If the cheap surplus ammo drys up will the price of red rifles go up or down?

[Nelson84]

I bought a Lee Enfield .303 for $79 in 1992.

Surplus ammo was cheap and sold by the crate.

Now you can't find surplus .303 ammo anywhere.

How much is a .303 worth now?

About $100

 

[svt1940]

I don't like Mauser. Stupid Germans.

Another very useful comment like always

I bought a Lee Enfield .303 for $79 in 1992.

Surplus ammo was cheap and sold by the crate.

Now you can't find surplus .303 ammo anywhere.

How much is a .303 worth now?

In military configuration, depending on model and condition, say $350- $1000 unissued in wrap,a Ross in military shape go for $1000+

About $100

For a sporterized one $125-$150 but a sporterized Ross will sell for $200+.

Joce

 

[Far North]

I'd need to be about 40000 rounds of 7,62x39 for me to have enough to last as long as I wanted too
.

So a bit under 40 cases but to simplify the math lets go with 1000 rounds per case. A case cost about $250
40x$250=$10,000

10g is a good chunk of money but if you break it down over a few years its manageable.

 

[GLOCK_PERFECTION]

If surplus ammo were to dried up, in the short term SKS will be going down in price.

A few years after as there will be no more importations as the demand and supply will be almost inexistant prices will slowly go up just like Garand, Lee enfields........

 

[Stevo]

So a bit under 40 cases but to simplify the math lets go with 1000 rounds per case. A case cost about $250
40x$250=$10,000

10g is a good chunk of money but if you break it down over a few years its manageable.

At current retail prices it's under $7500. Buy in bulk and you can knock at least another 10%, likely more, off.

 

[AK]

There is a big difference between what's available, and what an importer can get into the country. All ammo needs to be approved by NRCAN before it can be sold. For that, they need information from the manufacturer (at least they used to) about the composition of the power and primers, and that information wasn't always forthcoming.

Recognizing this, ERD has shortened the approval process for surplus ammo. Some people always make them out to be the boogeyman with some sort of personal vendetta against gun owners when in fact they will listen to reasonable arguments and work towards improving regulations. With the vitriol spit by the majority of board members though I can clearly see why they'd be inclined NOT to!

 

[trebor2880]

deleted

 

[fiddler]

The price of surplus ammo will affect the shooter much more so than the collectors. Most serious collectors roll their own ammo anyways. Many of them have cash for when good deals come around and can pick up any volume they desire. As for the shooter, I'm sure the majority of SKS buyers did so for the shooting and bang bang pleasure. There would be a lot less shooting if the price of rounds went up.

 

[zeuce]

This thread makes me want to buy a few more cases LOL but seriously 7.62x39 is so friggin common around the world I doubt it will dry up anytime soon. Like what was already been posted we are buying 30-40 year old ammo right now as it is. Newer stockpiles have yet to hit the market correct?

 

[mmattockx]

Why even be concerned?

Buy enough now to last however long you want it to.

Sound advice, there are no shelf life issues with properly stored ammo and it makes a solid investment if OP doesn't end up shooting it.

considering we are getting stuff dated in the 70' we still haven't tapped into the 80', 90' or 00' stockpile yet, not mentioned the fact that, so far we have only seen ammo from only 3 former Warsaw pact countries, it will be a long time before surplus ammo is tapped out. Also we have already seen the prices of none surplus ammo in Canada in MFS and Norinco, if the import volume goes up for them the price will come down.

That assumes the bureaucrats don't arbitrarily decide to prohibit the importation of surplus ammo. Marstar apparently has many sea cans full of 8x57 ammo that cannot be imported. If the border is closed it won't matter how much x39 is being stockpiled around the globe.

At current retail prices it's under $7500. Buy in bulk and you can knock at least another 10%, likely more, off.

You better get more than 10% off. I bought 12 cases of Chinese x39 last year from Tradex and they gave me ~17% off that order (I was very impressed with that deal and their service, BTW). Buying 3x that amount should get you 20+% off the price.


Mark

 

[zeuce]

Isnt it already hard to get things across the border? The smaller gun shops in my town that do not belong to worldwide buying groups are telling me they cant get stock across as it is

 

[Nelson84]

Another very useful comment like always

In military configuration, depending on model and condition, say $350- $1000 unissued in wrap,a Ross in military shape go for $1000+

For a sporterized one $125-$150 but a sporterized Ross will sell for $200+.

Joce

I have bought a Jungle Carbine for $80 and a no 4 sportster for $80. Just shop around. And yes Germans in WWII were stupid.

 

[mmattockx]

Isnt it already hard to get things across the border? The smaller gun shops in my town that do not belong to worldwide buying groups are telling me they cant get stock across as it is

Surplus ammo doesn't come from the US, it comes from Europe and Asia. The reason we have as much cheap x39 up here as we do is that the US government won't allow steel core ammo into the US, as it is considered to be "armour piercing" ammo down there. If they were letting it in we wouldn't see any of it up here and what did make it here would be much more expensive.


Mark

 

[Surrey Boy]

Apples to apples here.

A stock, from an armoury favoured by historians, non-refurbished SMLE is $600-$1000, sans bayonet. Whom here even knows where to buy a bayonet, battle, parade, or replica? Aftermarket magazines are ~$60, originals over $100.

SKS, Tula, 1955, w/ cleaning kit and bayonet, $200-$300. Stripper clips are $1 per, or free when you find them on logging roads.