Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Derp.

At the last Indy 1500 fun show, the ammo situation was pretty grim. Those dealers who had 5.56 in bulk quantities had it priced in accordance with its scarcity and desirability (those that didn't found themselves quickly cleaned out and unable to restock.)

I've got a fair amount of 5.56 ammo on hand, enough for a couple classes and a few range trips, if it comes to that, but there was one thing I noticed at the show that had me slapping my forehead and feeling like a maroon.

See, while almost all service rifle calibers, even 7.62x54R, were effected to one extent or another by the hysteria, spam cans of Russian surplus 5.45x39mm were still ubiquitous and extremely reasonably-priced, especially by contemporary standards.

If one had a switch-barrel AR upper from MGI Military, like the one pictured below, one could just swap in one's 5.45 barrel and bolt and be assured of a supply of cheap and readily-available centerfire ammo...

...and it uses standard AR barrels!
...assuming that one was all smart and stuff and had actually procured a 5.45 barrel and bolt ahead of time, because asking around at the show only resulted in vendors looking at me like I was speaking Armenian.

Incidentally, this should have occurred to me much earlier. During the last great ammo panic, smart people were using factory 5.45 ARs from Smith & Wesson to keep their hand in when high-volume shooting with factory 5.56 would have been nearly prohibitive.
.

27 comments:

Andy said...

Ask for 7.62x54R spam cans was $200 at last show, which was especially silly given that it was $80/can online.

Firehand said...

There's ALWAYS a "Why the bleep didn't I think about that back then?" something. Just waiting.

Britt said...

One of things that's pissed me off the most about the Great Gun Buy of 2013 is the gun owners whining about "price gouging" and threatening boycotts. Whining about prices in the (mostly) free market that is ammo and firearms is like whining about the tides. Short of the government dumping a few warehouses of 5.56, the only thing that's going to drop the price is more production. Which we will see more of if the price stays high enough to attract new entrants into the market. Let prices work people.

Critter said...

Got plenty of guns and sammo laid by so I'm riding out the panic. I'll also be on hand when, in a few month, some folks find themselves with a room full of toys and a Way over due AMEX bill.

Critter said...

At current rates of buying, and backorders, a warehouse full of ammo would last about 20 minutes on the market.

Tam said...

Britt,

"Let prices work people."

From your lips to Adam Smith's ears.

Some of these people need to get pimp-slapped by the invisible hand. ;)

Stephen said...

Three of those factory Smith's plus a couple ak74 variants were adopted into our big happy family prior to the last big panic precisely for the reasons you state. And ever since, the Big Brown Van of Joy has been making regular stops chock full o' 5.45 goodness. As a matter of fact my UPS dude stopped by yesterday. :-)

Kristophr said...

I picked up a trapdoor Springfield for $250 from an estate sale last week.

Some old cowboy had cut the rifle to carbine length ( at the second barrel band, looks like a professional had recrowned it at least ), and had bobbed the hammer spur so it would fit in his saddle scabbard.

Not sure if I am going to turn it into a fake custer carbine or not.

I can shoot .45-70 in it. Or .45-70. Or even .45-70!

Pakkinpoppa said...

Tam...
Thanks to you I always hum the "fun show song" on the way to our little slice of...holy froglegs, Batman, I have to park all the frikken way out here...?

But anyway, 'twas wall to wall folk at the gathering of metal and steel. And "the Fun Show Song" gets hummed (need to print the lyrics...my 3 year old is starting to repeat the first verse which I remember parts of) after the words are forgotten.

556 was...rare. 22 long rifle was so scarce I pondered a return trip Sunday to "spread the wealth" with a tidy profit...being the few people who had it were selling for $6 a box of 50...figured I could sell a couple bricks for 40 a piece. Maybe 50...

556 was ranging from 10 a box to a dollar per round.

Used, aluminum AR magazines had 100 stickers on them...wow.

Capitalism. Panic. I call it "the Great Panic of the Rehiring"...

And make fun of a buddy of mine who's Block 19 hasn't seen a range since the one time we went 3 years ago, who last weekend bought a CZ pump shotgun and a Ruger SR22...and Vance's, the big gun store in Columbus had NO 22 to sell him with the pistol. Though he bought a brick 3 years ago to go shooting with me sometime since I had (have) an Advantage conversion for my Block 19, so at least he's got that.

