Russian ammo (courtesy blog.gunspec.com)

UPDATE: Upon further review, the executive order in question very specifically targets a list of eleven individuals at whom the executive order was aimed. At first reading, it doesn’t appear that this EO would affect firearm or ammunition exports to the United States. However, this will bear watching as the situation continues and if administration chooses to employ additional measures to increase pressure on the Soviet Russian government. Watch this space.

The President has issued an executive order to punish Russia for its Machiavellian machinations in Crimea. Click here to read. Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch) of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in . . . (B) to operate in the arms or related materiel sector in the Russian Federation.” Our legal eagle Chris Dumm reckons this Executive Order locks-up the assets and freezes the operations of Russian arms dealers, which could well stop the importation of Russian guns, firearms components and ammunition into the United States. Stand by for more information.

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169 COMMENTS

  1. Oh dang! There goes my hope for buying an Izhmash biathlon rifle this year…. Have to settle for an Anschutz.

    • What are you worried about, just dont OBEY the illegal laws, Oboma doesnt obey anything and neighter do the rest of the traitors in orfice. As far as the dictatorship is concerned America has no laws that need to be obeyed. We shall follow his lead like the entire latino populations around the world flooding our boarders with deadly diseases to spread upon us all. Maybe we should start buying up all the NBC filters and walk around with them on a start a realistic needed panic as to what is to come.

  2. im ok with this if it get lifted when this gets resolved…. unfortunitly it wont so im against it

    • I highly doubt Odummy will lift his executive order after it’s resolved. I suspect it will be after we vote in a republican president.

      • Trusting the Republicans to fix shit is erroneous, they are content to just try and stop things from getting worse when they can, they never fix it. And then Bush Sr. was the one who banned HK rifles from import and Reagan was the one who turned NFA weapons into a rich man’s hobby.

  3. Was a matter of time, really.

    The Ukraine situation is a smokescreen. Obama , or his successor, would have eventually slammed the door shut on parts and ammo imports for Soviet bloc hardware.

    • Romania and Serbia are not vassals of Russia and will continue to provided ammunition and com-bloc parts, ammunition and weaponry.

  4. Didn’t someone once say “don’t let a good catastrophe go to waste”?

    I wonder how this will get “modified” by politicians once the Crimea situation is over to fit another purpose.

    • It was “crisis”. And it was Rahm Emanuel, former Obama advisor, and current Chicago mayor.

    • Yes, when the crisis is over the politicians will look back on any import ban of Russian firearms (AK-47s are particularly evil and criminals love them!), ammo, and related parts and invent some statistics and bring in some grieving relatives and say “look how much better and safer we (specifically ‘the children!’) have been since this ban!” and they will push to continue it indefinitely.

    • Politicians apparently follow the Chinese way of thought. The Chinese words for “Crisis” (危機) and “Opportunity” (機會) share the same character.

  5. Don’t panic they said.
    There will not be a shortage of surplus ammo they said.
    I still bought a couple of spam cans of poison bullets…..
    18.5 cents/round….

    It’s a good thing the Yugos had a lot of surplus SKS ammo…..

  6. Maybe factories in other eastern bloc countries like Romania will ramp up productions. If there is a demand, there will almost always be someone to meet that demand.

    And also, F*** Obummer.

  7. I wonder of this also includes Bulgarian parts. Arsenal of Las Vegas imports from Arsenal of Bulgaria.

    • Why should it? Bulgaria is not Russia, was part of Soviet Union but that doesn’t exist anymore.

      • Bulgaria was never a part of the Soviet Union. It was a part of the “Eastern Bloc” of Soviet-dominated allies.

        • Bulgaria does have a curious spot in history by virtue of being the only country that applied to join the USSR (when already in the Warsaw Pact, of course), and was denied. This was all unofficial, but extensively documented.

  8. Most of the gun part sets and AK mags are coming from nations like Romania, Bulgaria Ukraine and the Baltic republics. But that is going to suck not being able to get Wolf and Tula ammo

    • Wolf is an importer, not a manufacturer. Currently most of their steelcase 7.62x39mm ammo (which is what I suspect most people care about the most) comes from Russia, but some also comes from Romania and Ukraine.

