Remember when 38 special was about the same price as 9mm?

[MCM]

I have a hard time buying practice ammo in 38 special at over $20 a box for low end ammo...........

9mm is now back to a semi normal level, but .38, 357 & 44 mag have me scratching my head. (Not to mention .22 at $5.00 a box)

Just a rant I guess............

[hoc9sw]

My WalMarts have had 38 special +P JHP UMC for $39/100 rounds. Cheaper than the generic 38, so I've been buying that. A year ago 38 FMJ was $13 / 50. Not anymore.

22 is a whole different rant.

[Nevada Ed]

A few days ago I saw 9mm Remington 115gr 50 round box at $14.99.

I like the 38 ammo since I don't have to chase the brass but
yes it is still about $10.00 a box more for it, in my area.

[Maximumbob54]

It's all about what they are producing in bulk now. 9mm and .40SW are the lower cost leaders these days for bulk reasons.

[brucev]

Not to be a smart alack, but there is a solution. Reoad. Yes the equipment cost some money. But, one can rapidly amortize the cost. In my area factory .38 Special ammo is $21/50rds., which works out to $420/1000 rds. I can load the same quality load for $125/1000 rds. Given the prices for factory ammo, one can easily make equipment pay for itself. Again, this is just a suggestion. It is not meant to be rude or unkind.

For years I shot factory ammo b/c it was not so expensive and I was busy. As ammo prices went up, I shot less. This past year my wife gave me a LnL for Christmas. The truth is that loading .38 Special, .44 Special and .45 ACP results in ammo that is much cheaper, of equal or better quality and that is available to me without a 72 mile round trip to the gun shop. JMHO. Sincerely. brucev.

[HKSmith]

I remember when .38 Special ammo was cheaper than 9 mm! In the 1960's the big discount stores sold standard .38's for $3.82/box and 9 mm for $4.75/box. 9 mm had not yet become popular and only FMJ ammo was available.

Interestingly, both of those prices are more expensive when adjusted for inflation than current prices.

[italiansport]

I have been reloading 38spl practice ammo for many years and today I figure it costs me around $6.00 per box even with the increased prices of components. Fortunately I had laid in a good supply of Winchester 231 as apparently it's just about impossible to buy at this time.
Jim

[Frank46]

Remember when you could actually find 38 special?. Our local wally world is extremely hit and miss when it comes to 38 special in any flavor. Now if you want wwb in 40 shorty or 45 acp ball then step right up. Frank

[ArchAngelCD]

Before 2008 9mm ammo was $6/50 and the .38 Special was 50 cents more. Now plain jane 9mm ammo is $15 and .38 Special ammo is close to $20, that's the FMJ stuff. The SD ammo is well over $1 a round for both. Forget about .357 Magnum ammo prices! 45 Auto FMJ ammo costs $25/50 and 45 Auto SD ammo is almost $2/round. We will never see "normal" ammo prices again and mostly because of all those who panicked and paid whatever it cost to buy ammo. now that the ammo companies know what some shooters are willing to pay we will be paying those inflated prices from now on.

That is a rant alright!!!

[MyDads38]

When I first started reloading (app 1980), 38 Spec. factory ammo was around $5.00/box 50. I calculated then that I could reload a box/50 for $2.50 :-)

38 Spec factory ammo around here is $20-$22 /box 50. I've been wanting to buy some factory ammo to have on hand, but just can't seem to make myself pay as much for 38 Spec as I can buy 45 acp for! 9mm runs $13.47-$14.77 box/50 for 115 gr. FMJ. Guess that's what happens when Law Enforcement agencies switch from revolvers to semi-auto sidearms :-(

I figure I can reload 38 Spec for around $5.00 or less for 50 rounds. I have plenty of brass and bullets are available. Just can't bring myself to pay that much for the same loading that I can make myself! And the difference between 38 Spec & 9mm brass-$80/1,000 - $30/1,000 :-( who would've thought?

[ironhead7544]

The only way to afford to shoot a centerfire today is to be really rich or reload. I have been reloading since 1972. You dont need to spend a fortune on reloading equipment. Get a Lee Loader. Slow but works just fine. I would also recommend a hand primer with this setup. I used a Lee Loader for 44 Magnum when I first started. Loaded some 300 rounds a week to shoot on the weekends. Now I have a RCBS Pro 2000 progressive so can load a little faster.

Cast bullets can be found fairly cheap, about 6 cents to 10 cents each depending on caliber. The main cost is brass. Once you have the brass cost is about 1/3 of factory ammo depending on how you want to load it. Light loads will put much less wear on the brass, firearm and shooter.

For new people, first get a good manual and study it. Lyman is good. Then get a Lee Turret press. Good to learn on and will put out a good bit of ammo fairly quick. You can use it as a single stage press until you learn the process.

I think you will find that handloading is a fun hobby. It will open up a whole new area of shooting for you.

[hatt]

I was thinking about you guys when someone posted a boatload of .38 WC on Facebook for $3(Master Match, 90 boxes)-$5(Win/Rem, 44 boxes) a box. Guy was 90 miles away or I would have snatched up some.

[Engineer1911]

I stopped by a LGS yesterday to have a chat with a long time friend in the gun business. I asked him, "What is the wholesale price of 22 LR by the brick?" His reply, "Any where from $25 to $40 depending on the 'match quality' of the ammo."

