Why I Dumped My .38 $pecial.

I'm sticking with a 38 spl revolver for the same reasons I went back to it years ago:

1: Any ammo you can find will function in your revolver; no need to fire thousands (or even hundreds, or even dozens) of rounds to establish functional reliability.
2: Dry fire practice more easily duplicates live fire experience, since the essence of shot placement rests in holding alignment during the trigger stroke.
3: Recovery of brass, for reloading, is so much easier.

Don't get me wrong - I don't like shortages, rationing or high prices, and I enjoy my range time as much as anybody. But, after 45 years of daily carry and quarterly quals I don't seem to get the same value from the 49th or 50th round fired as I do from the 2nd or 3rd on range session. It always mattered more to me the location of that first, cold bore from leather shot, than the 60 round qualification score.

I don't do traffic stops, building entries or room clearings any more, and have been pretty successful at being left alone, so 50-100 rounds per year is what I "need". Of course I "want" more but I see no need to get apoplectic about prices when I can get by with fewer rounds.

Besides, revolvers are still just plain cool!
 
Rudi said:
All ammo is making a come back. But prices will never be like the old days. Get what you need while you can.
Click to expand...

The same thing was said during the panics from 2008-on but, sadly, I think this time you’re right. Prices will never go back below late-2019 prices in dollar-adjusted terms. This time it’s not politics, but more the new realities of the market and inflation being here to say for a while. Ammo is still selling just fine, even at 50% higher prices. I always thought ammo, not guns, would be the weak link in the hobby/sport, either through legislation or pricing.
 
$58/50 is absolutely insane and way, way above what I've seen in big box stores over the last couple of weeks. Before you dump your .38, do a little comparative shopping and you might be pleasantly surprised.

That said, even in the 2017-2019 salad days of ammo pricing, plinking .38 was still way more expensive than plinking 9mm. .38 is pretty much dead in terms of military/police/other government uses, and the people shooting large volumes of .38 aren't really buying factory loaded ammo anyways. It's not going away, but there will never again be as much demand and production capacity devoted to .38spl as there is to 9mm. It almost pains me to say it but it's more and more of a niche round as time goes on, and will be priced accordingly.
 
I welcome the OP's sentiments.
Locally I have noticed more nice wheel
guns in classifieds.
I only wish I lived in a free state because the prices are high.
 
schutz5 said:
I welcome the OP's sentiments.
Locally I have noticed more nice wheel
guns in classifieds.
I only wish I lived in a free state because the prices are high.
Click to expand...

I know you've heard it before and I also know sometimes its just not possible but you can leave California for better surroundings.

It took me 50 years to leave NY for a free state.

As for the .38 Special, those will be the last guns I would ever sell. I bring at least 2 to each range trip and carry one daily.
 
My last 38 Spl. was Colt 1911 National Match Mid Range, just received 1000 HBWCs to load. The most fun shooting Iv’e had in a while with arthritis . Would have to open the safes to see how many 38 Spl. revolvers are there. None are going anywhere, Son, Daughter, grandsons and at least 1 granddaughter will get them and plenty of ammo.
 
Arenko said:
I'm sticking with a 38 spl revolver for the same reasons I went back to it years ago:

1: Any ammo you can find will function in your revolver; no need to fire thousands (or even hundreds, or even dozens) of rounds to establish functional reliability.

Don't get me wrong - I don't like shortages, rationing or high prices, and I enjoy my range time as much as anybody. But, after 45 years of daily carry and quarterly quals I don't seem to get the same value from the 49th or 50th round fired as I do from the 2nd or 3rd on range session. It always mattered more to me the location of that first, cold bore from leather shot, than the 60 round qualification score.

, so 50-100 rounds per year is what I "need". Of course I "want" more but

Besides, revolvers are still just plain cool!
Click to expand...

Well said,me just 42 years of shooting; Qualifying, PPC,USPSA,IDPA and before that High School and College Rifle teams.. Don't need hundred round sessions, rather just shoot 4 or 5 18-24 round sessions.

I tend to carry an auto these days but the last gun I'd let go of is my 3" Model 66 38/357!

