Slim pickin's in ammo.

[mkk41]

Wanted to shoot my new Mod.14 the other night , but was out of .38s. Stopped by a few gun shops but all I seemed to find is the 'Premium' dollar a round combat/carry hollow-point ammo or FMJ mil-style 'ball' ammo. Can't find .38 Special 148gr wadcutters anywhere. No 158gr LSWC , not even the old standard 158gr RNL. Only that anemic M48 130gr FMJ-RN @630fps.

Ammo is out there , expensive , but nowhere near the variety.

Time to fire up my Dillon 550.

 

[5906fan]

Wanted to shoot my new Mod.14 the other night , but was out of .38s. Stopped by a few gun shops but all I seemed to find is the 'Premium' dollar a round combat/carry hollow-point ammo or FMJ mil-style 'ball' ammo. Can't find .38 Special 148gr wadcutters anywhere. No 158gr LSWC , not even the old standard 158gr RNL. Only that anemic M48 130gr FMJ-RN @630fps.

Ammo is out there , expensive , but nowhere near the variety.

Time to fire up my Dillon 550.

any ammo with a '3' as first number of it is scarce or none hereabouts. some places have the 'premium' rounds as you stated.

 

[Jack Flash]

Here in SW MI things are starting to loosen up a lot. My favorite gun shop has plenty of .38 Specials, and a wide variety to boot. Downside is that $25 / box of 50 is the cheapest they have, with 148 gr target loads going for $35 / 50.

At the local WalMart, any handgun ammo sells out as soon as it gets in.

 

[MrJT]

I haven't been finding much .38 special, but I've been finding a lot of .38+P lately.

 

[BigRich315]

I've resorted entirely to online vendors for my ammo. When I can find what I'm looking for locally, the price is inflated so much it easily covers shipping.

As for 148gr .38 WC, Ammunition To Go has Fiocchi and S&B for 16.95 a box, as well as 500 and 1000 round options. I was tempted but I'll leave them for those who actually need them.


P.S. - This is my 357th post. I told myself that when I hit that mark I would finally buy my M&P340, but with current situations that'll have to wait I'll settle for a few boxes of 135gr SB Gold Dots.

 

[mkk41]

I found 2 boxes of Federal red box 148gr MATCH WCs , that I bought about 4 years ago. Price tag still on the box. $9.00!

I saw S&B and Fiocchi at a recent gun show for $16.99 box/50.

Like I said , time to fire up my Dillon 550B.

 

[SuperMan]

WalMart here is up to $31.00 a box for Winchester 130 FMJ-FP 100 round boxes...

Bob

 

[brucev]

On my last walk through Wal-Mart I found seven boxes of Winchester .45ACP 230 gr. FMJ for $34/100rd. box, one box of Winchester .45 230 gr. JHP for $28/50rd. box, three Winchester 9mm FMJ (don't remember the weight of the bullet) for $12.97/50rd. box. In Federal brand there were many, many boxes of .40 S&W180 gr. FMJ for $14.87/50rd. box and 9mm (again sorry but I don't remember the weight of the bullet) for $8.99/50rd. box. There was no .22 LR ammunition. There were a few boxes of .22 Shorts (how odd). There was plenty of Remington .223 MC (FMJ) ammunition at $9.97/20rd. box. There was plenty of hunting type rifle and shotgun ammunition. I do recall that they had .38 Special 130 gr. FMJ, but I do not recall the price. I think it was around $30/100rd. box. At the local ACE Hardware, I found Magtec .38 Special 158 gr. LRN for $16.87/50rd. box, and American Ammunition .40 S&W 165 gr. FMJ for $20/50 rd. box.

All in all, I am thankful to have been able to find some ammo so that I can enjoy shooting my revolvers. But I can see that just as soon as I can find some primers, I'm going to be putting my RCBS to use producing my own "custom" ammunition.

 

[460v LAC du FLAMBEAU]

I purchased S&W's new Walther PK380 "First Edition". Can't find 380 ACP anywhere??

I checked my normal online ammo souces..."MidwayUSA" & "Cheaper than Dirt"...zero available. Local Wal-Marts...zero available. Local gun shops...forget about it.

Why is this ammo so hot???

I have built my inventories these past 5 months on 223, 10 & 12 gauge, S&W 460 & 500 and 9mm and 38+P to satisfying levels but this 380 ACP is driving me nuts.

Any suggestions???

 

[Spotteddog]

Yeah!
RELOAD! It's the only logical solution. While some components can be PITA to find at times, it's not as much of a gut churning nightmare as waiting for a UPS truck at WalMart? And after, running the gauntlet of Piranha swirling around the palette being rolled towards sporting goods!

 

[bmhiii]

Just got back from local Bass Pro and they had quite a bit of ammo including .38 Special. $17 for 50.

 

[44forever]

I purchased S&W's new Walther PK380 "First Edition". Can't find 380 ACP anywhere??

I checked my normal online ammo souces..."MidwayUSA" & "Cheaper than Dirt"...zero available. Local Wal-Marts...zero available. Local gun shops...forget about it.

Why is this ammo so hot???

I have built my inventories these past 5 months on 223, 10 & 12 gauge, S&W 460 & 500 and 9mm and 38+P to satisfying levels but this 380 ACP is driving me nuts.

Any suggestions???

Try Georgia Arms for .380. Shipping time seems to be a few weeks but price is as reasonable as any lately.

 

[robotoid]

Here in SW MI things are starting to loosen up a lot. My favorite gun shop has plenty of .38 Specials, and a wide variety to boot. Downside is that $25 / box of 50 is the cheapest they have, with 148 gr target loads going for $35 / 50.

At the local WalMart, any handgun ammo sells out as soon as it gets in.

The only thing I've noticed coming around in SE MI is .40 S&W. I haven't seen any cheapo range ammo in .38spl in probably 6 months now.

 

[Buford57]

A local shop got in a load of ammo today - mostly Federal Hydra-Shoks and Remington Golden Saber, but some Independence practice ammo, too. Prices weren't bad. Picked-up a box (50) of .45 ACP 185 gr. +P Hydra-Shoks for $28.99.

I'm guessing that .380 ammo is hot in WI for the same reason it is in IL - we have no legal concealed carry, so those who would rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6 opt for the little .32 and .380 pocket pistols.

 

[carman]

What do you guys think of the Independence brand? I see it at my local Cabelas and not sure to pick it up or not.

 

[460v LAC du FLAMBEAU]

A local shop got in a load of ammo today - mostly Federal Hydra-Shoks and Remington Golden Saber, but some Independence practice ammo, too. Prices weren't bad. Picked-up a box (50) of .45 ACP 185 gr. +P Hydra-Shoks for $28.99.

I'm guessing that .380 ammo is hot in WI for the same reason it is in IL - we have no legal concealed carry, so those who would rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6 opt for the little .32 and .380 pocket pistols.

Good point Buford57...when are our 2 states going to wake up!!

 

[ajpelz]

I have shot Independence ammo before without problem, nothing special, but was just fine for range use.

Our situation seems to be improving day by day...