I was the high bidder at a gun auction on a box of .38 Special -125 JSP produced by S&W Ammunition Company of Rock Creek Ohio. I requested info on the Ammo from S&W but have not received a reply. I also attempted to contact the S&W Ammo Co. company by telephone they were not listed. Does anyone have any info on the company as to when they were in business or when they went out of business. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I beleive that was Fiocchi (spelling?) ammo sold by S&W.

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dd884
JMHO-YMMV

I agree!!!!

Smith made the ammo in Ohio at the old Rock Creek Arsenal facility. They loaded the first Nyclad rounds there.They went out of the ammo business in the late 80's if I remember correctly.The facility is now being cleaned up as a SuperFund site.

Thanks for the info. I picked up two boxes at a gun auction, first time I that I ever heard of it. Price was right a Colt US Army Model 1901 and 2 boxes of ammo and for less than the cost of two boxes of WWB 40 cal target ammo.

S & W AMMUNITION COMPANY ROCK CREEK, OHIO 44084...it was a Bangor Punta Co. I have a box of .45 ACP FMJ

It was not made by Fiocchi

sorry, my mistake, not unusual.

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dd884
JMHO-YMMV

IIRC, the ammo was made by Alcan and marked S&W. From ~'78 to ~'83 they made my department's duty round, .38 spl 110 and 125 gr. +P JHPs. I recall they were considered a really good round in that they used different bullet construction in .357 bullets depending on whether they were loaded in .38 spl. or .357 mag. IE, thinner jackets in the spl. loading.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

I shot a bit of it in .38 Special and .357 Magnum at the time. The .357 Mag ammo was pretty hot. It shot a Dan Wesson loose on several occasions but a Ruger Blackhawk thrived on it.

I have a box of this in 357 Magnum 125 gr JHP that I inherited in 1979 along with a Python. I have been wondering how hot it is. I have seen so much conflicting information on 125 gr that I have decided not to use it in my 66.

I have never fired the Python.

well who makes the S&W brand 40s? If you look at it the rim is rebated and will some times fail to eject or stove pipe. I had 2 boxes and about 5 failed in a sig and that is very unusual

S&W purchased Alcan of Alton, Il.,in 1972 and produced ammunition from 1973 until 1981. The ammunition was initially produced using both the S&W and Alcan name. Early on the boxes were marked Smith & Wesson - Fiocchi Inc. Alton, Il. The headstamp was S&W-F and then later just S&W. The S&W line of reloading components included bullets and Alcan made primers. During the BP years, S&W branched out into many related industries especially in the law enforcement field. The S&W name was attached to sirens, riot helmets, light bars, radios, billy clubs, hand cuffs and a bunch of other items.

The modern S&W has done a similar thing, lending its name to home security systems and even shoe polish. Anything to make a profit.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Fire the Python. Do a few cylinders of .38s and one, or two, of .357s every year or two. Treat it like a classic car. When the weather is right, take her out for a drive. After a metriculous clean, I sure you'll be glad you did. A weapon like that is too nice not to shoot.

Sorry for the thread drift.

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"I also cook."

I'll take that into consideration. I always felt like it was too nice to shoot. Its blued and I like to shoot my stainless guns cause maintenance is just easier. I've been thinking about going to Gunbroker with it. Put up one of those no-bid auctions I see so many of.

I'd hang onto any S&W ammo as a collectible. At least, the old stuff from the 70s and 80s. Don't often see it anymore.
It was good ammo in its day. I recall using some 158 gr. jacketed hollowpoint stuff in my Ruger Security Six in the early 1980s. It really bucked and bellowed but was accurate.
Alas, that box is long gone. Wish I'd at least kept the empty box as a decorator.

Hello NAFTA old school.

I still have about 1000 rounds of S&W-brand Nyclad ammo that I bought in the early 1980's. One box is labeled "S&W Ammunition Company, Rock Creek, Ohio", while the rest are labeled "S&W Ammunition Company, A Bangor-Punta Company, Rock Creek, Ohio".

All of it is marked "Made in U.S.A."

One of these days I'm going to have to shoot this all up:

siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

I found these two boxes (empty) at a gun show last week. They both are .38 Special 148 Grain Wadcutters.
Mark

IIRC, S&W moved into the ammo arena because Super Vel was selling all the light-bullet high-velocity JHPs they could, and there was still demand that Winchester and Remington were trying hard to ignore. Kind of left the door open for S&W to get into the ammo end of the business. Much of S&W ammo's early loads were very Super-Vel-like.

I'm sure the execs were also thinking of vertical integration of their field.

Anybody else have any of the S&W 22 shorts?
I bought two full bricks several years ago.
I paid a lot for it but I'm glad I did. I've never seen any anywhere since.

S&W had been out of the ammo business for years when the .40 came on the scene. What else is on the headstamp of the case?

A friend just moved and had some old ammo he gave me.
Included was a plastic 10 pack of S&W 150 grain soft point
30-30 rounds from Alton, Il. I opened the pack and sure
enough, the case head stamp has "S&W 30-30 Win"
stamped on it.
I can't find much of anything that S&W made 30-30 rifle
cartridges, any history buffs out there know anything about
this?
I can provide pictures if needed.

Thanks,
GaryLarry

The S&W branded ammo was made for about 10 years from around '70-'81. They made numerous handgun loads in calibers .25AUTO, 32AUTO, 32 S&W, .380AUTO, 9x19mm, 38Spl, 357Mag, 44Mag and 45ACP.

