what I do yearly say their magpul AK mags are going teats up quickly.

Just like a die hard AR guy wouldn't trust an AR made in Russia, most of us die hard AK guys trust hardly any US made accessories or mags. US Palm 30 round mags being the notable exception in magazines.

Resolution- an AK is a frickin AK, you WILL have a problem with it if you try to modify it to try to be an AR. I can't tell you how many little BS accessories including little latches that you push forward from the trigger area to trip the mag release, BS bolt hold open devices, etc. I've seen fail.

It's not a damn AR, don't try to run it like one. It's an AK and it's manual of arms is similar to many other systems including the M1A.

You don't "mortar" an AK if the gas tube is locked up. What happened that was such a "big deal" was what any AK operator that tests his crap via firing a lot of corrosive ammo and only cleaning it on Easter and Christmas will figure out- the corrosive ammo over time will cause the bolt carrier to stick in the gas tube. You don't slam the damn stock on the ground like some gorilla trying desperately to do a "Type 27 Malfunction" drill on an AR.

The easiest remedy is the one that scares people- that's put the stock on the ground with the barrel facing up but AWAY from your body and kick the charging handle down. Or for the faint of heart, pull the magazine (which always doubles as a hammer) and smack the charging handle with the back of the magazine. If you have a tree or piece of hard cover, including your enemy's head handy, you can slam the charging handle into that also to free it up. Much as if you would rack your slide on your pistol on your belt, the holster, the back of your shoe, etc. if necessary (one handed or one hand out of the fight, rolling on the ground, etc.)

The charging handle is a HOOK after all, keep that in mind for CQB work :)

Closest thing I've ever experienced to his "test" was a buddy almost drowning with me swimming across a creek about 25 years ago now. The bottom was full of stock, brush, etc. He thought he was on the other side and stopped swimming, and promptly sank like a rock. I was ahead of him, turned back and when I got to him, he clung to me like a buoy. We both sank (his story later was I "kicked" him, LOL. Nothing like a good friend to throw you in front of the damn Bus!!!). I remember looking up and it looked like motor oil mixed with sweet tea. I got to the surface and made it to the shore. He came up and got to my hand and I pulled him over. He was all of about 95 lbs. to begin with and it was February in S. GA and about 40 degrees outside so he was already almost hypothermic. He was freaking out and said "I lost my rifle!"

His brother was there and dove for that damn thing about a dozen times after I tethered his belt with some 550 cord (we didn't need two drownings in one day, I would have had to carry them both!!). Finally he came up with it and it was quite the memorable event. It was choke full of swamp crap. We hiked around another hour or so in the cold then did some shooting- no problems with the rifle.

If I operated in the tundra, I probably would have frozen one by now. Now I have a new project for next winter. No way in hell I can duplicate 10 degrees here, but it freezes pretty regularly here. I'd gladly give it a try on multiple rifles.

FWIW, a Vltor stock combo with a magpul triangular M4 style stock (about $300. total) I had on a Polytech snapped off in my hand running underarm assault point shooting type position one time as I threw the gun up. I was done with non AK factory stocks after that. "Oh that's the best option, it's so great. blah blah blah." Don't believe the hype. Most of that kind of crap is written by guys that think "shooting a lot" equals a case a year. Some of these failures your not going to see for thousands of rounds.

[Lowdown3]

BTW, shooting this weekend a friend brought some MONARCH 9mm that was brass cased or at least brass colored. It was a small quantity (about 100 rounds) but I did not witness any failures with it.

So evidently the BRASS CASED or BRASS COLORED Monarch 9mm is o.k. but the GREEN COLORED CASE MONARCH 9mm is definitely POS.