7.62*39mm ammo shortage fact or fiction

Everytime I go into a dealer or gunshow I see someone selling surplus ammo at some outrageous price claiming the supply has ended that no more is coming in. That it will be banned by the first of the year? How much of this is truth and how much is fiction, people trying to get more for there ammo. I have seen gunshow and dealer prices from $150 to a high of $299. Yet there are many suppliers on the web who are selling for around 120 delivered I just recieved some from Cole Distributing a week ago.
To me this seems to be the biggest con job.

[LongDuck]

I have seen it where I live, too. My impression is that it is a con because many of the major distributors are selling Russian surplus 123gr, hollow-point for about $125/1000 rounds - which has been the going price for about a year now.

Whenever a scare of a ban is in place, people think that it's for real without researching it and the next thing you know, prices go up. With all of the Y2K issues, prices are going to be at their highest in November/December, so I wouldn't recommend waiting that long to buy (if you need it before then... which you might.).

It's worth your time to stock up now while the prices are still *fairly* low, but price shop - Cole Distributing is the lowest price I've seen and thats delivered, too.

After February, '00, prices are likely to be at an all-time low if everything goes well with the social pressures of the century change as the weekend survivalists dump their ammo reserves onto the market. Can't wait for that - it'll be blasting time around my camp!!

Take care,

People talk about this Y2k issue but truth is a lot of what is going around is fiction. I really predict it is going to be no worse than one of the recent computer virus scares. Some companies may go under but I doubt if society as we know it will end. Stock market may plunge into recession but I doubt if people will have to be shooting their neighbors right and left (and up or down if you live in an apartment). Really a pile of panic. Not that I havent taken some mild preparations for that uncertainty factor but I refuse to go nuts over it. As for ammo prices going up I will probably buy another case or two to supply my shooting needs since I dont get out that much.

p.s if society goes down the drain at y2k all the guns wont be worth one recurve bow and arrow in the long run.

Happy shooting..........

[TinMan99]

There is a shortage for two main reasons. One is the Y2K scare and dealer hype. Second is the fact that Klin-ton has instructed the agency responsible for approving ammunition import permits to use every bureaucratic maze at its disposal to delay the process, extending the three month process to six months. There's a lag until the pipeline fills up with six-month supply orders. Another reason to vote for George Bush Jr., President.

TinMan99

[Devil Dog]

I was just talking to a guy at the largest Gun shop in this area and he was saying that he cannot get all the 7.62x39 he ordered from his distributor. He ordered 20
cases and got only 5. The price per box for Russian Hollow Point is $3.79 for a 20 rd box. I still see cases available for a reasonable price, but wonder if any of the stuff is backordered. Fortunately, I have a few thousand rounds saved away for the future, so I do not really worry about the current shortages. I suspect that in 6 months or so, prices and availabiliy will be
as they were a few months ago. If you do not have it yet, get it now, as prices will only go up as Y2K fever gains momentum!
Curiously, the same dealer says that 5.56
is plentifull, and there seems to be no shortages in this caliber. Maybe the enlightened have AK's and are stocking up on the ammo? As some hardcore types say, you only need enough arms and ammo to allow you to get something better when the shit hits the fan down the road!

D.D.

[Ay-K]

Ammo is still plentiful in my opinion. There are three major factors right now that influence its price from one guy to the next.

1. Gun show gouging
2. Y2K speculation
3. Import restriction rumors

I reserve and hold in great comtempt the gun show dealers. In my last few visits to various gun show I have been appalled by such flagrant overpricing and speculation that it made me wonder if these people were conducting some sort of socio-economic experiment to see how much desperate idiots would pay for the bloody wares they were peddling. I'm not talking about the occasional jerk-off here and there, I'm saying it was RAMPANT.
Not to mention the additional sideshow ripoffs like parking and ENTRANCE fees. I will no longer attend any gunshow ever again. It's a waste of time to even go see. I get my deals over the internet and my local gunshop/store and I don't have to pay to shop. They deserve my money.
ay-k

[TinMan99]

Ay-K:

I wouldn't throw down on gunshows because of the presence of dealers that push for all the market will bear. Unpleasant though it may be, our system of economics is based on supply and demand. Demand is going up and so the dealers smelling a profit raise their prices. The best thing to do is shop around. I know of a couple places that still have 7.62x39 Russian hollowpoint for $115/case N-C ammo. Shotgun News has them listed. As for the entrance fee, the people putting on the show have to cover their costs, fees, permits, and show enough profit to make it worth their time. As for parking fees, you can attribute that to the facility that the show is being held at. It's the facility management that usually commands a parking fee. Gunshows are your best source of spare parts, accessories, and new products you may not have exposure to any other way. Unlike mail order, you can inspect before you buy. Don't discount them too readily. If you feel strongly enough about the parking fee, complain to the show's promoter, not the guys taking your money and stamping your hand, but the person(s) that call the shots. If enough people kvetch at them, they might make the facility stop charging parking fees or move to another facility.