I made fun of him...in "Jersey" they'd consider it an "arsenal"...hundreds of "assault" bullets...multiple 'assault clips'...an "assault" shotgun...

Steve Skubinna said...

Kristophr, I have a Marlin 1895G in .45/70, and I shoot Buffalo Bore magnum rounds in it. 430 gr., 1900 fps, and a kick like a howitzer. I replaced the stock lever with a big loop because it was beating the hell out of my hand. Not for a vintage Trapdoor, though.

Anonymous said...

For about half the cost of that upper setup, you could buy everything you need to reload your used brass.

Kristophr said...

Steve;

430 gr. Remington Express loads were kinda brutal in that carbine.

But having to individually load rounds did slow the pace of shoulder damage.

staghounds said...

I'm going to put those three bricks of 22 Long on Craigslist...

Kevin said...

Yeah, I got two of the 15Rs. And many cases of soviet 5.45x39 from RGUNs (motto should be "We are slow, but it will get there. Eventually."). So far it seems 1983 was an an excellent year for Commie war reserve ammo, it's gone bang every time, but the cproducts magazines are not so reliable. I'm going to try to replace the followers with hacked up magpul followers, if I can ever get any magpul followers.

Kristophr said...

Oh, and Ted Nugent did an interview on CNN with Piers Morgan today.

Apparently getting his ass kicked is his new ratings strategy.

Anonymous said...

Well they've obviously never looked upon a redhead from Armenia. :]

CIII

Bubblehead Les. said...

Speaking of Spam Cans, my Buddy the Surplus Dealer is sitting on Rainchecks for 7.62 x 54R from Dunham's Sporting Goods at $80 a can. BUT, IF they get their next Shipment, AND he's close enough to the Head of the List, THEN they'll call him and Honor the Price. But if they run out, then he'll have to wait for the next Shipment.

Meanwhile, as I ponder on whether to buy another 8 mm Mauser to justify using my 3/4 of a Spam Can of Yugo 8mm.....

Old NFO said...

+1 on Firehand... sigh

Munson said...

Sshhh...dont tell anyone

Gewehr98 said...

Anonymous, have you sourced reloading components lately? Once the ammo shelves went bare, then the hoardes (hoarders?) made a bee-line to the powder/bullet/primer aisles. If you didn't have reloading supplies laid in before the Big Scare of 2013, you ain't gonna get much until things settle down.

I knew about the 5.45x39 thing, but was hesitant to commit to something that comes in only one FMJ loading, and isn't reloadable afterwards.

Castle G-98 is still well-stocked from Y2K and 2008, both in ammo and components. Although, I could use some more Lyman cast bullet moulds...

Tam said...

Anon 1:35,

"For about half the cost of that upper setup, you could buy everything you need to reload your used brass."

You:

1) Don't know whether I have a press,
2) Don't know whether I feel like dealing with reloads in a high-round-count SLR, and
3) Don't know what I paid for that upper...

...but do go on! ;)

Tam said...

G98,

"If you didn't have reloading supplies laid in before the Big Scare of 2013, you ain't gonna get much until things settle down."

Yup. If I burn up these primers I'm sitting on, resupply is looking grim. :(

Douglas2 said...

In other realms, the surplus market has what the surplus market has, and there is no predicting what the surplus market will have in a year's time.
I designed a device around a tiny wire-rope hoist that ran on 12VDC and under 1A, knowing that every electronics surplus shop on the interwebz had thousands in stock of some variation on the theme for under $10 each. When the time came that I actually wanted to build a few dozen of the device, no-one had anything like it (for any price) that I could find.

skidmark said...

Take heart! All will return to something closer to what it used to be than what it is right now - maybe.

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2013/01/update-status-of-gun-industry.html No guns because they can't get the right steel. No ammo because the .mil and popo need it more than you. Same for mags. Reloading? Hah! Them components are needed elsewhere.

I'm thinking there just might be something to running around the neighborhood with a gas airsoft playing Mall Team Three.

stay safe.

J.R.Shirley said...

Yeah, some of us found those S&W 5.45 uppers a bit ago. :-)

Tam said...

"Yeah, some of us found those S&W 5.45 uppers a bit ago. :-)"

Oh, rub it in, why dontcha? :p

J.R.Shirley said...

Hey, I tried to spread the word, sister: http://xabyssus.blogspot.com/2011/10/little-soviet.html?m=1