Does anyone have an original box photo for the Russian 5.45x18 pistol cartridges? I was looking for the original military type box (if it has any marking at all?), and not the later commercial style box from Tula like this one:

DK - I have many 5.45 x 18 boxes. The true military boxes are found in natural "cardboard" color, sort of gray in color, and in white. They have NO markings. I have both and can photograph them for you. I think, though, in my files, I have a picture of all my boxes in that caliber. I can't (don't know how) to either isolate one box from a group in a picture, or to make one picture out of two (that is, consolidate two pictures into one). So, tell me what you want and I will do my best to take pictures of them as you want them.

Thanks John, I actually just found this photo also:

which matches what you describe. I just wasn't sure if there was any other type of box with markings, but it sounds like there is not as far as the original military load.

Matt - that is a picture I can't match. I have had several full boxes of the "white box" go through my hands, and was offered one as a gift, but I don't care for full boxes, so I passed - I kept one box with one round in it, all that is needed for a collection to tell the story. Anything else is just superfluous "stuff." Most of my boxes have just one item in it, although a couple are empty, mailed to me from Europe.

I think that picture would be interesting to see...

I sent the picture direct to DK. Perhaps he can post it here for you. I have never mastered posting pictures here, and send them on to my friend and Forum partner Joe, but perhaps DK can save Joe and I the duplicated work, since he is good at posting pictures. If not, I will send it to Joe, but he is not always home, and it could be as much as four or five days before it is posted.

Here it is, and thanks for sending that pic over John:



And just to round out this bunch of box images, here is a pic of the Wolf brand commercial box for this caliber:

1 more...

The Russian commercial labels are funny. When they first started selling commercial ammunition in the
West, all of the boxes were absolutely minimal in any printing. Some were plain, and others had only the caliber.
As the went along, they kept adding information of them. Note the addition of "Sporting Ammunition" to
the box label in the picture from EOD. My picture shows the same box without the marking. There are lots of cases like this in 9 mm Para boxes and a few in 9 x 18 mm Makarov boxes.

Don't know why I was never able to get a Wolf box in this caliber. The little plastic boxes I have all came
from Wolf. They didn't import much 5.45 x 18 mm before they found out there wasn't a legal PSM pistol in
private hands in America. Still, there are quite a number of variations in this caliber beyond just the one-dot
and two-dot military headstamps, which were also in the first commercial offierings. The two-dot headstamp
is still the most commonly encountered, I think.

John, there are also cartridges without hs.

hello
on the picture of the box with the wolf ,i can read "copper case"
the case of these round is copper washed ?

Good point! I would like to see one.

EOD - I have seen a case with a single dot that was so weak that it at first did not appear to have
a headstamp, but have not seen the one that really has no headstamp. Of course, there are also
Tula Headstamps and even Wolf headstamp, as I recall. I would like to find an unheadstamped one if
ball round.

Regarding the words "copper case" I am sure they refer to a brass case, and the wrong English word
used. This is one of the few calibers that the Russians seemed to have made only with a brass case.