TinMan99

I dont begrudge the dealer an oppurtunity to get fair market value that is what it is all about isnt it **LOL**. My concern is that they are falsely stimulating the publics perception of scarcity, when no shortage seems to exist. Why would people be selling ammo for 120 a case if they could sell any amount at 150+? Of course I guess the internet suppliers really on volume sales. As for gunshow and sporting expo fees I dont blame the organizers they have expenses too. Such as cleaning and liability insurance for the event (which just keeps going up). Not to mention many sporting expos are presented by non profits such as the Shriners who do 2 a year in these parts for a very nominal fee. All for a good cause. Take care.

[TinMan99]

I agree, Russian and S&B 7.62x39 is still coming into the country, it's just taking longer for them to get their import permits approved by Klin-ton's cronies that head these agencies. When a vendor is telling you there's no more coming in, look at him and inform him or her what you know. It's not that there is no more coming in, there's a delay due to the bureaucrats making it hard for it to come in, but come in it does. Wolf Ammunition, Russia's new commercial brand 7.62 and 5.45 is coming in now and showing up on the shelves. This is brand-new production, not military surplus. Red-lacquered, JHP, steel-cased, N-C, boat-tailed rounds. It's a sales-pitched designed to inspire concern that it's their last chance to buy this ammo at whatever price. An unscrupulous but typical ploy.

TinMan99

[LClarke]

You know I read somewhere that Mr. Bush is not all that pro-gun and that he has flip-flop on some issues concerning our well being. Any facts to the contrary would be welcome but I don't look to him as the knight on the white horse.

Bush like his father sandbags on gun control issues and will give some if forced I imagine. But like most elections we make the best of poor choices, and Gore would probably ban guns totally if he could. Maybe we should all write in Charleton Hesston **LOL** Political types who can understand them.

[wayne]

I live in the middle of a triangle with Cincinnati,Oh , Loisville and Lexington,Ky. Cole cartrige sets up at most Gunshows in the area and Gary's prices hold back some of the other dealers who would like to price gouge. Here the prices are pretty stable with average prices around $115.00 a 1000 for 7.62x39 hollowpoints or softpoints. 5.45x39 ammo is $149.00 per 1000.

[TinMan99]

Bush Jr. signed into law Texas' CCW and no-lawsuits against gunmakers bills. He ain't Mr. Heston, but he's the best option available to us.

TinMan99

[LongDuck]

G W Bush sent me an individulized letter after I broadcast an e-mail out to the reps regarding House bills on Juvenile Crime prevention.

He said that he signed that CCW bill into law in TX, and was very up front about saying that he knows the solution to the problem is in prosecuting the criminals under federal law, not state law.

I, for one, am going to vote for him unless something outstanding takes place...

[Ivan8883]

Ammo is cheap and plentiful at the recent Silverado Gun Show in Frederick ,MD. end of June. But what future holds with Big Comrade running things who Knows? My advice is stock up now while ammo is plentiful and prices down. Y2k is real in my opinion,but how bad? Coast Guard 9th District in Michigan is telling families of Coast Guard to get ready for Y2k with supplies for extended problems. I have the memo. Go to y2kcoming.com I dont care for any Bush,either the younger or old one who sold us out on taxes and assault gun ban. Both are Skull and Bones Members and New World Order boys. I like Senator Smith and Jesse Ventura on a third party ticket(Reform Party would be perfect.

[ammo]

The reason that people are saying that there is a shortage on ammo is because Mr. Bill Clinton signed a bill that makes it illegal to import military surplus ammo. But there is still a shit load of surplus ammo in the US.

------------------
Gotta love the ak-47

[recon]

When did he do that?

[Heavy Metal]

I don't think buyers club would be selling it for 70something dollars per thousand if this were true.

[Schuetzenman]

He didn't ban surplus ammo. He has had the customs bunch use a law passed by Congress to ban the importation of "US Technology" arms and related items. This bill was to cover full firearms to prevent what happened with the "Blue Sky" Carbines and Garand rifles. These guns were lend-lease to Korea. They were supposed to return them to our Gov. but instead they sold them to a division formed by Navy Arms. This pissed off the Fat-Cats in Gov. and they came back with this bill.

So along comes Blow-job Bill Klinton and he finds out about this bill. As with all laws written in the Gov. the wording is vague and can be construed to ban just about anything related to the core topic.

So Billy Boy has the customs people refuse to approve the import permits for .30-06 and .30 Carbine ammo becaue these are U.S. Technology. They even tried to stretched this to ammo manufacutred on any assembly lines that the U.S. helped a foriegn nation construct. Korea for example. There was a time when PMP was banned in all calibers, because we built their ammo plant.

I understand that PMP is building a plant in Missouri to get around this and it seems Customs has relaxed on the "assembly line" interpretation of the law.

Any way, just ask yourself this, "how much .30-06 surplus and Carbine surplus have you seen at shows or advertised in the SGNews in the last 10 months"? Your answer is going to be damn little if any. This is because of Sick Willie's directives to the Customes Department.

As to banning Soviet technology ammo, No it isn't banned! So now you know some of the hidden information about "where did all the .30-06 go".

[This message has been edited by Schuetzenman (edited 12-02-1999).]

[Reynolds]

Did you mean PMC (Korean) instead of PMP (South African)?