All,
I'd appreciate your advice to help me plan my 2008 ammo purchases. I'm a latecomer who missed his chance to "buy it cheap and stack it deep."
Does anyone know how much of the current Greek surplus 30-06 is left? Is it projected to all gone in 2008 or is there enough to last several years given current demand?
I don't want to miss out on this opportunity, given rising prices and limited availability. Since I don't have the funds to purchase a lifetime supply, are there any other pockets of reasonable quality/price surplus on the horizon?
Thank you in advance for guidance, the first gun show of the year is this weekend, and I recognize the need to start taking positive actions.
I will also be attending the Boulder City, NV Appleseed this month.
Looking forward to a great 2008.
At this point, the Greek is basically a "one time good deal" and when it is gone it is gone forever.
The Korean, between iffy and dangerous and half of it corrosive, is about the only other game in town.
The Greeks and Koreans are probably the last two countries to be using the .30-06 in any serious way, so they are the bottom of the barrel.
After that it is commercial ammo or reloads.
Buckshot
That is not good news and it makes me think twice about purchasing a garand :-\
Quote from: Xeyed on January 05, 2008, 12:54:39 AM
Since I don't have the funds to purchase a lifetime supply, are there any other pockets of reasonable quality/price surplus on the horizon?
Not exactly surplus, but if you have a Walmart that still sells ammo, bulk .22 is still an outstanding deal, but it won't last forever. You need as much of it as you can get for your LTR, of course.
To answer the OPs original question the Greek will be here for a long time to come. The CMP bought in millions of rounds of it and I have seen posted on their forum it will last AT CURRENT SELLING RATES for several more years. Now agreed,when it's gone,it's gone....but it will be awhile before it is gone.
I would also argue that at current prices for any other serious caliber being .40-.50 before shipping and loose or in boxes, that CMP Greek ammo delivered to your door on clips and in bandos for .30 a round is still the good ole days. So,buy it(relatively) cheap and stack it deep.
And then get a .22 like Snake said ;D TJR
I have shot probably 5-6 k rounds of corrosive korean m2 ball without a single FTF or any isssue. It shoots 4 MOA or better in both of my Garands and I have been pleased with its results. That being said if you find a deal on korean m2 ball don't be afraid of it. As for the corrosive part, buy some windex with ammonmia and soak your bolt and run several windex soaked patches down the bore and through the gas system and then clean as normal. The ammonia deactivates the corrosive salts in the residue. I have never had an issue with corrosion of any sorts. The US army as did most of the worlds armies used corrosive ammo for a long time. With proper maintenance the ammo and rifle combo will serve you well.
I use some stuff I got from WalMart called "Black-Off". It comes in a pint jug, it's red in color, it's for cleaning black powder rifles and it seems to (therefore) work just great for cleaning up after shooting corrosive ammo in my semi autos. I do disassemble the rifle for cleaning after each shooting session. Patches through the barrel, chamber and gas cylinder and a patch wetted with it to wipe down the rest of the parts (piston, nut, plug, bolt, inside of the receiver, flash suppressor slots, etc). Worked great at the Feb. RBC last year ('course it never hurts to have a freshly cleaned and lubed rifle every morning when you're shootin' a couple hundred rounds a day). Just lube it up again afterwards.
Thanks to all for your feedback. I was able to find some Greek Surplus at the gun show this weekend and started building my inventory. I have a long way to go in comparison to what the gun bible recommends. But I feel better when I remember that Aristotle said "Well begun is half done"
I also picked up a case of .22LR when I found it at Walmart for $9.98 a box, I figured that it would probably be the last time I would see it under $10.00 a box. When I visited Bass Pro latter in the day, all the 22LR was $15-$16 a box. It felt good to be ahead of the curve for a change.
I really don't know the situation on these calibers, but you might want to consider getting a case of 7.62x54R and some of the "spam can" 5.45x39 as well if you can afford it. Both are currently the only surplus out there running at less than 20ยข a round. Even if you don't have a firearm in one of these calibers, you might get one in the future or at least have the ability to trade to someone who does. I remember in the last year or so, 8mm Mauser was plentiful and cheap, then allofasudden, it dried up and is nowhere to be found.
8mm has been bought up by the belt fed machine gun shooters
it's to be found in their garages and basements :)
Jason
got some 30.06 for SELL
NLU 407-CAN - Greek .30-06 ammunition. HXP (Pyrkal) manufacture. Bullet attracts magnet. Boxer primed. Packaged in 8 round clips in bandoleers. 192 rounds per spam can. Price per individual can $80.00 or wooden case at $240.00 for case of four spam cans in wooden cases.....un-opened. I have three cases for sale.
I have one case that has been opened and one spam can that has been opened. That spam can has all the ammo still in bandoleers and sells for $60.00. That case sells for flat $200.00 if you want the whole case.
Contact:
Ed Canupp Apex, NC 27502
ecanupp@nc.rr.com
(919) 606-4132
CASH ONLY
Recently bought from CMP at Creedmore/Butner Eastern Games, May 2008. Reason for selling this ammo is that hard times have forced the sell of Garand Rifles. My loss in your gain, no shipping charges or sales tax on this ammo. Since this is mil surplus ammo there is no warranty expressed or implied, AS IS!
Read all about this ammo at:
http://odcmp.com/ammo.htm
Sorry to have to post this, but the ammo has been spoken for - some people from Ramseur bought it... :'(