Sold my .380, ammo hard to find, expensive

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I guess I just don't understand getting rid of a gun like a LCP because of the availability or price of .380. I have one and once I put a couple hundred rds of ball and a couple of boxes of jhp through it it went in my back pocket and hasn't been fired in months. Carry a lot and fire very little......not a range gun anyway. Am I missing something?
 
any of you folks looking to sell a mint Sig 232 or Colt Gov'mt model for 30 cents on the dollar, drop me a PM
will try to help you out
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Hehehehe. I picked up a very nice first year Gubment 380 this week. Interestingly, I wasn't able to get much of a deal on it. :(


-Matt
 
I have invested in some .380 snap caps (a-zoom) so I don't feel the need to shoot it often, maybe about every two months or so. Snap caps are a must for .380s.
 
I honestly do not understand the .380 ACP craze. You can get guns that are just as small, just as inexpensive, and just as good, but in a cheaper and more effective caliber if you buy a 9x19/9mm/9mm Luger.

I cite the following:

Kel-Tec P-11, Kel-Tec PF-9, Sccy CPX-1. Those are just three of dozens of small 9mm's that fit the bill of the .380 ACP. Sans they are cheaper and more powerful.

If the 9mm's recoil is what bothers you, I have but two words for you: Man Up. Seriously my limp-wristed, [strike]commie voting[/strike] liberal cousin isn't bothered by the 9mm. She even likes Rihanna and Justin Timberlake. She has a life-sized picture of Adam Lambert on her wall. She is convinced she could "turn him". She's also 22.
 
A P11 or a PF9 is nowhere near as small or as light as an LCP.
Of greater importance, I have owned four Kel-Tecs, and none of them worked.

I reload for all the calibers I shoot, including .380.

All that said, I don't carry the LCP, because I have a hard time trusting the .380 cartridge.
I love my Kahr PM9 but carry a Kahr P45 or a 1911.
 
.380 definetly has it's place practically, but honestly once I'm of age to carry, I am going with a Glock subcompact in 9mm, I'm a bigger guy and don't mind the extra size at all. And I've shot .44 magnum, and thought it was enjoyable, so recoil just doesn't bother me :D
 
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Got the Taurus tcp and it's great. After breakin just shoot a mag here and there for function check. Those little pockets pistols are not range guns. Besides, I just backorder the 380s and wait for delivery while I go shoot the 9s. Then one day voilà, the 380s appear in the mail.

You can get good price on 380s if ur willing to be patient and backorder them. I maintain around 250-500 rounds all the time that way.
 
orionengnr said:
A P11 or a PF9 is nowhere near as small or as light as an LCP.
Of greater importance, I have owned four Kel-Tecs, and none of them worked.

I reload for all the calibers I shoot, including .380.

All that said, I don't carry the LCP, because I have a hard time trusting the .380 cartridge.
I love my Kahr PM9 but carry a Kahr P45 or a 1911.
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The Kel-Tec PF-9 weighs 12.7 ounces. The Ruger LCP weighs 9.4. The differece: 3.3 ounces.

Let me restate that in larger letters: 3.3 ounces is the differnece between a PF-9 and a LCP.

It's 3.3 ounces! Or 16.5 pieces of printer paper. Grap 17 pieces of printer paper real fast. If 3.3 ounces of difference is a problem, then please see paragraph three of my previous post. Unlike the Ruger's LCP, Kel-Tec has never recalled the PF-9. Or P-11. Yes, I'm making a reference to the "I owned four Kel-Tecs and none of them worked" remark. Because according to Ruger a lot of people owned LCP's and they were dangerous to use!
 
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Like all of the last year's "ammo shortage", the 380 scarcity was fueled by panic and hoarding.

The supply will catch up, even if new factories spring up to make it; it's supply and demand.

As a last resort, folks will reload or cut 9x19 cases to .380 and load them. It's a pain in the butt, but I cut 500 9mm down to 9x18 Makarov before reloadable brass became easier to find.

