In case you missed the news, the Biden-figurehead administration has put the kibosh on the importation of Russian guns and ammo. On its face, it seems like a repeat of the Clinton-era Chinese gun/ammo ban.
Life Goal #267
I would imagine the smart money is creating new packaging an trucking all that Tula ammo over into some border country where it will be relabelled and imported in a grey-market fashion.
I have very few guns in 7.62×39, a pair of AK’s and a pair of SKS, and I bought my ammo a long time ago. Plus, the 7.62AK guns were never more than a tertiary level of backup for me. When the wheels fly off of civilization, it’s gonna be .223 and 9mm topping the charts.
But, it’s further evidence that things like imported ammo are ‘uncertain goods‘. Can a US manufacturer make 7.62×39 ammo? Of course they can. Can they do it cheaply to the point that it’s worth competing with the literally billions of rounds the Russians and Chinese have produced and already recovered their capital outlays on? Heck no. Thats why no US manufacturer has ever really gone heavy into 7.62AK production. As a result, American shooters became dependent on cheap imported ammo. Which is now neither cheap and nor imported.
This is not to say that having an AK or SKS or Ruger American in 7.62 is a bad idea logistically, it just means that, going forward, it’s less of a good idea. As I said, I’ve stocked a goodly amount of 7.62, and I know people with tens of thousands of rounds of the stuff sitting in their basement, so in those cases there’s no real reason to ditch your AK. But, if you didnt have an AK, and were thinking about getting one today, you might want to rethink the ammo situation and perhaps get a .223 AK or just skip the AK and grab an AR.
Lesson to be learned: a consumable product, like ammo of a particular caliber, that is not supported domestically and is available almost only though imported channels is not something that can be considered as ‘reliably sourced’.
“I have very few guns in 7.62×39, a pair of AK’s and a pair of SKS, ”
I LOL’d!
Hmmm, I’m thinking that almost nothing is really “reliably sourced” these days if you don’t have it in your paws now. As you say, not a good time to get into that market, but that doesn’t make it a bad cartridge. Mine is also tertiary, and I can reload, so that brings the price per round down toward import ammo level. And to think, the markets were just starting to recover. Sigh.
CZ – I seem to remember you owning a CZ Brod bolt carbine in 7,62 Ruskie. Light and compact to carry and even comes in .223 Remington if that is your preference.
https://www.state.gov/fact-sheet-united-states-imposes-additional-costs-on-russia-for-the-poisoning-of-aleksey-navalny/
https://www.westernjournal.com/biden-russia-off-hook-pipeline-rages-american-energy-independence/
Cant have the arms/ammo but the pipeline is good……
It’s a 2-fer. Biden gets to stick his finger in your eye while pretending he gives a damn about ‘countering Putin’.
Hmm!! I remember being told by another poster here that I did not know what I was talking about when I said Biden could ban imports of firearms and ammo. I included in my response the very law Biden is using to do it. I am certainly not doing a happy dance about being right!!!
https://www.commanderzero.com/?p=8498
Sportsman’s Guide has Tula 7.62×39 for less than $.50/rd, with free shipping. It also has the 4-pay option to spread payments (which is to say, pain) over 4 months. Of course, SG is only selling it in 1000 rd. quantities.
I am seeing it disappearing from other vendors who are selling it by the 20 rd. box.
Reloading is one option, but since so many AK and SKS owners only shot steel case ammo, they won’t have the brass cases. PMC makes 7.62×39, but, of course, it is much pricier. Welcome to the new normal.
While Biden was right to punish the Russians, he happily got a 2-fer out of this by punishing gun owners, too.
On Friday night, I sent out an alert to my survival email list about the ban on Russian ammunition and told the recipients to stock up fast.pur
The Sportsman’s Guide price I mentioned above is no longer available. It is all out of stock.
What could be purchased for $.08/rd. 15 years ago, could be purchased for $.20/rd. 2 years ago, and could be purchased for $.47/rd. on Saturday morning. Now, the best I see on the internet is $.67/rd.
I recall that .308 Tula could be purchased for $.38/rd. 2 years ago. Now, it, too, is about $.67/rd.
Because the bottom end of ammo on the market has been eliminated, expect that non-Russian ammunition manufacturers will pick up the slack, but expect increased demand for their products to increase because there is no alternative.
While I have heard some people claim that they can safely reload old Russian steel cases, reloading old steel cases will most likely be like playing Russian roulette. (Pun intended.) No, thank you. I am not that desperate.