His additional comment was that in his conversations with sales reps from manufacturer's was that, "22 LR Ammo is produced at max volumes 7 days per week / 24 hours per day with no reduction in demand. Annual production has increased at more than 10% per year for the last 5 years."

The conclusion is that major retailers are selling what they get at a "fair price" inspite of demands from buyers for more ammo.

EDIT: As a bullet caster / reloader, the berm at my private outdoor range is a rich source of mined bullets for casting new lead bullets at no cost for material.

I was happy to talk to my long-time friend, but found the conversation very 'un-optimistic' for lower prices.

[ma deuce]

I just bought a bunch of PPU LRN .38 from Cabelas for $17/box. Lowest I've seen comparable ammo for a while. Backordered, but supposed to be in stock next week. I've also gotten Blazer aluminum from Palmetto State Armory for around that same price. Shoots just fine if you don't care about reloading the brass.

[rwsmith]

I never had any problem finding or buying ammo until now.

[smith17]

I know it doesn't meet your cheap plinking ammo needs but recently TargetSportsUSA has had some Remington HTP .38 Special ammo in 110 and 125 grains available for around 20 bucks shipped if you buy 500 at a time. For self defense ammo, that isn't bad.

[JeepinSoldier]

Originally Posted by brucev

Not to be a smart alack, but there is a solution. Reoad. Yes the equipment cost some money. But, one can rapidly amortize the cost. In my area factory .38 Special ammo is $21/50rds., which works out to $420/1000 rds. I can load the same quality load for $125/1000 rds. Given the prices for factory ammo, one can easily make equipment pay for itself. Again, this is just a suggestion. It is not meant to be rude or unkind.

This. I got my Dillon Square Deal B back in 1996 or 1997. Since then it has loaded so many rounds that Dillon has rebuilt it twice (For Free I might add.) I also have a Dillon 550B and both have long since paid for themselves.

During the last panic, when NO AMMO was to be found, if I wanted .380's, 9mm's, .38's, .45's, 30 Carbine, or .223 I just made some.

Now the presses are really saving me money, especially for .357 Magnum and .45 ACP.

[David LaPell]

I haven't bought .38 Special or .357 for some time now. I got several molds, started casting and back in 2010 when ammo started to inch up there I got going more. When the 2012 election came around I got what I could for supplies prior to the election because I wasn't confident of a positive outcome. Now ammo especially here in parts of NY is very hard, in some cases impossible to come by. So I load my own still. I haven't priced a box of .357 in a while, but I'm willing to bet its more than I am willing to pay.
As far as .22 lr goes, that is in the stratosphere where I am. The last time I saw any was on a shelf about two months ago. It was Federal high velocity and the shop was asking $23 for a box of fifty rounds which to me is extortion. I have heard some guys talk about the overhead and the cost from the wholesaler and then I see gun shops gouging their own clients. There is a woman locally who was taking bricks of Federal .22, breaking them up, putting 100 rounds in a ziplock bag and selling those for $15 each. She was selling Remington 50 rounds boxes for $12 each. When I went to the last gun show, I was told that there was a guy who had ten bricks of Winchester .22 and he was selling them for $85 each, they all sold in the first thirty minutes of the show. I found a guy who was selling a brick of 555 Winchester rounds for $75. I had to swallow alot of pride to buy that but it was the last brick in the whole place. I snagged one or two boxes of fifty rounds for about $5 each from the older dealers. The problem is that there are some who are looking to make as much as they can off of the ammo crisis, and its the same with the guns. I am seeing where I live AR-15's selling for twice retail, the same with AK copies. There is one dealer who has a bunch of .22 ammo. He won't sell it to you unless you buy a .22 rifle. Those are fifty round boxes so when you burn that up, you can't go back to him and buy because he won't sell it. The local Walmart has been caught holding .22 for a gun shop owner. He drives thirty minutes from his town and buys whatever he can get, goes back and slaps a price on it and sells it all in a day or so. I know this because people have tried buying .22 at Walmart first thing in the morning only to find him there and he has been seen walking out with a big bag of them, people have complained about the three box limit to the manager and it falls on deaf ears. I fear we have not seen the worst. Here in NY eventually they will get the background check on ammo up and running, even if Cuomo loses, the Dems control the Assembly and I don't see any way to repeal the Safe Act unless its defunded. It's not a lost cause, but its an uphill fight. People also smell something coming. They know our economy can't hold forever, they fear civil unrest, a catastrophe, little green men whatever but there is a lot of tension out there and its rising. All that comes into play, and we are seeing the result of it.
As far as reloading goes, you don't have to buy a lot. After I got hurt I couldn't sit at a bench like before so first I got a Lee Hand Press than a Lyman 310. I actually combine the uses for both. I find that it's easier to resize cases with the handpress and then everything else is done with the 310. I can load a box of fifty rounds for the .38 or .357 in no time from my recliner. I think I got the 310 with the dies for .38/ .357 on ebay used for only $45.

[chief38]

Did someone say RE-LOADING? These days it is almost mandatory unless you have big bucks, live in a State that allows shipment of ammo into it and have plenty of time & patience to find it in the configuration and amounts you want.

If you intend on shooting as a hobby I'd seriously look into a reloading outfit.

[MCM]

Prices are dropping. Picked up 1000 rounds of these at a good price. 500 / $134.00
Good enough.


38 Special 158 gr. RNFP - B