No Revolver Ammo in the Store

[.455_Hunter]

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.



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

The above would be correct if 9mm and the other autoloading rounds were still flying off the shelf (like during the pandemic and summer of love), but now they are not- minimal demand and minimal sales. Whatever .38 or .357 that comes in usually moves pretty fast, actually bringing in revenue. This past weekend in the overstuffed Cabela's pistol ammo aisle, 50% of the product was 9mm, 10% various rimfire, 10% .40, 10% .45, 10% .380 and 10% "Other"- including .45 Colt, .44 Mag, .32 Long, etc.

 

[.45Coltguy]

Doubt that things will get any better any time soon. As for those who want to take up handloading their own, good luck. Components are tough to obtain and aren't going to become any easier to obtain. Could be a bit rough for those not prepared. Most should have realized this some time ago.

 

[Ethan Verity]

I noticed this recently at the local Dunhams... shelves and shelves packed with 9mm, but not a single round of 44 Mag, 44 Spl, and just a few boxes of 38 Spl.

 

[defjon]

I think there is plenty of demand but that the infrastructure of ammo manufacturers is geared to 9mm/223. Those are the rounds guys want to go and shoot 1k up in an afternoon.

Plenty of us want to shoot more 38 or 30-30 but can't afford it, shelf stock was empty because of demand and lack of production.

Try to find a lever action 357. Very popular. Sell out in minutes.

Besides the sa-35 where has 9mm excitement been compared to say the re-release of the python or anaconda?

How many j frames / clones are sold yearly? I would say certainly not a dead round. Evidenced as well by new 38 loads benefiting from modern tech. Federal 130 grain hst is amazing. Still have never found a box in the wild.

 

[3Crows]

The 9mm is flying off the shelves. There is a lot of it on the shelf because it is being continually restocked through the supply line. That there are piles of 9mm on the shelf is not indicative of it not selling but rather the opposite, that it is in high demand and is selling. There is little to no .38/.44 Special because it is not selling. It is not being ordered because there is no demand for it. Therefore there is none on the shelves.

3C

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

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.

Hmmmm... you know, that sounds a lot like opinion, not fact. I'll consider the source and be done with the conversation but if anyone has any actual information from inside the industry - which can actually be verified and documented - that would be welcome.

Fact of the matter is, it's more of a rhetorical question anyway. Given the mass stocks of 9mm & 5.56mm mag-dump-dummy ammo on the shelves, it would appear the ammo makers are chasing a dead market - and it's not the revolver market.

 

[defjon]

Idunno..
None of the big box or gun stores can keep 38 ammo on the shelf. In the last year I watched it go from 25 per fifty for range ammo to basically doubling and you still can't find it!

I'd say if there was no demand it would sit on the shelf and prices would go down. They can raise the price and still move it.

I'll shoot 22 and bypass it at the current prices and hope it starts to fall like 9mm did after the big 2020 panic.

 

[Ethan Verity]

The 9mm is flying off the shelves. There is a lot of it on the shelf because it is being continually restocked through the supply line. That there are piles of 9mm on the shelf is not indicative of it not selling but rather the opposite, that it is in high demand and is selling. There is little to no .38/.44 Special because it is not selling. It is not being ordered because there is no demand for it. Therefore there is none on the shelves.

3C

Yes, I know that... I bought a lot of that 9mm myself. Still wish there was some revolver ammo though. Alas, it's not a huge deal... I have a bulk order of 44 Mag coming to me in the mail right now.

 

[.455_Hunter]

The 9mm is flying off the shelves. There is a lot of it on the shelf because it is being continually restocked through the supply line. That there are piles of 9mm on the shelf is not indicative of it not selling but rather the opposite, that it is in high demand and is selling. There is little to no .38/.44 Special because it is not selling. It is not being ordered because there is no demand for it. Therefore there is none on the shelves.

3C

I would say the current "shelves/endcaps/floor pallets full of 9mm & 5.56mm" situation is more based on vendors overordering when those loads were flying out the door and the chickens are coming home to roost. Wasn't it middle of last year that Vista said they had a couple of years worth of backorders? Well, here it is...

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I would say the current "shelves/endcaps/floor pallets full of 9mm & 5.56mm" situation is more based vendors overordering when those loads were flying out the door and the chickens are coming home to roost. Wasn't it middle of last year that Vista said they had a couple of years worth of backorders? Well, here it is...

Heh-heh... lickin' yer chops waitin' for the day all that 115gr. FMJ 9mm gets discounted down to pennies-on-the-dollar?

Me too.

