Decent 38 special Target ammo?

[Brooklynite]

I'm looking to put in a bulk order for 38 special target ammo.
Buying ammo in my area is expensive and annoying, online orders have to be shipped to an FFL for pick-up in person, all NY FFLs charge a fee for this service, and no shops in my city will perform this service, so it takes extra time and $ to go pick up any orders. There are also a limited # of online businesses that will even ship to NY these days.

The only way to make buying ammo reasonable is to put in a large bulk order.
Reloaded ammo like from Freedom Munitions, or LAX hasn't given me the best performance in the past, so I'm looking for factory new...

The Brands I'm looking at now are:
Prvi Partizan
Aguila
Armscor
Magtech

All for under .30 a round and available in bulk. Are they all basically the same quality, or is there a brand worth buying over the others?

[DocB]

Magtech has always been pretty good to me. I would definitely go for the "lead" wadcutter or round nose bullet. There's something just not right about shooting a FMJ bullet in a 38 Special. Plus, they say it will wear out your barrel sooner.

[Dr Denby]

Originally Posted by DocB

There's something just not right about shooting a FMJ bullet in a 38 Special. Plus, they say it will wear out your barrel sooner.

I have never heard of this.

I would take wad/semi wadcutters to the range all the time because they USED to be cheap.

Now it seems that Magtech has taken over the budget ammo and they are also very reliable.

So I have been shooting Magtech full metal and semi jacketed in 38 special and 357 for last 10,13 years or so. I have seen no problems at all. In fact the barrrel seems to be a lot cleaner after.

My 27-2 and Ruger Security Six cylinders are both still as tight as ever and barrels still purty as can be.

Do you know where and who has been saying that about fmj and semij ? Has anyone else heard it?

Thanks,

Doc

[ISCS Yoda]

I shoot FMJs because they shoot far cleaner than lead bullets, although I'll shoot lead bullets here and there, too.

The brands I have recently used at the range are Sellier & Beillot (sp?) but one range I frequent bans them because they have iron cores so I shoot Fiochhi or Estate brand .38 Special range ammo/target loads there.

Of the 4 brands you mentioned I have only used MagTech. I don't use Prvi Partisan or Aquila and have never come across Armscor's ammo.

[M1A]

I've used Privi from .38 S&W to 30-06. Started out with .303, and pleased with the results. Good brass to reload, as well.

[alwslate]

SGammo has 38 spl in 1,000 rd case lots at good prices. Geco and
Privi I think and maybe Magtech. I would buy the 158 gr lead RN. I
have bought various brands in the past and most are fine. I bought
some 148 gr WCs once and they are so soft they leaded badly. And
yes the FMJ ammo is known to wear barrels and forcing cones much
faster than lead bullets. Who said so? Well S&W for one. Read the
information printed inside the box top of my 38/44 Heavy Duty.

[ContinentalOp]

I can't help you with regard to the brands you've listed, but I like PMC 132gr FMJ and Speer Lawman 158gr TMJ +P for target loads in my 642.

[glowe]

Brinell for Copper - 35
Brinell for pure Lead - 5
Lead bullet alloy range - 15 - 20

Which is harder???

I should add that I am not supporting the theory that something as soft as copper will wear out the bore, but theoretically, it will produce more wear more than lead.

[serger]

FWIW, I'd go with the Prvi. Their ammunition(handgun) burns clean and their brass is excellent.They are also very consistent with the performance of their products.

[BE Mike]

Zero ammo is tops. You can get it at: Roze Distribution, Inc. - Zero Bullets and Ammunition

[Nevada Ed]

Have yet to shoot Armscor ammo but..........

the others have work in all the times that I have used them.
Just a matter of if they are available.

[Brooklynite]

Thanks everyone, looks 3 of the 4 are good to go, with Armscor being an "unknown".

I've been shooting FMJ since it was priced similar to lead, & I figured it would be easier to clean the barrel afterwards.
I didn't know it would increase wear in a significant way, maybe this time I'll order lead.

