Lesser known calibers in this time of shortages

I went out just to look the other day and the only ammo I could find reliably was 17HMR and 44Mag. One of the places I stop at is a Police supply house. They had 9mm but limited you to 2 boxes a month. Prior to the Scamdemic they had two pallets of 40S&W ammo on there floor for sale. Now they don't have a round of it.

If it were me? I would consider taking the money you would pay for a new pistol and the extras that you would want for it. Wait till the Scamdemic is over and buy yourself some more reloading supply's (I belive I say you say you were a reloader). 5 K of 9mm projectiles, 8 lbs of powder and 1 case of small pistol primes would fit in the corner of a closet and keep you reloading for quite a while. Cost would be a bit high but the piece of mind would be priceless. Its not a plan for everyone but its would work.

Just my .02 on it
WB

Crazy Horse said:

So long as it catches up and takes no more than a year. Anything longer than a year, and it'll really start to suck.

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.22 LR took about 6 years

About 2 months late on getting 40 S&W and 10mm - FMJ in both obtained about $400 / 1,000 delivered.
38 Super can still be found:
https://ammoseek.com/ammo/38-super
... if one is willing/able to find a pistol (1911) in 38 Super.
I have no experience with Rock Island, but have read positive comments by people that own them; 38 Super available reasonably priced (IMO):
https://www.gunbroker.com/All/search?Keywords=1911 38 super

Right now is a great time. I sold a ton of boring old 115gr fmj walmart ammo on gun broker for up to 80 cents a round.
I can buy up to 400 much more interesting 9mm projectiles with that money and load something like 147gr carbine subsonics.

HB said:

Take the $500 you’d spend on a gun, the $100 in holsters, and the $100 in mags... and buy $700 in 9mm ammo when this panic is over.

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or buy a cap and ball revolver, a lead pot, and a set of moulds and just keep on recycling.

HB said:

.22 LR took about 6 years

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And still costs twice a much

Heir Kommt Die Sonne said:

Yes the dies neck the .40 Smith down to .357 Sig specs. First time I tried it I was surprised, but it worked. Just gotta know what you're doing.

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I had read that necked down 40 gave a somewhat shorter .357 sig cases. But you say works just fine. Hmmm. I was just given 34 lbs of fired .40 cases by someone that did not want to deal with forty anymore. He likes 41 mag and .400 corbon. I do not have a ton of primers, but enough enough to do some reloading. I actually have ammo on hand for all my guns, the larger amounts are for 9mm and 7.62x39. I am interested doing up some loads for accuracy in a G22 and I have a spare after market barrel. I want to find out what a G22 can do with careful reloading in both calibers. I am going to set it up as a PDW with a brace and eventually a red dot sight if it can group within 5 inches at 50 Yards.
Edit to add: While the cases are slightly shorter, main issue that you crimper needs to be setup according to case length so one must remember that.
Here some info I found for doing the conversion

2) The best way to set up a progressive press to convert 40S&W to 357 Sig is to use your 40 sizing die in station 1 to pre-size and decap, then your 40 expanding die, then the 357 Sig die with the decapper removed and finally the 357 Sig expander die. Getting the 40 case round before necking it down changed conversion failure from 5% to 0.2%
https://www.ar15.com/forums/Armory/Lessons-learned-converting-40-SW-to-357-Sig/42-490845/

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There are some deals out there but you have to spend the time browsing and be patient with quantity limits. I recently ordered 9mm 40 and 38 bullets. Small pistol primers are by far the most difficult to find.

As for the OP's question....I'd suggest Glock 20. It's chambered in 10mm but you can get 40cal and 357 sig conversion barrels. Just a thought.

I didn't find any 9mm or 45acp or 38 special or whatever in a quick online search, but I easily found 100 rounds each of 44 special, 32 S&W long, and 32acp for reasonable prices.

This is one of the reasons that I like to have handguns in a variety of calibers.

These type of threads make me glad I started stocking up and reloading many years ago. I have shelves full of ammo now plus around 30,000 22lr on hand. I feel sorry for new shooters trying to get started in this sport or who just want a SD gun and a small stock of ammo. But the guys that have been shooting for a few years should have had plenty on hand for this sort of thing. I really thought after the obama scare and the Sandy Hook shooting that folks would have stocked up for "when the next one comes". But I guess not. Why do we keep doing the same thing over and over?

