Help Me Find: Speer Gold Dot 357mag 135gr Short Barrel Ammo

[HarrishMasher]

I have been looking for weeks for Speer Gold Dot 357 Mag 135gr Short Barrel Ammo.

I have checked every online retailer I can think of, and every LGS.

I have googled the SKU, the name, every possible option I can think of. This ammo is now and has been out of stock everywhere for some time.

Anyone have a lead on where I can find this ammo? I used a bunch test firing through several of my guns and this is my carry load and I need some more. Thanks!

 

[Hapworth]

It's pretty much dried up and will likely stay that way until Speer makes another batch; ammo tends to be made in cycles. Could be a few months to a year.

If it has to be .357, CorBon's DPX is the Gold Dot SB's equal; Remington Golden Saber's excellent, too.

If Gold Dot Short Barrel in .38+P suits you, Target Sport USA has a healthy supply at the moment; I've ordered a bunch.

When the GDSB in .357 comes back around, try to find it in the 50 pack LE boxes; it's a better deal. Also, unlike the GDSB in .38+P, which also works well in 4" or longer barrels, the same bullet in .357 needs to stay in the short barrels (3" or less), or risks being overdriven and underperforming.

 

[Doug M.]

There is a case lot of 1000 (minus a few) about 10 feet behind me. Some help, I am, huh? As Hapworth said, they only make it once in a while. My order was pending for many months a couple years back. I got it through a large LE distributor, and they told me that this round is made rarely, every 12 - 24 months IIRC.

 

[Jim1392]

The only thing I have been able to find is the 38 Plus P Gold Dots in the 135 Grain online. No 357's to be had anywhere to be found around here.

 

[Nevada Ed]

A 110 or 125gr bullet out of a 357 magnum case will work.

Most bullets at 1200 fps or faster have enough energy to work in most cases for civilian use with proper placement.

 

[629shooter]

I have looked all over too, I can't find any.

 

[Fastbolt]

Availability of good quality defensive ammunition can be unpredictable. That's why I usually try to have a couple of alternative choices I'm willing to use in any given caliber.

When my agency placed an order for several thousand rounds of the Speer 135gr .38 Spl +P GDHP, it took several months for our order to arrive. That was through a ATK LE distributor, too.

Fortunately, we were able to get an assortment of other good quality +P loads from time to time, as well as some standard old-style JHP's and even some standard pressure ball loads that were fine for quals.

I went down to a Winchester LE dealer and picked up a case of their RA38B 130gr +P (same thing as the PDX1 in 20-rd boxes, but in 50-rd Ranger boxes), just as a hedge against unpredictable supplies. I like to shoot my 5-shot J's quite often.

Helps to have options.

FWIW, it appears the emphasis among the ammo companies (which is the result of consumer demand, it seems) is more on the .38 Spl loads, and less on the .357 Magnum loads. That probably means less production time/run emphasis for the Magnum loads.

I remember when it was quite common to see store shelves more heavily stocked with Magnum loads, but those were the days when service revolvers still ruled, and even a lot of private citizens still owned and carried .357's.

Not so much, nowadays.

FWIW, I'm down to only a few boxes of Rem 125gr SJHP & W-W 145gr STHP for .357 loads, myself. I might have to bite the bullet, so to speak, and spring for the going price for some more W-W 145gr STHP whenever they decide to schedule another run of it. I remember when it was being washed out of a local gun store at $12-$15/box, and then a few years later I saw a box on a store shelf marked at $50 (same as the last Rem 125gr SJHP I saw in some store).