7.62x39 head scratcher

T

Targa

New member
So I haven't been to Cabelas for a while and thought I would take a walk through the store today out of boredom. Just for the fun of it, I looked for some ammo and found the big goose egg. I asked a sales rep and he told me that they haven't been able to get 7.62x39 for the last month. Now I can't remember ever not seeing Herter's or MSF available at the store. Anyway, is this a concern to me? Yeh, maybe. Just got online and picked up 500 rounds of Wolf just in case. I would think panic buying but they had more 2.23/5.56, 308, 7.62x54r (MSF), 9mm, etc..etc...than you can shake a stick at so that is kind of contadictory to panic shopping.
Anyone else seeing anything similiar.
 
Yeah, no steel cased 7.62x39 coming in at my local Cabelas. There was some ppu for a while but that's gone now. I think there's just a rise in ak ownership lately especially with the improvements in quality in the wasr's and the popularity of the arsenals plus all the domestic builds coming from ddi. The old belief of the ak not being accurate aren't true, simplicity of the design, ease of maintenance, spare parts, .30 cal bullet and cheap steel cased ammo make it imo a great starter rifle. If I had to do it all over again, I would have started with a ak as my first gun. Unfortunately I think in this case were short in supply and high in demand for ammo.
 
Strange.

Maybe 7.62x39mm ammo is drying up? I see that .300 BLK is set to replace it, but I didn't think it would happen this quickly.
 
I doubt the 300 black out will ever replace the 7.62x39. There will never be as many 300 bo guns and no military is going adapt that as their main rifle cartridge. The AK round is rooted pretty deep around the world. Atleast in all of our life times it will be here to stay. The cheap bulk ammo is always the first to go and hardest to get back in stock. Living in ny and going thru the whole "safe act" fiasco i can attest to this. Then with executive orders being crammed down our throats what is one to expect.
 
I can tell you from experience that we have seen a couple people finding it hard to get 7.62x39 but in their cases they were actually looking for brass case. I see TONS of 7.62x39 rifles at gun shows but only once did I ever have anyone buy any of that caliber from us. I would say it is too early to attribute it to a manufacturing supply, if you start saying that people tend to start freaking out.
 
Just seems like it happened overnight. I was hoping that maybe it was just poor management in inventory but after some of your responses that might not be the case. Like mentioned, supply/demand and executive orders, which would certainly drive up demand, could very well be the culprit.
With my previous order it puts my inventory at 800 rounds, I never really stocked up, just kind of ordered them as I needed them when I ran low. I might put in another order, not because I am a prepper and need a bug out supply but because it is one of my favorite rounds for range days and I burn through it more than any of my other calibers.
 
Hey, I know some people hate "hoarders" and blame it for the 22LR shortage but you know what if you want a stock of ammo then damnit I'd stock up haha. Nothing wrong with that! And if you are finding it hard to find may as well stock up.
 
Yes, I have noticed the same thing at Cabela's and Walmart over the past few months. Zero inventory whatsoever with no timeline of restock when asked.

Each time I would go in to Cabela's to look for brass cased PPU, they would be out of stock with just an empty shelf reserved for when they arrived again. This included the Herters and MFS they usually stock as well. About a month or so ago, I used a 10% off and free shipping coupon for Cabela's online. They had PPU for $11.99 on backorder, but I ordered it anyway because it brought it down to a decent price and the free shipping. About a week ago, I got an email saying they could not fulfill the order and it was being cancelled.

Last week when I went to look at the 7.62X39 shelf, I see that the shelf marker for that caliber was gone and in its place was .223.

Sportsman's Guide does not seem to be affected, though it does appear that their prices have gone up a bit since I last ordered 7.62X39 from them about a year ago.
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/prod...762x39mm-ammo?d=121&c=96&s=953&istko=1&sb=plh
 
I have heard walmart is trying to distance themselves from whole evil black rifles and their ammo.:confused:

If you want it now is the time to stock up, remember last time this happened.
 
I just saw that Cheaper Than Dirt had available 1,000 round cases for something like $220-230. If you don't like CTD, I'm sure other retailers have them for not much less.

I used to get it at Academy for $5.49 a box of 20 (plus my undisclosed employee discount) so I was able to shoot it real cheap :D I don't think it's going away. It's probably just that one store's inventory and a little bit of the recent buying craze. I wouldn't think too much of it.
 
Over half the 7.62 X 39 ammo in the world is manufactured in Russia. Russia annexed part of the Ukraine and is now under economic sanctions. (We are not importing Russian ammo)
 
Sanctions on Russia and Ukraine in turmoil. No importation of cheap steel cased ammo
Click to expand...

My initial thoughts also...

Given some of the assets and industries that are under sanctions that I believe affects the arms industries in Russia, I doubt that they will make exemptions for the US domestic market.

It's one reason why I put the brakes on a possible VZ58 buy about 18 mths ago: I wondered how it might affect the flow of Barnaul ammo into my country.

Given my geographic position, I see it as a small price to pay for getting Mr Putin to wind his neck in a bit, but can see how it might be a frustration on your side of the pond.

Perhaps it might encourage a domestic ammo company to start producing their own line!
 
doesn't Hornady still produce a "steel match" ammo in 7.62 X 39??? maybe if things get too tight, they'll do an economy line of steel ammo???

I just started buying PPU brass cased for my CZ bolt carbine, but do have a stocxk supply of steel for my old SKS
 
Like many others have said. We do have some domestic ammo, I don't think it will dry up entirely. If these sanctions stay for a long time, we may see an increase in their production but I don't think we will see as cheap of ammo as before. The only way I see that is if they lift the sanctions on Russia and Ukraine and send a ton of ammo our way.

I was really hoping for that Galil Ace too. Might have to wait it out and see what happens.
 
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