Surplus ammo

[fatelk]

Am I the only one who can't afford to shoot surplus ammo? Even if I have a ton of it?

I just don't shoot nearly as much as I used to, but I have cases of surplus ammo that I bought back when it was cheap: 8mm for a nickel per round, .308 for about a dime, '06 for a quarter, 7.62x25 for about 8 cents each. This is all in the last decade or so.

It shocked me recently to find out what this stuff is going for now. At first I was glad that I got it when it was cheap so I could keep shooting it if I wanted to, but I can't bring myself to shoot it because if it's worth that much, and I could sell it for that much, I really can't afford to shoot it, can I?

I guess I'll just have to keep reloading.

[Garyshome]

Hey Centerfire Systems has 7.62x39 steel berdan stuff for $169.00 shipped. I think that's a really good price right now! $.24/pc.

[MtGun44]

I understand. Used to go out and blow 100-200 rounds of milsurp .308 in an afternoon, no sweat.

Now that it costs $150 or $200 to replace it. . . . . . . . . it doesn't seem like so much fun!

Bill

[GRUMPA]

I have to laugh, I go through the same dilemma around here. Want to know what's worse though??...Even though we reload to the cheapest and best of our abilities every time that trigger gets pulled in the depths of your mind, your thinking....well...there goes .15...pull the trigger..well....there's .30....and so on.

[DxieLandMan]

My dad loves to just shoot at a deer and every time he pulled the trigger, I would think, $1/round and he shoots and misses. Reloading them got the cost down to 24¢ each and it is easier to swallow that fact of sending quarters vs. dollar bills each time he pulls the trigger.

[dbosman]

If you can stock up on components and sell your surplus stuff at a profit, and enjoy reloading, peddle it while you can get a substantial premium for sealed tins and crates.

[zomby woof]

If you can stock up on components and sell your surplus stuff at a profit, and enjoy reloading, peddle it while you can get a substantial premium for sealed tins and crates.

I did just this this spring. I go through phases. 15 years ago I was in a Mauser phase and C+R. I bought all the C+R rifles and ammo on the cheap. I transitioned into US Military rifles and the Mausers sat. I stocked up on cheap ammo. Then I started to cast and the ammo sat too. I unloaded all the ammo and rifles at panic prices. I was thanked at every transaction. Now that supplies are slowly coming back into stock, I'm loading up on primers, powder, lube and gas checks. I'm sitting pretty with new components and reloading equipment. Like I said I go through phases.

[koehn,jim]

I would sell the stuff and buy componets. Think of shooting as therapy, there are not that many things you can enjoy as much and maybe put dinner on the table.

[dnepr]

I really like the steel cased surplus for winter , not worried about loosing valuable brass in the snow

[Multigunner]

Back in the pre and early WW1 days military contracts for rifles, usually rifles sold or loaned to one government by another, plus one thousand rounds per rifle often show the 1k rnds of ammunition priced higher than the rifle.
Back then manufacture of drawn brass cartridges and jacketed bullets was as much art as science. The result being huge quantities of surplus ammo being sold off as scrap or dumped in the sea due to serious defects as machinery wore down during long production runs.

One reason milsurp ammo prices went up was that these days ammo that has degraded even slightly will be downgraded for use in training and modern automatic weapon really eat that stuff up. Theres just not that much to be sold off as surplus unless its of very suspect quality.
Production over runs or ammo that just barely failed acceptance for some reason may show up now and then.
The British used to sell "blemished" ball cartridges to civilian shooters at greatly reduced prices. The cartridge having minor dents or discolorations that didn't affect its usability.

[Finster101]

My dad loves to just shoot at a deer and every time he pulled the trigger, I would think, $1/round and he shoots and misses. Reloading them got the cost down to 24¢ each and it is easier to swallow that fact of sending quarters vs. dollar bills each time he pulls the trigger.

No matter what it cost, it is worth every cent to enjoy it with your Dad. I wish I still could.

[dragon813gt]

I'm kicking myself for not buying buying more 7.62x54r ammo when it was cheap. I can't shoot more than a box of ammo before my shoulder is done. But I would feel a lot better if I had a pallet sitting in my basement. Any round I fire that I bought, I count the money heading down range. I don't do the math with reloads because it really doesn't matter.

Now the looks I get at the range when I show up w/ the step daughter and shoot up 2k rounds of 22lr is priceless. It's like people forget that 22lr was cheap a year ago.

[Jack Stanley]

I don't mind shooting it up , I tried to sell some of it because some of the guns I likely won't shoot again , Other types because I thought I had plenty . The flippers and freeloaders wanted it for less than I paid for it and the regular guys either had cases of their own stashed away or .... " don't you have any 5.56 ammo ?"

So this past summer I used up a couple thousand rounds and the brass went in the scrap bucket . I guess I'll just have to fit in firing some more of it into my lead firing schedule .

Jack

[medalguy]

You think you're afraid of shooting a rifle and a few hundred rounds? Try one of these:

[BNE]

The worst thing about being a reloader is every time I shoot I look to see where my brass goes before I look at the target!!! I now set up a net that is 15 feet long to catch the brass. I then combe the ground looking for brass at the end of the shooting session. I think, look, there's a dime, oh good a quarter.....

I'm thinking of building a bullet trap next.....

[fatelk]

I would sell the stuff and buy components.

I've thought about doing exactly that, and might still. If Glorious Leader opens his mouth about gun control again, and the masses go nuts paying crazy prices for anything gun related again, I think I will.

I know what you guys are saying about counting every dime and dollar as it goes downrange. I think that's a common malady for cheapskate gun nuts! I've really been trying to not be that way.

Everyone needs something to do, an interest or hobby. I'm not in to golf, or sports, fast cars, fast women, etc.. I figure tinkering with old guns and target shooting once in a while is a lot cheaper most other things. Besides, it's only money. I pick up a little OT at work now and then and figure it's OK for some of it to go towards my nitrocellulose habit.

[leeggen]

Why is it we will spend hundreds of dollars for a rifle or pistol then cry about ammo prices going down range??? That is like buying a car that gets 1o mile to a gallon and complain about gas prices. MHO I love to shoot so what a great hobby that is really pretty cheap to do and can be familly oreinted.
CD

[dnepr]

Yup shooting is pretty cheap , what my customers spend on boats... Something like a Triton can take $250 Canadian to fill the tank with gas, I can get a case of 7.62x39 or 7.62x54r for that type of money and I will get more than a day out of a case of surplus ammo

[fatelk]

I know a guy who once blustered and flustered and haggled to get the very best "deal" on a certain gun, beating the seller down for the very last penny, then dropped $80 on dinner on the way home without batting an eye. I'll bet the tip alone was more than he saved by beating the guy up on price.

Was it someone here who had a sig line, something to the effect of how far a cheap ba***rd will go to save fifty cents?

Oh, yeah, I'm glad you brought up boats (a hole in the water in which to throw money). I know a couple boat owners. That is one expensive hobby!

[Jack Stanley]

You guys are describing some of the guys at the local gun show perfectly . They'll spend fifty bucks to save a dime , lowball every price they see even the ones that are deals to begin with . Then , they get flustered when someone won't accept the lowball offer and removes the item from the table . They squall about the prices of everything from ammo to coffee filters and pinch a penny so hard the zinc squeezes out from under the copper plating .

It almost makes ya wish they'd take up golf or bass boats don't it ??

Jack