We are 1.5 years into our new homestead. Two years is my magic number after which I am supposed to transition from “urgent mode” to “important”. This week I finally got my magazine closet organized with some new shelving and lots of stirring around.
Whoah! 7.62×39 is currently dirt cheap, readily available, and I have hardly any of it!
It is almost stupid-crazy that the only thing cheaper to shoot than this big-game-capable round is wimpy .22 Long Rifle rimfire. Dang you can burn a lot of 7.62×39 for just a few bucks and it will reach out a couple hundred yards with more-than-adequate accuracy and effectiveness.
Reloaders find bullets, that is the projectiles, more expensive than completely loaded ammo. The reloaders still have to buy primers, powder and the bullets before they go through the meticulous process of assembling into ammo. Non-USofA manufacturers are willing to do that for free… no, quite a bit less than free.
There are several mail-order houses who do right by us in this situation. Twenty cents a round is hard to beat… and for centerfire, useful-terminal-balistic rounds darn near impossible to top.
https://www.sgammo.com/catalog/rifle-ammo-sale/762×39-ammo
https://ammo.com/catalogsearch/result?q=7.62×39&order=relevance&dir=desc
Thank you SGAmmo.com for fixing my problem. Beats an hour-long phone conversation with a Pakastani call center regarding some electronic device that has decided working against me is more amusing than working for me.
If you are seriously price shopping ammunition, Ammo Seek is your website. Price per round collected nation-wide. Click and go… point and shoot… whatever.
Do keep in mind, please, that a couple bucks here or there do not compare to integrity. Like and respect those you do business with. Local is best. Do not let the dollar destroy your culture.
I just looked around a bit for appropriate bullet launchers. DANG!!! The market has changed dramatically since I last peeked in. In the olden-days a guy (me, specifically) bought one of these because they were so cheap you wouldn’t cry if they were stolen from your pickup.
Surely someone in the market for a hoe-shovel-scythe-wheelbarrow style implement like an AK-47 can find one for a reasonable price. They were designed and built to be peasant-proof, peasant-priced defensive tools. C’mon they are still there, aren’t they?
Granted, superior gunsmithing comes at a price. Tools, materials, craftmanship are all expensive. But we are shopping for a machete-level tool. It should be VERY inexpensive.
If you find an AK platform costs as much as an AR-based one, go AR. The superiority and versatility is incomperable. Yeah you can throw an AK in the mud, scoop it up and keep shooting. Fine, but can you hit anything? I suppose you make your choices, but AKs are beautiful because they are cheap, indestructable and run on very cheap ammo.
Take any of that away and the reason to go that route disappears.