Silver Bear - Hollow Point - 94 Grain 9mm Makarov Ammo - 50 Rounds

Russian, and later Soviet, doctrine was to have a common bore diameter for all its service firearms. From 1891 that was 7.62mm and was used for rifle, pistol, revolver and submachineguns. The goal was manufacturing simplicity, and it worked pretty well. In 1946 they decided to move to a 9mm, but wanted to maintain the simplicity. The .380 ACP (9mmx17mm) was available and proven reliable in simply designed direct blowback firearms, but the Russians wanted something with a bit more oomph. A full sized 9mm Luger (9mmx19) was too much for the simple blowback guns they wanted to produce and export, so they developed the 9mm Makarov: 9x18. Silver Bear’s 94 grain jacketed hollow point bullet has a muzzle velocity of 1000 feet per second with 209 foot pounds of energy. This is a quality, personal defense round.

Silver Bear is another product from the Russian arsenal in Barnaul. Originally founded near St. Petersburg in the 1800’s the factory was moved first during the Russian Civil War then again to its current location during World War II. Silver Bear cases have a zinc coating to protect against corrosion and help cycling actions. Those cases are still Berdan primed and not reloadable but offer their value up front in dependable functioning and a decent price.