Russian Ammo Going Up?

There is talk of possible Trade Embargoes coming against Russia, because of their invasion of Ukraine.

All of the reasonable 7.62 x 39 and 'most all 5.45 x 39 Ammunition comes from that part of the World.

So if you have an AK or an SKS or an AK-74 you may want to consider stocking up before the supply gets tight.

Pays to have a US made AR right now.

Well, I just ordered 500 rounds of 7.62 x 39 for $5.90 per box of 20, including shipping.  That's less than 30 cents per round: I can't purchase .30 cal projectiles for that price.

I was forced to.

I pulled out a box of 240 rounds, labeled "2008" that I had in the old (poorly air-conditioned) house here in Mississippi.  They were just in their cardboard boxes, and I didn't have them in moisture-proof containers.

I found spots of corrosion starting on a couple of pieces of the brass.

So, it's all got to go.      




(about 50 rounds at a time, down at the range)

So any corrosion will make a round unusable?

No, as long as the corrosion doesn't go all the way through the brass.

Some Old-Old ammunition (like WWII ammo) may corrode from the powder breaking back down to its acid components, and they eat the brass from the inside-out.  That is definitely unserviceable.

Brass with a couple of spots of outside corrosion is fine to use.  I'm just going to rotate it and replace it, because it was not kept in controlled conditions, and it may not be fine, if I came back & checked it in another 5 years.

(By the way, Phillip, I was being a bit facetious. There was no big rush to rotate my ammunition. It just gave me a good excuse to go down to the range and start shooting, then order more.)

Any excuse for range time is a good excuse!  

How do you store them moisture proof?

RRCmdrBennett wrote:  

How do you store them moisture proof?

"Three Tier Approach."

#1.  Store it in a cool/dry area of the house.  (This was an old drafty hot house in humid Mississippi. In this part of the country, much of the air comes up from the Gulf of Mexico. When it hits that cold "Yankee" air, you end up with 100% humidity, and water dripping off of anything cool: like concrete steps, garage floors, basement walls, etc.)

#2.  Put it in an air-tight container.  Best/cheapest is a .50 cal ammo can with good rubber seals (found at gun shows for about $7.50 each: the cost of 1 box of cheap ammo).

#3.  Throw in a charged silica-gel desiccant  pack.  An easy way to charge them is to put them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 220 degrees for an hour (stinks up the kitchen, & Mama has a fit), or on a hot July Day, lay them on a cookie sheet in the sun in your car for a few hours.  Then immediately put them into an air-tight container (Ammo Can, Mason Jar, etc) until needed.

By the way, Electric Oven is better than Gas, because a Gas Oven does give off Water Vapor from the burning hydrocarbons of the gas flame.  If you have a toaster oven that you could put in your basement or garage, that would probably work.

If you check out the first post in this thread, 7.62x39 WAS recently $9.89 per box, but steel-cased European ammo has just come down to $7.59.

When I started this thread, it was $5.90 per box, including shipping.

You may refer to me as Carnac the Magnificent, or the Forum Prophet (whichever you prefer).