No Revolver Ammo in the Store

Status
Not open for further replies.
I am a revolver guy, always have been. I have dabbled with semi-autos but always come back to carrying revolvers.

But, this lack of ammo availability (and price) has me carrying a Glock 19 again. I can find ammo for it very easily and I can afford to shoot it!
 
My range in Florida has a good assortment of both .357 mag and .38 special. But...at past $1.00 a round for .38 special I tend not to buy it.
 
Beginning to see floor stack outs of 9mm here in south central Ky. at $17 a box 50ct. and 40 Smith & Wesson stacked high on the shelves. Revolver ammo in any caliber is scarce and priced crazy high compared to couple of years ago. I have plenty reloading components for 38special, 357 magnum and 44Magnum so I'm good hopefully till things get back closer to normal. If that ever happens.
 
This is how much components would have to cost before reloaded 38 special target rounds became close to store purchased rounds; Box of 50 rounds.

9FF72201-28AA-4618-BCFF-8FE0CC4DF693.jpeg
 
Proxibid is where i find my ammo these days. Got a box of 50 357 mag for 30 bucks recently. Also 23 lbs of gas checked 271gr 44 bullets for about 35 bucks.

Im not getting 'smoking deals' but not bad either
 
Stopped by my local Academy yesterday to see how ammo prices are doing. Saw 357mag, 38 Spc, 44mag, and 45LC. Prices on the 9 and 556 common stuff was high so the revolver ammo probably was too.
 
Cute Thomas, but think more of case lots. Four indoor leagues and one outdoor match is about 500 without any practice.

Just as cute is that if you use the link I posted you can order 20 boxes or one case of CCI Blaser 158gr FMJ ammo. I will let you add the 20 boxes to the cart and see what the price for a thousand is. So how is that for cute? :neener:
 
Last edited:
Target sports has had 38 special target ammo recently, so you might check them. Prices are good, all considered. 32 long ammo has been available at Midway of late.

I recently bought 3 boxes of 50 round count Blazer from Target Sports for $25 per box, which I think is very reasonable these days.
 
When there is virtually no revolver ammo in the stores it makes the arguments of ammo availability for the .32 or .41 caliber revolvers pretty moot. Will it end? Yes, eventually, but that could be a year or two or three from now, I get the sense that we will see more hooliganism like we saw in 2020 in 2024 because that will be another election year and that will cause yet another spike in panic buying.

As it stands now, unless you are a reloader who has a stash of primers, the only revolvers people can really shoot are those in .22, or a rimless centerfire.

If things don't change by next year and the Taurus 692 doesn't become available, I may just go for the 5 shot 9mm snub Taurus makes. At $400, it's a fair price compared to the $700 the SP101's go for.
 
I see .357 often enough but, and I know it will not be popular to say it, .38 Special is a dead round. And .44 Special. I wish this were not the case but I fear it is. I have two .38 Special revolvers and a .357 for which I prefer .38 Special +P. I find .44 Magnum often enough and .45 Colt but I do not recall the last time I saw .38 Special. Maybe some specialty home defense rounds but not the big white boxes ;).

3C
 
I went to Sportsman's Warehouse and Cabela's in North Denver Metro yesterday for a recon- Federal AE 158 gr LRN .38 Special was $39, Herter's (Winchester) Cowboy 250 gr LFN .45 Colt was $49, and Federal AE 225 gr JSP .45 Colt was in the $70's somewhere. No .357 Magnum seen, however, .380/9mm/.40/.45 was overflowing the shelves and endcaps.
 
Bass pro yesterday, lots of 38 special.

Federal lrn was 34/per 50
Critical defense up to 32/ per 20.


I did not buy.
 
Local shops have 38 spl around here but it starts at $40/box and moves up from there. Even with inflated component costs, It's time to consider reloading at those prices.
 
I see .357 often enough but, and I know it will not be popular to say it, .38 Special is a dead round. And .44 Special. I wish this were not the case but I fear it is. I have two .38 Special revolvers and a .357 for which I prefer .38 Special +P. I find .44 Magnum often enough and .45 Colt but I do not recall the last time I saw .38 Special. Maybe some specialty home defense rounds but not the big white boxes ;).

3C
I was only able to find JHP 44 Special yesterday after calling about 6 gun shops. One had 6 boxes of 44 Special the day before and said it is gone. I will be ordering online.
 