      In the event that the Kenyan puts a trade embargo on Russia, people who have a 5.45mm AK are going to be hurt the most, as I do not think much commercial 5.45mm ammo is made outside Russia, and I have grave doubts that Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and so on are in a position to ramp up their ammunition manufacture tenfold, especially knowing that on any given morning the Kenyan might have a wild hair up his ass to sign another executive order, “for the children,” and bankrupt them.

  9. So now I am wondering how much dealings went on under the table. Obama — Mr. Putin, you take Crimea and then I will forbid Russian arms, ammo & supplies in to the US and that will be the extent of my punishment to you. Mr. Putin — Ya whatever Barrackery, don’t worry, you can forbid whatever you want, my pipeline will go undeterred and Crimea is worth much more to me than selling your country arms. Now Barrack has accomplished one more step of his gun control.

  10. Funny how they only stopped Russian arms and not other consumer goods that are sold much more.

    • My exact thought as well after reading that cryptic ass language, how incredibly convenient its ONLY firearm related items.

    • Not so much ha ha funny as odd funny. You know, like “that smells funny, a bit fishy, I wouldn’t eat it if I were you.”

    • Can you think of anything else they export to the US? I honestly can’t come up with anything on any substantial scale.

    • It certainly would be more effective to ban “paying for, being active in”etc, trades on Russian oil and natural gas, an activity in which New Yorkers and Texas and Delaware companies (U.S. persons) are quite active. There is no comparison between the scale of Russian fuel trading and gun/bullet trading. What a transparently cheesy administration we have.

    • Outside of ammo and guns, name any other good you see at Wally World that says “Made in Russia” and you know why our limits would be on arms first (granted, there is a possible “two birds with one stone” win for the president’s agenda). While Russia is rich in natural resources like oil, gas, forests, diamonds, gold, etc…little of it reaches our shores, and therefore banning has little effect on Putin (that’s where embargoes from Asia and Europe would have to provide sting). Folks like Halliburton, who do work in Russia, will likely be more upset by embargo than Putin will.

      YMMV

  11. I disagree the Ukraine situation isn’t some form of “smoke screen”. The people there are legitimately angry and sick of their government. Russia invading Crimea was a huge power play by Putin. Yes, Russia’s access to their main ports was in danger, however, they never should have invaded. The fact the Barry issued this executive order tells me that US intervention in the region has gone from about a 25% possibility, to about a 35% possibility, should economic sanctions an other non violent solutions not pan out.
    That said has anyone on here been conscious of the situation in Venezuela?

    • Russian intervention was inevitable after the Obama persons organized the coup of the popularly elected Ukrainian government (however corrupt they were) by a bunch of anti-Russians.

      • Ukrainians don’t need outsiders to tell them to hate Russians or to cause them to want to throw a Russian puppet, who took power in a crooked election bought with Russian money, out of office.

        Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor and note that Wackypedia’s estimate of the deaths is on the low side–others put it anywhere between ten and thirty million Ukrainians deliberately starved to death, or rounded up and machine-gunned for attempts at resistance, by Stalin’s henchmen in the 1930s. Adding insult to injury, Stalin then moved millions of ethnic Russian colonists into the now vacated land and gave especially pretty bits of it to chosen henchmen for dachas. And this was only the latest installment of the thousand year old Russian (and Mongol) game of Russian jackboots on Ukrainian throats.

        To say that Ukrainians hate the Russians and want them to leave is an understatement. No sinister CIA/Koch Brothers/Bilderberger/reptoid alien machinations are required to explain the situation. The Russians meddled in the affairs of neighbors who resent them for centuries of oppression, it blew up in their faces, and now they’ve resorted to Plan B, brute force. If the CIA did assist the locals it’s one of the very few morally righteous things they’ve done since the creation of the agency.

        • … sinister CIA/Koch Brothers/Bilderberger/reptoid alien machinations? What are you talking about?

        • You tell me. You’re the one invoking conspiracy theories to explain a popular uprising against a foreign puppet dictator.

