7.62x39 dried up?

[strat81]

I don't even own a rifle for it yet and I'm stocking up on 7.62x39.

Anyway, my local hardware store sells rifles and such and I've purchased cases of handgun ammo from them before. Prices aren't stellar, but they usually meet typical online prices. I asked them to order me a case of cheap, steel cased Russian 7.62x39 such as Wolf, Bear, or Golden Tiger. The owner called me today and said that he tried three different distributors and none of them had steel-cased ammo. Plenty of brass stuff, but no steel.

I think I'll get a case at the gunshow this weekend, if I can find it, to go along with the case I ordered online. I have to imagine this stuff comes in waves - i.e., a container full of it shows up in Long Beach Harbor every 3-4 months. The big guys (Midway, AIM, Cabelas, etc.) buy it up, and the small shops who don't restock as often are left out in the cold.

Oh well, still plenty of it online I guess, but it's nice to throw some $$$ at a local business.

 

[DMK]

It's all over online, but sales are brisk. I just got a case last week.

 

[Thin Black Line]

Plenty o' x39 on the big box shelves in the midwest which runs from $3.5-$5.
Cheap 223 is gone, though. WWB was last marked at $9.99 which is up $3
from just a month or so ago.

 

[El Tejon]

As TBL reported, stacks and stacks of medium Russian at the last couple of gun shows here in Indiana, but they have a good market here.

 

[MHBushmaster]

Why are you ordering thru a gun store?
Try: Aimsurplus.com, J&G Sales, Ammunitiontogo.com, Ammoman.com, heck even Cheaper than Dirt or Sportsman Guide would probably be more cost effective than paying the dealer to do the order where he will add more $ to the order so he can make $ outta the deal plus sales tax if that is how it goes in your state...
Order online, and have it shipped to your front door!

 

[Thin Black Line]

As TBL reported, stacks and stacks of medium Russian at the last couple of gun shows here in Indiana, but they have a good market here.

One thing I noticed again on vacation in AZ --not as many AKs out there.
They were heavy on the AR15s. I still remember ppl oohing-and-ahhing
over my bro's romie at the BASF years back. Everybody in the midwest
has an AK or SKS next to the shotgun in the closet.

 

[S.P.E.C.T.R.E.]

Got a message from Century Int'l Arms that the SKS market is about to dry up (due to Yugo/UN treaties), but 7.62x39 will still be available.

 

[Thin Black Line]

I'd like to see some Yugo x39 ammo again.

 

[jthuang]

Yeah, it is still out there -- just not at the "old" pricing. I lucked into the $100/k Cabela's deal about a year back and have not bought any since. Pricing is running around $160/k now.

 

[buck00]

Mil surplus ammo is all about ebbs and flows. You just need to ride out the market flucation. The price will drop again eventually. I'm not saying it will be $89 for 1000 rounds like back in the day, but it will become more reasonable.


I think the biggest difficulty for AK and SKS owners, is we are used to 7.62 x 39 being dirt cheap so we would shoot it like it was cheap. I know I did. I would blow through a few hundred rounds during an afternoon without thinking twice. What did it matter... back in 2003 I could shake the tree in front of my house and fresh FMJ Wolf 7.62 x 39 would tumble down into the buckets I had ready.

Things are different now, but I think the higher prices force us to shoot less volume- and perhaps it may motivate us all to focus on marksmanship instead of spraying away for fun. JMO.

 

[Limeyfellow]

Got a message from Century Int'l Arms that the SKS market is about to dry up (due to Yugo/UN treaties), but 7.62x39 will still be available.

Has nothing to with with the UN or a Yugo treaty (especially considering Yugoslavia broke up years ago). Has more to do with that they only made 726400 of them and they been selling for a $100 on the surplus market for years now where people bought them by the dozens. You get a finite source of weapons at a very cheap price with cheap ammo and you eventually are going to run out of them especially when sold over several different countries.

 

[Hokkmike]

Actually, I was just told that prices will be dropping shortly.