Sources of Good 5.56 ammo? (shooting, sports, purchase, rifles)

[rifleman]

Given the universal shortage (and exorbitant costs) of 5.56mm ammo for ARs, Galils, etc., what can we do to secure a suitable supply for, say, home defence, "social situations", etc? Any ideas?

[jdavid93225]

If you're only looking for a small quantity, it's hard to beat Walmart for price and convenience, that is if they have it in stock. If you're looking for 100 rounds or more, though, I'd suggest either buying at a gun show, or purchase mail order from someplace like Cabela's or Sportsman's Guide. There may be someplace cheaper to buy it online, though, so you might want to check into that.

The best deal I've found on 5.56 (.223) is the steel cased ammo by Wolf. There are quite a few places selling it, and I've seen it around $250 for 1000 rounds. The problem I see with steel cased ammo is that it can be hard on extractors, since the steel is a lot harder than brass.

[Pilot1]

I buy from here:

AMMOMAN.COM

But I also reload for .223/5.56 as well as other calibers. You can get an inexpensive setup fro Lee that has everything you need. My reloads are more accurate than the surplus stuff I buy in bulk.

[M3 Mitch]

The guy in the mirror can make up all the ammo you want.

A Lee turret press is cheap, good, and fairly fast. I have several presses including a Dillon, but still have/use the Lee. It's production rate is not as high as a Dillon but it's much quicker and easier to change calibers.

You can step up from there to a Dillon if you want. They are not cheap, but they are really a hell of a good machine, Dillon has a really good "No BS" warrenty.

Sometimes you can get a deal on a case of ammo at a gun show. Next one that I know about is Spokane on Nov. 1.

The underlying issue is that the costs for lead, copper, brass, etc. have gone up a lot.

White Elephant in Spokane usually has about as good a price on ammo as you are going to get, they have reloading components too.

[Rick Lee]

Best online deal out there at the moment is ammunition to go dot com. Wal-Mart doesn't sell .223 in boxes of more than 20 rds. and their price on it sucks anyway. $250 for 1000 rds. of Wolf is a smoking deal, but I don't think it exists anymore. Shipping and/or sales tax will add to whatever you get.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by jdavid93225

The best deal I've found on 5.56 (.223) is the steel cased ammo by Wolf. There are quite a few places selling it, and I've seen it around $250 for 1000 rounds. The problem I see with steel cased ammo is that it can be hard on extractors, since the steel is a lot harder than brass.

Be careful shooting wolf. Keep in mind that the extractors on American made semi-automatic pistols and rifles are designed to pull brass casings, not steel. 1000 rounds of wolf is probably enough for you to see a 1:500 failure rate and if you shoot enough steel-cased you WILL break something.

[doc1]

Try this site for price comaparisons. Put in your zip code and they nail it down to a vendors price per round including shipping to your area.

I've gotten some great ammo deals this way.

gun-deals.com - Unbiased Gun Deals

[GregW]

Does the same apply for 7.65 X 37? Or are there Russian sources?

[doc1]

Originally Posted by GregW

Does the same apply for 7.65 X 37? Or are there Russian sources?

If you're asking me, and if I'm understanding your question, the site will give you prices of whatever caliber (pistol and rifle) and list several dealers and the ammo manufacturer.

Most often, the Russian ammo comes in the lowest from many vendors but it also gives you other brands. You can sort the output by price.

[shadowwalker]

Might try these. Cheaper than Dirt, Midway shooters supply, Midsouth shooters supply, Lock stock and barrel,Sportsmans guide. I buy ammo from all them. Just check on the best buys, for sure. Hope it helps.