The price of Russian-made firearms may well increase due to scarcity because that’s the way the market works but, in general, the incentive to buy AK and SKS rifles due to cheap ammo availability will disappear.
No matter what you have or how much you have stockpiled, it’s always wise to live by the adage of “Waste Not, Want Not”. As tie possibility of the wheels falling off this trolly spreads worldwide, sooner than later, aggravated by the comrades inna the big white house and their fellow dimbulbs throughout the world inhabiting the power centers throughout. Always pick up what is left behind. Remember, someone else’s leftovers can become your cake. Don’t waste a thing.
So that’s why I’m seeing a lot more Chinisum and Russain stuff for sale at very reasonable prices up here North of Disorder. Nice!
now I feel like a genius when I bought 550 round Norinco yellow box and Yugo brass case/berdan primed spam cans for $89 a case (2 cans per case) back in the 80’s.
Wonder what the prices will be for resale on that now? May be time to unload it and invest in PSA AR platforms.
Saw it. It makes little sense. The event they are supposedly sanctioning happened 3 years again before Jomentia became the Imposter and Chief. Now the 3 year olds in the Ice Cream Regime are stopping the flow of all ammo from Russia and certain firearms made in Russia. Your right. Red Army standard is kinda next door. The big problem is the limits that Red Hilda imposed on the importation of ammo from Eastern European manufacturers is still active. That limited the entire continent of Europe to no more then 3 billion rounds per month. That was reduced from 9 billion rounds. Now I know that sounds like a lot. But ten million firearms were purchased in June of this year alone. Millions more in the previous months. New gun owners want to shoot. Existing gun owners need to practice.
During the last four years of the Obama debacle our government was buying up massive amounts of ammo. Government agencies were being given armed agency status to cover the massive increase in ammo buying. The Dept of Education put out a bid notice for 400 Remington tactical shotguns. Why? I tried to find out but never could get a straight answer. In the last 6 month’s before Trump was sworn in millions upon millions of rounds of ammo was destroyed by feeding it into shredding machines.
Components are still very hard to get. I looked at Natchezz today trying to find bullets and powder. Out of stock on everything I looked at.
Most of the import licenses that are active for Russian ammo will be revoked. Applications for import certificates that are pending renewal will be denied.
So the hoped for increase we thought we’d see from the restart of Remingtons plants and the new plants won’t really do much to allieviate the situation.
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
I’ve read elsewhere that Wolf isn’t made in Russia anymore, and as you say, repackaging is likely to happen. There were panic buys end of the week; the big question is, how much will come back and when? And does this apply to Russian sourced ammo, or just imports from Russia, or imports from Russian companies?
One good thing. After the old Soviet Union went tango uniform all of the rifles and carbines of the Mosin- Nagant persuasion were moved to Ukraine because of warehouse considerations. So the 7 62x54R should still be able to be imported. I have also noted the brass and bullets have been available from American manufacturers. My big concern us really with the 9X18 mm Makarov ammo. I do like the caliber and the pistols I have that shoot it. Again here. Most former Combloc countries make that calibers as well. The Czech made one of the best pistols ever chambered in the caliber. The CZ82 is a fine piece. And new magazine are available stateside. Keep’em Shooting has those as well as new mags for the P64 Polish made Radom pistol. I have one of each. Well made and they are both extremely accurate.
Never heard of a 9X18 mm Makarov that would not shoot .380 ACP just fine.
Now all you need do is find some .380.
Good luck on that.
Considering the bullet diameters are wildly different, the .380 may shoot in the Mak but it’s gonna rattle down the bore and give perhaps even keyhole.
The mags can be used in both. The problem is the bullet diameter. The 380acp like the 9mm Lugar fires a .355 diameter bullet. The Markarov fires a .362 diameter bullet. It’s enough of a difference to give one pause.
The CZ82 shares the same type of rifling as the Glock firearms.
Besides since I don’t reload for the 380 I have no firearms in that caliber. I find the 9×18 has a higher muzzle velocity and is more powerful then the 9x17mm. I’ve always looked at the 380 as kind of a mouse gun. It’s better then nothing. But I like something heavier. To my thinking and experience the 9mm is about the lightest caliber to use. Now with the current evolution in projectile design and ballistics it is better then ever. The geometric shape of the bullets have always been at fault. Especially after the new high tempered safety glass was introduced in the early 1970s. My preferred working gun was always a 45acp Colt Combat Commander. After that a 12 gauge shotgun with magnum loads of 00 buck.
