Online Ammo Orders - .38 Special

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emwave1

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Hey there - just bought my first firearm - a Ruger GP-100 4" revolver. I'm looking for a place to order ammo in bulk online to shoot at the range. I was thinking I would shoot .38 specials at the range to get the feel for the gun. Any advice on a good place to order from? Is remanufactured ammo ok (saw a bunch at Cabela's)? How many grains make sense for range shooting (125, 130, 158, other)?

Thanks for all the replies to my GP-100 as first gun thread!
 
For range shooting pretty much any weight will work. Buy what's cheap and go with that. As far as reman, opinions may vary but I'd be from a reputable dealer. Gun show reloads are a NO-GO in my book.
 
I don't buy ammo from Midway because their S&H charges are WAY TOO HIGH!!

Cheaper Than Dirt used to be a lot cheaper than it is now but it's still not that bad.

Ammo To Go has fairly good prices.

For top quality reloads check out D&G Reloading. They produce good ammo at a very fair price.

There are many online stores who sell ammo. the trouble is, these days there really isn't anywhere that sells ammo for anything near what could be called cheap!!
 
My son's friend bought 1000 rounds of .38 Special and .357 Magnum from Georgia Arms and wasn't happy with the ammo because it's not very accurate. I shot some of it to verify what hew was telling me and it's not good ammo. However, the .357 Magnum JHP ammo is better than the .38 Special ammo.
 
I've had the exact opposite experience with GA Arms. The .38 I was shooting was a variety of plated semi wadcutters, LSWCHP, and Gold dots. All (except the lead HP) were cleaner than any other ammo I've ever shot, and they were just as accurate as the American Eagle and WWB I've been shooting. The plated SWC .357mag was loaded on the light side (and velocity advertised as such) but was accurate and clean.
 
New 38 special ammo at Wal-mart is the same price as remanufactured at Cabellas. Only advantage is that Cabellas comes with a plastic ammo can.
 
If you're looking online, then I might recommend to you Georgia Arms. I purchased 1,000 rounds of .38 spcl +P LSWCHP for about 210 dollars (if I remember correctly) -- that includes shipping.

Fine ammo. It's comparable to the Remmington Express, clocking at 40 fps less and for 1/3 the price.

FYI, the brass is reloadable, remanufactured. I have reloaded it and the brass was in fine, fine shape, showing that it is likely once-fired and can be used again many more times. :)
 
I have purchased a lot of ammo from Outdoor Marksman which is also known as buyammo.com They have two warehouses, one for the West and one for the East so shipping charges aren't too bad.

I would suggest that you begin by buying new ammo and save the spent cases and start to reload.

You can save money that way and you can build any type of custom load that suits your revolver and the distance you shoot.

You can get a Lee reloading kit with everything you need for under $100. Cabela's will have them.

Bullets, primer, and powder can be had locally or even online. Cases can be reused a number of times, especially if you keep to the low end of the powder weight.

It's a great way to spend the winter months by reloading all the cases that you saved up during the good weather.
 
I have never had anything but stellar results with GA Arms ammo. I chrono-ed the +P 158gr LSWC(HP) at 837 fps from my 642 vs 840 fps for the similar Remi R38S12 - both 8-9 fps SD. That's statistically insignificant. The Remi's lead is softer - probably better for PD rounds, while I practice with The G.A. rounds.

Another excellent ammo - their .45 Colt 200gr Speer Gold Dot, similar to the now hard to find Blazer version - just a lot cheaper - and in new Starline brass instead of aluminum. It makes 1123 +/-8 fps from my 4" 625MG. I use their .44 Special 200gr Speer Gold Dots, Speer #4429 - the same low speed Gold Dot used in the popular Blazer .44 Specials. They chronoed within the SD of the Blazers from my 2.5" 296 (805 fps); 3" 696 (837 fps); and 4" 629 (875 fps). I stopped using the Blazers after one split in my 696.

Going the other way... their .32 H&RM 100gr XTP JHP made 1,186 +/-16 fps from my 4" .32M SP101. That was a bit dirtier than any other example of their ammo I have tried... and I shot thousands of their .45 Colt 'cowboy' loads before I started reloading six years ago. I still buy my PD ammo from them.

Stainz

PS Save your brass - I never thought I'd be a 'reloader' either!
 
I chrono-ed the +P 158gr LSWC(HP) at 837 fps from my 642 vs 840 fps for the similar Remi R38S12 - both 8-9 fps SD. That's statistically insignificant.
Click to expand...

Looks like Uncle Remy has been exaggerating his velocities again :rolleyes:

I never chronographed them and am glad the GA is holding its own.
 
Looks like Uncle Remy has been exaggerating his velocities again :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Why would you say that? It's clear from their site they used a 4" barrel to achieve the 890 fps from their R38S12 ammo. The M642 has a 1 7/8" barrel so 840 fps seems reasonable.
 
Why would you say that? It's clear from their site they used a 4" barrel to achieve the 890 fps from their R38S12 ammo. The M642 has a 1 7/8" barrel so 840 fps seems reasonable.
Click to expand...

I say that because the variation isn't that significant -- the GA ammo is marked for 40 fps less than the Remington. Both are gauged for 4" barrels if I'm not mistaken.

Besides, picking on the bigger dog in the junk yard is fun :p
 
+1 on Midway Highway Robbery Shipping

Oh, man, don't get me started.... :fire:

Yeah, some days it seems like Midway's profit margin has to come out of shipping. They don't have the deals they used to - must be getting way too greedy - and the shipping will just eat you alive on some products. If you do have to order something from them out of sheer desparation, make sure all your stuff is in stock. Otherwise, they'll ship you what they have and then when they ship you the stuff that was out of stock later, they will bag you for the whole shipping charge again.:eek:

I used to buy stuff from them by the truckload, now use them only as a last resort. I guy from www.grafs.com, www.natchezss.com, and www.wideners.com as a result. Midway has a good (and very very slow) web page that I use for reference - only - before buying elsewhere.:scrutiny:
 
If you happen to live near a Cabelas, you can order in bulk on line and pick it up in the store with no shipping charges. I got 158 gr. 38 spl that way for about $10.5 per 50 of Remmington Express.

Walmart has great prices, too. $30 per 100 for .45 230 grn winchester rounds.

I quickly got into reloading after purchasing my gp100 and spend about $12/100 rounds. The cost of equipment can be made up in a few months, depending on how much you shoot a week.
 
I've always found that I could get it on sale at Dicks for the same price by the box of 50 that I could ever find online buying in bulk.
 
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