S& W .38 cal. ammo query

[alferdpacker]

I can't seem to find .38 ammo for my early hammerless that is posted in another thread here. Anyone have any ideas as too where I can find ammo for this pistol? I have done a pretty extensive search on the internet, but there doesn't seem to be any to be found. almost every site has only .38 Special ammo.
Anyone with an idea of where I can find ammo please feel free to post it.

 

[Pook]

.38 S&W Ammo Availability

Mike's Gun Room in Richardson, Texas, has several boxes (maybe more) of factory S&W .38 ammo (I saw it there last week). Mike's is open Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT. Mike also has some interesting collector pieces, including a S&W Hand Ejector No.2, .455, in what looks like the 90-percent condition range.


Mike's Gun Room
202 N Greenville Ave # D
Richardson, TX 75081-6054
(972) 994-9298

 

[murphydog]

The larger online businesses have it listed but none seem to have it in stock. Perhaps put yourself on their wait lists and also call around to your local gun shop(s) to see if they have it in stock, or can order it through their distributor.

 

[Dosgatos]

I've found quite a bit on Gunbroker

 

[crankyoldlady]

The .38 S&W is a challenge to locate but can be found. To my knowledge there are only three manufacturers who still produce it and it can run $35 a box of 50. On line searching is your best bet. Good luck.

 

[bobsdad]

You've already been given good advise. One other option is looking in the smaller gun shops in your area. The only shops I've found 38 S&W in are the smaller type shops from time to time. The other place you can sometimes find it is at the ammo dealers' tables in gun shows.

 

[TIMETRIPPER]

I've have the same problem but , believe it or not, walked into a Bass Pro Shop Shop last week in Harrisburg, Pa. and found a whole stack of Remington 38 S&W cartridges. Price was around $30.00 a box. Apparently they had just received a shipment as I did not see them a few weeks earlier. I've heard that the 38 S&W are only loaded intermittently by the big ammo companies and have only seen Remington when I do find them. The same Bass Pro store always has Lee reloading dies for 38 S&W on stock as well as the 32 S&W.
John

 

[LouisianaMan]

Ammotogo.com has Remington .38 S&W ammo in-stock at this time, see 38 S&W : Ammunition To Go

Magtech is far cheaper, but currently O/S at Midway, MidSouth, and Bud's. Last prices shown awere slightly under $21 for a 50-rd. box.

Lower-powered Cowboy ammo (150g, 600 fps) is made by Ten-X, but is currently O/S at Midway. Perhaps you can check the manufacturer.

Best of luck. This is a nice old historic caliber that's easy to reload.

 

[DWalt]

Gun shows are usually a good source, as I always see at least a few boxes (and sometimes a lot of boxes) at every one I attend.

As previously stated, local gun shops are much more likely than Wal-Mart, Academy, etc., to have some in stock, and if not, they can special order it through their ammo distributors, as it is still factory loaded. Always save your empty cases.

Reloading is your best bet if you are already a reloader and have some equipment. If you can't find brass, .38 Special cases can be cut down to .38 S&W length and loaded, even though the .38 Special case has a slightly smaller diameter than .38 S&W. I used to do this a lot, but have accumulated a good supply of factory .38 S&W cases over the years. I use .38 Super dies to reload, but 9mm dies would probably also work OK. Would suggest mild loads using lead bullets only. Don't try to magnumize your loads. Standard .357 and .358 bullet diameters work fine.

 

[Retired W4]

I just ordered some Remington 38 S&W from AmmoToGo, and have previously bought several boxes of Dominion 38 S&W (Canadian) from them. The Dominion is copper clad and very good ammo. Looks to have been around for a while, but performs very well. Looks like AmmoToGo is out of it now. This internet dealer has been quick and secure for my dealings with them. BTW, I have no connection with them, just a satisfied customer.

32 S&W and 32 S&W long seems to be somewhat scarce, but not to me. I buy what I find, when I find it. I sold my last 32-20 gun but I still buy 32-20 when I find it. What has been said about local gun shows is absolutely correct. Get to know the ammo sellers and buy from them. Once they get to know you, you might even get some good deals, but not all of them are willing to haggle on price.

 

[H Richard]

I just checked Midway, and they have Remington, Magtech, Fiocchi, Winchester, and TenX. Here's a link. MidwayUSA - Advanced Search

 

[LouisianaMan]

Midway is a great outfit to do business with IMO, but they are currently O/S on all brands of .38 S&W. Estimated in-stock dates range from March 7 for MagTech to May 7 for Winchester. Only Remington is back-orderable, due-in March 22 at $30.99 for most recent price.

