TargetTalk

What was so great about Olymp ammo that Eley/RWS and alike cant replicate it? Or perhaps they do?
Id be interested in thoughts.Obviously it is[or was pretty special] for Sergei to have kept it to use in very special competitions

I'll go out on a limb and speculate:

(a) It was/is particularly good lots from whatever production line it came from.

(b) If were really good, winners would be using it.

(c) Eley has a Customer Range for batch-testing to match lots of TENEX to barrels. I've been told that ~30% of all TENEX is sold through the Customer Range. It's likely Sergei had ammunition from a particularly good shooting batch set aside.

OTOH, I may be full of hot air:-)

Might it be the fact that mercury-based priming is no longer used? I seem to remember a thread somewhere on TT that discussed the loss of consistency with the change in primer compound but I can't find it.

I don't think Olymp is mercury primed. Besides this wouldn't be the answer. Mercury priming went out in the 1950s along with mixed black and nitro powder loads. Eley did change their priming composition back in the late 1970s, after a serious acdident on the shotgun cartridge assembly line, but both old and new compounds were non-corrosive/mercuric.

I believe Olymp's secret was that it was made in small quantities to very tight tolerances. The case head was dimpled, like the Federal Ultra Match, to ensure better distribution of the primer.

In Sergei's case, I don't think there is a secret. He has a very good barrel, and very good ammunition. This season he shot the finals at Milan and Munich with Tenex. But clearly he has more confidence in the Olymp.

Tim - you're quite right. I misremembered.

I Googled Olymp ammo and could find very little; indeed nothing of interest except this note on Igor's blog spot for Aug. 10:

http://toz35.blogspot.com/

There is a link to some photos of Sergei Martynov and his "museum piece" (sic) rifle here:

http://www.gettyimages.at/detail/nachri ... /149755880

There is also a link to an interview in Russian. In the Blogspot, Sergei notes that he has a small stash of Soviet era Olymp that he breaks out for major competitions. Maybe it's not that Olymp is "special", but that Sergei is just the kind of person who sticks with what works.

Roger

Lead styphnate was the priming compound that was dropped not Mercury Fulminate (very old).
The current compound I believe to be a eco-friendly lead free mix.
It was also the insertion method change from wet priming to dry sintered.
Some loss of accuracy (hard to prove as the old ammo is no longer available) but also a increase in barrel wear and errosion.

I'd like to know more about this Lead Free Priming. Is it only Eley? Are more manufacturers going to it? Is it truely Lead Free? I'm doing some research on possible Lead Contamination at the Firing line and out to about 20'. Lead Free Priming could eliminate Lead Contamination in that area.

Who's willing to share?

Thanks,

Roy

We have had fans installed in our 25m indoor range at the target end.Not sure how this helps with lead contamination from where the trigger is pulled?
At the end of the day I guess if it was just any old shooter there wouldnt be the interest in the ammo.Sergei is the greatest prone shooter to walk the earth[M Emmons quoted]He is the consumate champion.A true master in the art of prone shooting.No new rifle,no new ammo etc etc.I have been told he has a new Mouche coat tho.I was also told he puts ammo in different boxes to confuse people.

"Concerned by the inevitability of explosive accidents no matter the precautions taken, Eley in 1975 embarked on a project to find a new priming process. In 1979 chemists working on a dry powder mixture for filling .22 cases discovered that it was non-explosive until exposed to water, whereupon a chemical reaction converted it to conventional lead styphnate (primer compound)."

Read more: http://www.shootingtimes.com/2011/01/04 ... z25M8uV9f4


Sellier/Bellot has a non-toxic primer for center fire pistols only.

Hi guys.Ok Im getting confused here[not that hard I agree]but how does the primer improve the accuracy of the projectile?

dontshootcritters wrote:Hi guys.Ok Im getting confused here[not that hard I agree]but how does the primer improve the accuracy of the projectile?

this aspect could get interesting...
...but I doubt that any manufacturers of high-end ammunition are likely to chime in, let alone reveal any secrets

dontshootcritters wrote:Hi guys.Ok Im getting confused here[not that hard I agree]but how does the primer improve the accuracy of the projectile?

Because the more consistant the ingition of primer and powder the more consistant the velocity and therefore greater accuray potential

Pat McCoy wrote:Read more: http://www.shootingtimes.com/2011/01/04 ... z25M8uV9f4

Pat posted this link to a great article. In it Eley states that a significant amout of the propelling charge is the primer for 22 rimfire. So if you have variations in the primer compound, you'll have variations in the velocity.

Also very interesting on their comments on the tip/base of the bullets. I've known (and tried) the mashing the tip with pliers and can confirm at least that part ... very little difference