Why I’m Cleaning my AK Today

Buy all you can afford then buy a little bit more

JCooperfan1911 said:

my favorite rifle is now retired.

God bless,

JCF

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Maybe not, American gun owners have a huge habit to fill, I'm sure ammo from other sources will become available. Back when Biden banned the ammo a case of 1000 went to $400, then months later it dropped back down to $320, now it is back up to $400. I have learned that be it with gas or ammo or whatnot those that say "this is the new normal" are usually wrong.

One of the reasons I always avoided the AK; it was the 'other guy's' rifle.
We gunnies, more than most of the population, understand that world events, and elections, in fact have consequences.
Moon

Just remember right after Sandy Hook people were paying $2,000 for AR’s because tray weren’t going to be available any more. I had an acquaintance that owned a LGS that, IIRC, paid dealer cost money of something like $1,300.

Isnt there some steel case coming from somewhere in SE Asia?

Or just move to brass cases and reload... I bought a few hundred brass x39 cases a while back and a set of dies.

Times like this are why I am glad I didn't invest in AKs. Something happens overseas or our own government wants to ban import ammo, all of a sudden you can't find ammo to feed it without paying out the nose. Every US loading company and their brother makes 556 though.

herrwalther said:

Times like this are why I am glad I didn't invest in AKs. Something happens overseas or our own government wants to ban import ammo, all of a sudden you can't find ammo to feed it without paying out the nose. Every US loading company and their brother makes 556 though.

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Now that they dont have to compete with the Russians, the domestics, as well as the free Europeans and Phillipinos, will start making more 7.62x39- but expect it in the 25-45 cent/round price range from now on.

The cheap shooting days may be over, but these guns wont be any more or less painful to feed than anything else these days.

rust collector said:

The cheap steel case ammo has fulfilled its mission. It gave a sparkle to millions of SKS

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Darn tootin! (Not my first choice of words)

1957 Romanian SKS was my first semi auto rifle. $300 bucks and i walked out with the rifle and 500 rounds of ammo. Shot a certain dead tree so much, one day it just fell over while shooting it. That warm barrel warmed my 14 year old heart. Still got it and at least 1000 rounds of steel case and stuff to reload.

Get some brass cases and reload in the interim. There are lot of AK-47’s, SKS’s and AR-47’s out there. The demand will be filled.

Glad I bought lots of steel and brass cased (though not reloadable, Yugo M67) 7.62x39 back in the day, as well as @ 600 pieces of Lapua brass form a shoot where my friends and i had run out. we stopped into the LGS, and he was out of Wolf (which was $2.99 a box at the time) but he had 30 boxes of the Lapua, at the then astronomical price (so we thought) of $6.99 a box. We bought it all. Since we were shooting both AK's and SKS's, the brass was launched all over where we were shooting. I paid the kids a nickel apiece to find the ones we couldn't. Since I was the only on the reloaded, I kept them, and bought a set of Lee dies. Between them and other range pickups, I have @ 1000 reloadable 7.62x39 brass, loaded up.
I have enough surplus 7.62x54R that except for hunting, I will never have to dip into my 150 or so loaded brass.
I'm still keeping my Mosins and my AK. (wish I'd have kept one of the SKS's. )

The OP is being a bit hyperbolic and pessimistic.

x39 should still be available, coming from Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia, for example.

There’s also the Yugo M67 surplus, along with Sellier& Bellot ammo from the Czech Republic and PMC from Korea.

Sure, the brass-cased cartridges will run about 50 to 60 cents per round – meaning you’ll shoot a little less, not that you'll have to stop shooting altogether.

jdc1244 said:

The OP is being a bit hyperbolic and pessimistic.

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True to his style. But in this case it has created an interesting discussion.

entropy said:

Glad I bought lots of steel and brass cased (though not reloadable, Yugo M67) 7.62x39 back in the day, as well as @ 600 pieces of Lapua brass form a shoot where my friends and i had run out. we stopped into the LGS, and he was out of Wolf (which was $2.99 a box at the time) but he had 30 boxes of the Lapua, at the then astronomical price (so we thought) of $6.99 a box. We bought it all. Since we were shooting both AK's and SKS's, the brass was launched all over where we were shooting. I paid the kids a nickel apiece to find the ones we couldn't. Since I was the only on the reloaded, I kept them, and bought a set of Lee dies. Between them and other range pickups, I have @ 1000 reloadable 7.62x39 brass, loaded up.
I have enough surplus 7.62x54R that except for hunting, I will never have to dip into my 150 or so loaded brass.
I'm still keeping my Mosins and my AK. (wish I'd have kept one of the SKS's. )

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Hmmm. Now you're making me think, there is probably a couple thousand Brass PPU x39 cases up on my inlaws property, since that's all I shot through my mini 30 for the few years I had it after having one too many light primer strikes with wolf. I'm thinking those cases could be useful to some folks around here if I could dig em up out of the woods where I shot from.

