Wanted to shoot my new Mod.14 the other night , but was out of .38s. Stopped by a few gun shops but all I seemed to find is the 'Premium' dollar a round combat/carry hollow-point ammo or FMJ mil-style 'ball' ammo. Can't find .38 Special 148gr wadcutters anywhere. No 158gr LSWC , not even the old standard 158gr RNL. Only that anemic M48 130gr FMJ-RN @630fps.

Ammo is out there , expensive , but nowhere near the variety.

Time to fire up my Dillon 550.

any ammo with a '3' as first number of it is scarce or none hereabouts. some places have the 'premium' rounds as you stated.

Here in SW MI things are starting to loosen up a lot. My favorite gun shop has plenty of .38 Specials, and a wide variety to boot. Downside is that $25 / box of 50 is the cheapest they have, with 148 gr target loads going for $35 / 50.

At the local WalMart, any handgun ammo sells out as soon as it gets in.

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You're shy a few manners.

I haven't been finding much .38 special, but I've been finding a lot of .38+P lately.

I've resorted entirely to online vendors for my ammo. When I can find what I'm looking for locally, the price is inflated so much it easily covers shipping.

As for 148gr .38 WC, Ammunition To Go has Fiocchi and S&B for 16.95 a box, as well as 500 and 1000 round options. I was tempted but I'll leave them for those who actually need them.


P.S. - This is my 357th post. I told myself that when I hit that mark I would finally buy my M&P340, but with current situations that'll have to wait I'll settle for a few boxes of 135gr SB Gold Dots.

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Fast is fine;accurate is final

I found 2 boxes of Federal red box 148gr MATCH WCs , that I bought about 4 years ago. Price tag still on the box. $9.00!

I saw S&B and Fiocchi at a recent gun show for $16.99 box/50.

Like I said , time to fire up my Dillon 550B.

WalMart here is up to $31.00 a box for Winchester 130 FMJ-FP 100 round boxes...

Bob

On my last walk through Wal-Mart I found seven boxes of Winchester .45ACP 230 gr. FMJ for $34/100rd. box, one box of Winchester .45 230 gr. JHP for $28/50rd. box, three Winchester 9mm FMJ (don't remember the weight of the bullet) for $12.97/50rd. box. In Federal brand there were many, many boxes of .40 S&W180 gr. FMJ for $14.87/50rd. box and 9mm (again sorry but I don't remember the weight of the bullet) for $8.99/50rd. box. There was no .22 LR ammunition. There were a few boxes of .22 Shorts (how odd). There was plenty of Remington .223 MC (FMJ) ammunition at $9.97/20rd. box. There was plenty of hunting type rifle and shotgun ammunition. I do recall that they had .38 Special 130 gr. FMJ, but I do not recall the price. I think it was around $30/100rd. box. At the local ACE Hardware, I found Magtec .38 Special 158 gr. LRN for $16.87/50rd. box, and American Ammunition .40 S&W 165 gr. FMJ for $20/50 rd. box.

All in all, I am thankful to have been able to find some ammo so that I can enjoy shooting my revolvers. But I can see that just as soon as I can find some primers, I'm going to be putting my RCBS to use producing my own "custom" ammunition.

I purchased S&W's new Walther PK380 "First Edition". Can't find 380 ACP anywhere??

I checked my normal online ammo souces..."MidwayUSA" & "Cheaper than Dirt"...zero available. Local Wal-Marts...zero available. Local gun shops...forget about it.

Why is this ammo so hot???

I have built my inventories these past 5 months on 223, 10 & 12 gauge, S&W 460 & 500 and 9mm and 38+P to satisfying levels but this 380 ACP is driving me nuts.

Any suggestions???

Yeah!
RELOAD! It's the only logical solution. While some components can be PITA to find at times, it's not as much of a gut churning nightmare as waiting for a UPS truck at WalMart? And after, running the gauntlet of Piranha swirling around the palette being rolled towards sporting goods!

Just got back from local Bass Pro and they had quite a bit of ammo including .38 Special. $17 for 50.

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Barry, youngest son of Claud

Try Georgia Arms for .380. Shipping time seems to be a few weeks but price is as reasonable as any lately.

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Big bang, much smash'em.

The only thing I've noticed coming around in SE MI is .40 S&W. I haven't seen any cheapo range ammo in .38spl in probably 6 months now.

A local shop got in a load of ammo today - mostly Federal Hydra-Shoks and Remington Golden Saber, but some Independence practice ammo, too. Prices weren't bad. Picked-up a box (50) of .45 ACP 185 gr. +P Hydra-Shoks for $28.99.

I'm guessing that .380 ammo is hot in WI for the same reason it is in IL - we have no legal concealed carry, so those who would rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6 opt for the little .32 and .380 pocket pistols.

What do you guys think of the Independence brand? I see it at my local Cabelas and not sure to pick it up or not.

Good point Buford57...when are our 2 states going to wake up!!

I have shot Independence ammo before without problem, nothing special, but was just fine for range use.

Our situation seems to be improving day by day...