[glowe]

I have no problems cleaning up after shooting lead. If you keep the velocity around 750 to 800 fops, you should never get leading. That velocity is plenty fast enough for paper target shooting. most company websites will list their ammo velocities, even if they do not put it on the box.

[hoc9sw]

My ranges all require FMJ or JHP, citing indoor lead issues. I used to shoot the Magtech, no problems. Academy Sports has taken on Aquila as a basic line, it appears. Have not used it.

Never had any warnings about FMJ in my .357, but then I don't shoot it much. Arthritis has made .22 my caliber of choice.

[Big Stick]

The high cost of .38/.357 led me to invest about $350 in a Hornady Lock n Load classic kit and carbide dies last winter. I already had brass, so that was a non item. I can reload .38spl with 125 gr lrn for about .14 a shot, and .357 158 gr plated for about .20.....
It pretty much paid for itself after about 1000 rounds..... And you can work yourself up some pretty decent and accurate loads. Right side is 2- 3 shot strings of .38spl loaded with 4.0 of 700X and 125 gr lrn. Not gonna change a thing there. Left 12 shots .357 loaded with 6.2 CFE Pistol, and a 158 Berry. Gotta work on that one a bit. 15 yds.

[Dr Denby]

As Glowe said, theoretically, FMJ may wear the barrel faster, but I just don't buy that it will do so significantly. Like running brass brush thru when cleaning. Technically you ARE wearing down the barrel every single time. But significantly, nah. Maybe S&W lawyers have advised to add that disclaimer. Like McDonalds has to because that moron woman held coffee between her legs and sued because it was hot.

My revolvers are fine after 13 years or so, and my 50 year old HK4 is fine after nothing but FMJ. My other guns are newer and shooting FMJ and SemiJ as well.

I am not going to change my shooting behavior unless wad/semiwad cutters get down to price difference they used to be.

Originally Posted by Big Stick

The high cost of .38/.357 led me to invest about $350 in a Hornady Lock n Load classic kit and carbide dies last winter. I already had brass, so that was a non item. I can reload .38spl with 125 gr lrn for about .14 a shot, and .357 158 gr plated for about .20.....
It pretty much paid for itself after about 1000 rounds..... And you can work yourself up some pretty decent and accurate loads.

Wow, BigStick, that is pretty good. 38 about 1/4 cost of factory and 357 about 1/3 .

How many times can you reload the same brass?


Doc

[lebomm]

In absolute terms, copper, being harder than lead, will probably cause more wear in the bore. However, I think you're not likely to notice the difference in your lifetime. Unless you shoot all day, every day, from morning 'til night and do nothing else...........................

Larry

[Otreb]

I've always been very happy with Magtech in .38sp. I use a lot of their 158gr fmjfp load.

[TX-Dennis]

I've shot all four of those brands. They are all quality ammo that always goes bang. I'd just buy whichever is least expensive including shipping and any other expenses involved.

[alwslate]

Last time I looked SGammo had Geco 158 gr lead RN for 279.00 per
case of 1,000 and Remington for 319.00 a case. Plus shipping of about
18.00. Both reloadable brass of course, or resellable brass if that's
your preference.

[ankona]

Aren't the newer guns barrels designed to shoot FMJ? I know the Rugers are built to shoot FMJ because I've had to have 45 LC cylinders reamed to shoot the larger lead bullets. When I asked I was told the cylinder bore diameters were made to shoot FMJ.

[chief38]

Instead of buying Factory ammo I'd seriously recommend looking into getting a Reloading Outfit. if you shoot with any regularity the payback on a reloading outfit will be somewhere around a year, Everything after that would be gravy. Last time I figured it, a box of 50 .38 Specials that I reloaded cost under $6 bucks and I did not have to leave the house. A box of .45 acp's runs about 7 bucks.

In the PRNY the ammo situation will only get worse - not better!