Just wondering because--at the last gun show I went to--I picked up a box--the only one thay had) of it in .45. Whats your experiances with it and opinions? if any?

Even if it turns out to be lousy ammo? the box art is kuhl..............

Shoots fine in my guns. If you care about supper accuracy or extreme cleanliness it's not for you. If you want to shoot, it's fine

I have used all the different color "Bear" ammo but only in 7.62X39mm. They make Brown Bear, Silver Bear and Gold Bear ammo. They all shot fine for me and I would guess the handgun ammo is similar. IMO it's better than Tula ammo and maybe even better than Wolf ammo. (maybe not the Brown Bear)
DKG Trading

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SWCA #3437

Silver Bear 9mm 115FMJ worked just fine in my Glock, but the 145JHP's wide HP and rough jacket at the meplat would hang up on the feedramp.

.45 FMJ should work just fine, but YMMV in your particular pistol.

I have used Brown Bear and Sliver Bear in 9x18 and 9mm Luger for years and have no complaints with it. Even the hollowpoints expand just fine in water filled milk jugs.

I had some 9mm 115 gr HP that seemed to work well in my Glock. I then tried it in my P229 with a Barsto 9mm barrel and had some problems. The first magazine shot okay but the first round in the second mag stopped about 1/4" from seating fully. Got it out and checked the barrel - it was really dirty from just the one mag. And that was enough to keep the rest from chambering.

My verdict is okay plinking ammo but not in barrels with tight chambers.

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Frosty
S&WCA # 2816

The "Bear" ammo is made by Bernaul. I use the 7.62 X 39 in my Mini-Thirty. It shoots better than most of the other com bloc ammo I've put through it. I haven't tried any of their handgun caliber ammo. Most of it uses berdan primers and they can be a little harder to set off than typical boxer-primed ammo. The "silver" in the Silver Bear means it uses a nickel plated steel case, but they usually feed better than coated steel. It is my "go to" plinking ammo for the Mini, but I use brass boxer-primed ammo when it matters.

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M&PC FS BG Shield+ 642 686+

I have shot Bear ammo from time to time - .223 cal. It shoots fine -no problem however, it leaves the chamber and barrel a little dirty. I'm not a clean freak but I would leave some extra time to clean it up.

I bought a couple boxes of their 9mm 145gr JHP. This ammo was accurate from the guns I shot it out of but would seize up in the chamber some times and fail to extract so I didn't buy any more of it in that bullet weight which was a shame. I have used their 9x18 Makarov ammo and its shot without any problems from the Makarov.

I did chrono that load and it averaged 1,054 fps from my Glock 19 so for a 145 gr bullet from a 9mm it was pretty hot which could have explained the case seizing in the chamber.

Despite it being a JHP the 145gr 9mm wasn't a defense load one would want to use. Here's a Youtube video test where the guys shot it into a barrel of water and it punched through the bottom of the 55gal steel drum full of water. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEcsdZBIXN4

It does goes bang. It's ok for plinking I would not use anything other then brass cased ammo for SD. Like others stated it can be dirty like other import ammo.

Zinc plated steel case, on the cartridge case gives a edge over lacquered steel case construction. All the bear ammo is steel cased.

Here's their web site.

DKG Trading

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Thanks gents and I greatly appreciate this.Also, ill be passing it along to the guy who sold it since he had never heard of them before.

I can't say about rifle ammo, but I do have samples of both Brown and Silver Bear 9mm that's stamped LVE (Novobirsk Low Voltage Equip company).

Do you really think the Russian factory who is using steel cases is going to use expensive Nickel to plate their cases? It is not Nickel, it is polished zinc plating.

The Gold Bear being the most expensive uses brass in the plating and the Brown Bear being the least expensive is only lacquer coated steel cases.

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SWCA #3437

I'm sure you're right... it's zinc - not nickle, but I prefer the plated ammo to the lacquer or polymer coated ammo. I've read, but not experienced where the coatings can stick in the chamber when the gun gets hot causing feeding problems. I imagine it would take a lot of rounds without cleaning for that to happen though, and it shouldn't be an issue with the plated ammo.

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M&PC FS BG Shield+ 642 686+

Right! Despite it being a HP it's only good for range ammo