??? about which is better for defense due to major shortage

[kmrcstintn]

without an end to our current ammo shortage in sight I have found myself contemplating which is a better nontypical defense ammo...

1) .38 spl -- bulk reloaded (Mastercast) 158gr lead semiwadcutter or factory (Federal American Eagle, CCI Blazer, Winchester WWB, etc) 158 gr lead round nose

2) .357 mag -- bulk reloaded (Mastercast) 158gr lead semiwadcutter, factory (Remington UMC) 125gr jacketed softpoint, or factory (Federal American Eagle, PMC Bronze, etc) 158gr jacketed softpoint

3) .44 mag -- bulk reloaded (Mastercast) 240gr lead semiwadcutter, factory (Remington UMC) 180gr jacketed softpoint, or factory (Federal American Eagle, Winchester WWB, etc) 240gr jacketed softpoint

4) .45 colt -- bulk reloaded (Mastercast) 225gr lead flat point or factory (Magtech, Winchester, Ultramax, etc) cowboy style 250gr lead roun-nose flatpoint

and yes, I am serious...especially when I find no dedicated defense ammo on shelves or only a box of 20 rounds of someone's version of jacketed hollowpoints costing $40 and up :banghead:

 

[BhmBill]

order online if you gotta. I'd stick with hollowpoints, wadcutters are just gonna put a hole in what/who you shoot.

 

[indiandave]

A good carry load can be expensive. Keep looking. Try Buffalo Bore,you can buy direct.

 

[flat top]

I make my own cast hollowpoints for defense work. The right sized hollowpoint, made from the correct alloy, and driven at a suitable velocity, will do wonders!

 

[C-grunt]

The semi wad cutters would be far better than the round noses, but the soft points in .357 and .44 mag would be my choice. A semi wadcutters in those two calibers would likely go through way to much stuff to be safe.

 

[Jim Watson]

You are looking for "non-typical defense ammo" under shortages (hoarding and scalping) of typical ammo? Do you get in a lot of gunfights? I figure I have enough .38 and .357 hollowpoints to see me through the Obama Panic. Flatpoints and semiwadcutters will do well enough in .44 or .45 if you just must. I would not count on .38 or even .357 softpoints if I had a choice.

 

[jaydubya]

Well, thread originator, you clearly know about Mastercast! They provide all my range ammo, over 7,000 rounds so far, no problems, prompt service, inexpensive. They also make jacketed hollow point loads, but I've never tried them. For self defense, I buy from the companies that have lots of ballistic scientists, and give them lots of stuff to play with. For their inventions, I will pay a dollar a round if necessary, because 1) I'm worth it; and 2) I don't need a truckload.

Save your spent brass, and send it to Mastercast in exchange. You will save a bundle. You can save even more by sending it USPS Priority Mail. I send them a thousand cases that way for nine bucks and change. Any other way I know of (except a dear friend who is driving to Pennsylvania and says he'd love to deliver it for you) cost more than twenty dollars.

Cordially, Jack

 

[sidheshooter]

A little OT, but I just returned from my local cabela's, and they had *something* worth shooting in all the common defensive calibers.

I was pleased to note multiple boxes of Buffalo bore standard, and +P, 158 LSWCHP, Speer .357 125 and 158 GDHP, corbon 125 in the same magnum caliber, numerous 115+P and 124+P loads by the usual suspects in 9mm, .40 in several weights and brands, several flavors of 230 HP in .45, even somebody's .44 special with the 180gr HP.

Of course, all of that was buck-a-bang expensive; the only boxes of Winchester USA "white box" I saw was a stack of 45 G.A.P... not like there's a ton of demand for that..

In all though, if I absolutely *had* to buy a box of something "proven" to use in anything I own, I could have sucked it up, pulled out the visa, and been back in the hunt.

The last time I went out there it was pretty bare; the immediate post-november crush may well be over, and we might just have to wait for the manufacturers to catch back up.

 

[AZ Desertrat]

The big stores around here are pretty bare on the shelves.....and all the reloading supplies are scarce.....but I do have plenty of stuff to reload at least my .38 special ammo....

 

[Stainz]

For .38s, consider the 148gr full wadcutters. They may not be nuclear/pelvis-shattering levels, but they do produce a full .357" wound channel. Georgia Arms still carried their 200gr Gold Dots in .44 Special - a reliable opener at 800 fps(They chrono-ed 805 fps from my 2.5" 296 & 870+ fps from my 4" 629.). The Speer #4484 250gr .45 Colt Gold Dot bullet is a bit hard to find, but the pricey Speer 20rd boxes of loaded ammo with their bullet weren't. Georgia Arms has all - except the .45 Colt. They still load the 200gr Gold Dots at high speeds in .45 Colt.

Stainz

 

[wnycollector]

I have gone through 5000 rounds of mastercast amo. Its great stuff. I use their .357 JHP-hv as my range ammo...its only $1.43/50 more than their SWC and dosent lead my barrel! Plus it shoots POA with my carry ammo (doubletap 158gr gold dots). I would be comfortable carrying their JHP-HV load in one of my .357's.

I would carry their 125gr JHP +P .38 or 148gr TCJ-DEWC rather than their 158gr SWC. Their TCJ-DEWC is a really nice loading...hotter than most dewc's but it would leave a nice sharp .357 hole in a BG.