Spam can ammo - Do I need an opener????

[Ronald_55]

Got a good deal on the last tin of Bulgarian 7.62 x 54R that a guy had I just bought a Mosin Nagant off of. Only thing is that he did not have an opener. I can pick one up pretty cheap, but do I need it? I don't what to be prying this open with a crowbar but I doubt I will buy a lot of these cans.

 

On another note. Anyone seen any good deals on the 7.62 x 54R? seems like several good deals have dried up suddenly.

 

This is a pic of the one he had posted that had an opener.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Ronald_55

[R1100R]

I have used a chisel and a hammer with excellent results. I cant see where you are located but i have a opener you welcomed to use.

[Ronald_55]

Just now, R1100R said:

I have used a chisel and a hammer with excellent results. I cant see where you are located but i have a opener you welcomed to use.

Thanks. I am in NE TN close to Johnson City. I was just afraid with my luck I would go boom banging on it.

[R1100R]

You just tap it. Its not very thick.

[Jamie Jackson]

Ronald, 

I have used a screwdriver and hammer before. There's a good bit of space surrounding the ammo. A Kbar works great too! 

I have an extra opener I'll gladly mail you & you can mail it back at your convenience. 

Just shoot me a PM if interested.

Unfortunately Spam cans of surplus 7.62x54 R aren't nearly as plentiful as they were. 

 

Edited April 18, 2017 by prag

[RED333]

this works on any rolled can.

[Garufa]

30 minutes ago, RED333 said:

this works on any rolled can.

That's very clever.

I find span cans to be mighty handy containers to have around the garage for throwing random stuff in or even soaking parts.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Garufa

[Ronald_55]

5 hours ago, prag said:

Ronald, 

I have used a screwdriver and hammer before. There's a good bit of space surrounding the ammo. A Kbar works great too! 

I have an extra opener I'll gladly mail you & you can mail it back at your convenience. 

Just shoot me a PM if interested.

Unfortunately Spam cans of surplus 7.62x54 R aren't nearly as plentiful as they were. 

 

Thanks. I will get it in hand and let you know.

So are they rare enough now that I should just hold on to it and get some commercial ammo? This is my 1st Mosin, so never has to look for this ammo before.

[Ronald_55]

2 hours ago, RED333 said:

this works on any rolled can.

Well maybe I don't need my p38 can opener in my bag then. A good file would work. Sometime I just wonder what prompted a guy to think of this stuff.

Thanks

[RED333]

Ya ever go at a can of soup with a hammer and chisel? Makes one big mess, use this trick and be able to eat the soup, just stop before it all leaks out.

[tartanphantom]

6 hours ago, RED333 said:

this works on any rolled can.

I used to open tuna cans at lunchtime this way back when I did construction work. Like you said, works on most any can with a rolled or crimped lid.

Edited April 19, 2017 by tartanphantom

[Jamie Jackson]

7 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

Thanks. I will get it in hand and let you know.

So are they rare enough now that I should just hold on to it and get some commercial ammo? This is my 1st Mosin, so never has to look for this ammo before.

Anytime Good Sir.

It's still out there, but the availability is sporadic and the prices henceforth have risen to meet the diminished supply vs demand.

I personally like having several spam cans of ammo set aside for the long haul. I keep my shooting rotation ammo in loose in 50 cal cans.

If you can catch it in stock, places like SG Ammo usually have 7.62x54r surplus and makes like Red Army and Brown Bear for $0.40-$0.60 round which is a competitive price (imho) these days.

[Ronald_55]

4 hours ago, prag said:

Anytime Good Sir.

It's still out there, but the availability is sporadic and the prices henceforth have risen to meet the diminished supply vs demand.

I personally like having several spam cans of ammo set aside for the long haul. I keep my shooting rotation ammo in loose in 50 cal cans.

If you can catch it in stock, places like SG Ammo usually have 7.62x54r surplus and makes like Red Army and Brown Bear for $0.40-$0.60 round which is a competitive price (imho) these days.

So no wonder the $0.23 per I was seeing on gunbot.net seemed to be all out of stock. Though I do think gunbot is not updating like it used to. I will watch for some.

[Cartel]

19 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

Got a good deal on the last tin of Bulgarian 7.62 x 54R that a guy had I just bought a Mosin Nagant off of. Only thing is that he did not have an opener. I can pick one up pretty cheap, but do I need it? I don't what to be prying this open with a crowbar but I doubt I will buy a lot of these cans.

On another note. Anyone seen any good deals on the 7.62 x 54R? seems like several good deals have dried up suddenly.

The Sportman's Guide had crates of silver tip for $180 shipped last March. That was the last decent deal on surplus from an online retailer. Your best bet nowadays is to check Armslist and the forums.

[Oh Shoot]

19 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

Well maybe I don't need my p38 can opener in my bag then. A good file would work. Sometime I just wonder what prompted a guy to think of this stuff.

It's old technique for opening cans, maybe back to WWI or something. To keep mess down, rub top up against bottom of a horizontal concrete span.

But really, any decent pocket knife makes it easy enough, and quick. I probably opened a hundred of them growing up with a Buck 110.

- OS

Edited April 19, 2017 by Oh Shoot

[MP5_Rizzo]

On 4/18/2017 at 1:10 PM, Ronald_55 said:

I can pick one up pretty cheap, but do I need it?

While the rubbing on concrete or using a file around the edges are fine if you are really desperate, I'm not there yet.  Are you sure you don't already have a spam ammo can opener?  Have you checked in your kitchen drawers?  One of these work just like the stamped metal opener.

I have one of the new clean edge can openers in my kitchen that I use more than any other can opener these days.  I have not tried it because I'm not ready to break the seal on any of my spam ammo cans still sealed.  By laying the clean edge opener on top of the spam ammo can (as I would a food can) it looks like it would open one just like it would open the spam can just fine.  The one I have looks like the one below which happens to be a Pampered Chef product.

[No_0ne]

9 hours ago, Cartel said:

The Sportman's Guide had crates of silver tip for $180 shipped last March. That was the last decent deal on surplus from an online retailer. Your best bet nowadays is to check Armslist and the forums.

That shipment was most of 2 containers that Bob Bowman of Florida manged to get out of Ukraine a while back.  The uproar there has pretty much shut down all shipments of 7.62x54r out of that country for the foreseeable future. SG probably had that ad up by mistake, a newer version of the ad had it for about $280 per crate, the old one was still visible to members when they posted the ammo.  Both the ammo and the ad were gone very quickly, that shipment was the first to the US in over 2 years, none since.

11 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

So no wonder the $0.23 per I was seeing on gunbot.net seemed to be all out of stock. Though I do think gunbot is not updating like it used to. I will watch for some.

Unless something changes radically in the world, those prices are most likely gone for good.  A lot of the old Comm-bloc countries sold out of this ammo several years ago, it's not available out of Russia since the Clinton years, anything that comes out of Ukraine will wind up in the middle east as they are paying 70 cents and up per round for it.  There are a few other places that still have some, but bad logistics, political concerns, and supply and demand pretty much preclude the old prices being seen again.

Edited April 19, 2017 by No_0ne

[Ronald_55]

Thanks for all the input guys. Turns out the guy got back in touch with me and  has another tin plus an opener that I can buy. Considering it is 32.5 cents per round shipped, I'm grabbing it.