dogtown tom
Member
Availability of "surplus ammo" actually keeps US ammunition manufacturers from producing that cartridge. Ever looked for US made 7.62x25?...... Did it start with the availability of surplus ammo or the guns themselves?
It wasn't overnight, as hundreds of thousands of WWII surplus handguns and millions of rounds of ammunition were imported throughout the 1950's and '60's. By the mid '70's US manufacturers were churning out 9mm handguns. That didn't make the price of 9mm go down one bit. (I know, I bought my first BHP in 1980)
What did have an impact, was the massive US LE market switch to 9mm handguns and the US military doing the same. Ammunition companies love huge government contracts and the same machinery is used for commercial market as for police or military. Same reason .223/5.56 is one of the cheapest centerfire rifle rounds.
The LE market is heavily influenced by the FBI. Once the FBI determined .38 special and 9mm were inadequate, the LE market jumped on the .40S&W bandwagon. Overwhelming popularity by the LE market influenced civilian sales. As soon as the FBI jumped off the .40S&W as the bestest ever.........the civilian market followed the FBI & LE and virtually abandoned the .40S&W.