          I do not know whether any “Obama persons,” Bilderbergers, Koch brothers, or Bigfoot were involved behind the scenes of Azarov’s ouster, however I do know that Russian state media loves conspiracy theories, and American leftists are always happy to parrot enemy propaganda. Nonetheless the main foreign meddlers in Ukraine have always been the Russians.

        • me says “a popular uprising …” ??? Sounds like an advertising slogan. Killing citizens in the street is more like murder. Mobs are funny things. Always feel they’re right.

        • “Killing citizens in the street?” Nonsense. This is Russian state propaganda, and it is no more to be taken seriously in 2014 than it was in 1984. They broadcast the same lies to justify their invasion and occupation of South Ossetia.

          Who are these persons who have been killed in Ukraine? Name them.

    • Frankly, if I were Putin and overheard Victoria Nuland, US diplomatic representative to the EU, discussing with our ambassador to Ukraine who should and shouldn’t be allowed in the next Ukranian administration, as he did, I’d be taking over eastern Ukraine, too. “Thanks, Victoria! –your friend Vladimir”

      • No, no, no. The Anschluss comes first. You don’t seize the Sudetenland until you’re sure there will be no consequences for the Anschluss.

    • You don’t hear much about Venezuela sadly. Citizenry sick and tired of being mired in the fetid, stagnant swamp of socialism, the legacy left by that fat-headed shitsucker Hugo Chavez and his bus-driving, union thug successor have pushed the people to the boiling point then suddenly no more coverage after that. The Liberal media outlets can’t cover a revolution against socialism since they are lying to Americans trying to tell them how great and awesome Obonzo’s socialist agenda is when 10 years of Chavez socialism was too much for Venezuelans to put up with.

  12. A crate of surplus 5.45 is due on my porch today. I was going to keep one spam can and sell the other. Now the question is do I “take advantage” of this idiocy, do gun owners a solid and sell off the ammo at reasonable prices or keep all 2,160 rounds?

    • Mosins do come from other countries. But by far the Russians are the biggest supplier of mosins. But the supply was getting thin and prices going up anyway. The bad part is the ammo ban.

  16. This just pooped in my cornflakes, as my AK fund is nearly complete and Ive been shopping around and buying a little bit of ammo. Seriously, sic semper tyrannis.
    Luckily all of the pistol ammo I buy is remanufactured but this kills me on chear AR ammo too.

  17. Sounds more like an excuse to exercise some gun control by executive order than sanctions on Russia.

    We have no military leverage against the Russian petrostate but what do have is lots of natural gas to export to Europe which will certainly put a crimp on Russian Oligarchs lifestyle.

  18. Wonder if this inflates the values on my Mosins and SKS. And their ammo. Might be time to make a profit. Since I’ve started hunting again I need to make room in my safe.

  19. Next time Obama wants to punish somebody, he should just flagalate himself. We’re getting tired of getting the brunt of other’s punishments….

  20. This is most certainly backdoor gun control. Russian ammo and rifle exports to the US commercial market doesn’t make up enough of a portion of their overall profit to warrant “sanctioning” the market. If he wanted to do actual economic damage, he would have put sanctions on natural resource exports, as with Iran and North Korea.

  21. Suddenly I don’t regret impulse buying those two spam cans of 7.62x54R at post-Newtown prices anymore. In the future I’ll enjoy gathering my grandsons around the rocking chair so I can tell them about the long lost days of the $99 Mosin that came with accessories.

    • While that is true, it will surely constrict supply which will cause 7.62×39 prices to increase.

        • Yeah but that can only happen if the factories have excess capacity to start churning out more to meet demand or if they are willing to invest in new production equipment if they do not.

          Or they might be happy like OPEC to be sitting on a high demand, limited supply item and make more profit. We’ll see…

        • The way I see it, the only reason we buy eastern European ammo is price. If the price goes up, I’ll just buy ammo made state side, or switch entirely to my AR. If they jack up the price of their ammo, I have a feeling that very few people will choose it over American made ammo (except for 5.45, which is not produced stateside as far as I know). In other words, they would be shooting themselves in the foot by not providing an affordable product.

        • Hornady’s 5.45mm ammo is made with Russian steel cases and Russian primers, with a Hornady VMAX varmint bullet stuck in the top. Depending on who you believe, there are even some people saying the powder they’re loaded with is Russian too.

