Question for the older guys about ammo.

Gnome75

Gnome75

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Look for answers and or predictions from the guys who have been around for milsurps for awhile because they will have the best and most honest guess.

How much longer will we be able to buy surplus 7.62X54r? I have been debating buying a carbine version of a mosin and I don't want to bother if ammo no longer be available or cheap.

I already reload 303 and I do not want to take up another cartridge in the future. I know other companies like PPU are still making it but I don't want to pay factory made ammo prices.

Are commie countries even still making it? I feel like in 2025 we should be able to buy ammo made in 1995 just like we buy ammo now made in 1985. Or does it not work that way?
 
This is one of the reasons I started reloading x54r. Right now its cheaper to shoot the surplus, but not for much longer.

Your last question presupposes that consumption of x54r is static and not growing. There are several conflicts were x54r is likely being used or stocks aren't being exported either because of embargo or "just in case". Add in all the hoarders and regular shooters and consumption has risen dramatically.

At any rate, no one can answer when x54r surplus will disappear, not even the "older guys" who periodically post to moan that they didn't stack surplus 8mm or .303Brit deep when they had the chance. Only the countries with stocks presumably know how much they have and they aren't telling us.
 
Old guy here. It will be gone. I come from the day when stuff like 303, 8mm etc was as cheap as dirt.
I now have a very healthy stock of 7.62 54r and 39 to keep me going for a very long time.
 
Around 1968 when I was in high school a gunstore in my town had boxes that were about 2'X2' x 3' high sitting on a counter filled with loose surplus ammo. One box each of 30-06, 303, 8mm, 30 carbine, 45 acp. Price was a penny a round. We each buy $3-5 worth depending on how flush we were and head out to shoot. Back the next week and do it all over again. But you could also buy a No.4 at the J.C. Penny store for $14.95 no paper work, just hand the clerk the money and walk out with your new rifle. (Webleys were $9.95)
 
Cottage Hill Bill said:
Around 1968 when I was in high school a gunstore in my town had boxes that were about 2'X2' x 3' high sitting on a counter filled with loose surplus ammo. One box each of 30-06, 303, 8mm, 30 carbine, 45 acp. Price was a penny a round. We each buy $3-5 worth depending on how flush we were and head out to shoot. Back the next week and do it all over again. But you could also buy a No.4 at the J.C. Penny store for $14.95 no paper work, just hand the clerk the money and walk out with your new rifle. (Webleys were $9.95)
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Those were DANGEROUS DAYScou::runaway: I bought a nice Winchester Model 12 at a hardware store in Penticton back in 1971,from an unlocked rack near the garden supplies. Took it up to the nice lady at the counter and gave her the $150 bucks , got my receipt walked out and put it in the back seat of my beat up VW, locked the door and went grocery shopping. The world did not come to an end.

Like the saying goes buy it cheap, stack it deep, and there is no such thing as too much ammunition. It has held its value better than most commodities and currency in my lifetime at least, and a lot more fun to play with than gold or silver.
 
If you already reload 303, you are almost ready to reload 7.62x54. All you need to do is buy a set of Lee dies. They include the correct shell holder.

Although we go through cycles of cheap-expensive with ammo, the trend is up. It will never be cheaper than today. If you can buy a few cases, do it.

The difference between gold and ammo as an investment is that gold sometimes goes down in value.
 
I reload for 18 different calibers. What's your problem? Don't be a lazy arse. Not only is it cheaper, you can custom-tailor the load for each firearm for maximum accuracy. Get a Lee die set for $25 off of fleabay. You'll probably have to order the larger expander button as the 7.62x54R comes with a .308 expander button. you'll need the .311/.312 expander button.
By the way, I'm an older guy (62) and remember when Sears had racks and racks of rifles out on the floor, not behind a glass
front, locked case. Bought my first rifle (Argentinian M1893) at Woolworth's five and dime. Cash and carry. Piles and piles of surplus 30-06 or less than $5/box. '98 Mausers at the local hock shop for $35. Ah yes, those were the days.
Buy it now. It will never be any cheaper in the future.
Jon
 
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Gnome75 said:
Look for answers and or predictions from the guys who have been around for milsurps for awhile because they will have the best and most honest guess.

How much longer will we be able to buy surplus 7.62X54r? I have been debating buying a carbine version of a mosin and I don't want to bother if ammo no longer be available or cheap.

I already reload 303 and I do not want to take up another cartridge in the future. I know other companies like PPU are still making it but I don't want to pay factory made ammo prices.

Are commie countries even still making it? I feel like in 2025 we should be able to buy ammo made in 1995 just like we buy ammo now made in 1985. Or does it not work that way?
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Not old yet but I'll throw in my $.02 anyway. ;)

Firstly, don't be cheap. The ammo will always be available for a cartridge like 7.62x54R. Surplus will continue to climb in prices and eventually dry up, as will the rifles. The rifle will only go up in value as surplus stocks dwindle, so you won't loose on that anyway.

Second, if you already load .303 Brit, literally the easiest cartridge you could add to that is the 7.62x54R. Same powders, primers and bullets.

Third, some countries still manufacture it, but not on the scale of the surplus we're getting today. What we get was made for the Third World War that never happened. Countries these days aren't keeping the same stockpiles they used to. Most countries have moved away from x54R so no it will likely not be available in 2025.

Basically, buy the damn rifle and a few crates of ammo while the going is good and don't think too much about it. :rolleyes:
 
Take the safe approach, buy 7.62x54R Brass cases, as a minimum. When you buy fully loaded factory ammo, try to buy the brass case stuff, even though it is more. Then when you shoot it, collect it off the ground and keep it. The brass is the key, often critically missing, component. The bullets, primers and powder will always be available. The case, maybe not so much. Hedge your bets, and buy the more expensive brass-cased ammo for now.......or at least do it till you get about 1000-2000 cases. Then you are good for life.
 
Most likely the Mil surp will disappear in the not too distant future however lots of people still make 7.63x54r as it is still heavily used world wide. You will pretty much always be able to get it but the price will end up about the same as 7.62x51 or 303 British.
 
Buy as much as you can NOW, and keep buying. Once Trudeau, the UN and the other bedwetters get done, we will be lucky if we can legally buy ping pong balls for our cork guns. I am not a willynilly naysayer. I started buying in 1965 and haven't quit yet. I have watched the laws slowly encroach on honest gun owners. Magazine capacity limits, certain evil guns banned altogether, Prohib PAL runs out - you lose status, any PAL runs out - you retake the course, barrel length regulations, caliber regulations, and so on. Ever creeping, underhanded sneakiness, outright grabbiness by our so called government has darkened situation. If anybody doesn't think so, then we know who voted liberal.
 
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