One approach to the current ammo shortage is to preserve the current calibers and use up less useful ammunition in practice. In my case, that means 7.62x54R gets used up in Mosins which are hardly useful for social purposes. The other approach is to bring older guns into service by because oddball ammunition is no longer any more expensive than .308. For example, 303British at $21.50/box is a deal compared to 308Win at $30/box.
If you have a surplus Enfield or a Mauser at home, a box of soft points gets it ready for the hunting season at lower cost than feeding an AR10. Even 6.5 Swedish suddenly looks relatively affordable, at the cost similar to 223Rem ball.
Alas, I can’t even seem to find the old cartridges in stock – 6.5 Swede, for example!
Do you mean this? http://www.luckygunner.com/6-5x55mm-se-140-gr-fmj-sellier-bellot-20-rounds They seem to have 400 rounds on hand.
Unfortunately I was too smart for this approach. My least standard caliber rifle is .44 Magnum.
So I’m good with my 6.5 Carcano?
I’m having a hard time finding 7.62x54R! But at least with a Moisin you have a 5 foot long rifle with a 12″+ blade at the end of it, making for a really rude tool for close encounters with violent hominids.
Guess it’s time to look for a Lee-Enfield or a replacement for my Swedish Mauser.
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.303 is not obsolete in Canada or Australia.
No more than .30-06 is in the US, or 8mm Mauser is in Europe.
At the biggest Gun Store in the Cleveland, Ohio area, I actually saw more .41 Remington Magnum on the Shelf than .22LR! And that was only 4 Boxes!
As the Proud Owner of a 6.5 Swede and a Moisen, I’m sure glad I bought a Spam Can and a 200 round Battlepack years ago.
Unfortunately, the way the World is going, we might NEED those Old Guns and Ammo for Social Purposes!
Brass is a precious metal. Save your brass. And get a bullet mold, just in case.
They’ve gone up like everything else. Back in the late ’90s I picked up my No.4 for $75. Even before round 2 of the Great 0bama Gun & Ammo Famine, you couldn’t touch one for that, these days. Mosins are the only thing close, and they aren’t near as much fun to shoot. IMHO, YMMV, Insert standard disclaimer here.
Original Russian manufacture 7.62x25mm ammunition on stripper clips in Russian military crate. 2280RNDS per crate. Subject to additional shipping charges due to weight and hazmat.
MS762x25 CA$349.99
http://www.wanstallsonline.com/product.php?productid=1429&cat=111&page=1
I am guessing they do not ship to the US…
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6.5 Swedish Mauser is NOT obsolete. Just under-appreciated in the US.
.303 Brit in a 10-round, fast-cycling bolt action is one of my top picks for “social purposes”! Seriously, it’s a great cartridge, and the Enfield is perhaps the best bolt-action fighting rifle ever built — although I also consider the 1903, as well as some others to be contenders.
Superb pics as always, Oleg!
If your not happy with the accuracy of the 180 grain load in your jungle carbine, try PPU’s 150 grain load. Mine went from 7 to 10 MOA groups to a one ragged hole group 3 shot group at 100m when I changed to the 150s, havn’t been able to repeat it due to the NZ supplier running out of the 150 load and they only get 2 shipments from Euro a year.