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Surplus Ammo
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The availability and prices of surplus
ammo are factors that have to be taken into
consideration if you want to buy a surplus military rifle.
Let me re-phrase that...
I should say, if you want to
buy a surplus military rifle to SHOOT... collecting surplus and
antique guns is a whole different sport. This page
will cover the more common military surplus ammunition available, and some
of the rifle choices available for those calibers. |
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7.62 x
39
| The standard round for the AK-47 and the SKS.
This has long been one of the cheapest centerfire rounds
available, military surplus or otherwise. Demand for this
caliber has surged domestically, with the huge quantities of
surplus AK & SKS rifles purchased over the past decade in
the U.S. There has also been a huge demand for 7.62x39
in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recent prices for 7.62x39 ammo
are around .28 to .30 cents per round. The
round pictured here is silver bear 123gr ammo, berdan primed,
and manufactured in Russia at the bernaul machine
tool plant. The FMJ round has a muzzle velocity
of around 2450 fps. The 7.62x39 cartridge
is also available as a hollow point bullet. |
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Weapons using 7.62x39:
SKS
AK-47
Ruger Mini
30 |
7.62 x 51
| Developed as the standard NATO round
in the 1950's the 7.62x51 nato round is still widely used
today. The first U.S. weapon to use this round was the
M14 rifle, which is still employed as a sniper rifle by the
modern military. The M60 machine gun also utilizes
the 7.62x51. The Belgian FN FAL rifle, in its many
forms (L1A1, STG58, G1) was the most prolific user of
this round, in many countries around the world. The
muzzle velocity for 7.62x51 is around 2700 fps, but the ft/lb
energy is almost 1000ft/lb more than that of the
7.62x39. (2600ft/lb) In the past surplus ammo has been
imported from South Africa, Portugal, India, Pakistan,
Malaysia, among others. Usually the Nato stuff
is harder to find, more expensive but better
ammo. Surplus ammo from some of the non-NATO
countries can be corrosive, dirty and not as
accurate. |
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Weapons using 7.62x51
FN FAL
M14
Cetme |
7.62 x
54R
| Big brother of the 7.62x39, this
round is best known for its use in the Russian
Mosin Nagant rifles. The casing is the older rimmed
design, thus the "R" designation. Similar to the
.30-06 ballistically, at the muzzle, velocity is around 2500fps
and energy is 2600ft/lbs. Some of this surplus
ammunition can create an impressive fireball when shot through
the M44 rifle. You dont have
much to fear walking through any remote wilderness with an old
Mosin Nagant the the 7.62x54 backing you
up. I'm not a reloading expert, but
I seem to recall that these are not easily reloaded. Hungarian surplus ammo like the ammo shown to the
right sells for right around .25 cents
per round. Thats value for your money
right there. |
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Weapons using 7.62x54R
Mosin Nagant M44
Mosin Nagant M91/30
Tokarev SVT40
Dragunov Sniper rifle |
8mm Mauser
(7.92x57)
| The famous 8mm mauser round used in
the standard issue German infantry rifle of WWII, the Mauser
model 98. The 8mm has a muzzle velocity of about
2600 fps (surplus ammo) and energy at 3700 ft/lbs. The
picture to the right is turkish surplus. Prices for 8mm
surplus ammo are in the .28 to .32 cent per round range,
depending largely on the quantity you buy. The Mauser
rifle and the 8mm round is a deadly effective combination
in the right hands. The rifle, like many
other surplus weapons of that time only holds 5 rounds,
but is reloaded quicly with the use of stripper clips, which
do cut down on weight. (mags) |
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Weapons using 8mm mauser
Mauser 98K
Mauser M48
FN49
Egyptian Hakim |
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