Bloke on the Range (youtube) has done some good vids on the Swiss straight pulls.
Anybody know if the GP11 will continue to flow into Canada or should I start stockpiling it in case it dries up?
Jan 2016 production:
Be warned. They will not overproduce as in previous years. Thun, the last maker of Gp11 is now Ruag, in partnership with Lapau.
From a post on Swiss rifles message forum Dec 26, 2015 by Frederick303.
"Unread postDec 26, 2015#7
Well it is like this:
5 to 6 years ago the ammo being imported into the US was 1978 Altdorf GP11. 3 to 4 years ago the year/lot being imported into the United States were 79 Altdorf and Thun. Then around 1 to 2 years ago they imported a bunch of 81~82 Altdorf and 82~83 Thun loaded GP11 ammo. Then spring of year 2015 1992 GP11 ammo showed up at a few suppliers. Since the last lots of 82A/83T and 92T sold off late this summer, no more has come on the market for sales to individuals.
When the 1992 GP11 showed up it was a bit of a surprise, as the official stance was that ammunition prior to year 1987 was to be available for sales overseas, whereas all lots 1987 and after were to be retained for use by the SSV or other purpose. So there was not supposed to be any dates later than 1986 sold to the US, at least as of a few years ago when this decision was made. When this decision was made the sales were in the 1982 year lots, so the expectation that there were supplies of GP11 ammunition in the 1983 to 1986 range available for sale was a reasonable assumption. The wild card in this is the military use of GP11, which in so far as I can tell is restricted to Panzer MGs and perhaps some fighting vehicles still equipped with some a variant of the MG51. I simply do not know, nor have I read of the yearly military use of GP11 or what they consider to be the use by date of ammunition for military purposes.
This summer it is apparent the Swiss clubs/ranges in Switzerland are now issuing 1993 dated ammunition. All club issues are of the same year and in general it has been observed that any given issue year would last for between 2 and 3 years of club/range issue. The last year GP 11 was loaded was in 1994, though supposedly some small number was loaded in 1995 (insignificant numbers). This would imply that the last issues of G11, if no older lots are available, would be sometime in 2017 to 2018. The announcement that GP11 production has started up again is not entirely unexpected, it is consistent with the years issued to Swiss rifle cubs/ranges and the above observations.
It seemed to this Auslander that the dividing event was the Federal matches. Before June the ammunition seemed plentiful and indeed I purchased a bit for 47.65 cents/round delivered from cheaper than dirt. After the matches in July the import seems to have ended and by the fall it was hard to find. 4 months on it is virtually unavailable.
Of course these observations could well be incorrect and indeed I hope the conclusions are errant, but the indications are not entirely positive."