Not likely, but I wish I had collected them....

I save all my reloadable brass (and shotgun hulls) , and anyone else's I find at the range, or will give me. If I don't shoot it, I know someone that does. Glad I saved most the 9mm brass I picked at the range. (I have gave some away over the years.) I bought a Taurus G2c recently,

I can find pallets of Igman and Belom locally in brass cased locally to me that is almost the same price as steel. Only have 2 firearms that currently shot 7.62x39 and rarely shoot them, so I'm good for a long time

X39s aren't going anywhere. Just a temporary inconvenience. Glad I got stocked when I did.

KalishnakovUSA, Hornady, and PSA are all either currently or will shortly be producing steel case ammo.

Not to mention the plethora of countries still producing it that aren't Russia...

If I had an AK I'd probably just sell it now while I could still get a decent price for it. A few years ago I was in a bit of a quandary about buying a Mini 30 or Mini 14. I wanted the 30 because I liked the cartridge more than 5.56. But then I realized that brass and bullets was always going to be more expensive. Nothing changed with 5.56 but the days of buckets of steel case 7.62 littering the range are over. Couldn't be happier.

Mars5l said:

I can find pallets of Igman and Belom locally in brass cased locally to me that is almost the same price as steel. Only have 2 firearms that currently shot 7.62x39 and rarely shoot them, so I'm good for a long time

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Steel is about 0.36/rd. Brass is about 0.45/rd. That's a selection from many sellers on Ammoseek. I guess it depends on ones definition of "almost".

Over time, the many that owned and shot those initially inexpensive surplus weapons learned to like them... Then in country gun manufacturers learned that folks had some use for a solid mid range performer like the 7.62 x 39 round and began making carbines and solid bolt action rifles chambered for them. Next - folks actually learned that in the proper rifle that round was surprisingly accurate...

My guess is that although it will no longer be the choice for cheap blasting at the local range , hog hunters and other needing a mid- range very accurate round will still be able to find the ammo they need - it just won't be cheap any more (and will probably evolve into a very well made choice for rifles needing it... ). I don't own one -but will follow to see if I'm right.

lionking said:

those that say "this is the new normal" are usually wrong.

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A phrase I am entirely sick of hearing but not because it isn’t true. There is a new normal everyday or even every hour these days it seems. A new normal every day.

There's always this route:
https://www.diamondkbrass.com/7.62x39.html

I'd always rather load my own, even if it's not saving me money.
I do have some steel wolf stuff, but I save that for places where retrieving my cases would be a problem

The plus and point to cheap AK's (and other things like them) and boatloads of cheap ammo, was, it let you learn to shoot them and learn to shoot them well, and you also learned they arent the inaccurate junk that those who didn't often tell you.

Everyone should have at least one AK, and know how to use it well, not just shoot it off a bench, or bump fire mag after mag. Things might get a little harder, tighter now, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't still try and get one and figure them out.

My first AR was a Colt SP1 and cost me $225 and I still have it. My first AK was a SAR1, and cost me around $300, and I still have it. And both have had the snot shot out of them and are both good friends.

Both are no longer "cheap" to acquire as they once were, nor is the ammo. Still, nothing has changed. I still shoot them both fairly regularly and found ways to afford it. My 5.56 reloads are still fairly cheap, and Im still shooting $75/1000 7.62x39. But, everyone has their own priorities I guess. Reloading for both is always there too.

Personally, I think you should strive to get a hold of and learn as many different types of guns as possible, and to the point of being able to work all of them the same, or as close to it as possible. Prices and availability are what they are, and always will be, but there's always a way, if you have the will.

Always best to try and be ahead of the curve, than someone jumping in on the backside of the wave. Seems a lot of people only find interest, when they are told they can no longer have what it is that's about to disappear, or at least appears to be something that's going to disappear, and are then all of a sudden, willing to spend stupid money on things, and bitch about it. Just like the ammo shortages "AGAIN", here too, we are our own worst enemies.

Oh well, and not to turn the knife in the wound, but, in the immortal words of Hagar the Horrible.... "I got mine!"