Do people ever trade lots of ammo for a rifle?

[Ignition Override]

Maybe this is a really dumb question, posted by a middle-aged late-bloomer with guns and a poor grasp of Internet protocol as used by the youger generation. After reading so much for months about possible future high ammo taxes or outright bans, due to cowardly, treasonous agendas in the US Congress (maybe only after financial chaos settles down), a strange question came to mind.

I've only been buying guns for a year (seldom shot the .22 for many years) and have lots to catch up on, i.e. the old AWB etc.
Mostly plink alone and the learning curve is really flat, even frustrating.

Have people ever accumulated so many thousands of extra rounds of cheap Wolf ammo (i.e. x39 or both x39 and .223) that they would consider trading about 3500 rds for a carbine in excellent condition? This gun is really fun and reliable, but I want to learn what options are out there and don't know if I can part with it.
My only objective now seems to be ammo (and paying bills). Any blunt, frank answers are welcome for this slow learner.

 

[ugaarguy]

You could post info and pics of the gun you want to trade in Buy Sell Trade forums here and state how much of what caliber(s) ammo you'd like to get in trade, and then entertain offers. If that doesn't work I'm sure there are some dealers near you that would trade you ammo for the gun. I don't think 3500 rounds of Wolf 7.62x39 is realistic though. You're talking about 140 boxes of 25 rounds which currently retail for $5 to $6 per box. Going low, call it $700 worth of Wolf 7.62x39.

You also don't say what the carbine is. If you're talking a Colt or LMT M4 style carbine then 3000 to 3500 rounds of Wolf 7.62x39 would be in the neighborhood of a good trade even for a dealer buying the gun at wholesale and trading you the ammo at retail. If you're talking 3500 rounds for anything less expensive than a top end AR it gets less realistic.

If you're talking .223 you've got to look at current pricing. The last good 5.56 buy was Federal XM193 going at around $200 per 500 round case. Using the $700 example above, that puts you about 1750 rounds of 5.56.

Is your carbine worth $700 to $800 used?

 

[B.D. Turner]

I have not traded ammo for guns but back during the AWB I traded high cap mags for several rifles

3 Butler Creek 30 round Ruger 10/22 mags for a Hi Point Carbine. The mags were thrown in with a 10/22 I bought for $100. I kept the 10/22 but sold the mags.

25 AR-15 mags for a Century FN FAL

30 AR-15 mags for a Beretta 92 NIB

I bought most of the mags on yard sales and in boxes of junk from auctions I paid about .50 to $1 each

 

[RyanM]

500 rounds of Wolf 7.62x39mm weighs about 20 pounds. That'd be about 140 pounds of ammo. Unless you could swing a local trade, I doubt the shipping cost would make the deal worthwhile for the other guy.

 

[H2O MAN]

Do people ever trade lots of ammo for a rifle?

If the deal is good for both individuals, then sure.

I recently traded a case of 7.62x39 for a new flat screen TV

 

[jackdanson]

I traded 2 cases of 7.62 ammo to a friend for accidently backing into his car... oops.

 

[Vaarok]

I've traded crates of ammo for guns. Not uncommon at all.

 

[goon]

I've sold ammo to fund other guns and also to fund replacement ammo.
Case in point - once upon a time you could get South African or Portugese 7.62x51 for about $140 per 1K.
Now it's worth a lot more than that.
So I sold that stuff off and replaced some of it with Lithiuanian, which is only a little more in price but was made in 2005 and is reloadable.
Better situation for me and some other guy who loves those other types of ammo (both are excellent surplus) is happy with being able to find some more.

 

[evan price]

I traded a bucket full of 9mm brass (About 7000 cases or so) for an AK rifle.
Granted, it's not a great AK rifle, it needs work but it shoots.

 

[rob_s]

I just traded a stripped AR lower for a tin of 5.45 ammo. Not sure if that counts.