People like Bryan from aimsurplus, who imports and sells tons (literally) of 5.45 surplus, has said that the surplus won't dry up any time soon, since there is so much of it, but the price will continue to rise as time goes on. I'm glad I bought like 12k when it was around $120-130 a tin. Although moving it all is a bitch, thankfully I enlisted the girlfriend to help me.
Where are you finding it for 18 cents a pop? I would like to stock up on another 10k or so. Before the panic, 15 to 16 before shipping seemed to be about the going rate. Shipping is usually what kills me with it, since I order like 4k at a time.
It's still the cheapest centerfire rifle cartridge on the market, it is certainly good at killing people, and the 74 is a really nice rifle. Only real downside to it, is it's tricky to mount optics and lasers and lights and still be able to get a good grip on it. Kind of like a carbine length M4 in that regard I guess.