Revolvers are also not magazine dependent...... speedloaders are nice but not necessary!!!!!
 
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The 9mm is now as popular as the .38 Special was 40 years ago. The .38 Special cartridge isn't used much as a service round. Maybe some Security guards but it seems even they have gone to the 9mm. I've maintained for a long time that the popularity of the five shot 2" guns is what's keeping it alive. I imagine most of it is actually shot in .357's. That helps too.

Of course with such a huge installed base it's a long way from being discontinued. But it's not what it once was. Fortunately it's an extremely easy cartridge to reload. The brass lasts a long time and you don't lose any in the grass.

For my purposes it's great. I'm just a target shooter, and I reload. Hard to beat a .38 for punching paper. In my experience your average .38/.357 is very accurate with a wide variety of loads be it factory or reloads. I can't say that for the 9mm.
 
otis24 said:
I like owning a caliber that is readily available. Stocking up thousands of rounds is just not financially feasible for some of us.
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Looks like you're down to two cartridges. 9mm and .223/5.56.

Not necessarily a bad thing, but it's like buying ice cream with vanilla and chocolate as your choices.

Who knows. It might happen.

I tried to buy a new pickup last summer and couldn't get the one I wanted. It was advertised at MSRP but not available at that price. I've never paid anywhere close to MSRP for a new vehicle. First one I purchased was in 73. Things are getting wonky.
 
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otis24 said:
I like owning a caliber that is readily available. Stocking up thousands of rounds is just not financially feasible for some of us.
Click to expand...


True for most of us...... ammo doesn't have a "Best used by" date. Stored cool and dry it's good for decades. Most stashes are accumulated over those decades.

Every year after deer season the local Dunham's would put .243 ammo on sale.... I bought a couple of boxes the first few years then just one a year... nice stash after two decades. Only used about half a box a year.

When I got my first .22mag rifle back in 2011 I bought 2 or 3 boxes at about $11-12/50 ...... weekly trips to Walmart would grab a box maybe every other week when it was still $12-14 a box ...... 26x 50= 1300. .22 mag is not a "range day" round but a "walk in Penn's Woods" round. I shoot maybe one box a year at varmints in the field, which I then replace at today's cost of $19/50.
 
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Unfortunately, the panicdemic caused people to rush out and buy relatively small, often concealable, and inexpensive handguns. Revolvers are expensive to make, plastic pistols are much cheaper. This means the polymer receiver semi-auto pistol business was and still is the hot ticket. Most of these are chambered in 9x19mm, a good number in 45 ACP. With ammo manufacturers saddled with materials shortages and often strict pandemic restrictions on how many people can be inside a building at one time, they focus on the hottest selling products. 9x19mm, 45 ACP, and 5.56mm NATO.

If things ever return to normal, revolver ammo will become available and at reasonable prices, adjusted for inflation. Until then, you either rely upon a stash of revolver ammo you bought years ago or, if you can find or already have components, you load your own.
 
I learned after Sandy Hook and I am pretty well set on Bullets, Cases, and Primers for all of my handgun and rifle calibers.

However in 2018 I started shooting Clays and now do 4 Gun Skeet, so I have presses for 410, 28, 20, & 12 gauge. The biggest issue for shotgun is the 410 and 28 gauge hulls, those are very difficult to come by unless you're willing to pay nearly 20 dollars per box of 25 to get some hulls to reload. Since I do most of my practicing with the 410 I'm walking a bit of a tightrope and using hulls until they literally start falling apart. Note, Skeet is a very practice intensive sport and so far this year I've used up 11,000 primers.

IMO going forward it's only going to get worse. I foresee two types of shooter. Those who own 2 boxes of ammunition and those who reload.
 
I haven’t bought a box of factory 38 in years but I did just pay $85 for a brick of 22lr yesterday - yikes-
Don’t give up on 38spl it’s a great cartridge that is cheap and easy to load
The shortage of primers is just a bump in the road and a learning experience
When things become available again you could employ the “need one ,buy two” method of stock piling , never really breaks the bank but before long you have a good supply built up
That is how I do it , maybe I can’t afford to EVERYTIME but often as is possible ��
 
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