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If you shoot .303 British, you probably know that decent milsurp ammo has pretty much dried up for that round, which makes it more expensive to shoot that SMLE of yours.

FYI, Cheaper Than Dirt has some HXP (Greek military) from the '70s in stock - brass cases, Boxer primed, reloadable, non-corrosive. http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/AMM-A13450C

I had a less than satisfactory experience with CTD some years ago and have avoided them since, but I decided to give them a try - 450 rounds of decent .303 British milsurp for $177.39 isn't bad, even when you figure in shipping and sales tax. (CTD is in TX, so Texans get nicked for the tax.) The stuff I ordered is on Enfield type stripper clips - worth at least a buck apiece these days at your typical gun show (I've seen them at 2 for $5) - so that brings down the cost per round considerably.

Ordered it Monday, received it today. Just opened the box and it looks like typical milsurp that was probably originally packed in bulk and repacked somewhere along the line. Headstamp is HXP 76. The ammo has a little tarnish, but a quick spot check revealed no visible corrosion, water spots, or verdigris - in my experience, it looks pretty decent for milsurp. The product description says the bullets have a steel core, but my magnet does not stick to either the case or the bullet. The only negative thing I noticed is that the rims are not all "stacked" properly in the clips, so if you use them to load your Enfield, you'll probably want to repack the clip yourself.

Giving it a qualified "thumbs up" since I haven't actually fired it yet, but having some experience with HXP .30/06 I bought from the CMP (a magnet does stick to those bullets) I'm not expecting any problems.

Oh, and it would seem some guys are already trying to "flip" this ammo at a profit at some auction sites.

AlaskanInTexas wrote:

puma guy wrote:the Peters Jan 2 1964 dealer catalog price for .22LR HV was .61 per box and retail was .80 box ($12.20/M).

The Internet tells me that $0.80 in 1964 is the equivalent of $5.93 today. That works out to the equivalent of 12 cents a round. Maybe it wasn't as dreamy back then as we remember.

Manufacturers worked hard to keep the .22 price point low - something had to give, and, IMHO, quality suffered.

On a bright note, I was at Cabela's earlier this week and they had an entire end cap on the ammo aisle FILLED with .22s, both CCI and now, Federal. CCI standard velocity has been available there for over a month at $4.95/50, but Federal was nonexistent until this week - they had both 400 round bricks of Federal American Eagle (at $23.99) and 325 round bulk packs of Federal Auto Match at $17.99, which works out to about 5.5 cents a round. Not really what you'd call cheap, but at least it was available. (Of course, I had a coupon which effectively knocked another 20% off the price. ) Limit was 1 box.

So it would seem that either manufacturers actually HAVE resumed production, or the hoarders who've been intercepting product before it ever got to retail level are now sitting on a MOUNTAIN of .22s that aren't selling at 15 or 20 cents a round, and have stopped stocking up.

Either way, the worst may be over . . . but I expect it will still be a while before Cabela's starts featuring .22lr in their ammo sales.

Cabela's has Federal American Eagle .223 on sale again, this time at $5.99/20. It's $7.99 in the store, but they WILL match their on-line price. Bought some today - also had a couple of coupons and some Cabela's bucks. Price out the door for a couple of hundred rounds came to the equivalent of under $200/1000. (Read what I said - I didn't actually buy that much, but it gives you an idea of the final price.)

Hint - if you're anywhere near a Cabela's, you really need to become a Cabela's Club member. Their prices are usually not the best, but if you work their sales and make use of the coupons they frequently send out, you can work a pretty good deal on occasion.

Went to Cabela's in Buda today. They had Federal American Eagle "Tactical AE223" for $9.99/box of 20.

On line Cabela's sale price was $6.29/box, and Cabela's retail store will match their own internet price, so I picked up 20 boxes for $125.80, rather than $199.80.

BUT . . . I had a Cabela's coupon from one of their mailings that was good for $20 off a purchase of $120 or more, bringing my price down to $105.80/20 boxes.

Also had some old Cabela's bucks I threw into the mix, but even so, the final price of $5.29/box (+ tax) is the cheapest I've found for "name brand" .223 ammo in a long time. Not bad when you don't have time to reload . . .

(Could have used the "$150 Cabela's Buck Card" they mailed me and effectively gotten the ammo even cheaper, but would have had to buy $500 worth to work that deal.)

This morning 6/14/09, the Walmart in Sunset Valley (on the south side of Austin just off MoPac) had a few boxes of .223 (Rem 50gr PSP) for $18, one box of .357s, along with some rimfire, shotshell, and ordinary hunting ammo (7mm R Mag, .30/06, .30/30, etc.), and that's about it.

The nearby Academy just off Brodie Lane had quite a bit of steel-case Russian .223, some Monarch .223, a 50-round box of Hornady 55 grain FMJ for $30, the same .223 Rem PSP that Walmart had, (except $3 cheaper), and a couple of Remington 200-round packs of 55 grain FMJ ammo for $100. (It's not that many years ago you could pick up a thousand rounds of name-brand 55 FMJ for $100. )

"Buy one get one 50% off" is basically a 25% discount . . . given Dick's normal inflated prices, I wonder if this brings the final price below WalMart's . . .