My only concern for a new shooter getting into a platform that uses a 2nd or 3rd popularity tier cartridge is that you MAY find a few boxes of legacy ammo on the shelf right now, but what about in the future? I doubt ammo companies will prioritize .44 Special or .41 Mag (which I both love) over making as much 9mm and .223/5.56mm as the can sell. Also, we have no idea about future limitations on ammo purchase. Using a more common round may improve chances of resupply.

748 said:

Right now is a great time. I sold a ton of boring old 115gr fmj walmart ammo on gun broker for up to 80 cents a round.
I can buy up to 400 much more interesting 9mm projectiles with that money and load something like 147gr carbine subsonics.

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I admit, I've thought about selling ammo on GunBroker.

Any hoops to jump thru?

Antihero said:

I admit, I've thought about selling ammo on GunBroker.

Any hoops to jump thru?

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If you send it UPS no. That put a "ground shipment only" sticker on there and it's good to go.
Don't try to mail ammo USPS they act like you are trying to mail anthrax.

Crazy Horse said:

Seeing all the ammo affected by the current ammo shortage, I started thinking about what IS available in ammo for sale.

Lots of folks and a number youtube videos have weighed in with their recommendation.

Everyone breaks it down to 10mm or 40S&W. I looked at 10mm and ammo prices for that caliber are noticeably higher than 40 S&W. I started looking around for 40 caliber handguns, and while LEO turn ins have dried up, I did find one at a reasonable price-for a new firearm.

I then did a quick search online and found 40 S&W ammunition for sale on ammoseek. It looked promising, so the next day I went to Academy and my local range. Neither of those two stores had 40 S&W available. I did however notice a large than normal amount of spent 40 casings in the lane I was firing at. I know it is the caliber of choice for many LE organizations, and i've stayed away from new calibers until now.

My question is: Is it worth getting a lesser known caliber such as 40 S&W or 10mm? I didn't look around too much for 10mm as those firearms were a couple of hundred dollars more than a 40 S&W. Neither did look for 10mm on the internet, but I didn't see any at Academy.

Or, is it best just to wait until the shortages and panic blows over? I reload and have enough supplies on hand to last for awhile, but it is nice to have a caliber where manufacturer ammo is available. Plus, sometimes one just wants go to the store for range ammunition and not have to worry about shortages or using reloading supplies that are already hard to come by.

Thinking about it a little more, additional costs incurred would be a die set, bullets, and casings (until I build up a supply) for a new caliber.

TIA

CH

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I look at it this way:

For years, .40 has been maybe a $buck a 50/box more expensive than 9mm Para.

Surplus Government LEA .40 ammo in the form of Winchester 180 gr PDX1 (Q4369), and Federal 180 gr. HST (XM40HC), were running $18-20 a 50/box pre-Biological Coup Attempt.

... for a superior SD cartridge.


And is available, now, on the off chance that my "high-n-deep" becomes "low-n-shallow."
Thank you, limp-wristed mouse-clickin' bean-countin' FBI bureaucrats.






GR

Worth is a relative question. Is it worth spending hundreds on another pistol just to save $20 a box? If the gun is $200 or $300, yeah, that'll add up quick and you can keep that gun on hand for the next panic in 2 years or 4 years when the Zombie Martians invade for revenge after Elon Musk landed people on Mars in attempt to colonize and already occupied planet.

Jokes aside, you don't want to have a kneejerk reaction because ammo that is "cheap" and available now won't be as cheap in 12-18 months when 9mm prices come back down. You have to look beyond just price and ask yourself what else would you like in a handgun. More power? Less recoil? Faster velocity for soft armor penetration?

.40 and 10mm are a great choice for more power/better terminal performance. The .40 has been proven on the streets for 30 years, it's a known quantity. 10mm is even more power than .40, enough so with boutique ammo that it's practically equivalent to .357 Magnum. IMO, a semi auto .357 Magnum that holds 15 rds and spits 200 grain bullets is always worth having. Those who don't have a 10mm now should consider getting one. I just wish there were more options outside of Glock, FieldSpring, 1911's, and the EAA stuff.

If you want lower recoil, but not deal with the issues that .22 LR's can have in terms of reliability, you're pretty much stuck between .32 ACP, .380 ACP, and 9x18 Mak. IMO, the best non pocket .32 ACP pistol available now is the Beretta 81. There's also the Zastava, but the Beretta shoots way better. Both will be a PITA to get mags for. For pocket .32's you're stuck with either the Beretta 3032 (which is bound to have slide cracks) or Kel Tec.