  23. What? Freeze importation of arms and ammo, but not caviar?

    Wouldn’t want to upset the limousine liberals would we?

    What a bozo!

  24. Sam, I agree that he should have tried to use natural resource sanctions, however, the one for North Korea was to get them to shut down their quest for a nuclear weapon, they clearly care more about that then their people starving. As for Iran, same stuff, as we have our newish agreement with them to not blow them up no matter what they do. As for backdoor gun control, frankly, he could have restricted it a lot better by cutting off trade with the Eastern Europe instead of just Russia. So it may be an attempt at gun control, but it’s a rather shitty attempt.

    • No one said the Kenyan was competent, just spiteful and obsessed with showing those horrible “bitter clingers” who’s boss.

    • Same here. It’s about systems, not weapons. While the AK is great, the supply chain for it is long. ARs, their ammo and components are made here. Plus comparability with local forces, etc, etc.

  26. It’s not clear to me these sanctions actually prohibit ammunition imports. They’re targeted at individuals, not companies. The article text leaves out a very important little clarifier: this applies to “persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State to operate in the arms or related materiel sector in the Russian Federation.” This is not targeted at companies, this is meant to freeze individual assets of those 11 people listed (and any others the admin may think of later). AFAIK, Tula, Barnaul, etc. are state-owned. They’re no one’s assets. (In theory.)

    Further, Russia is a WTO member; you can’t just cut off trade with them randomly.

    It’d be nice if TTAG would quote the entire text, rather than sensationalize to drum up page views. *sigh*

    • A corporation is a “person” under US law. Also note the reference to a “foreign branch”. How many individuals have a “branch” of any kind.

      • The foreign branch bit refers _to the person’s holdings_.

        Also, corporations are not “individuals” under US law. They have certain aspects of personhood as per SCOTUS decision.

        • As someone who works for the Office of Foreign Assets Control division of a bank, I can tell you that yes, corporations do count as individuals.

    • Also, in case someone wants to do actual research, the seven Russians who were sanctioned are: Vladislav Surkov, Sergey Glazyev, Leonid Slutsky, Andrei Klishas, Valentina Matviyenko, Dmitry Rogozin, and Yelena Mizulina. Any of them have any direct ties to Tula or Barnaul?

      • A cursory Google search of the names with the terms Tula and Barnaul doesn’t return any obvious hits. We’re talking about Russian commerce, though, so who knows who really controls what.

        If those are the only people whose American trade just got shut down, though, I imagine that any panic will be of our own creation. Shame, too – I was just about to pick up a Zastava M92 from my FFL, and it looks like feeding it might get pricey.

  28. Remember when there were a bunch of people saying this wouldn’t happen and that anyone worried about it was just being unnecessarily paranoid?

    Well, I told you so.

  30. 2 BIRDS with 1 stone. I believe any other president would do the same. Just to “look” tough. There really isn’t a lot Odumbo will do. Europe is way too dependent on Russian gas & oil. POS

  31. Damn, Cuban cigars and now this… Can a guy just have some fun without politics screwing it up…

    • I died a little bit inside the day they took away my Ramon Allones Specially Selected. Sniff.

  35. Another crisis POTUS wont waste or miss in order to punish legal gun owners of America.

  36. Hmmm…an “Executive Order” to stop the importation of guns and ammunition…did he say something about doing the a yr ago…??? Now Obama is just using the Ukraine/Crimea thing as an excuse…what a putz…

    • Holy Crapola! Hilarity.

      Check out the one dude’s name from that link you posted:

      SLUTSKY, Leonid

      (a.k.a. SLUTSKIY, Leonid; a.k.a. SLUTSKY, Leonid E.; a.k.a. SLUTSKY, Leonid Eduardovich); DOB 04 Jan 1968; State Duma Deputy; Chairman of the Committee on Affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States

  39. umm.. again.. TTAG forcing a puzzle piece to fit. the sanctions issued have ZERO relevance to guns. your “legal eagle” is certainly reaching. is instigating a panic buying spree really worth getting page hits?

