shil
Member
Has anyone else noticed that Speer jacketed handgun bullets seem to be a rarity from vendors? Or is it my aged atrophied brain?
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Speer bullets
- Thread starter shil
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Yes, I have. Of course for a while ALL components were difficult. Maybe it is just taking some time for the pipeline to loosen up.
elpac3
Member
Can't totally rule out the brain atrophy issues, but they have joined the ranks of Nosler, Barnes, Alliant, Hodgden and several others where high demand products are scarce.
gwpercle
Member
Just try buying anything reloading / ammo wise you need .
Would you believe I had trouble buying 38 Special brass cases recently .
5 local gun shops ... nada , nothing ...OK fired brass would do , so I go to
the local indoor shooting range ...AKA , Precision Once Fired Brass ...
I was told " We no longer sell once fired brass and we don't have any new brass "
I don't know what's going on ... I used to buy once fired brass there all the time ...they had a special price on lots of 1,500 cases ...it was so cheap I would buy them rather than bend over and pick them up off the floor... That was cheap ... and now ..."We don't sell brass anymore " ...somethings up but I don't know what .
Gary
Would you believe I had trouble buying 38 Special brass cases recently .
5 local gun shops ... nada , nothing ...OK fired brass would do , so I go to
the local indoor shooting range ...AKA , Precision Once Fired Brass ...
I was told " We no longer sell once fired brass and we don't have any new brass "
I don't know what's going on ... I used to buy once fired brass there all the time ...they had a special price on lots of 1,500 cases ...it was so cheap I would buy them rather than bend over and pick them up off the floor... That was cheap ... and now ..."We don't sell brass anymore " ...somethings up but I don't know what .
Gary
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If they were selling it so cheap it wasn't worth picking up, it's hard to imagine that was a profitable activity for the range.
With cheap labor being in short supply, I imagine it could be prohibitively expensive to sweep up the brass and sort it for sale. There are mechanical sorters but that requires a bit of investment.
Given that scrap values are probably also up with inflation, it might be more practical to just sell the brass as scrap.
TJm15.38
Member
I'm using mostly Hornady jacketed bullets and Missouri cast bullets in various calibers; mainly .38 and .44 Specials. I haven't seen availability on Speer bullets for several months.
Speer is owned by Vista outdoors along with half the other ammo brands out there - CCI, Federal, Remington,etc. I imagine the bullets they make are going into factory ammo. Once ammo sales die down, components will come back available for purchase.
SGT ROCK 11B
Member
The LGS (closest to me) moved and got a new Manager and he apparently prefers Hornady bullets. Another Gun Shop much farther away has Speer and X-Treme Bullets.
Ask your Manager what is his stocking preferences.
SGT ROCK 11B
Member
In 2019 I needed 38 Special brass. I was a PPC Competitor so all my 38 Special was all worn out so I considered buying brass from Midway or directly from Starline. I happened to be in a Walmart and they were getting out of selling handgun ammunition. They had loaded Remington and Winchester 38 Special ammunition they were selling for less than the cost of the brass cases. They were liquidating so I took it all.
Ivan the Butcher
Member
Many ranges sell their floor brass bulk as scrap brass to recycling companies.
Ivan
Ivan
Paul in Nevada
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Exactly right. Vista has been a major supplier of ammunition to Ukraine since shortly after the US backed coup in 2014. War is good business. Much more profitable than supplying the consumer market. Remember that when you see corporations consolidating. Sooner or later they are all defense contractors.
I used to use Speer almost exclusively....
....especially when I was experimenting with all kinds of loads. Get a box of 100 bullets and would be enough for testing. I never had a problem getting what I needed. Rifle or pistol. When the shortages hit I found Speer to be completely unavailable and though I can find some products, I can't count on them and use whatever I can find.
The last few years, I shoot more standard loads most of the time (Missouri Bullets) and haven't even tried to get any Speer products
....especially when I was experimenting with all kinds of loads. Get a box of 100 bullets and would be enough for testing. I never had a problem getting what I needed. Rifle or pistol. When the shortages hit I found Speer to be completely unavailable and though I can find some products, I can't count on them and use whatever I can find.
The last few years, I shoot more standard loads most of the time (Missouri Bullets) and haven't even tried to get any Speer products
That worked for Colt.....
...for a while, anyway. Now they are trying to get back its customer base.
...for a while, anyway. Now they are trying to get back its customer base.
Ivan the Butcher
Member
I have a stack of Speer 95 grain SHP 9mm bullet boxes I bought in the 80's for a 380 reloading project that never happened. Those retailed at $5.85/100, plus 10% off that when I bought any 10 or more boxes! Back then, Speer was much cheaper than the other brands of jacketed bullets, and the weight variance was much better than Hornady's!
Ivan
Ivan
SGT ROCK 11B
Member
Some Ranges that sell reloads also reload the brass or do the exchange with the commercial reloaders.
Los Angeles County Sheriffs, 50 years ago reloaded their training ammunition.
Being a lifelong reloader I believe people selling ammunition brass to recycling companies is sacrilegious to the handloading community, JMHO.
SGT ROCK 11B
Member
Speer back then also had a 88 grain JHP meant for 380 ACP but loaded in either 9mm or 38 Super cases with a hefty dose of Blue Dot you would make your chronograph giggle.