In the meantime, as others have suggested, privately-owned gun shops (i.e. not chain stores) often have it.

I also just checked Bass Pro Shop on-line and they have Remington in-stock for $29.99 per box. See Remington Handgun Ammo That's pricier than I have generally found it to be in stores (more like $26), at least it's an option for you.

Happy shooting.

 

[92Mustang]

Bass Pro Shops has it. I purchased two boxes of Remington .38 S&W from the local Bass Pro a couple weeks ago for $29.99/box. I was there again this past weekend and they had atleast 10 boxes in stock. Hope this helps.

Marcus

 

[alferdpacker]

I've have the same problem but , believe it or not, walked into a Bass Pro Shop Shop last week in Harrisburg, Pa. and found a whole stack of Remington 38 S&W cartridges. Price was around $30.00 a box. Apparently they had just received a shipment as I did not see them a few weeks earlier. I've heard that the 38 S&W are only loaded intermittently by the big ammo companies and have only seen Remington when I do find them. The same Bass Pro store always has Lee reloading dies for 38 S&W on stock as well as the 32 S&W.
John

Hey John, and anyone else interested, I went to Bass Pro yesterday per your post, and lo and behold there was some 10 boxes of .38 S&W's, the cost was $27.99 per box of 50. They all were 145 grain, only Remington.
Thank you!

 

[hsguy]

I just ordered some Remington 38 S&W from AmmoToGo, and have previously bought several boxes of Dominion 38 S&W (Canadian) from them. The Dominion is copper clad and very good ammo. Looks to have been around for a while, but performs very well. Looks like AmmoToGo is out of it now. This internet dealer has been quick and secure for my dealings with them. BTW, I have no connection with them, just a satisfied customer.

32 S&W and 32 S&W long seems to be somewhat scarce, but not to me. I buy what I find, when I find it. I sold my last 32-20 gun but I still buy 32-20 when I find it. What has been said about local gun shows is absolutely correct. Get to know the ammo sellers and buy from them. Once they get to know you, you might even get some good deals, but not all of them are willing to haggle on price.

Shooting any of these calibers is a good reason to get into reloading. I shoot all but 32 SW short and reload for all of them. 32-20 can be a bit of a challenge to reload but the others are easy.

 

[walnutred]

YES on the reloading advise. You can find a set a Lee dies for about what one box of ammo cost. With the shift to progressive presses the last two single stages I bought were in the $35 range. Add a scale and with a little shopping you can be reloading for what 3 boxes of ammo would cost.

 

[Hovnnes]

If published information can be beiieved, not all .38S&W ammo is enemic. Fiocchi & Norma list higher velocities than Winchester & Remington---I wouldn't want to run these through a fine old top break Smith.
If you want to handload, the proper bullet moulds are kind of scarce but Missouri Bullets sells the right diameter146 grain RN in bulk.

 

[LouisianaMan]

Indeed, the plentitude of old hammerless top-breaks is doubtless the reason why Remington & Winchester have kept the old 146g / 685fps load that those guns were designed for with black powder and the early smokeless loads.

British Webleys and Enfields were designed to launch a 200g lead bullet at 600-650 fps, and subsequently a 178g FMJ bullet at about the same velocity. S&W Victory models, Official Police, and Colt Police Positive/Special were all guns that could stand these heavier loads, too. According to Ed Harris, longtime tech expert in the shooting arena, strong modern-era solid-frame .38 S&W revolvers can handle 200g lead bullets at 700 fps with the proper loads, powders, and attention to groove & bullet diameters. Makes sense, too, when you consider that .38 Special versions of the above guns were often used to shoot 200g bullets at 700-730 fps.

Check out some of my earlier threads on the penetrative capability of such loads--it's nothing to sneeze at with flat-nosed bullets.

 

[walnutred]

Yes, and if you compare some of the European load ballistics for 38 S&W with 380 ball ballistics you'll see that popular pocket pistol performance has not changed much in the last century or so. The little LCPs and P3ATs are just replacing the little IJ, H&R and S&W revolvers carried 100 years ago with a very similar ctg.

 

[LouisianaMan]

Very astute observation. And even though US shooters have been going thru a large-scale changeover from revolver to auto for SD during the past couple of decades, continental Europeans generally preferred pocket autos in .25, .32, and .380 all the while. As you point out, the OP's old S&W break-top fits squarely atop that "food chain" with .380 ball ammo.

I guess the main difference now is that the .380 can work with JHPs that are pretty likely to expand. I have no idea how light a bullet you have to use in the .38 S&W to make it reliably expand, but I'm sure a break-top wouldn't be the gun for that experiment! "Heavy & slow" is the method for .38 S&W, generally speaking.