Cheapest Ammo by caliber

[diddler]

All,

First, this isn't one of those "where do I find that CHEEP ammo?!?" threads. Rather, I've been wondering lately which calibers still qualify as inexpensive on a per round basis. Standard factory rounds, not reloads, etc.

Have to figure there's nothing that comes close to the value of .22LR, but what would be the next cheapest? 9mm? I've seen some awfully good prices on 5.45X39. I suppose there are some old odd-ball rounds out there that are practically obsolete and in the dollar value bin, but as far as standard common rounds, whats still cheap?

Ryan

[Splinter]

Most of the russian rounds would be a good place to start.

[diddler]

Probably. I'm curious about specific calibers, and commonly available. Not interested in buying anything, more of a conversation thread.

Say you had a hypothetical gun buyer, interested in whatever would be cheapest to shoot copious amounts of ammo for fun. Assume he's already got a few .22's, and isn't interested in any more. Whats the next cheap caliber thats commonly available at a common price? (Not "special one-time sales" or anything like "oh, the so'n'so round used to be cheap...")

[M. Sage]

5.45x39mm. 7.62x54R (surplus).

[Glock30]

You could just buy Wolf Ammunition and save on anything, but I really wouldn't recommend it.

[M. Sage]

Oh, I forgot one: 7.62x25mm. The Romanian surplus is the best.

I've never had a problem with Wolf.

[Glock30]

Well which kind of Wolf? I know the .22LR is great to fire all day long, and some bigger cartridges right?

[maxicon]

For new ammo, I'd have guessed 9mm is cheapest, followed by 7.62x39, then .38 special, and .223 bringing up the rear. That's ammo I shoot a fair bit of, but let's take a look at what's out there.

I usually compare 50 round box prices, but it's easier to use cost per round.

From http://www.gun-deals.com/ammo.php (not including in-store only deals or reloads)

Caliber - cost per round
.22 LR - 2.3
7.62x25 (surplus) - 11.7
5.45x39 (surplus) - 12.7
9x19mm - 16.9
9x18mm - 18.9
7.62x54R (surplus) - 19.4
7.62x39 - 19.9
.380 - 19.9
.30 Carbine - 22.5
.303 (surplus) - 23.6
.38 - 23.9
.40 S&W - 24.9
.223 - 26.6
.45 ACP - 26.9
.357 - 34.0
.308 - 37.7

This shows that the best bet for following up on a brace of .22s would be a 9mm, and maybe a 9mm carbine as well, if they wanted to use new ammo rather than surplus. Throw in an AK or Saiga, and you're GTG for just about anything except precision shooting.

ETA - added .22 LR, even though OP asked about beyond that, but it's good for comparison. This is based on the prices I paid at Big 5 a while back - $12/525 rounds. I haven't seen it that cheap for 6 months, though.

[hitman13]

ummmmmmmmmmmmmm 22lr........

[tmuller]

Dang .223-.308 on your list is my sweet spot!!

[YoungJoe]

man, where are you get .308 for less than 60cents a round?

[bohoki]

man, where are you get .308 for less than 60cents a round?

its probably wolf

[maxicon]

Brown Bear, but same difference. http://gun-deals.com/ammo.php?caliber=.308

OP asked about the cheapest blasting ammo, and steel case is fair game for that. Next in line is various brass cased surplus, in the 47-65 cents/round range.