Thus far, I have not had the opportunity to test any brass-cased ammunition. I used to reload 7.62x39, but I ended up selling my stuff to armoredman. (Long story...)
Steel-cased accuracy has been roughly as follows:
1. Barnaul 123 gr FMJ (Old and new packaging)
2. Barnaul 123 gr HP (Old and new packaging)
3. Sellier & Bellot 123 gr FMJ (Green packaging, circa 2000)
4. Golden Tiger 123 gr FMJ
5. Barnaul 123 gr SP (New packaging only)
6. Wolf 154 gr SP (Tula production, black label, circa 2003)
7. Wolf 123 gr FMJ (Tula production, black label, circa 2003)
8. Brown Bear 123 gr FMJ (Novosibirsk production, circa 2004)
9. Silver Bear 123 gr HP (Ulyanovsk production, circa 2003)
10. Wolf Military Classic 123 gr FMJ (Ulyanovsk production)
You have to realize that in some cases, I only have only tested five boxes (100 cartridges), as it was all I had. In general, the brands that tended to be the most accurate in my SKSs and AKs have been the most accurate in the vz-58. There is one exception: usually S&B does the very best, and I was surprised that the Czech ammuniton didn't come in first with a Czech rifle.
The following is from an old post of mine on Russian 7.62x39. Unfortunately, it does not cover S&B, Romanian, or Balkan loadings, but I thought it would bear repeating...
I have learned the hard way that you can't go by "brand" name on the Russian ammunition; you have to go by the "real" manufacturer. A lot of Russian ammunition is actually subcontracted by some of the lesser known arsenals.
Manufacturer Information =
http://www.ak-47.us/AK47_Factories.php#yuThe best of the Russian is JSC Barnaul. This is marketed as Barnaul (!), Brown Bear, and Silver Bear. Not all Brown Bear and Silver Bear is made by Barnaul, however. The "Bears" were a consortium to streamline importation and marketing of several different arsenals. On the bright side, all ammunition branded as Barnaul seems to be made by JSC Barnaul. You can tell by the "JSC" headstamp. Barnaul is in Eastern Siberia. Personally, I try to stick to Barnaul and Sellier & Bellot.
The next best manufacturer is probably Novosibirsk/LVE. You used to be able to buy true mil surp marked "LVE" on the brown paper wrapper ("low voltage electrical" manufacturer). Novosibirsk makes the majority (but not all) Brown Bear. Some Brown Bear is also manufactured by Klimovsk, Ulyanovsk, and JSC Barnaul. Novosibirsk/LVE also makes some Silver Bear. In past years, Novosibirsk did import some ammuniton in a very basic commercial packaging, usually marked conspicuously with "LVE." Novosibirsk is in SW Siberia.
Vympel makes all Golden Tiger, and all Vympel is GT to my knowledge. This was a new facility (1976) set up to make 5.45x39 and other industrial and chemical products. This is really good mil spec ammunition. I would rank it higher, but it hasn't been around the U.S. that long. Vympel is the only major arsenal in the former Soviet Far East.
Tula Cartridge Works makes the majority of the Wolf branded ammuniton. At one time, TCW made all of it. The best Tula is just as good as, perhaps even better than, Novosibirsk. Unfortunately, there has been a lot more TCW ammunition imported than anything else, so the quality has varied over time. Tula is in European Russia.
Ulyanovsk is the absolute bottom of the barrel. The original Ulyanovsk loads to be imported came in blue and white packaging. I suspect this was old mil surp ammo repackaged as commercial, because it really, really sucked. These loads were horribly inconsistent, and I suspect some of the ammo had been stored for a lonnnnggggg time. Ulyanovsk is also a subcontractor for the Brown Bear line and the Wolf Military Classic line. Ulyanovsk is also in European Russia.
There are some other minor players like Klimovsk, but I can't pretend to have shot enough of their ammunition to have a legitimate basis for an opinion.