What made me smile was the full shelf - 15 feet! - of .40S&W in every color box sitting there waiting for the discount tag because they weren't moving. I coulda sworn that caliber took a permanent dirt nap when the WunderNines made a comeback. Then again, the death of the .40S&W was predicted by prognosticators.

Seriously, if you're S&W or Ruger, are you going to be eager to compete with Girson or Canik for marketspace? Nah. Too much overhead for too little profit. Ruger makes Blackhawks for chump change and sells them for real dollars. Ditto for Smith and their 117 varieties of wheel gun.

 

[3Crows]

Hmmmm... you know, that sounds a lot like opinion, not fact. I'll consider the source and be done with the conversation but if anyone has any actual information from inside the industry - which can actually be verified and documented - that would be welcome.

Fact of the matter is, it's more of a rhetorical question anyway. Given the mass stocks of 9mm & 5.56mm mag-dump-dummy ammo on the shelves, it would appear the ammo makers are chasing a dead market - and it's not the revolver market.

It is not opinion that the variety of .38 Special ammo is at a low point at many if not most retailers and 9mm and other popular rounds are fully stocked. I just look at what is on the shelf, what is on the shelf is not opinion. Thanks for the "consider the source" insult. That was not value added to what I thought was a friendly conversation and lamentation over the lack of .38 Special.



3C

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

It is not opinion that the variety of .38 Special ammo is at a low point at many if not most retailers and 9mm and other popular rounds are fully stocked. I just look at what is on the shelf, what is on the shelf is not opinion. Thanks for the "consider the source" insult.

3C

"The Source," in this case, is an anonymous poster on a public forum with no substantive support for the expressed opinions. No insult meant or conveyed. If "the source" of the post were a publicly known and well publicized expert in the retail sporting goods field, the statements made might hold more water. As it is, I'm reading opinion based on ... what, again? Observation? Hmmm... yeah, no thanks. My observations are just as good as anyone else's and I'm talking to retailers pretty often who are saying the same thing: the ammo supply "seems to be" driving the firearms sales. Or was. Sales of both have dropped off dramatically but military surplus rifles and sidearms are still in demand.

It still remains to be seen which market is driving which supply.

 

[ThomasT]

similar to A&W producing a Mdl 10 Classic.

I thought A&W made Root Beer.

 

[defjon]

Root beer is pretty classic.

I like to enjoy an a@w with my model 10!

 

[ThomasT]

I don't know if its ammo that drives the market or the guns that drive the market but there are still plenty of shooters who like or prefer revolvers. Are they younger shooters? For the most part no. The young guys all want fast firing semi autos that utilize every square inch of the target with the wide dispersion of shots fired as fast as the trigger can be pulled.

Most will never know the pleasure of shooting a small group right in the middle of the target and chewing out the bullseye with an accurate revolver. Most will never shoot at a can or rock on the side of a hill 75 yards away and see how often a shot like that can be made. Most know an attempt like like that with their bullet throwing semi autos would just be a waste of ammo.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I don't know if its ammo that drives the market or the guns that drive the market but there are still plenty of shooters who like or prefer revolvers. Are they younger shooters? For the most part no. The young guys all want fast firing semi autos that utilize every square inch of the target with the wide dispersion of shots fired as fast as the trigger can be pulled.

Most will never know the pleasure of shooting a small group right in the middle of the target and chewing out the bullseye with an accurate revolver. Most will never shoot at a can or rock on the side of a hill 75 yards away and see how often a shot like that can be made. Most know an attempt like like that with their bullet throwing semi autos would just be a waste of ammo.

Well, I'm thinking that might be more city boys than our young men out here in the country type folk. Out my way, youngsters still prefer a Ruger Blackhawk to a Canik TP8675309 or whatever. You can't find a RBH in any chambering around here at all. Of the six or seven (if you count BP, which I don't typically) gun stores I pass through looking through regularly, the shelves are piled high with 9mm & .380 semi-autos priced halfway decent but you can't find a medium or large frame revolver around here. I sold a Taurus Model 66 .357Mag a little over a month back for close to $600 and it didn't sit for a week. Just sold a '91 Tierney Carcano 6.5mm mixed numbers for $425. A 6.5 Carcano! It never even made it to the display. But, that's just local observation and don't mean squadiddley as far as how the industry plans for future demand. I do kind of feel like we're being setup for a rope-a-dope, though. All these "military-style guns" being pushed on the public and probably a lot of new restrictions in the winds... for "military-style guns" but, that's just speculation, too.

 

[ThomasT]

I sold a Taurus Model 66 .357Mag a little over a month back for close to $600 and it didn't sit for a week.

