M53 catastrophy

[mksshoot]

noonxnoon Greetings, seems like my cost for loads in 308 were around 40 cents per round. I buy components in bulk at dealer cost mostly from Midway USA although they are harder to get in quantity and usually end up on back order 90 to 120 days. Powder and primers I have been picking up from another dealer who specializes in reloading at a local gun show that way I'm not paying hazmat charges for less than case quanties although I buy powder in 8lbs kegs and primers by the case/5000. Anything that keeps down costs keeps me shooting more.

[noonxnoon]

Cheapest I've seen in commercial 308 is about a dollar a round

http://www.aimsurplus.com/?Ammunition%20Webstore

.308 $390 for 1,000 rounds.

...and it even comes in it's own PVC case!

Thanks jBaum

[CRUSADER]

Where are you guys seeing a price of $390 for 1000 rounds? We're talking about the Prvi Partizan FMJ, right?

Did the price go up, 'cuz I'm seeing a price of $8.95 per box of 20?

That works out to $447.50 for 1000 rounds.

What am I missing?

[JBaum]

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx? ... groupid=26

German .308 FMJ NATO (7.62x51) 200rd Battle Pack

Ammunition Purchase Requirements

1,000rds (5 packs): $389.75ea

1990's Surplus German NATO 7.62x51 (.308) ammunition. This is beautiful, accurate ammunition packaged for long term storage. Features a 147grn lead core full copper and nickel (magnetic) jacketed bullet, brass case, and non-corrosive berdan primer. Packed 20rds in a box, 200rds (10 boxes) in a sealed waterproof PVC battlepack. While supplies last.
Quantity Pricing
5 or more $77.95

And to think I would wait until I could get these 200 round battle packs for $32 instead of the usual $37. I got a few cases of it for $160 - boy, that seems a long time ago.

[junglewalk]

John; Who do you think will have the best deal on 308/8m ammo at the up-comming MG Shoot at Knob Creek?
....
BTW, this past sunday, the water finally went down enough to get over the bridge. It's still flooded in back on the lower ranges.....21 days the range was shut down, Kenny said it was a record!

[man_am_boden]

hershmeister, did you get your charging handle question answered?

[hershmeister]

hershmeister, did you get your charging handle question answered?

nope

lots of posturing on the quality of 8mm ammo but no answer to this one...

I shipped the rifle back to Wiselite for repair and service and will replace the barrel -

[JBaum]

who has what for ammo is always a wait and see. I'm just hoping the creek isn't back over the bridge by the time the shoot starts. Too bad for the lower range.

The weather for next Thursday is upper 60's.... woohoo.... no long underwear needed this time I'll take it along anyway). Now if the mud dries, we'll all have a good time.

[junglewalk]

John KCR was closed for 22 days;...and a week ago sunday the we got over the bridge.....
.......
I'm working hard on the Jungle Walk on the lower range, forming the course from the silt & clay. Don't worry, 'Charlie' will be hunkered down there by next week.
.....
The upper area are drying out, and maybe by next thursday, the lower areas will be fine.
...
Kurt & I are still waiting for the first transfer, with those fine people in ATF...this is killing me!....bh

[TactAdv]

German .308 FMJ NATO (7.62x51) 200rd Battle Pack
1,000rds (5 packs): $389.75ea

1990's Surplus German NATO 7.62x51 (.308) ammunition. This is beautiful, accurate ammunition packaged for long term storage.

This is one of those "do as I say, and not as I do" type comments because of ALL PEOPLE, I am certainly guilty as all Hell for using surplus ammo in some great quantity. I bet not too many here remember the "quality" ammo that was around in the late 70's....surplus 7.65 Argentine for one example....several millions of rounds came in....that was so bad that we used to carry a HUGE X LARGE rubber mallet with us every time we shot the Brownings because we ALWAYS had to beat the top-covers back flat after the guaranteed blow-ups that happened....every time. We used to shoot 8,000-12,000rds in a single DAY at the 'Creek and burned up 1-2 of those "expensive" $30.00 Argentine BBLs every day......'Course the 7.65 Argy ammo was also $30.00/1000rds or so and, well , that's just what everyone did then. You couldn't do worse then bow out a BMG side plate at worst and many a time there were guys with big vises on truck bumpers squeezing the receivers back together enough to run some more.

Despite alluring come-ons in the advertising like "...beautiful, accurate ammunition packaged for long term storage...", you have to remember that it was surplussed for a REASON, that reason usually being that the competent governments who PAID for it originally thought it had been "aged" enough to question its quality, or something similar. Not really too much of a big deal for fun shooting, but, still......."surplus" means nothing less than "discarded from use".

That said, I have shot thousands and thousands and thousands of WWI production Turkish 8mm, .303 British, M1 .30cal, 8mm Lebel, Remington made-for-the-Czar 7.62x54R Russian, etc., and for the very most part all that ammo went 'BANG!', and almost always at the expected time. A lot of it was over 65 years old when we fired it......and really nothing bad came from it. USUALLY. Turkish 8mm is/was HORRIBLE, even the day it was made.

And true enough too, I've been burned from brand new factory ammo- To wit, about 8 years ago a brand new M193 ball round, first round in a just-opened box, from a just opened case of Sellier & Bellot manufacture "NATO spec" ammo detonated in a brand new Post-Sample M4 Carbine and blew the upper receiver to pieces, splayed open the bolt carrier like a banana peel, sheared the bolt, cracked the barrel extension, and managed to expand the mag well out about 1/4" on both sides. S&B ammo is advertised as being made in a ISO 9001 facility, which for ammo mfgr, mandates 100% inspections including a loaded weight at the end. The ammo and gun-pieces were sent first to HP White Labs and then the Army folks wanted to examine it. The consensus was a catastrophic detonation from an undercharge which created instantaneous transient pressures in excess of 120,000PSI. A "proof load" for the military is only 72,000PSI, based upon a nominal chamber pressure of 53,000PSI. Point being.....don't think "new, factory" ammo is 100% immune from problems, either. One only has to look at the multiple recent ammo recalls in the commercial industry to grasp that these problems are far from rare.

YMMV.

-TomH