Switch from non-reloadable to reloadable calibers?

I'm wondering if it's worth it to switch to more commonly reloadable calibers? Most of the ammunition I own is steel cased and I'm thinking it may be wise to trade down. As time progresses will most of the surplus stuff dry up? Most of the stuff I get is Wolf\Bear and if that stops coming in I am royally screwed.

All calibers (centerfire) are reloadable. Finding components would be the issue, brass is pretty easy to find for just about anything but wildcats.

If you are shooting steel cased Wolf/Bear then chances are you already have one of the more commonly reloadable calibers. There is a lot of brass out there for .223, .308, 9mm, .45 that is not steel.

You can technically reload steel cased ammo and we have-- just not as a rule. Make sure the cases are clean and sized back right (sort of hard with steel), but my dad and his guys reloaded a few hundred steel cased (mainly Wolf Classic) 7.62X39-- I have shot probably 100 or so with zero issues--

They only reload them once and then scrap them---but you can reload steel in a pinch (or Federal emergency)...


Just an FYI--

I try to get all brass though when I can-- brass 7.62 is too high and Winchester tends to have soft primers--

Unfortunately I don't shoot any of the calibers you just listed. Most of my stuff is com-bloc surplus.

Unfortunately I don't shoot any of the calibers you just listed. Most of my stuff is com-bloc surplus.
Then yes it might be wise to move to a more commonly reloaded caliber

Unfortunately I don't shoot any of the calibers you just listed. Most of my stuff is com-bloc surplus.

How about telling us which cartridges you shoot?

There is reloadable brass available for virtually all combloc cartridges, and reloading dies, too -- albeit more expensive than more common rounds like the .30-06.

I shoot:

7.62x39
30-06
7.62x54
.30 Carbine
.22
.38 special
9mm Mak

I'm considering trading in the 9x18 stuff for 9x19 (Glock fever just hit) then the only surplus ammo left would be to feed my Saiga and the Mosins.

Dies and components for all those calibers are readily available, I load for 3 of them myself. Dont know what your difficulty is.

Those can all be reloaded.

7.62x39 brass is available but not like the other calibers you listed. The 30 carbine brass can be found too and is also not as common to run across. 7.62x54 brass is scarce most of the time, but is available. 30-06 comes up frequently for sale and 38spl is very easy to get. If you store your ammo properly it will last until you need it, weather it is next year or next decade. Buy whatever you can that is brass cased and shoot it for the brass to load, but keep the steel for hard/bad times. That's what I would do.

I got out of the 5.45x39 chambering in part because that was the one chambering in the stable for which I cannot find reloading dies or supplies.

Try getting S&B ammo,it's reloadable brass.

9X18 Mak can be found with brass cases-S&B makes an excellent brass-cased FMJ round in that caliber, and I'm told S&B brass is good quality.

tju1973,
What primers did you use for the wolf 7.62 x 39? How did you deprime?

"...you can reload steel in a pinch..." In a pinch but not regularly. Steel cases are hard on dies, are not elastic like brass and are usually, but not always, berdan primed. They work harden faster too.
All the ammo you shoot except for the .22's can be had with brass cases. Most surplus ammo isn't accurate enough to bother with anyway. It's not made for good accuracy.

7.62x54 brass is scarce most of the time, but is available.
Not worth it. The currently available surplus ammo is cheaper than reloading. Prices would have to rise to $240-$260 per thousand to make that worth reloading. When 440 round battle packs can be had for $90, its not worth it.



9X18 Mak
Can be cut down from 9x19 cases. mark your brass so you'll know what has been transformed!

7.62x39 brass is available but not like the other calibers you listed.

Sure, there isn't as much available. I bought 500 cases for .15 each off the THR boards just about 3 months ago. It's out there, but you have to search for it and jump on it. Like the 7.62x54 ammo, it wasn't cost effective to reload until ammo prices went above about $220 per thousand.

I guess I should relax and not freak out. Ammuntion isn't going to vanish overnight. I should enjoy what I have. What I have should last me for years since there is hardly anywhere to go shoot up here in Alexandria :fire:

Not worth it. The currently available surplus ammo is cheaper than reloading. Prices would have to rise to $240-$260 per thousand to make that worth reloading. When 440 round battle packs can be had for $90, its not worth it.
The problem, as many milsurp owners have found, is that surplus supplies eventurally dry up -- but you still have the rifle.

So I would keep my eyes open for reloadable brass and get a set of dies just in anticipation.

Of course another reason to reload is that you can produce more accurate ammo, better hunting ammo and so on, than you can find on the surplus market.

I don't own a caliber that I can't reload, and I own all that the OP mentioned except the Makarov and the .30-06. I've gone as far as cobbling up reloads for ten rounds of .22 lr, just to show that I could.

Wouldn't do it again - unless I had to.

There have been sporadic attempts over the years to produce a reloadable .22 LR. In fact, that's what the .22 Hornet is -- it started life in the 1880s as the .22 Winchester Central Fire (WCF), a reloadable black powder cartridge. It failed because it held too much black powder for the small bore, and fouled badly.

When experimeters at Springfield developed a smokeless load, they had something waaaay more powerful than a .22 LR. But every now and then I get the urge to try reduced power loads with cast bullets.

I lie down until the urge passes.:p