I see .357 often enough but, and I know it will not be popular to say it, .38 Special is a dead round.

Thats funny. You must not be aware of how many 38 Special revolvers are sold by smith & Wesson, Ruger, Charter Arms, Taurus and Colt each year. The 38 Special is not dead. The factories just aren't running it like they are 9mm. And it may be that the stores are getting it in but its selling out as fast as it hits the shelves. Lots of people like and trust a snub 38 in their pockets.

Also look on gunbroker and what crazy prices Smith & Wesson 38 Special revolvers are selling for. Not just snubs but model 10s, model 15s. model 14s and K-38s. People aren't just buying these to collect but to shoot.
 
Thats funny. You must not be aware of how many 38 Special revolvers are sold by smith & Wesson, Ruger, Charter Arms, Taurus and Colt each year. The 38 Special is not dead. The factories just aren't running it like they are 9mm. And it may be that the stores are getting it in but its selling out as fast as it hits the shelves. Lots of people like and trust a snub 38 in their pockets.

Also look on gunbroker and what crazy prices Smith & Wesson 38 Special revolvers are selling for. Not just snubs but model 10s, model 15s. model 14s and K-38s. People aren't just buying these to collect but to shoot.

I agree- The main issue is that the ammo companies (big surprise) overestimated the demand/cost curve for the autoloading cartridges at the expense of the revolver cartridges. 9mm is overflowing and unwanted at the current price point, but putting that effort into . 38/.357 would have resulted in sellable product. Unlike the majority of blogs and YouTube channels, not every member of the shooting community is a Tactical Ted awaiting the release of the latest polystriker in quivering anticipation.
 
Last edited:
I see .357 often enough but, and I know it will not be popular to say it, .38 Special is a dead round. And .44 Special. I wish this were not the case but I fear it is. I have two .38 Special revolvers and a .357 for which I prefer .38 Special +P. I find .44 Magnum often enough and .45 Colt but I do not recall the last time I saw .38 Special. Maybe some specialty home defense rounds but not the big white boxes ;).

3C
.38 isn't dead, but for the younger crowd that is generally disinterested in revolvers and only has an interest in snubs (or cheap single action .22's) there is definitely a greater interest in a 9mm revolver given it shares ammo with their 9mm semi.

.44 Special absolutely is, the only company that is really make one sized for conceal carry is still Charter, but I feel they make it only out of respect for the legacy of it and how it really was their Bulldog that built the company.
 
.38 isn't dead, but for the younger crowd that is generally disinterested in revolvers and only has an interest in snubs (or cheap single action .22's) there is definitely a greater interest in a 9mm revolver given it shares ammo with their 9mm semi.

.44 Special absolutely is, the only company that is really make one sized for conceal carry is still Charter, but I feel they make it only out of respect for the legacy of it and how it really was their Bulldog that built the company.
I must agree. The CA Bulldog Classic is probably built solely as a tribute to their legacy... similar to A&W producing a Mdl 10 Classic.
 
I am a revolver guy, always have been. I have dabbled with semi-autos but always come back to carrying revolvers.

But, this lack of ammo availability (and price) has me carrying a Glock 19 again. I can find ammo for it very easily and I can afford to shoot it!
Which kind of begs the question: is the gun market driving ammo availability or is ammo availability driving the gun market?
 
Which kind of begs the question: is the gun market driving ammo availability or is ammo availability driving the gun market?

Retailers/distributors are responding to market demand. They place their orders through their channels and the ammo production companies base their production quotas off those orders which reflect the consumer demand. The demand for .38 Special just is not there.

.38 isn't dead, but for the younger crowd that is generally disinterested in revolvers and only has an interest in snubs (or cheap single action .22's) there is definitely a greater interest in a 9mm revolver given it shares ammo with their 9mm semi.

.44 Special absolutely is, the only company that is really make one sized for conceal carry is still Charter, but I feel they make it only out of respect for the legacy of it and how it really was their Bulldog that built the company.

I like .38 Special, but I am a Boomer, older that is. It is a fact of life that we get older and as we get older we do more talking (reminiscing) and less doing. The younger folks who are doing the "doing" do not want or care for .38 Special so we can call it dead, not dead or living in a state of denial in limbo but there is seemingly little consumer demand for "Specials" by those who are doing the consuming and that a few of us older fellers still want the "Specials" is apparently insufficient demand to trigger production.

3C
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top