After hearing about the new S&W Ultimate Carry J frame that will be coming out soon, of which I will be purchasing as soon as I can get my hands on one. I began to think about my inventory of defensive ammo, mainly due to the new 642UC in 38 Special is supposed to be regulated to shoot Speer Gold Dot 135 grain 38 Special+P Short Barrel ammo.

For many years now, the Speer Gold Dot short barrel ammo in 357 mag and 38 special has been my go to for defensive ammo. And, after thinking about it, how time flies, as all of my inventory is well over five years old and some of which is likely ten plus years old. None of it is “new in the box condition”. So, it’s time to shoot up the old stuff and replace with new.

I checked all my local gun shops for some with no luck. I did an internet search and it seems “currently unavailable” and “out of stock” in the norm. I even searched Gunbroker for super outrageously priced boxes and came up empty.

There seems to be plenty of regular Speer Gold Dot ammo available, just not the short barrel version.

When was the last time it was available? Is it just not available temporarily? If it does become available, will it sell out fast?

Anyone have any information on where to find some?

When the new ultimate carry gun is released I’m certain the demand for the ammo will go way up.

The Speer 135 is a great load for the 38 snub nose but if I could not find any

I would not mind using the Winchester 130 Ranger or PDX1 or
the Federal 130gr HST , in its place.

They all work great out of a 2" 38 special.

Never had any go bad sitting. I would hold on to it until I could find some new to take it's place. It is still available but out of stock most places now due to high demand . It will come back but there's no telling when and it won't likely set on the shelf long. Ask your local dealer to order you some and call you when and if he gets it so he will hold what you want out. If it hits the shelf it will be luck if you get it otherwise. That's why I load mine instead of buying it.

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

Heck you can't even find the Gold Dot bullets to load your own. I have a few but down to at least a box or less in 38s. My loads get carried in the little 60-4

I could never find the 357 Magnum Short Barrel 135 grain load, but I was able to buy a bunch of the 38 Special +P Short Barrel Gold Dot ammo and cheap. That was shortly before the Covid panicdemic, I have not seen any since the panicdemic.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I got a few boxes of the 135 in .357 SB and 4 I think in .357 Sig 135's. Probably got 1000 of the regular 124 grain 9mm GD's . I'm ok till times get better , if they get better. Also have several boxes of the .357 110 grain for .38 , I can push them right around 1000 fps in my m32 with Herco.

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

Properly stored ammo should be good for way more than 10 years. Do your research on the replacement stock and order 1000 rounds when you can, but I would not worry about your current supply.

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NHI, 10-8.

Yes sir, there are other options available for defensive ammo.

However, I have much faith and confidence in the in Speers short barrel bullet design in both performance (expansion) and limiting over penetration because of its design (expansion). All of my concealed carry guns are snubby J frames.

Yes sir, that’s my plan for now, even though my current Gold Dot’s condition is becoming questionable.

I do not agree with loading my own. I do reload all of my target ammo but I feel like using reloads for defensive ammo is not a good idea. Doing so would give the lawyers something to use against me in a defensive shooting trail. Factory loaded defensive ammo only for me.

If the ammo is not available anywhere, Speer is likely between production runs. I’d use your current stash (sparingly, oldest first) and buy more as soon as you see it back in stock. Ammoseek is a good resource for monitoring availability.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Yes sir, much agreed, properly stored ammo has a loooong shelf life.
However, all of my Gold Dots in 38 special and 357 magnum have been in some kind of carry rotation between 4 different J frames and 4 different K/L frames over the past 5-10 years. Including different types of speed strips and speed loaders. Hell, some portion of my Gold Dots have even been through the clothes washer/dryer and left in vehicles at all times of the year. All of the copper jackets are tarnished like an old penny, of course like when pennies were made of copper!