KR
 
Let me restate that in larger letters: 3.3 ounces is the differnece between a PF-9 and a LCP.
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There is another area which you've neglected to mention: size. I have a P3AT and my friend has a PF-9. The P3AT disappears in my pocket while the PF-9 does not. It's 2/3" longer, 3/4' taller and the slide is 1/10" wider. It's quite a bit bulkier in the grip area, too, which isn't reflected in the width measurement but definitely affects pocketability.

The P3AT is comfortable in my pocket; the PF-9 is not. It's past my too-big-for-the-pocket cutoff point. When I stuck it in my pocket, aside from the bulk I didn't like, one could easily tell that I had a gun in my pocket.

Oh yeah, the PF-9 is 4.4 oz heavier than the P3AT and that does make a difference in one's pocket for sure.
 
.380 ammunition production is "occasional" at the factories. In times of heavy demand which empty out the distribution chain that will be one of the first cartridges in short supply. Good reason to either advance stock or reload.
 
Commercial reloader

Couple of guys asked about the commercial reloader I sent my brass to. Sorry I didn't respond sooner, I haven't been on the site for a few days.

I sent my brass to www.mastercast.net What I got was LRN. They also load HP and JRN, but prices for those two are higher. I'm not set up to reload 380 yet so this seemed like a way to practice economically until I do.
 
If the 9mm's recoil is what bothers you, I have but two words for you: Man Up. Seriously my limp-wristed, commie voting liberal cousin isn't bothered by the 9mm. She even likes Rihanna and Justin Timberlake. She has a life-sized picture of Adam Lambert on her wall. She is convinced she could "turn him". She's also 22.
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That's hilarious.

The recoil in most of the .380s I've shot has actually been worse than even a subcompact 9mm. This is because the .380s are just so light and small. There's always a trade off.
 
why pay double price for ammo when you can get 9mm for half the price and twice the power? i think the .380 is a waste of money! i rather have a .357 SIG pistol then a .380 and they are both equal in price and availability.
 
I am starting to notice, compared to 9mm, .380= 1/2 the power, x2 the price and 1/4 the availability (that's being generous). But they do fit in even the smallest pocket so well.
 
Kentucky_Rifleman said:
Like all of the last year's "ammo shortage", the 380 scarcity was fueled by panic and hoarding.

The supply will catch up, even if new factories spring up to make it; it's supply and demand.

As a last resort, folks will reload or cut 9x19 cases to .380 and load them. It's a pain in the butt, but I cut 500 9mm down to 9x18 Makarov before reloadable brass became easier to find.

KR
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Whoa, stop right there. You are going to get someone hurt. 9x18 is a cut down 9x19 case. .380 is a completely different case from the 9x19. You cannot just trim down a 9mm Luger case.

The base diameter of the .380 is smaller than the 9mm Luger.
 
The supply will catch up, even if new factories spring up to make it; it's supply and demand.
Click to expand...

No, not necessarily. Supply and demand only means that a new equilibrium will be established. As we are seeing, with an inelastic supply and increased demand, the price will continue to rise until a new equilibrium is reached. Supply doesn't have to change at all. That seems to be what we've been seeing over the past year and a half. Supply and demand works, just not the way most people envision it.
RT
 
The price of .380 will only go down if it looses popularity and sales drop, or the market is flooded with an overwhelming supply. I predict neither will happen any time soon.
 
To the gentleman who had 4 Kel-tecs, that "didn't work", why did you buy three more, after the first one failed to function?
 
I think you all should sell your .380's. That will leave all the ammo for me.

Seriously, over the last year, I ordered 1000 rounds of my brand of .380 on line. Some was backordered for a while, but it all came in.
Can I go to W/M and buy a box? No. That doesn't mean it's not available.

A lot of people have purchased .380's and the supply did not keep up with the demand.
Shop online and stock up when it's available at a good price. I paid $16/50 in Sellier & Belliot.
 
I've been considering a .380 as a backup pocket gun, but seriously re-thinking the issue for this and other reasons. The problem is size when going up to the 9mm. I don't know of one that fits in a pants pocket very well.
 
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