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:
88462

[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.....[smilie=b:

[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

[fatelk]

I think part of the penny pinching (other than those who are just cheapskates to begin with) is getting caught up in how much money one has "into" something. I think often it's more about numbers than it is about money. Folks feel good about getting a "good deal" and having less into something than it's worth, regardless of what they can afford.

It kind of reminds me of corporate budgets, in a way. My company has put out the email that there should be no more overtime until the end of the year. It's not that they don't have the money- they spend plenty on other things- it's just not in the budget. After Jan. 1 we'll get plenty again.

I used to be more that way, penny pinching, but now I just don't care so much. It's only money and I'll buy what I want when I can afford it. With 4 kids under 10, that's not very often any more. :)

[mikeym1a]

Why is it we will spend hundreds of dollars for a rifle or pistol then cry about ammo prices going down range???
CD
We don't throw the gun away when we're out of ammo! :D

[rmark]

Given the actual number of rounds I shoot, reloading is likely as good a deal as surplus ammo, except non-corrosive and loaded down for less recoil.

[Hang Fire]

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.

Shoot cast boolits and keep or sell the full power milsurp. I have spam cans of 1946 dated Russian 7.62x54 and at 67 years old it still shoots good, so it will keep fine.

[Hang Fire]

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!

Yep, that is for sure. When I retired, wife and bought a nice boat, first couple years we used it a lot, then just lost interest. Several years ago Daughter and family were down, the grand kids really enjoyed it, so boat went home with them. I just thought we used it, first two months they put more hours on it than we had in ten years.

[leadbutt]

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.

Man i bet you can take the fun out of a bonus.....

[Multigunner]

Well I drove a 61 Volkswagon for many years then drove a 67 Chevy Nomad station wagon with turbofire 327 motor and four barrel carb that got a bit 1/2 the gas mileage of the VW.
Both were suited to certain things.
It cost more to drive the wagon but it would hold a steady 75MPH going up hill while hauling a 35 ft sailboat and leave most sporty sedans eating its dust when I occasionally freed the beast.

These days quality .22 LR costs near as much as reloads for a centerfire, and best quality pellets for airguns are fairly pricey.
Bang for the bucks generally favors the centerfire.

As for milsurp ammo, if its over 20 years old only use I'd have for it is to break it down for components. I've had just too many problems with old degraded milsurp. Even then some otherwise decent and reliable milsurp is so far below carefully assembled tailored reloads in accuracy that it turns serious shooting into expensive plinking. If I just wanted to make noise I'd buy a cap buster.

[Multigunner]

Well I drove a 61 Volkswagon for many years then drove a 67 Chevy Nomad station wagon with turbofire 327 motor and four barrel carb that got a bit 1/2 the gas mileage of the VW.
Both were suited to certain things.
It cost more to drive the wagon but it would hold a steady 75MPH going up hill while hauling a 35 ft sailboat and leave most sporty sedans eating its dust when I occasionally freed the beast.

These days quality .22 LR costs near as much as reloads for a centerfire, and best quality pellets for airguns are fairly pricey.
Bang for the bucks generally favors the centerfire.

As for milsurp ammo, if its over 20 years old only use I'd have for it is to break it down for components. I've had just too many problems with old degraded milsurp. Even then some otherwise decent and reliable milsurp is so far below carefully assembled tailored reloads in accuracy that it turns serious shooting into expensive plinking. If I just wanted to make noise I'd buy a cap buster.

[jonk]

I hear you. On the plus side, other than U.S. and Greek surplus, and WW2 German, I have found few surplus ammo types that shoot worth much. Some of the silver tip 7.62X54R is very good. But now I am finally finding out how well these guns actually shoot.\

I have about 500 rounds each of surplus 06, 8mm, and 7.62X54R left. I don't turn from shooting it but have started shooting more handloads.

[Prospector Howard]

fatelk, just be glad you were smart enough to stock up some when it was cheap. I stocked up some back in the days like you, when J & G was selling that 8mm stuff for 5 to 6 cents a round. Now what I have left, I just shoot sparingly to make it last. I'm sure not going to sell it though, and let someone else shoot it. Just do what I do and shoot lead reloads first at 100 to 200 yard targets, and then finish with 20 or so rounds of the surplus stuff at 300 to 400 yard targets. Hopefully I'll shoot the last 20 rounds the day before I go to the happy hunting grounds.

[fatelk]

Just do what I do and shoot lead reloads first at 100 to 200 yard targets, and then finish with 20 or so rounds of the surplus stuff at 300 to 400 yard targets.

We recently moved, and I can't find a place to shoot around here that's 100 yards, let alone further. :( I just don't hardly shoot at all any more.


As for milsurp ammo, if its over 20 years old only use I'd have for it is to break it down for components.

To each their own, but if I scrapped everything over 20 years old I wouldn't have much left, including some of my own reloads (clearly I don't shoot enough). :)

I used to shoot the heck out of '40s era 8mm, and '60s 7.62x39 with no problem at all. The oldest I ever shot was a 1914 dated .45 acp round. It fired fine. I really miss the 5 cent 8mm, cheaper than .22lr is now.

I completely understand avoiding some surplus regardless of age. '90s Indian 7.62 NATO comes to mind...

[Multigunner]

To each their own, but if I scrapped everything over 20 years old I wouldn't have much left, including some of my own reloads (clearly I don't shoot enough).
So long as you know where its been for those twenty years it should be okay. Problem is when ammo gets kicked around in war zones then stored for decades under uncertain conditions, then sold off to some surplus store that leaves it in a damp back room or too near the heater for years.
I've run across 7.62 ammo with a respected manufacturers headstamp and no more than 20 yrs old that was so badly degraded that you could crush the cases between your fingers like roasted peanuts, and even the gilding metal peeled off the steel jackets. Nothing in that batch was salvageable.
I have some with the same headstamp from a different source that looks fine, but I would rather not take a chance on it. I'll salvage the bullets and inspect the cases , the powder will go to next years 4th of July powder trail.

[fatelk]

I see your point now, and totally agree. I have ran into bad ammo before, and scrapped some. I had some WWII USGI '06 AP that was questionable. Most rounds were perfect but some were corroding from the inside out. I also had some old Syrian 7.5mm that was about 80% duds, good for components only.

After an incident where I had to replace a couple parts on my old FN49, the Turk and '50s Yugo surplus 8mm only goes in bolt actions. Then there's Syrian, 1980 Israeli, and late '90s Indian 7.62x51 that are all strictly components only. Oh, can't forget- almost anything French goes in that category as well.

Yes, now that I think about it I see your point pretty well. :)