My 686 is Going To Get Fed!

[The_Shootist]

First time in about 3-4 mos I've come across some .357 plinking ammo:






Was doing my weekly pilgrimage to Academy in Richmond and was actually looking for 9mm or .38 ammo - may even .45. Well, a couple of weeks ago, the shelves at this Academy were bimming with ammo, today they were literally picked clean - nothing - zippo. They actually had put a bunch on hats on the shelves so they wouldn't look so bare.

THE ONLY ammo available was the Monarch brass in .357. Which was cool by me, as it was the first .357 I had seen in months. Clerk told me a supply truck had come in on Friday with about 250 boxes of .45 and maybe 50 boxes of the .357. The .45 was gone by Saturday afternoon, here it was Sunday, down to about 10 boxes of .357, so I snagged a few.

At $19/50 I thought that was pretty reasonable.

Never shot Monarch in .357, but have used it (both brass/steel case) in 9mm in my G19 and .38 (brass cased) in my 642 both with no problems. Like I said, the price was right so what the hell.

Now that I think about it - I haven't shot any American ammo (except my self-defense loads from Buffalo Bore) in 6 mos. When I can find any, its price is outrageous. Since I mainly buy my ammo at Academy they seem to pretty much carry Monarch, at a reasonable price.

Funny how the Serbians and Russians are stepping up - if it weren't for them, i'd probably have to take up archery.


Oh yeah - I AM working on my picture taking skills. I will say that I agree with some of the other posters in the thread about pics. Natural light IS the way to go. Both the above were shot from natural light on an overcast day.

 

[theP8riot]

I have shot maybe 200 rounds of 158gr Monarch .357 through my model 19. It seems to be a little dirty, but it was actually pretty accurate. For the price it's hard to beat unless you reload.

 

[Stainz]

I went to a commercial gunshow Saturday in Birmingham... gads! I was looking for reloading supplies - big laugh there. Ignoring the brass cost, it seems like 125gr JHP bullets run $.10-$.12 each. Powder runs ~ $20/lb now - enough for over 1k rounds - but say that's all - another $.02 each. Primers were $28/1k - another $.03 each. Of course, I'm running low - I need more - that's why I went to the gunshow. Shock - the only dealer there with Federal small pistol primers had the match version - usually a few bucks more. His price? $100/1k... you read that right. Several folks had bricks of Federal .22LR ammo from WallyWorld. Instead of the $13.86/550 or $14.47/325 (Auto Match) the discounter has them for when in stock, they were $20-$40/brick. I left empty handed - and stopped at my local WallyWorld and bought three bricks of Fed Auto Match - he still had a dozen.

Let's keep our local stores going - gun stores included, unless they, too, are artificially inflating their prices. Ammo hasn't gone up that much - gluttony/panic buying is the problem. reloading may be another thing - primers seem to be in short supply. Still, those .357M's I make, whether they barely hit 900 fps - or 1,500+ fps - cost me from $.15-$.24 each to make - that's $7.50-$12.00 per 50 - still worth doing. As someone told me years ago - reloading doesn't save you money - you just get to shoot more - and can tailor your rounds to your needs. You also find yourself dumpster-diving at the range for brass and decent boxes.

Stainz

 

[pps]

Dealers that charge that much you need to photograph and show that picture to his potential customers at the next gun show when the prices come down. A person has to make a livingm but I have no respect for that type of behavior and I do spread the word to others to avoid such a$$holes.

 

[Stainz]

This guy had a first for me - looked like cargo/fish net in front of his tables. You had to peer over it - and reach to get anything to buy. I guess he expected thieves... bedouins know their kind. I've never seen him before - or some of the others, for that matter. This was a 'commercial' show - I hadn't been to one in five or more years. I normally only go to the Alabama Gun Collector's Association, of which I am a member, shows - definitely a higher class of vendors - and more, too. All guns and custom knives - no throwing stars, food, shammy hawkers, etc. If you are in town and you see the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center marquee announcing the A.G.C.A. Show, do stop - they are good ones.

Stainz