    • Because an HK91 doesn’t sell for $2500 thanks to George Bush banning the importation of HK guns that “had no sporting purpose”. Because a Saiga 12 didn’t go from $400 to $1200 over night when the other demorat, Clinton, signed off on the AWB. VEPRs and Saigas are going to rise up to the prices of Valmets. Everyone loses, unless you were wealthy enough to buy a rack of VEPRs and Saigas and cash in in a decade off this pointless ban. Banning gun imports for Americans is clearly targeted towards us, and not Russia. How much money do they make from the US with firearm sales vs. other things? Good thing Obonzo killed NASA too, we don’t need to bother even asking the Russians for a lift any more. Maybe the Chinese or Indians will take pity on us in 5 years and let us tag along…

  41. In other news, Obama hates guns – especially “military grade weapons” – and will do everything possible to restrict or eliminate the ownership thereof.

  42. I wouldn’t worry too much about constricted supply. There’s some product differentiation among ammunition, even if only quality between identical specifications, but overall it approaches commodity status. So it’s fungible.

    Russian ammo that now won’t come to the U.S., will instead go someplace else. Whatever ammo was already being sold in that someplace else, will now come here, replacing the Russian ammo. Bilateral economic sanctions are rarely effective, and even then work only if there’s some special circumstance involved. A commodity like ammunition, for which there are many suppliers and innumerable consumers, isn’t special.

    • ammo [that] was already being sold in that someplace else, will now come here, replacing the Russian ammo.

      Sure. At twice the price.

      • Interesting. Everything else, fungibilty, etc., is debatable. But the one thing not debatable is that it is a great excuse to raise prices. I saw two Mosins for sale at a LGS last week, $180 and $210. I was thinking $110. Disappointment. Old information I guess. No getting together when you’re that far apart.

        Btw, a first for TTAG. The word “fungibility”.

      • Ahh well, Ralph… I was just buying time to get home from work and get my panic buy in! 😉 Two spam cans of Tula will top me off nice for a while. Panic all you want now.

  43. Nobody has explained how this would even impact importation of commercial small arms and ammo.

    Until the shipments stop coming in, I’m not buying any of it.

    I already have a safe full of AKs, SKSes, and crates of ammo, so I don’t have to play this ridiculous scare mongering game this time around.

  44. let’s be optimistic here… the number of people shooting these Russian calibers is miniscule next to the number of 223/5.56 shooters. the crunch won’t be nearly as fast or as overwhelming as the post-Newton AR fiasco… I hope. Figures I just got a Mosin-Nagant…

    • Wouldn’t call the number miniscule… If the AR-15’s the most popular rifle to own & shoot in the US, then the AK-47’s got to be a very close #2. One look at my shooting range on any given day would put them about 50/50, slightly higher on the ARs post-Newtown rush.

    • Sure, nobody has an SKS or AK or VZ58 to feed. They barely even imported weapons like that into the country. (heavy sarcasm)

  46. LOLOLOLOLOLOLz!!!!!!

    JAMES YEAGER!!!!

    Welp.

    I got a Saiga on the UPS truck with tracking number heading to my dealer as we speak and a metric (cuz it’s European ammo) butt-load of x39, 54R already here at the ranch.

    I win haters!

    Actually this might effect Russian ammo makers, and gun exporters, but maybe not Ukraine ammo makers. Afterall a lot of stuff comes from Ukraine too. I’m not really worrying about the ammo other than price getting jacked. But I did want a Saiga to convert, so I figured I best gets me one, or a couple

    Hey if they do ban Saiga forever, can you imagine how much a fresh in the box, Saiga 7.62 with 16 inch barrel will be going for in 10 years? Hmm.

    If you didn’t see this coming, I don’t know what to tell you.

    I still win!

    Haters.

    • What ever. Anyone could have looked at the news and said the same thing. The point was: why generate a panic before we knew anything.

      • I mentioned Yeager because many gave him a ration of shit for his vidja saying it might be smart to get your Russian stuff sooner rather than later.

        Well, it’s all speculation, so a guy can choose to plunk his money down and be assured he has the things he wants to own while they are available and not inflated, or he can wait and see.

