7.62x39
- Thread starter SteyrM69
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EdmontonOutdoorsman
New member
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- Edmonton and W4M
I'm really glad I've got 16-17k rds. I wish I bought more when it was super cheap.
Unless the war in Ukraine ends soon, you won't see any for a while. Even then, with the Ukrainian army moving away from this caliber, won't be tons.
All wars / conflicts must affect it, in particular the ones in Africa
Who do you think supplies the Russians?
Wouldn't the expectation be that the vast majority of the Russian military would be using 5.45x39? That was introduced in 1974 - 52 years ago.
Not necessarily. The Russian machine guns like the RPD and RPK use the venerable 7.62x39mm cartridge. Also, the more modern AK-103 and AK-15 (Ratnik) use the same caliber. Not to mention the AKM which is still in use for whatever purpose.
They have 5.45 machine guns too- specifically the rpk-74, which is again, a 50+ year old design.
I'm not saying there are NO 7.62x39 guns being used. But the difference in demand given that the main infantry weapons haven't used that cartridge in 50 years should be considerable. (That or the Russian procurement system is even more corrupt than I thought, which would be both impressive and unsurprising)
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Yes, they do and they now introduce the RPL-20 also in 5.45x39mm. Nevertheless, the older machine guns, like the RPD&RPK, were produced in the tens of millions of units. Part of them went into so-called "strategic storage". The Special Military Operation became a great opportunity to "decosmolinize" them and put into use. For example, the troops formed in the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics had tons of the older 7.62x39mm guns. This cartridge is also used by numerous Russian Special Forces and Police Forces nowadays (the AK-103 and AK-15). So, still the 7.62x39mm cartridge is needed in huge quantities. I agree, less than the 5.45x39mm but still a lot.
Interestingly, the 7.62x39mm cartridge is sort of coming back to the mainstream usage as India adopted the 7.62×39mm AK-203 for its army. I've been shooting the x39 cartridge for a looong time. IMHO, in a blink of an eye, I would take a 7.62x39 mm gun instead of a 5.45x39mm one (or 5.56NATO for that matter), if I were supposed to go into a battle (too old now but hypothetical).
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mmcintyre1220
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Tillsonburg, Ontario
Just sold 15 crates of ammo off, as well as 7 sks's lol.
It’s not like they don’t make it anymore. It’s just that the old corrosive ammo was always inevitably going to run out because sometime in the 80’s all the communist ammo factories finally switched to non corrosive. Corrosive ammo was cheap because of the extra cleaning required, it had to be priced at a discount compared to non corrosive. Norinco still makes 7.62x39 ammo every day it’s just not cheap anymore.
If for some reason the supply of ammo from china is ever interrupted, 7.62x39 owners will really be sol. The only option left will be small boxes of brass cased ammo from Europe and the us. There was a time when surplus 303 was really cheap and it was a big part of the popularity of the “sporterized lee enfield”. The rifles are still out there but don’t get shot much anymore with the cheap bulk ammo gone. Same will happen with the Sks eventually. Other than china, most of the countries Canada can import ammo from switched to 5.56 rifles over a decade ago
If for some reason the supply of ammo from china is ever interrupted, 7.62x39 owners will really be sol. The only option left will be small boxes of brass cased ammo from Europe and the us. There was a time when surplus 303 was really cheap and it was a big part of the popularity of the “sporterized lee enfield”. The rifles are still out there but don’t get shot much anymore with the cheap bulk ammo gone. Same will happen with the Sks eventually. Other than china, most of the countries Canada can import ammo from switched to 5.56 rifles over a decade ago
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