9x18 you're limited to the Makarov or CZ. You could get a conversion barrel for a .380 you currently own tho, I know LoneWolf makes a 9x18 barrel for the Glock 42.

.380 is a lot easier to find a pistol for, tons of pocket pistol options, but for larger size .380's the best is the Bersa Thunder Plus. It's pretty much a clone of the Beretta 84, but can be bought for $325.

I would say 7.62x25, but the issue with those is other than the CZ, they're mostly all Tok clones and no matter what you get you'll have a hell of a time finding mags for them. Unless you really want something for defeating soft body armor, not much reason to get a 7.62x25. Same goes for 5.7x28 and .22 TCM. All those bottlenecks are cool calibers, but they're limited in available guns. I would say out of the three, the 7.62x25 is the better choice, much more likely to still be around in the decades to come.

if you're buying online yeah go ahead. 10mm is a great round. so is .40s&w. so is .357 sig. and so is .38 super. if you want to buy local, go and see what they got now and then you'll know.

Crazy Horse said:

Thanks for all the comments and advice. Seeing as I have plenty of ammunition to feed my firearms, I'll hold fast. Once the shortages are over, I'll look at making a LEO purchase in 40 Caliber. I've had good luck with LEO purchases and 40 S&W sales on LEO guns seem fairly inexpensive.

I never considered them because having one more caliber that is similar in size to 9mm (think 380), makes it difficult when sorting brass. More than once I'm reloading for 9mm and get a 380 case on the press.

CH

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Something to keep in mind is that 10mm's are very easy to convert to .40 as it's just a barrel change, maybe a lighter spring, but many have shot .40 in 10mm's (Glocks mostly) with the stock 10mm barrel without an issue.

jhb said:

if you're buying online yeah go ahead. 10mm is a great round. so is .40s&w. so is .357 sig. and so is .38 super. if you want to buy local, go and see what they got now and then you'll know.

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While it's a great round, I do not think .357 Sig is long for this world. The few LE orgs that were using it are dumping the caliber for 9mm and while you can get a conversion barrel for it pretty easy if you have a .40 or 10mm, I don't see the point when the ammo is going to become more difficult to get. Reloading I wouldn't even consider.

.38 Super, given it's use in Mexico and popularity for shooting sports at least has a very small niche in the market and has had that for decades.

Saw this coming decades ago and stocked up.

I now have a lifetime supply of ammo. Who's lifetime is yet to be determined.

Crazy Horse said:

Everyone breaks it down to 10mm or 40S&W. I looked at 10mm and ammo prices for that caliber are noticeably higher than 40 S&W.

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Every time I've checked ammoseek in the last 2 or 3 months 9MM, 10MM and .40 S&W have all been within pennies per round of one another. A few times 10mm was the cheapest of all 3. Prior to the panic it wasn't hard to get 10MM for $15 to $18 per box of ammo and comparable .40 S&W was around $13 to $15 per box. Not a huge difference.

I enjoy variety, and I load all my own target ammo. So I am shooting some 10mm and 38 Super lately to spread around the shortage to my supply as this drags on. Once supplies rebound I will be replenishing my stocks.

Having a variety helps.

Koroner said:

Saw this coming decades ago and stocked up.

I now have a lifetime supply of ammo. Who's lifetime is yet to be determined.

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Not everyone was able or aware of this decades ago. Many people only started getting into guns after Sandy Hook, some when the Pandemic started.

Stocking up and preparing before things go south is always the best plan, but not all had the ability to do that, which is why the question of alternate calibers is a good topic.

TTv2 said:

Something to keep in mind is that 10mm's are very easy to convert to .40 as it's just a barrel change, maybe a lighter spring, but many have shot .40 in 10mm's (Glocks mostly) with the stock 10mm barrel without an issue.

While it's a great round, I do not think .357 Sig is long for this world. The few LE orgs that were using it are dumping the caliber for 9mm and while you can get a conversion barrel for it pretty easy if you have a .40 or 10mm, I don't see the point when the ammo is going to become more difficult to get. Reloading I wouldn't even consider.

.38 Super, given it's use in Mexico and popularity for shooting sports at least has a very small niche in the market and has had that for decades.

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true. if one gets a .40s&w some have .357 sig barrels or vice versa and can interchange easily. I have a steyr m40 and .357 sig barrel. uses same mags and all. youre right though on both counts ya mentioned. thanks for bringing that up. important details.