How much 7.62x39?

[TAKtical]

How plentiful is 7.62x39? I have recently started to love this caliber and Im constantly hearing about how the surplus is "drying up". Is there any truth to that? I know a lot of places are out of stock because of the panic but are the days of bulk surplus ammo really coming to an end?

 

[Davek1977]

Yes and no There really isn't a whole lot of "surplus" ammo on the market these days. A few years back Yugo M67 was widely available, but that was the last major batch of surplus to hit our shores. There is a lot of Wolf, Tula, and other Russian ammo imported each year, but those are sold as commercial ammo and are not considered "surplus".

 

[Ryanxia]

I don't know about the surplus but the commercial stuff is pretty cheap. Even with all this going on I'm still buying the Tula (steel cased unfortunately) for $250/1,000 rounds.

 

[hso]

Surplus is pretty much history (pun intended), but as pointed out there's tons being produced today from those same factories.

 

[x_wrench]

i guess it depends on how much you shoot, and how afraid you are that the shi* is going to hit the fan. personally, i would think 4 or 5 "spam cans" minimum. and go up from there. the nice thing about those is if they are stored even half way decently, they will last 3 times longer than you will, providing you are 20, and will live to see your 100th birthday. in other words, almost indefinitely. if you shoot a lot, figure an estimate of what you shoot per year, and buy up an additional 3 years worth. that will give you ample time to find more, or take up reloading.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

25 years ago, 7.62 x 39 Soviet was uncommon or niche here; now it is mainstream and most US makers also produce ammo. For me, I shoot the Wolf hollow point 'military classic' and have had 0 failures in my AK or SKS's. Cheap and if foreihgn sources dry up, as said, it's here to stay. Now if you go 5.45 x 39 Soviet....BUY THE AMMO UP FRONT as that is much like the 7.62 was 30 years ago--few domestic sources.

 

[Isaac-1]

Surplus ammo does still show up, just in smaller batches and not too often, part of this may be the banning on import of steel core ammo.

 

[TAKtical]

Thanks guys. I was led to believe that any ammo sold in spam cans was surplus so thanks for straightening that out for me. I guess its doesnt really matter if the surplus is disappearing since Tula and others are still producing and selling for cheap.