There is a reason the European and American gun companies started making such high capacity magazines for new guns. After the CZ75 hit the market with a 17 round capacity then everyone had to do that. In my experience more does not always transmit into better. Power over quantity is a better equation and the fact I’m still here proves that.
There is non-Russian 9×18 ammo but yes, Wolf is probably what I’ve shot the most of for new ammo in recent years. My EG Mak hasn’t seen much range time the last year plus though.
While it’s possible to rebarrel an actual Makarov from 9×18 to 380 it requires a barrel press plus the actual 380 barrel….
Personally, I wouldn’t run 380 through a 9×18 Mak outside of a significant security issue (with no other firearms available) or a couple rounds as a range test.
Steelheart
Now that’s an interesting dicotomy. The Russian, East German and Bulgarian guns are all identical. The thing that irritates the hell out if me is the first 2 are C&R eligible while the Bulgarian guns are not. The only difference is the country of origin. Same thing with the Tokarev pistols. Yugoslavia, Polish, Romainian and Russian all qualify. The Chinese guns do not. Personally I’d rather have a Romainian or Polish made gun. Or Russian. But those are expensive and hard to come by. Interestingly the Tokarev TT33 is the only pistol round that can penetrate a Kevlar vest. It has a very high muzzle velocity at 1900fps. Essentially an Eastern European version of the Cold model 1903.
tula and others were already offshoring some their production. the last wolf i got came from taiwan. others are moving to bulgaria and former soviet states. but i agree, depending on anything imported is not the best. wish my meds were made here too. a vz58 is the only 7.62 i have currently, more as a novelty than anything else. the ammo shortage could be considered a good thing, since spray and pray is no longer the norm.
You must have purchased Wolf Gold, as it is made in Taiwan at a factory that made ammo for the US Government during the Iraq War, or so I heard.
Of course, with the mess in the world that Ice Cream Joe has created, the Communist Chinese will probably own all of Taiwan soon, so-o-o-o…
I checked Tulsa website yesterday. It shows Russia as the location if st least their offices. Silver Bear and Golden Bear I was unable to find country location on their website.
S&B is in the Czech Republic. I think Red Army Standard is in Romania. Won’t be surprised to see many of the former Warsaw Pact nations take advantage of the situation. Some are now even members if NATO.
The Supreme Idiot takes from us but gives to the Taliban and ISIS. Over at The Gateway Pundit there is an article that gives an up to date list of weapons, vehicles, combat aircraft, ammo., tactical gear and pallets of US currency.
There is enough material and monetary resources here that can and probably will equip and fund a 400, 000 man Army. The entire region will be destabized.
To top it off there are warehouses that we have no idea what is in them. It took a very high security clearance to gain access. Now the enemy has it.
Every day the news gets worse here.
By the way. Because of the amount of petro dollars the bump up in crude prices have seen since the Supreme Idiot has caused by shutting down a good portion of the US petroleum output will more then make up for money lost by this embargo on ammo.
The state owned Russian oil company will make up for it. That and the new oil pipeline that Gazprom is building into Germany. So this will backfire like everything else this idiot is doing.
Plenty of buyers in afganistan very soon.
For those that care about nuances this “ban” was interesting because it wasn’t done by Executive Order, this was a State Department import licensing action. The result is the same but its a reminder that there are so many ways to skin the cat when the government decides it wants something done.
I checked all my 7.62x39mm today. I’ve had this stuff since Bubba the Arkansas Traveler was El Presidente los Status Unitas. All of it was made in Hungry. Place I worked had several of us that had AK or SKS rifles. We would go in and buy a pallet of ammo. One of the guys had an FFL and got news on the good buys. Everything I have is Hungarian manufacture. My 9mm and Makarov was all made in Russia. My 7.62x54R was made in Romania. I don’t think the ban covers anything but Russian made stuff.
Several of the places I do business with are sending me information on the coming ban and they are running specials. If you can $399.99 a case a special for 7.62x39mm. Even been seeing some Tula made .22LR ammo. Not really much of a buy. But I have plenty of that.
Like MichiganPrepper stated – S&B and others make fine 7.62×39, just not as inexpensive as the Russian stuff. I haven’t loaded much 7.62×39 in the past few years but that’s about to change. I need to work up a load worth stockpiling, and get more reloadable ammunition in inventory. Yeah, the Biden Ban is a bummer, but capitalism will get it figured out eventually.
It really hurts casual shooters thr most. I just hope people pay attention to whom is putting the pinch on their sport, hobby, free exercise of Constitutional rights.