        • True that. I went somewhere in the middle. Topped of a little (before Yeager vid) as I too saw the news. But didn’t go hog wild and spend the bank account for x39, as there are other sources and other ways for it to get into the US even with a stupid Obama ban that will do nothing to deter Russia (so meaningless in my eyes. Like cutting off your nose to spite your face)

  47. I was wondering when he’d get around to back door gun control by finding a premis to ban the import of Russian firearms. I guess the answer is….right about now.

  48. I am skeptical at this moment, but it may be that this is just the beginning. If things continue to escalate between NATO and Russia over Crimea we could see something resembling a war footing that would make the trade in their guns and ammunition problematic at best.

  51. I read 7.62×39 is flying off the shelf right now not that i care but these hoarders don’t know is there are many other countries that can fill the demand for cheap dirty ammo.In fact a back up plan has been in place for some time.

  52. it’s shit like this and people like you that start panic buying sprees. Rip this article off the site if you want to even begin to redeem yourself.

    “upon further review” psh! should have done some “further reviewing” before publishing it, eh brother?

    • Maybe if we all click our heels and say “there’s no place like home,” all of this will go away.

  53. STOP
    FEAR
    MONGERING
    ARTICLES LIKE THIS ARE WHY WE HAVE PANIC BUYS.
    EVERYBODY STOP PANICKING, ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF AMMO COMES FROM RUSSIA.

    • Yup.

      Like 70% of it.

      Brown Bear
      Silver Bear
      Golden Tiger
      Most Wolf
      Tula
      Surplus 5.45×39
      Some surplus x54R

      And so forth.

      Then we can add in the Ukraine stuff like…

      Red Army Standard
      Some flavors of Wolf, etc.

      Sure, ammo also comes from Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Serbia and such but it appears to me that a huge chunk of it comes from Russia and Ukraine at this time. Go look at any ammo sales website in the 7.62×39 section and the vast majority of the bulk cheap stuff that we love to shoot from our shitty commie guns says made in Russia or made in Ukraine, no matter whose name is stamped on the box.

      So what I’m saying is….PANIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Lol. Just kidding.

      Sorta.

      😛

  54. I locked in on a Vepr 12 I wanted. Layaway better than nothing. Got a saiga 12 that I can use on a reg bases.

  55. Glad I stocked up on 7.62 x 39 at the first hint of trouble in Ukraine. You just never know with these kinds of things and if you haven’t learned the lesson from previous “crises” [real or imagined] then frankly it’s your own fault and you have not been paying close enough attention.

    • Abso-damn-lutely. (Is that a word? Is now.)

      People who didn’t read the tea leaves show up later crying about hoarders and flippers and how they would’a, should’a, could’a when the getting was good, and the getting was cheap(ish).

      They come up to you at the range looking all thirsty and admiring at your rifle saying stuff like “Hey man, nice rifle. Ya know, back in ’14 I was thinking about getting me one of them thar Saiga’s, but then them damn panic buyers drove up all the prices! Now they go for $3500. Well, shit! I ain’t paying that for no Commie piece of shit.”

      Uh-huh. Whatever pal.

      I’m with ya on scratching my head at those who act like it’s the first time we’ve seen situations like this. I wonder if these are the same folks who show up the night before the blizzard with all the other big thinkers trying to get tater chips, toilet paper, and the SI Swimsuit edition to hold them over until they can dig out?

      Wing and a prayer…

      😛

  57. Regardless of other Eastern Bloc countries that manufacture and export AK and Tokarav ammo, parts etc,…

    Our illustrious ammo market will once again set a new “normal” for ammo pricing. How’s that leetle plinker .22lr pricing working for you?

    All by design. Comedian Chris Rock even said years ago, you want real gun control?
    Make every bullet $5 each.

  58. More hack, jumping the gun bullshit from RF and this site. Jesus fucking Christ.

    You’re people are being irresponsible and stupid.

  59. Every article like this should conclude with these words:

    KEEP WATCHING GUNBOT.NET AND AMMOSEEK.COM TO WATCH PRICES AND AVAILABILITY.

    Then nobody will have any excuse and can never say, “I never knew….”

    Right now you can still get 7.62 x .30 for around .22 and .23 rounds.