I am only seeing GD in 9mm, 40 and 45 and it’s usually been at Sportsman’s Warehouse. That said, I recently got lucky at two different shops where I scored 3 20 rd boxes of 200 gr 44 spl @ $26 each and 5-6 50 rd boxes of 135 38 +p SB @ $15 each. Otherwise, I am not seeing loaded ammo or bullets.

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213th FBINA

I tried to get some 135 grain GDHP bullets for reloading and Speer shows them as unavailable.

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696-6906-457-38-3913-CS40-411

...my 'go to' for ammo and bullets but the supply has been so awful for over 10 years that I have found alternatives. I have some Gold Dot ammo that I keep for defensive purposes but but have a list of alternatives from Hornady, Federal and Remington, all highly rated performers. I generally like hollow points with GREAT BIG hollow points.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

OP is on the right track, IMO, but now is probably not the time to be using up prime defensive ammo if it is only ten to twenty years old and no other concerns apply.

PPPPPPP.

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Formerly Model520Fan

Have you checked ammoseek.com's website?

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

The oldest ammo that I have ever shot was 1915 dated .45 ACP. It all went bang with enough authority to properly cycle the slide and hit the target in the back at 25 yards. Have shot a lot of old ammo over the years. As long as properly stored (cases not corroded, packing intact) the ammo seems to do well. I have one old box of Speer Gold Dot 200 grain .45 ACP. Must have picked it up in a trade, as I do not remember buying it. Just looked at Speer's website and at $44.99 a box, I won't be buying any very soon (I reload).

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

The tarnish does not hurt anything but looks. Might hold out those that have been through the washer and dryer but even they most likely are fine. I've sent J strips of my home rolls through both and so far none have failed to go bang when asked.

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

Yes sir, me too, nothing.

Yes sir, me too, nothing, dang it!

I would keep the ammo you have if it was made post - WWII. My friend bought a case of British .303 ammunition from WWI. It was loaded with Cordite - lots of FTF and hang fires in the first box. He ended up tossing 950+ rounds in the range trash can.

I do not believe you will have any problem.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

I reload practice rounds that are similar in characteristics to my defensive ammo. Between the cost and scarcity of good defensive ammo I can't see shooting it downrange except for evaluating what to expect in POI.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Yes sir, that makes perfectly good sense to me.

So, you carry factory ammo, but reload and then practice with an equivalent. How would one go about copying a loading for a specific type of factory ammo? I mean the manufacturers don’t publish their load data, or at least I don’t think they do.
Someone posted above that even the Speer Gold Dot loose bullets for reloading are not even available.

...of similar weight and construction. An FMJ is good but I shoot a lot of coated bullets of the same weight. Check the velocity against the chronograph (good to have if you reload) and adjust the load accordingly. It may not be exactly the same or may 'feel' different because some loads 'push' and others 'kick' but not enough to make a real difference. Some advocate pinpoint accuracy but for defense situations from inches to a few yards I don't think pinpoint accuracy is either possible or practical. And they are right, Speer components have been in short supply or unobtanium. That's why I don't shoot but a few for familiarization and the rest of my practice is with reloaded 'clones' similar enough that they are practically the same. And honestly, I ain't that great of a shooter, if my shots go into a small paper plate sized target, I feel good about it.

BTW, I use mostly standard ammo so I'm not trying to get 'max' velocity out my loads, but whatever range the manufacturer uses that tests well. I like to consult Lucky Gunner, Paul Harrell, a few other Youtube sources and whatever I can find to read. One thing I learned from Paul Harrell is that even a .380 loaded with FMJ ammo can overpenetrate a real target as much as a 9mm can. So no FMJ in my defense loads.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I do the same thing. I chronograph the factory load and, using the same bullet weight, work up a load that approximates the velocity and point of impact. It’s not that hard.

