Will 5.56 prices come down?

[Fitz]

I'm really thinking of trading/selling my 5.56 upper in favor of 5.45 after seeing ammo prices...

Do you think we will ever see reasonably priced 5.56 again?

[bedlamite]

This has happened before, and it will happen again. 93, Y2k, 08. Prices will come down when production catches up with the insane spike in demand. When it does come back down, start laying in a supply so you can relax next time it happens. I've actually sold a lot of factory loaded ammo this time around.

[Fitz]

I ran across a receipt the other day... 34.95 for a 250 round box of remanufactured .45acp

Sigh

This was around 2004

[41magsnub]

My thoughts on this after reading up on and just now purchasing a 5.45 upper...

I'm not going to trust a 5.45 upper as my main go to rifle based on the reliability reports mostly around the magazines.  That said, it is a really cheap way to practice so I am setting it up with the same stuff as my good 5.56 rifle with lesser optics.  I also have a lot of it stockpiled already.  The other reason is there is all manner of good defense loads for 5.56, not so much with the 5.45.  FMJ is the order of the day except for Hornady v-max and there are some wolf soft points.  Reloading is not really an option either with 5.45 right now.

[Lee]

The last time I thought it was reasonable, was 1995, and about 10 cents a round.  It's all perspective I guess.

[Gewehr98]

Some day.

However, I wouldn't put all my eggs in the 5.45x39 basket.

You're solely dependent on former Warsaw Pact manufacturers, of dubious quality, and ALL of that ammo is imported through U.S. Customs.

There are neither domestic manufacturers, nor handloading components for that chambering.

I actually looked at forming brass from something else, and swaging 5.56mm bullets when I was getting excited over the East German 5.45x39 bolt sniper guns that were coming in back in the day.

IIRC, it was either an Executive Order or BATF edict that killed steel-core 7.62x39 after Thomas Spithaler's OA-93 AR pistol fiasco.

That's a mighty thin logistics tail, easily severed. If you've already got a stash, or can lay in a decent stash, I'd say you might have some fun for at least a while.

Just keep your .223 upper handy.  

  

[Tallpine]

Either ammo prices will come down, or the price of everything else will skyrocket to match  

[Fitz]

Need to hurry up and get my garand out here and get it fixed. Doggone korean surplus 30.06 is stil reasonable

I'm just frustrated. Ammo prices are retarded right now

[AJ Dual]

Either ammo prices will come down, or the price of everything else will skyrocket to match  

This. Prices fall back, but barring something disruptive in the market, they don't fall back all the way. We have a bit of a plateau, and barring more panic, the plateau gets cheaper in real dollars adjusted for inflation.

I'm hoping the ammo hoards depress demand at the end of this, reducing prices a bit further.

[Harold Tuttle]

5.56 is the caliber of the usa, in a right running world, the CMP would deliver it by the case to the post office for local distribution to scout troops and marksmen.

[Fly320s]

5.56 is the caliber of the usa, in a right running world, the CMP would deliver it by the case to the post office for local distribution to scout troops and marksmen.

I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[MechAg94]

I've got a 5.45 upper.  Works great with new manufacture steel case ammo.  So far, the surplus ammo isn't working so well.  I am still slowly working through that to see if I can get it to work. 

If you can get one, a 5.45 AK would be better.  I have dust cover rail coming for mine so I can try it with a red dot scope.

[41magsnub]

I've got a 5.45 upper.  Works great with new manufacture steel case ammo.  So far, the surplus ammo isn't working so well.  I am still slowly working through that to see if I can get it to work. 

If you can get one, a 5.45 AK would be better.  I have dust cover rail coming for mine so I can try it with a red dot scope.

What brand of upper?  Mine is a Spikes tactical and from what I have read it eats up the surplus commie stuff just fine but has had trouble with the softpoints and hollow points of which I have none.

[MechAg94]

What brand of upper?  Mine is a Spikes tactical and from what I have read it eats up the surplus commie stuff just fine but has had trouble with the softpoints and hollow points of which I have none.

Mine is a Spike's Tactical upper with their battle trigger on the lower.  It made a pretty deep dent in the surplus primers, but only fired one out of 5.  I have not yet emailed Spike's about it.  I need to do that.  I got a high power hammer spring, but looking at it, their battle trigger appears to already use a high power spring. 

Work has been heavy lately or I would likely have done more with it.

[Jamisjockey]

I'm still buying ammo at normal prices at academy and Wal-Mart, including 556.
Availability will come back.

[41magsnub]

Ah..  one thing I did was order a wolff extra power hammer spring after hearing about that issue.  Actually, I ordered a Giselle SSA for my go to rifle and am moving the decent GI trigger that I polished up in it to the 5.45 rifle along with the new XP spring.

[seeker_two]

5.56 prices will come down shortly after Obama gets our military out of active involvement in Middle East political affairs.....


..... 

[Angel Eyes]

Need to hurry up and get my garand out here and get it fixed. Doggone korean surplus 30.06 is stil reasonable

Be careful with the Korean surplus.  The KA headstamped ammo is corrosive and some lots of the PS ammo are not safe: http://www.jouster.com/forums/showthread.php?25547-Interesting-Report-on-Korean-M2-Ball

Of course, I find this out after buying a metric buttload of PS headstamped fodder . . . .