Joe Biden Bans Russian Ammunition Importation

[Jim147]

It's the taxes.

[TommyGunn]

The Clintons go through a lot of ammo

[MechAg94]

What's with Arkansas and ammo makers?  That state seems to be the go-to state for new ammo plants these days.

I would guess taxes, cost of labor, availability of skilled/trainable labor, access to transportation hubs (rail and interstate highways), available land, environmental laws, etc. 

[Jim147]

Most of the hiways suck but taxes are cheap, there is no state tax and labor is cheap. That's why most of the bass boat/runabout companies are down there also.

[Frank Castle]

I'm expecting Russian compies to move to China, Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan soon. 

The market is too big, not to move the factories.

[cordex]

When was the last time you saw new manufactured Chinese ammo for sale?

Anyhow, I doubt they will build international infrastructure based on the US ammo market.  Maybe private label ammo from existing factories, but when Biden has shown he will randomly ban imports why would they take the risk of building factories elsewhere?

[MechAg94]

I think we are more likely to see expanded production from other countries. 

I noticed the Tula ammo is the same price as the boxer primed brass cased Belom ammo from Serbia.  I wonder how long that will last.  I got some Belom.  I will try to see how accurate it is.  Their 9mm stuff shoots well.  Links says Belom is the military side of the PPU company. 

https://gunzonedeals.com/product/tula-7.62x39-122gr-fmj-1000-rd-case

https://gunzonedeals.com/product/belom-7.62x39-123-gr-fmj-brass-case-ammo-for-sale-at-gun-zone

[MechAg94]

https://globalordnance.com/belom-brass-case-7-62x39-123-grain-fmj-480-round-case/?goal=0_d681a66255-3d17548d2e-79995492&mc_cid=3d17548d2e&mc_eid=d6dc408f02

https://globalordnance.com/belom-50rd-box-9x19mm-124-grain-1000rd-case/?goal=0_d681a66255-3d17548d2e-79995492&mc_cid=3d17548d2e&mc_eid=d6dc408f02

A week later and the brass 7.62 ammo goes up a bit.  The 9mm goes down some. 

[Angel Eyes]

Does anyone have firsthand knowledge about the accuracy of the Belom 7.62x39?

[MechAg94]

I shot a few rounds last week.  Might have been the gun, but it shot about the same as the Tula I was shooting.  2 to 3 MOA if I remember right.  Out of a 14.5" barrel.  I have a AR style gun in that caliber.  I guess I need to try it in that.  It was the 1st 20 round box I opened so I expect to shoot more at some point. 

[WLJ]

Thought something was fishy about that 40% figure floating around.

In a fact sheet published by the SAAF, they estimate that 765,487,845 shells, cartridges, or parts thereof, came in from Russia in 2020. Going off their estimate of about 11.8 billion rounds manufactured or imported in 2018, Russian ammo accounts for between roughly 4.5% and 6.5% of all ammunition on the domestic market.

Not an insignificant percentage by any means, but certainly less than the 40% estimates I’ve seen floating around. The percentage that Russian ammo imports make up of certain calibers, such as 7.62×39, 5.45×39, 9×18, or 7.62×54R, is almost certainly much higher, and may very well be 40%.

Russian Ammo Ban – Numbers and the Coming Years
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2021/09/08/russian-ammo-ban-numbers/

The big problem is going to be 5.45 and to a lesser extent 7.62x54R, 9x18 & 7.62x39

[Jim147]

I think that 40% came from what has been available the last year and a half.

A friend of mine was going to a gun store a lot last year and all he saw was steel cased import ammo.

[WLJ]

By all reports 9x39 is just going to flat out gone. Shame too as it was just starting to gain a little bit of traction here.

[Jim147]

By all reports 9x39 is just going to flat out gone. Shame too as it was just starting to gain a little bit of traction here.

Well that's a good reason to have a press and a lead pot. Primers are still a bit high and hard to find.

[MikeB]

So about a month after this thread started.

As of this moment. TulAmmo for about .42 a round.

https://www.ammunitiondepot.com/2959-tulammo-9mm-115-gr-fmj.html

PMC - .50 per round.

https://www.ammunitiondepot.com/501-pmc-9mm-124-grain-fmj.html

I can't shoot Tulammo at most of the ranges I have a membership at or that are close to me, they all have bans on bit-metal jackets which is how most 'Russian' ammo is made. The price isn't that much different considering I can rarely even use one of them. Both prices have dropped considerably in the last couple months. I've seen a great influx of actual 'Russian' ammo recently. I've also seen the price of all non 'Russian' ammo drop in price.

I'm still not convinced Russian ammo ban will keep prices overall inflated. I think a lot of people can't really use it at a lot the ranges they shoot at. It might be stock piled, but the average use isn't there and other ammo producers have come online, or increased production.

[MechAg94]

I think the difference may be that the price won't drop back to pre-Covid levels.  Good to see things stabilize a bit.  I want to eventually stock up a little more on 7.62x39, but not right away.

[WLJ]

Kind of a Wolf ammo side note but yesterday I found out Wolf (steel) 223 shots 4 inches lower at 100yds than Federal 5.56 out of a AR-180b. I was expecting a difference but not that big of a different but the holes don't lie.

Also of note is what happens if shot out of an AR with a brake with a wall next me to the right.
With Wolf hardy noticed any blast reflection off the wall, with M193 it was like someone hit me in the side of my head.

[RoadKingLarry]

Ever run them over a chronograph?

[WLJ]

Ever run them over a chronograph?

Nope, don't have one.
Another thing about Wolf is that in rifles tuned for mil-spec ammo the bolt may not reliably lock back when the mag is run dry.
Have always known it was weaker just not 4 inches low at 100 weaker.

[MechAg94]

Wolf always had a different point of impact for me.  For practice/range fodder, it still works well enough.  However I haven't bought steel case in years.  Up until recently, the price difference between brass and steel case was pretty small and not worth it. 

[HankB]

Someone tell Joe Biden that every round of Russian ammo we buy is another round they can't shoot at Ukrainians - and since the Russians sell us their ammo at a loss, the more we buy the faster they'll go bankrupt. 

[lee n. field]

So about a month after this thread started.

As of this moment. TulAmmo for about .42 a round.

I stopped by the farm store on the way to the club to shoot, a week or 3 ago.  Decided to go cheap, save a buck/box, and bought some Tula.  9mm and .38 Special.

It was awful stuff.  I never had problems with cheap Russian ammo before.

[WLJ]

In the comments to a MAC video

According to my sources, the last shipments of Russian ammo have been cleared by Customs this week.

Russian Import Ban - 5.45x39 AK's about to fizzle and 5.56 about to take off?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzCUdSy7nTw