Here’s why my Roth is underfunded:
But, with most .223 running around $0.32/@ it seemed like a nice way to get some blasting ammo. For you young bucks who are too young to remember, back before Slick Willy was flavoring his cigars with brunettes we could buy cheap Chinese guns and ammo. How cheap? You could get an SKS and a case of 7.62×39 for about $125-150. Seriously. My UPS guy hated me. Quality-wise it was…interesting. At one point even Chinese gunpowder (hey, they invented the stuff, right?) was on the market very briefly until it turned out that it was basically fireworks powder..it had a burn rate measured in Planck time. Their ammo was a mixed bag…always dirty, often underpowered, but always cheap. Kinda made Wolf look like Federal. All those SKS rifles you see these days were purchased because ammo was nine cents per round.
But, if you were just going to the range to break rocks and make noise…well, it was a pretty good deal. I know a lot of people who salted away cases and cases of this stuff. Not my first choice for Der Tag, but some ammo is (usually) better than no ammo.
This stuff? I’ll probably just use it for playing around with the Mini-14’s.Box says brass case but believe it when I see it. As Uncle Duke says…
Back in the day I bought 7 cases of Norinco yellow box/steel core 7.62×39 for $90 per wooden case in two spam cans. Still have it stashed in the bunker room (a/c and heated). Wonder if it’s still any good? Head stamp from the 60’s but last time I busted one open it looked like new.
Back in the late 80’s when I had my FFL I remember an ad in Shotgun news was touting 20 SKS rifles with 20 cases of ammo for $1100. Didn’t pull the trigger because back then you couldn’t hardly give an SKS away. Sigh. The good old days.
Man that must have been awesome back then. Wonder if we can get back there? Sorry was a youngster in the 80’s.
Man, I remember that yellow and red box Norinco. Also had a version of whilte box with green and black lettering if my fuzzy memory is working – maybe that was 9mm Para ?
Cases of 500 rounds for $25, a wood crate with two of them for $45. Such a deal could be had. I remember those days, surplus firearm market back then was golden. Swedish 38 short rifles for $80 – I bought one but wish I had bought several more, their actions are awesome good !
Yup.
Antique Norinco:
Yellow box = generally steel case w/ steel core FMJ
Red Box = brass case with (usually ) lead core FMJ
White/ Green box = copper washed steel case with soft point or hollow point “hunting” ammo
I still have some of each. The Red stuff was actually pretty good.
There is a black and white box too.
I still have a half dozen left.
Doonesbury…….now THERE is a blast from the past. Thx.
If you’re paying $0.32/round for quality brass .223, you are over-paying by a good margin.
A quick search on ammoengine shows new in box Wolf (steel) available for $0.17/round, and good quality new brass for $0.26/round. Angelfire Ammo makes very good re-manufactured brass .223 for .28 per round (and cheaper if you wait for a promotion).
$0.12 per round for suspect 30 year-old Chinese ammo sounds a lot less appealing when you could have some reliable stuff made this year in the USA with a performance guarantee for a little over twice the price. But to each his own.
Problem is, I don’t consider Wolf to be quality brass .223. Federal is the benchmark I usually go by and its running around $0.30-32 per.
I agree with you on that. The .26/round for brass was for Winchester White Box. Still not great, but much better than Wolf.
Of course, then you have to pay shipping, wait for it to arrive, have a credit card paper trail, etc….
Friends don’t let friends shoot Wolf (in anything other than Chinese/Russian rifles). That’s some extra dirty stuff. At a minimum.
My back still remembers the high (low?) point of x39 ammo at Knob Creek; $75/case. And I didn’t even have a rifle that would shoot it. Or have plans to buy a rifle to shoot it in. I just cant resist A Deal.
Just ordered Federal 5.56 NATO 55gr FMJ 420 Rounds in Ammo Can & Ten (10) PMAG 30 5.56×45 Magazines from Palmetto State Armory for $199.99 with free shipping. Say the mags are worth $11 each and the can $10 then the rounds are 19 cents. Really didn’t need the ammo but just can’t pass up a good deal.
I have ran Wolf Gold through my SBRs without issue. I also have Independence, Federal, Silver Bear etc. Got to see what works and what doesn’t.
I still have 384 rounds of NORINCO 7.62×39 from 1993!!
What you need to watch out for is the steel jacketed/steel core stuff. That was common in 7.62×51/NATO. That Norinco stuff was very accurate due to that construction, but kiss your rifling goodby in a short time. Apparently your barrel will be a smoothbore by 5-6k rounds. 6k was the life expectancy of the typical Soviet/Chinese rifle shooting steel JACKET ammo.
Jimbo, you are keeping it proper so I would bet a toe it is still good to go. I found that stuff hot and accurate in a Yugo SKS. I also note even though mine said non corrosive, it is mildly corrosive (not near as much as surplus Yugo- that stuff would rust a M-1 Abrams shut). That is why it last so well. Just wash out your rifle after shooting with water. No need for all the “windex” videos. Hose it out. Dry it and done. Just like the Russki’s. did.
Thanks. Good time to take one of my penny stoves to the range to heat up water and dump down the barrel. I’m embarrassed to admit how long it’s been since I’ve shot one of the SKS’. Still have a Russian one in cosmoline unissued/unfired.
The market may have shifted to one of being a collectable. Heard rumors that folks are paying $10/box for the old Norinco ammo at gun shows. .
Hottest water possible, with just a squirt of dish soap to make it “wetter” — will dissolve and flush out all that potassium chloride primer residue.
Agree on Federal 5.56. Buy it clipped by the can. Also, IAI is good stuff as well and I buy that when it’s on sale. All 62 grain. Know an old guy with several big sealed cans of WWII surplus .45 ball bought WAAAY back when. He’s only opened one and the ammo was in mint condition. Burned it through his WWII 1911 and it cycled like it was made for it… Oh wait…
Best Regards
Re: Chinese ammo reliability, somewhere I read that Chinese GRENADES exploded after *approximately* five seconds, worrisome for Chinese infantrymen.
Short of RED DAWN, this is never going to be an issue for your readers, but it’s worth remembering.