Has nobody thought this over from a political point of view?
We have a CONSERVATIVE Government which has promised to be more logical in these matters: put the crooks in jail, leave the rest of us alone. And we have a Civil Service which was appointed and otherwise put in place by the Liberals. So the Civil Service, the RCMP and everyone else is doing everything they can to screw us over in order to create dissatisfaction with the Conservative Government. If I were Harper, there would be a massive purge of top-echelon Snivel Servants. Problem is that the Conservatives don't think like that..... but the Liberals do.
Like everything else in Canada (removal of the West's aerospace industry, cancellation of the Arrow, the Ross Rifle story, the abandonment of an entire Army overseas, et cetera, et cetra, ad infinitam) the tale is political at heart.
For the 7.62x54R, handloading is the ONLY way to go. If you have a perfect barrel, you can use the C.E. Harris load for under 15 cents a shot. If you want to shoot jacketed, you can do that for 50 - 60 cents. Why pay almost a buck for Ivan's dodgy primers when you can shoot match-grade for less money?
There is lots of good surplus and almost-surplus out there. We just aren't allowed to have it..... and that is a POLITICAL story, not economic.
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