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Regards,

Chuck

I use a program called QuickLOAD for all my loading. Have not found anything better. Saves a bunch of time.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Maybe I am under thinking this but...With the ammo I carry in a Semi auto...the first thing I do is make sur it is RELIABLE. I usually carry Golden Sabres in 45...they are reliable in every 45 I carried...except one. The one I really wanted to carry. A 3 inch Kimber. I no lonfer have it. Could not get any good factory ammo to shoot. I had a couple of reloads that came close. I have no qualms about carrying my reloads...and in fact I have some reloads as reliable and as accurate as factory. IMO...just mine now...all the gel tests blah blah things on the YT channels really don't mean too much. They just aren't real life. I have only seen maybe 26 shootings in real life scenarios. I literally saw a BG get shot in the forehead at less than 10 feet. He was extremely lucky..the bullet skidded along his skull. He went down...right there. 5 minutes later he was moaning. Didn't know what Zombie apocalypse was back then. What I guess I'm trying to say...is find a good reliable load thar fits your gun...practice with it. Yes I prefer HPs especially if they shoot well. And remember there's ALWAYS that guy named Murphy messing things up.Oh and remember...if you have to use force...You'll probably be scared after the fact

Speer Gold Dots are excellent ammo, but have not been around for a while. No need to get to concerned as there are other brands out there that will work as well.
Shot placement matters more than anything.

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Still Running Against the Wind

...but I'm stuck guesstimating loads and chronoing them. Oh well, not too bad and after about 40 years of practice it ain't that hard.

PS: I just looked at the software capabilities. Holy Moly.

Ballistic tables
Create a Range card
Target design
Barrel length calculator
Energy / velocity converter
Trajectory curve
Wind drift, wind doping
Seating depth vs pressure
Ammunition development
Flight time
Look up Powder burn rate dater
Look up Reloading supplies
Make Custom ammunition
Look up Reamer print, drawings

I hope one day I can get it.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Been doing this for over 50 years. I did not start keeping record until 1973. QuickLoad is the best I have found. A lot of the stuff you mention is included in that program.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

BeachBumShooter, that is a lot of vendors that do not have it. Wow!

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

I have 4 "centennial" type .38/.357's. I like these, don't imagine much "ballistic difference" at close range. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Only one box of Speer Gold Dot. Picked up all of this in "deals". Don't think I need more?

Just found the Zombie Ammo hidden away. Hope I never have a use for it.

Attached Images

	SelfDefenseAmmo.jpg (248.4 KB, 24 views)
	Zombie 1.jpg (130.8 KB, 8 views)
	ZOMbie 2.jpg (143.9 KB, 7 views)

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I would say online.

I haven't been able to find Gold Dots in person for YEARS where I am. It's disappointing. It's good stuff. I also like Federal stuff as an alternative.

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Go ahead... make my day.

Try any of these magic bullets, They all work
Not saying buy here but as good as anywhere else.


Midway USA (why does it do this?)
Access Denied

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Still Running Against the Wind

I have a box of the same 45s you have there...40 rounds of Speer 9mm gold dot and two boxes of some kind of Gold Dot bullets for reloading Pretty certain one said for 38 Super. I just remember setting them up on "a" shelf. Maybe they were just 9mm bullets. I also found a box or three of Black Talons 3 different calibers

I know you're looking for Gold Dots but if you're unable to find any there are some other really good options out there as others have said. Here are some 38 Special ballistic test results from both a 2" and 4" barrel.
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/rev...B839B134A6E4CE
The Federal HST Micro looks really good but I've never been able to find any of those. Underwood makes some really good performing ammo and is worth trying also.

There is a box of HST Micro's in the center of the first picture in my Post#33.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I found two boxes of the Federal HST micro a couple of years ago and I put those in the air weight snubbys. I sure wish I could find some more of those as I only have 10 rounds left. The HST micro and Speer Short barrel really make sense to me out of J frame snubbys.
The ammo shortage is pretty much over. Why can’t the manufacturers retool and run off a batch? It’s clear there is a demand for these and they would sale quickly!