Thread: lowest ammo cost caliber?

I've been wanting to pick up a nice bolt action recently and I'm wondering what caliber has the lowest priced ammo? I don't hunt It's strictly for shooting stuff for fun and killing zombies. I'm also not interested in .22 or 17hmr, ill probably buy a remington 770 because they are cheap. I know they are on the lower end of quality but like I said I'm not hunting, just for kicks

For $200 you can buy a Mosin Nagant 91/30 and a 440 round case of ammo. Anything cheaper I cannot think of.

Keith

Considering zombies are not a reality you should really look at the .22 lr super cheap to shoot. Since you want centerfire. 223/5.56 or .308/7.26x51 are cheap to shoot. The cheapest has got to be 7.26x54R, 440 rounds for 90-100 bucks shipped cant be beat.

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Unquestionable cheapest options have already been mentioned. Only one missing and for a good reason, is 7.62x39, and that's because bolts are pricey. Although you might get lucky with a used Rem 799 or a CZ527 carbine.

If you can resist the temptation to sporterize and scope a Mosin, that's definitely the cheapest option overall. Upgrading a Mosin will take you to Rem 770 expense level or more.

If I were in your place I'd go for a 223 Rem bolt. There is tons of mfg ammo that will give you about 1-2 MOA, and if you hand load, sub 0.5 is possible.

The 770 does not come in 223, but the Stevens 200 does. And if I were to ever camo a rifle, this would be it.

Originally Posted by civilian75

The 770 does not come in 223, but the Stevens 200 does. And if I were to ever camo a rifle, this would be it.

Good call on the Stevens. The stevens 200 is a much better choice in my mind. The 770 is its own gun. The Stevens is just the bottom end savage. Barrel swaps can be done in your garage and tons of aftermarket upgrades if you want.



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How about a nice bolt gun in .223? Ammo is cheap and plentiful. Besides, if you should decide you want to hunt with it, .223 is a great caliber for varmints with many bullet options available.

Originally Posted by trainsktg

For $200 you can buy a Mosin Nagant 91/30 and a 440 round case of ammo. Anything cheaper I cannot think of.

Keith

Seconded. Although the "shooting stuff for fun" may get old, as it has quite a kick. I'd suggest, at minimum, a good rubber butt-stock.

Mosins are cheap and surplus ammo is cheap but treat the mil-surp ammo as corrosive. I traded for near mint Finnish Mosin last year with a shiny bore and a bunch of surplus ammo included. I was assured by the party, a C&R holder that the ammo was noncorrosive, I held up every different box and asked and was assured that it was noncorrosive. Went to sight in the rifle and fired less than ten rounds, did not have tools to adjust the sights for windage so took it home and forgot about it for a couple months. Happened to pick it up a couple days ago, noticed a little rust at the bore, looked down the barrel and holy cr#p, heavy rust. I'm trying to clean it up now and the rifling is still strong but no more shiny bore ever again. It probably would have helped to run a patch after shooting but thinking it was noncorrosive ammo I wouldn't have used water base to clean the salts anyway. Hard lesson.

Originally Posted by TCOV

Mosins are cheap and surplus ammo is cheap but treat the mil-surp ammo as corrosive. I traded for near mint Finnish Mosin last year with a shiny bore and a bunch of surplus ammo included. I was assured by the party, a C&R holder that the ammo was noncorrosive, I held up every different box and asked and was assured that it was noncorrosive. Went to sight in the rifle and fired less than ten rounds, did not have tools to adjust the sights for windage so took it home and forgot about it for a couple months. Happened to pick it up a couple days ago, noticed a little rust at the bore, looked down the barrel and holy cr#p, heavy rust. I'm trying to clean it up now and the rifling is still strong but no more shiny bore ever again. It probably would have helped to run a patch after shooting but thinking it was noncorrosive ammo I wouldn't have used water base to clean the salts anyway. Hard lesson.

Damn, now that you remind me, I'm not 100% certain the last batch I ran through mine was non-corrosive, and I didn't give it a good cleaning after... Well, I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow after work...

30-06 ammo can be had for relatively cheap. I paid $10 for a box of 20 220gr rem lead points (core-lokt) ammo. I've seen FMJ 30-06 surplus boxes for like $75 for 200ish rounds.... the 770 comes in 30-06, I might sell mine... Cotillon, PM me about the 770.

mosin nagant is the cheapest ammo, the rifles are cheap to get and are good shooters. As stated the milsurp ammo is corrosive but thats not a problem, military ammo uses salt in the primer compound to keep it from corroding during storage,the powder itself is not corrosive. just clean it like any other gun after shooting and you`ll have no trouble.these guns fired thousands and thousands of rounds during the war and are still serviceable.

Took my Finnish Mosin out today to see if shooting and cleaning between shots would help clean up the bore. Fire a shot, run a solvent brush and then a cotton patch and fire again and repeat. Put 15 rounds through and shot a 5 round group at about 55yds. Rest over a boulder and jacket and twilight but still shot decent group. I think it's ok. Got home and ran a brush and patches and the bore looks pretty good now. I will repeat cleaning over the next couple days. Close call.

Mosin in 7.62x54r
probly followed by a mauser or similair in 8mm mauser (7.92x57)

+1 on 7.62x39, CZ 527M carbine, $500-600, quicker twist rate than most for 150 grn.,,
- 1 on .223

Originally Posted by CamoDeafie

30-06 ammo can be had for relatively cheap. I paid $10 for a box of 20 220gr rem lead points (core-lokt) ammo.

Where?

I went to a flea market; that had a couple dealers who are always there with ammo; its where i got my rem 220 grain 30-06 it was 80s dated though, so that's partly why its cheap..tho still in firing condition these same dealers sometimes show up at the local gun shows, so check them out. look for old ammo boxes with ammo in them, you should be able to find good deals. surplus ammo can be had for pretty cheap, usually 200rds of normal ammo is like almost 200 bucks, but like I said, I found one box of either Korean or WW2 era ammo for $75 for a little more than 200 rounds...much cheaper than the $10 a box of 20 deal I found; but this was a bulk purchase of which I didn't have the money at the time...flea markets and gun shows are good places to find old ammo that are still usable.

mosin and canned ammo no need for unrealistic cleaning regiment brush to loosen salt and other nasties then hose or better yet hot water to dry barrel faster then lube like any other rifle. do you think these peasants cleaned their rifles for 2 hours between firing. ak 74 1080 rounds for 125.00 same regiment

that is true of the Mosins/7.62x39/ com bloc ammo. just as true for older American mass market sporting arms. I like my 12ga JC Higgins; sure I can't remove the barrel without a jig and a special wrench, but I don't need to remove the barrel to clean the shotgun...since it disassembles mostly like a Mossberg does; with only one change, the bolt exits through the ejection port rather than out of the receiver where the barrel is attached to...honestly though, I've been able to find the .30 caliber various rounds to be pretty cheap IF one shops around...I've yet to find great deals on 8mm Mauser rounds, though the rifles themselves can be had cheap....depending on location, location and location. I'm considering trading my .30-06 for a SKS straight up locally, and gettign the com bloc ammo when I can afford the spam cans and such