I have owned three of those and can't for the life of me figure why I ever sold them. They were excellent guns. Good enough that I have a couple on my GB watchlist. I would like to have another one. I would like a model 14 or K-38 but they are stupid expensive now. A Taurus model 66 would be a fine replacement for a model 14.

 

[TTv2]

Which kind of begs the question: is the gun market driving ammo availability or is ammo availability driving the gun market?

Look at how many bought well made, reliable, robust Tokarevs in the 90s only to dump proven guns once the cheap ammo disappeared.

The market has always been driven by ammo availability. The only one that this doesnt apply to is 5.7x28. The tacticool crowd has wet dreams over a 30 rd pistol in 5.7 and is apparently willing to pay the price for the ammo when it is available.

 

[defjon]

I'll vouch for the Taurus defender model 856. The 3 inch model is pretty sweet. Forget the trigger kits, you will have to spend a bunch of ammo to verify it still sets off all the primers.

Hillbilly trigger job of a few hundred dry fires and it's good to go.

 

[TTv2]

Well, I'm thinking that might be more city boys than our young men out here in the country type folk. Out my way, youngsters still prefer a Ruger Blackhawk to a Canik TP8675309 or whatever. You can't find a RBH in any chambering around here at all. Of the six or seven (if you count BP, which I don't typically) gun stores I pass through looking through regularly, the shelves are piled high with 9mm & .380 semi-autos priced halfway decent but you can't find a medium or large frame revolver around here. I sold a Taurus Model 66 .357Mag a little over a month back for close to $600 and it didn't sit for a week. Just sold a '91 Tierney Carcano 6.5mm mixed numbers for $425. A 6.5 Carcano! It never even made it to the display. But, that's just local observation and don't mean squadiddley as far as how the industry plans for future demand. I do kind of feel like we're being setup for a rope-a-dope, though. All these "military-style guns" being pushed on the public and probably a lot of new restrictions in the winds... for "military-style guns" but, that's just speculation, too.

The reason you're not seeing revolvers is because the manufacturers aren't making them. Some show up on gunbroker on occasion, but looking at general retailer websites they have nothing other than small frame snubs and cheap single action .22 revolvers.

I've been waiting for the Taurus 942 and 692 to get available at a fair price for over 2 years and I dont see that happening for another 2 yrs.

 

[3Crows]

"The Source," in this case, is an anonymous poster on a public forum with no substantive support for the expressed opinions. No insult meant or conveyed. .

These are all mostly opinion forums. Most of us, including you, have been on here long enough to be known. I follow your posts often and enjoy them . I do not agree with you in this case, or maybe I do.

But, no tit for tat, enough of that, moving on. I suggest that reloading is the key to plenty of .38 Special and .44 Special ammo. Realizing not everyone wants to invest in equipment just loading for one favored round. May not be the solution for all but for those for which it is, you will never be without ammo. And when you luck out and find some on the shelf, grab it.

3C

 

[ThomasT]

I suggest that reloading is the key to plenty of .38 Special and .44 Special ammo.

Correct answer. I stated in post #14 that I bought a press and dies in 1982 and never looked back. And I have bought only a few boxes of ammo since then. All the rest have been reloads. And I reload for everything I shoot except for 22lr and 25acp. If I buy a gun in a caliber I don't already reload for I will buy dies, brass and bullets and reload for it. Most likely I will never buy a single round of factory ammo. And if its a handgun I will normally buy at least one bullet mold to go with the other supplies.

 

[SKILCZ]

I find it almost insane that one can almost never find .38 Special or .44 Special in retail stores these days.

Apparently, the world revolves around those who own and shoot 9mm handguns these days.

You mean the round that "blows the lung out of the body?"

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

These are all mostly opinion forums. Most of us, including you, have been on here long enough to be known. I follow your posts often and enjoy them . I do not agree with you in this case, or maybe I do.

But, no tit for tat, enough of that, moving on. I suggest that reloading is the key to plenty of .38 Special and .44 Special ammo. Realizing not everyone wants to invest in equipment just loading for one favored round. May not be the solution for all but for those for which it is, you will never be without ammo. And when you luck out and find some on the shelf, grab it.

3C

Yup, agreed all around. Didn’t mean any insult, seriously. I try, but sometimes fail, to say things rightly.
@TTv2 may be onto something and it’s really similar to the thought I had: ammo prices and availability have always driven the gun market. Except when they don’t. Like the aforementioned 5-7 and possibly hi-caliber soon to be banned not for civilians cannon ammo which everyone knows was never covered by the 2A because it’s not for hunting.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

You mean the round that "blows the lung out of the body?"

Oh good grief.