    Cue the guys who say, “I bought 25,000 rounds thirty years ago and only paid four cents a round.”

    Well, good for you buddy, this kind of comment stream is not for you.

    : )

  60. 1) Are these sanctions just on these Russians over arms and ammunition or just sanctions period on these guys?

    2) Couldn’t domestic manufacturers start making Russian arms and ammunition?

    • Domestic manufacturers already can’t keep up with demand for .22 LR, 9mm, .380, 5.56mm, and 7.62 NATO, they’ve spent the last several years going hog-wild introducing lots and lots of new special-snowflake boutique cartridges that they’re trying to sell (.17 anything, .20 anything, everything with “super duper ultra mega monster magnum” in the name, 6.8mm SPC, .300 Blackout, .327 Federal, and so on), and someone thinks they’re going to start making Combloc calibers too?

      I’d love to see brass-cased, reloadable 5.45x39mm at a price point comparable to American Eagle .223 or Winchester White Box 5.56mm, along with .221″ jacketed projectiles to load it with. I’m not holding my breath.

  61. 1. I’m actually OK with that, as long it is (i) temporary and (ii) gets Russia the hell out of Ukraine.
    2. With the exception of surplus, Russian ammo is crap. Had horrible experiences with both Tula and Barnaul. Actually, surplus ammo is quite a crap, too, the only redeeming feature of it being the price.
    3. Much of “russian” hardware actually comes from places like – you got it – Ukraine.

    Disclaimer: I am and American and a Texan (both by choice) of Russian descent. My wife is of Ukrainian descent. No armed conflict in this household, though.

    • No armed conflict eh?

      Give it time. You ain’t been married long enough. You’ll get there. 😛

      • Nah, a Cold War, maybe. On the other hand, who woulda thunk that Russia and Ukraine go to war with one another, and Germany would be a peacemaker?

  63. Someone make me feel better and tell me that this is going to make 300 BLK take off in popularity, with a massive correlating increase in supply and therefore drastic reduction cost?

  65. Idiots. 7.62×39 is widely and cheaply available and will continue to be unless a new cold war starts. Russia will avoid any possible ammo sanctions by manufacturing Wolf, Bear and Tula ammo in the eastern block nations. Prices may jump a tad but availability will remain steady. There will be more US made 7.62×39 as well. James Yeager already started this BS scare, thanks Farago for continuing his BS.

  66. Obonzo is mad at Russia so he punishes us? The ammunition concern is moot, anyone can make it, that sensationalism needs to stop. A desire for well-made Russian weapons from Molot or Izmash is the concern, for me anyway. The supply will become static and the prices will shoot through the roof as this is how it goes with firearms. Saigas will go from moderate to ridiculous as pre-bans did during the AWB. It also happened when Bush Sr. fucked us out of importing HK rifles. Better get a Saiga while I can, oops, spent all my free money on an HK clone. Fuck… at least we have Century Arms AKs *shudder*

  67. I have got to say, RF, as a long time reader, articles like this really piss me off. You knew, or should have known, that these sanctions have not a fucking thing to do with any ammo imports. A cursory reading of the news would make that clear. I know page hits make you dolla dolla bills, but this is ridiculous, unhelpful, and actually damaging to us all, as it jacks up ammo prices when the idiots rush to panic buy.

    I have liked this site for years, but shame on you for this, RF. Shame.

  68. There is nothing in Obongos EO that targets Russian arms or ammo for US import. Not to say that wouldnt be an obvious target of this regime at any point, but as yet its just sensationalism and kneejerk to post headlines that say so. Interestingly, theres a ton of off contract Wolf on the market right now for around 250.00 per case.

  69. Can we PLEASE for the love of god STOP POSTING THIS SHIT?!!?!?!?!? THERE IS NO SCARE ON RUSSIAN GUNS AND AMMO, AND POSTING THIS SHIT WILL ONLY CREATE PANIC, ARTIFICIALLY CREATING A SCARE ON RUSSIAN GUNS AND AMMO!!! STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  70. It doesn’t surprise that this would be the type of thing he would ban from importation. I guess the poor Russians won’t have anyone else to buy their wares.

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