They also introduced the Nyclad nylon coated loads in 9x19mm, 38Spl and 357Mag.

Rifle calibers .243Win, 270Win, 30-30Win, 308Win, 30-06Sprg (2 loads ea.).

In the rimfire category they had .22LR Standard & Max-Vel, .22Short Standard & Max-Vel and .22Blank for Indoor & Outdoor use. All rimfire rounds were made by Aguila of Mexico.

Shotgun shells came in various load weights in .410, 20, 16 and 12 gauges along with empty primed hulls for reloaders.

The handgun brass in 9mm, 38 & 357 was made by numerous companies including Amron, Olin, Federal, IVI & CIL of Canada. Rifle cases all came from Canada, but I'm not sure which company.

S&W also supplied 12ga CN/CS riot loads along with 37mm gas guns and cartridges.

The 30-30 came in two bullet weights, 150SP and 170SP.

S&W was 9 years out of the ammo business before S&W and Winchester got together to design and market the 40S&W cartridge. If the ammo you had problems with was factory new, just look at the headstamp on the case and it'll tell you who made the ammo.

Thanks for the info CTG_COLLECTOR
I suppose I should hang on to it unless there's a collector out there really wanting 10 rounds of unfired S&W 30-30 ammo? It is kind of cool in its little 10 round plastic see through package.

I appreciate the posts above with info regarding the time frame when S&W had its own ammo on the market. My only purchase of their brand was the 125-gr .38 Special Nyclad load designed for the Chief Special (& other snubbies). I thought S&W came up with a great idea there--not just to reduce indoor range lead pollution, but to increase velocity from the short barrels.

The original S&W bullet for this load was a truncated cone (SWC) shape, flat across the tip with a narrow hole. When Federal took over making Nyclads, the bullet was changed to a rounder shape, still flat at the tip but with a wider hole. My guess is that it would have better expansion.

What is the going rate for a box of those early S&W Chief Special loads? I know I have a partial box, & maybe a full onr or two around someplace. (The partial box is marked "Smith & Wesson Ammunition Company" and "A Bangor Punta Company" with the Rock Creek OH address.) I think a full box or other container of S&W ammo might be of interest to ammo/S&W collectors, if their brand hasn't been made since 1981.

The 40 S&W headstamp is a caliber designation not a manufacturing one.

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James Redfield
LM #497

The day my department gave my group of new deputies our issue handguns (well-worn Combat Masterpieces), the firearms guy then handed each of us 18 (yes, EIGHTEEN!!!) rounds of S&W brand 158 grain JHP .38 Special ammunition. He shot me dirty look when I said, "Okay, guys, just don't shoot it all in one place."

I half expected them to demand those back when we turned in our revolvers later.

A local sporting goods chain often had S&W ammunition on sale. I bought and shot a good bit of it and found it to be as good as W-W or Federal. It was good brass to reload.

As I recall, back in the day S&W forced this ammo on gun dealers as a prerequisite to ordering guns from them.

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Loyalty Above All.. but Honor

It's still seen occasionally at gun shows, and I have several boxes of 125 grain .38 Special loads. I knew there was rifle caliber S&W ammunition, but I don't remember ever seeing any of it, nor have I seen .22 RF. They made a lot of law enforcement anti-riot stuff like tear gas guns and shells. There was a good market for it back in the Vietnam days with all the anti-war riot activity.

Hi Buff! I have a similar story: A nationally-known security firm (nameless, please) would issue armed personnel an old .38 Colt PPS revolver and 5 (FIVE!) rounds of ammunition. Company regs stipulated an empty chamber under the hammer. At qualification, most of these oldies would freeze up after 10-15 rounds of wadcutters. If you were savvy and knew the Gun Custodian, you could trade the PPS in for an old S&W which would not freeze up. Can't make this stuff up.
Stay safe partner.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

have some 88 gr soft point 357 Magnum ammo made by S&W back in the 70s. Supposed to be rated at about 2000 fps out of a 8 3/8" barrel. I think it is just a 380 bullet stuck in a 357 Mag case.

Back in the 70's & early 80's their 230 gr 45 ACP rounds shot great and the brass was some of the best for reloading and held up fantastic. Wish they still made it.

I bought the "factory" rounds for target practice and reload brass. Prices were great back then.

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THIS WE'LL DEFEND ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

smith was also in the leather business, shotguns, sold primers under the smith name and many other things. during that time, dealers were forced to buy these other products to get the good handguns. some wholesalers didn't buy into this, consequently, they had their orders curtailed. some wholesalers would let you buy just the handguns but at higher than wholesale prices. for those who were around during the dirty harry craze, this is the reason a lot of dealers had high prices on the guns. the usual ratio for guns to other products was 1 to 1. so that you effectively paid double the wholesale for the gun and had a bunch of stuff you maybe or maybe not could sell.

I just recently shot about a half a box of the S&W marked 148 gr. .38 Special wadcutters in my Model 52-2. Accuracy was very good, but I was surprised to find some pretty stubborn lead just forward of the chamber. I'll burn up the rest of it in another gun and see if I have the same problem. I shot lots of their .45, .357 and .30-06 ammo back in the 80's with no problems. The 125 gr. Nyclads still show up at gun shows and priced along with the modern high performance loads.