r/canadaguns • u/Kind-Ad-9144 • 13d ago

Misc Where has all the surplus 7.62x39 gone?

Is the lack of availability in spam cans a result of everyone concerned with the SKS continued legality, a result of the Ukraine war, a lack of stock, or another/mix of the above?

Iā€™m just trying to get some cheap spam cans man.

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84

u/Razul1066 13d ago

It comes in waves, like the sks. And right now that ammo is going to Russia.

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u/MostEpicRedditor 13d ago

This seems correct until you actually LOOK at the firearms used by Russian infantry, and then it will be obvious that they are overwhelmingly using 5.45...

So no, I doubt it is going to Russia, and the continued shortage of surplus 7.62Ɨ39 is most certainly due to other reasons ā€” what those reasons are specifically can be debated in length about, however.

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u/Razul1066 13d ago

Huge amounts of second tier/reserve/millita units in the Russian forces still use older equipment that is chambered in 7.62. Literal sks rifles, both modernized and not have been used on both sides.

Russian also went back to 7.62 with the Ak-15 after seeing 5.45 being ineffective during the invasion when used in the Ak-12

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u/MostEpicRedditor 13d ago

I thought they switched back to 7.62 also. But just about every propaganda photo / video released from their side (and also FPV videos released from the Ukrainian side) shows them rocking AK-74/Ms and AK-12s. The one exception I can recall atm is a first-person POV video released from the Russian side from like 3 years ago, where it showed a detachment of their naval infantry (basically marines) storming a Ukrainian position and the guy in the video had an AKMS that was bubba'ed to hell and back.

From what I understand, the AK-15 is more of a relatively limited-production run, and the rifle itself is essentially an export version for nations that already have heaps of 7.62 but not 5.45 but want to keep the AK platform in I guess a more modernized configuration, kind of like what the AK-103 was to the AK-74M.

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u/i-Hermit 13d ago

Russia isn't using Chinese surplus ammo from the 70s. They have a giant military industrial base and produce everything they need.

Maybe Ukraine.. but only maybe because they're flush with NATO small arms.

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u/Razul1066 13d ago

Russia is absolutely using surplus Chinese ammo. A huge industrial base they may have, but its not keeping up with need. They import huge quantities of north Korean ammo, and use secondary markets to hide Chinese shipments.

Their industry has not been able to expand with demand.

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u/i-Hermit 12d ago

Got a source for that?

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u/Razul1066 12d ago

https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/100853978.pdf

Here's a report by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign affairs. One of the numerous reports by various democratic governments and intelligence agencies on the matter.

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u/i-Hermit 12d ago

That is an article on well documented transfers between closely allied countries that no one but them know the reasons for or the details of.

I meant did you have sources on their industrial base not being able to keep up with demand. Because when I see barages of many hundreds of intermediate and long range cruise and ballistic missiles on a regular basis, plus the use of hypersonic missiles, and now that oreshnik missile.. it seems like their industrial base is doing just fine (for better or worse).

Small arms are pretty easy to produce and 7.62x39 is an old cartridge. I would be pretty surprised if it were used to any large degree now, and if it were, Russia has large company's that make premium quality ammo which we can't get anymore.

Anyway, I don't have a dog in this fight, but it seems like the Russian industrial base is in better shape than western industrial bases. Pretty sure Russia is producing more artillery shells than all of NATO.