SWFan27
Member
They are primarily manufacturing and prioritizing NATO rounds such as 9mm. Calibers like 38 SPL and 357 Mag are on the backburner.
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38 special HST discontinued
- Thread starter Detroitlawyer
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otis24
Member
One of the reasons I got rid of my 640 No Dash. I see some .357 ammo available but no .38 Special. When/if I get another revolver, it will be .357. Right now, 9mm fits my needs pretty well.
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Let's face it, those of us still shooting 38 Specials are probably dinosaurs. And I for one don't even remember seeing the Comet!
Froggie
I'm very glad I stashed away a whole lot of .38 Special SD ammo when prices.were "normal" during sales. I stashed away the FBI Load, Speer GDHP, Winchester Silvertips and a few others. Range ammo is no problem either since I reload.
I've always managed to avoid these 'crunches' by buying. And buying. Apologies to Will Rogers, I never met a box of ammo I didn't like. Or a case. There IS ammo out there, I feel many retailers are not making an attempt to find and stock it. My range pro shop/FFL still carries Federal .38 range ball at $39.95 a box. C'mon. Of course it's not moving. I've asked them for .357 ammo for 2 years and they still don't have any. I'm a good customer, always come in with a blank check in my pocket, try to support our club, and nothing. They're just not trying.
Kaaskop49
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Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
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Detroitlawyer
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That is what Federal reps said at Shot Show. It still appears on the website but I think it's gone. Allegedly, because of performance problems
AJ
US Veteran
I still chase cases with my .38 Special handgun........it is a S&W Model 52 that I shoot the most.
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Actually shooting 22's is best with crazy ammo prices unless one reloads. Reloading components are a huge issue unless one had stocked up few years ago.
I think it's better to understand which flavor of .38Spl HST they might have discontinued.
I would believe that they discontinued that "Micro" version that was basically the upside down wadcutter. People have advocated using that as a good SD round for years, however accuracy has always been an issue for that kind of load because it's hard to stabilize a bullet with that large of a front cavity.
I doubt very much that they discontinued the other .38Spl loads however. I think it's more along the lines of where do you prioritize your stressed-out production capacity and supplies. Many of the 9mm loadings are "unavailable" on their website but I don't think any of us would equate that with "discontinued". Same for .380 and the new wonder round .30 Super Carry.
I think it's both. One feeds off the other.
With the vast majority of people now carrying and shooting autoloaders, it makes sense that the number of .38s sold has been dropping.
Throw in the pandemic related shortages and BLM-riot related runs on any self-defense oriented semiautomatic and we have the situation we face today.
The ammo makers prioritized the stuff for which there was the most demand.
I understand it but the situation definitely stinks for us revolver shooters.
AJ
US Veteran
There is always at least one .22 pistol or revolver in my gun box when I go to the range.
While I'm seeing more FMJ/lead RN .38 Spl on shelves than I've seen in a few years- JHP stuff is unobtanium around here, HST or anything else.
If you look for the round on the Midway website it lists it as discontinued: Federal Premium Personal Defense Micro Ammo 38 Special +P 130 Grain
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Other than the occasional box of FMJ .38 SPL, I am not seeing much revolver ammo. Lots of 9mm, 40, 380, 45, a little 10mm and 30 SC.
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Buddy and I went back to few lgs and Bass Pro West of here, picked up more 357 Mag( 158 JSP) some 6.5 Creed. for son and more plastic ammo boxes for reloads. Two lgs had 38 Spl self defense ammo( ~$30 for 20 rnds) and quite a few boxs of 38 Spl. FMJ and 158 grn round nose lead. Bass Pro had quite a few 1000s of most primers, no reg. sm pistol, only sm Mag pistol for $89-99/ 1000, even match primers.
Our gun club's show is in few weeks, be interesting to see prices for primers.
Our gun club's show is in few weeks, be interesting to see prices for primers.
riverrat38
US Veteran
I am down to 5 38 Special HST micro rounds, and they are in my carry 442. I went to my local pusher, and they didn't have any HST, but they did have a new Federal SD cartridge called "Punch". It is a 120 gr JHP, and is said to give good balance between penetration and expansion. Duh, I thought that was always the idea! Waiting for Lucky Gunner to test them.
73,
Rick
73,
Rick
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
In the meantime pick up a box of Speer GDHP ammo to hold you over. I'm a huge fan of those Speer rounds. I've been carrying their Short Barrel 135gr +P load for many years in my M442.
Who knows, you might just like them and switch.
cmj8591
Member
Supply and demand drives everything. Think about the BILLIONS of 9mm going out to NATO and the 90% of police departments world wide using it. It's not hard to understand why manufactures don't dedicate a lot of production capacity to other calibers. Same with 223. There are probably more 223 used world wide in 60 seconds than 35 Remington in 5 years. Which one do you think is going to get manufactured first? The recent panic has depleted inventory of 38's and it's going to take a long time to get it back in circulation. It's on the shelf in every LGS around me but your choices are very limited.
In my J frame snub nose, I got nice groups with the +P
factory Speer 135 gr Gold Dot JHP
a reload with the Hornady 140 XTP
and loads with a 158 lead bullet
that are all touching or near a 1.5" orang dot, back in 2015.
factory Speer 135 gr Gold Dot JHP
a reload with the Hornady 140 XTP
and loads with a 158 lead bullet
that are all touching or near a 1.5" orang dot, back in 2015.
Agreed. This is the round that I have in all my .38s.
Ammo manf can only make so much ammo on machinery available. With present political situation you have got several reasons for shortages of certain cartridges. 1st is they are selling para military ammo as their primary profit maker. They would have to shut down and change tooling to make a lesser popular cartridge.
Second due to political situation there will be no capital risk building additional lines. This is also two fold. This may blow over and they won't need the production or regulations will be passed that cripple ammo manf.
On subject of 38sp. It's not going away, it's like the 30/30 of handgun cartridges. There are millions of 38sp revolvers out there that need fed. If there wasn't a demand for them you would see more on shelves.
Face it most of this has happened last 1.5 yrs. Like stock market it can live or die over night.
Second due to political situation there will be no capital risk building additional lines. This is also two fold. This may blow over and they won't need the production or regulations will be passed that cripple ammo manf.
On subject of 38sp. It's not going away, it's like the 30/30 of handgun cartridges. There are millions of 38sp revolvers out there that need fed. If there wasn't a demand for them you would see more on shelves.
Face it most of this has happened last 1.5 yrs. Like stock market it can live or die over night.
