new .380 pistols, no ammo

[tackdriver]

Food for thought:
I just got rid of my LCP, which I believe is a superior handgun, because I could never find ammunition. You don't plan on practicing a lot with something like that, but when a whole year went by, I said enough was enough.

In the last year or so, Sig, Taurus and Walther (at least) have come out with subcompact .380s. I suspect they all spent some bucks putting these things together and getting marketing ready. I also suspect ammo availability has killed sales for these things. That's reallys sad for the Sig, because I get the impression they did a lot of work taking a somewhat unreliable design and giving it the to-hell-and-back reliability they're known for.
The thing feels like a swiss watch.

 

[DasFriek]

Ammo availability is only a major issue for people like us and people who range shoot alot.The normal buyer will put 50 rounds in a gun if any at all besides what he will carry and doesn't care if he sees more ammo for a long time.
Even without trying i have 250 rounds saved for range days,and ive shot about 300 threw my P238 already.
Frankly these guns are not built to have 1000's of rounds put threw them anyways,ask a LCP or P3AT owner how much fun it is to shoot at the range.

.380 sales are still hot locally to me and i dont expect it to lighten up anytime soon.Most shops limit sales to 1 box per customer per day.

But i will agree this ammo has been hit the hardest with availability but thats because so many new .380s have been made and purchased.

If i find the need for a second .380 id buy one with no fears of finding ammo.And if your not finding ammo you aren't looking hard enough,many places on line have it.Locally its gonna be your larger gun stores that do have it and your telephone is your best tool and call before you leave and see who has what.

 

[chris in va]

That's why I took up reloading. Couldn't afford nor find 9mm in my area. Brass is easy to get, powder is overflowing the shelves, I make my own 'boolits' and primers are coming back.

 

[rugerfreak]

Plenty of .380 around here----just picked up a LCP and the ammo shelves were stocked.

A couple boxes would probably last quite a long time---a box or so for break-in------function check---and familiarization.

Then after that pretty much---carried a lot---shot a little---mode

These guns aren't for combat or SHTF----they are for in-your-face last ditch save your bacon use-----once you know the gun works---not much use for shootin it all the time.

Get a .22 or 9mm to keep your skills up.

 

[Muddflap]

Been to 2 guns shows in the last 2 weeks, and there waas plenty of .380 at both of them.

 

[spacecoast]

That's why I took up reloading.

Same here, not to mention the fact that it only takes 1000 or so rounds to recover the cost of the equipment, and after that it saves $5-20 per box depending on caliber. .380 is one of the most costly types of ammo at the moment and one of the least expensive to reload, although it's not much less than .45 ACP. I focus on .38, .380 and .45 because 9mm is running $10-11 a box here.

 

[golfnutrlv]

Lots of .380 here too. Reloading for practice is the obvious answer. Prices on the .380 are not bad either. $18.95 for 50 Blazer Brass clean firing reloadable rounds.

 

[KyJim]

You probably sold your .380 just as ammo became more available. It's not quite everywhere you look, but with just a bit of searching you can find it online.

 

[Cheapshooter]

Part of the reason for a shortage of 380 ammo, in addition to the fear of what may be comming from Obama and his gun grabbing friends causing a big run on all ammo is that 380 was not a very popular round. The manufacturers never set up to produce large quantities of it. As things hopefully get back to normal, and with the new popularity and all the new pistols chambered for it, it will be getting more available.

 

[dreamweaver]

The manufacturers never set up to produce large quantities of it.

that's kinda what i heard. dealer told me that the big manufacturers run .380 for a small amount of time during the year and run 9mm the rest of the time. he says the ammo panic wiped out the years supply and we have to wait for the next production run. don't know how true that is, but it sounds reasonable.
there's still ammo out there, if youre willing to pay a premium over last years prices. haven't seen any hornady CD lately, but winchester white box is selling on GB. some of the "specialty" (ie expensive) ammo like hypershock is still available. I even "found" 2 boxes of Velet exploding ammo last week.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Perhaps you should look at .32 ACP!
BTW- the design of the SIG P238 is a very reliable design by Star of Spain. Colt managed to screw up the design by over-complicating it.

 

[Don P]

Most shops limit sales to 1 box per customer per day.

And out of curiosity, where would this be? State would be nice

 

[TomL]

New .380, no ammo

I seen plenty of .380 today at a show, price went from $20.00 to $35.00 for 50 rds and larger quantities available, same for most other pistol/revolver cartridges and after 6 months or so of Zip/Zero/Nada, M1 Carbine its starting to re-appear, some good buys, some a little pricey yet. Tom

 

[gwnorth]

I have several boxes of Rem. Golden Saber JHP's and a couple of Speer Gold Dots for my SIG P232, and that will last me for defense ammo for a very long while, as I won't be shooting it regularly.

Practice FMJ was hard to come by in my area (central VA, Albemarle Co.) but it's coming back on the shelves lately. For all my defensive ammo (.38spl+P, .45acp, 9mm and .380) I always keep 100+ rounds on hand, and I don't shoot off old def. ammo unless I already have purchased new to replace it. The "shortage" (since for any given calibre it seems to have varied dramatically with location) was a minor annoyance, but little more then that for me. I have not practiced much with my P232 this past few months, but I certainly had no desire to, nor saw any reason, to get rid of it.

 

[Pyzon]

I agree the ammo is easier to find than before, and I think it's true that a lot of these light and small pocket rockets are shot very little once the initial couple of boxes are shot to make sure function is corrrect.

Anybody that says these little rascals are fun to shoot is full of beans.

 

[DasFriek]

And out of curiosity, where would this be? State would be nice

Ohio,but i did see a few Gander Mtns that when they have it in stock have no limits,But at $20 a box of 50 people would be nuts to buy more than a few.
I have yet to find it under $20 a box anywhere.Even Walmart had a box recently and with tax it was $20 also.

Ive been buying ammo slowly each month while shooting it as needed at the range,my stockpile is at about $500 worth of ammo and im gonna stop buying in advance except 1 box per gun.Its just getting to expensive to keep 300 rounds per gun when i own 6 gun.

 

[boykinhntr]

Its not THAT hard to find! Cabelas usually has some and if it is backordered it only takes 2 weeks to get it. You may not be able to run to Wal Mart and grab some but its pretty easy to get.

 

[dwhite]

That's why I just bought a PA-63

While it's not one of the ultra-concealable small guns, it's concealable enough. 9x18 Makarov ammo is easy enough to find and reasonably priced also. I bought a box this weekend at the local gun show for $13.95. It ranged from about $12 to $15 at various sellers.
The first box I put through it was Fiocchi ball. This set me back $19.95 + tax at a gun shop. I can order Brown Bear on-line for as little as $9.00 a box of 50 and there seems to be plenty out there.
You could probably build a business around making replacement barrels for 380's to shoot 9mm Makarov. Hmmm..........

All the Best,
D. White

 

[_W_]

I was 1 minute away from buying an LCP but then I decided against it because I couldn't find .380 plinking ammo anywhere. My brother ended up giving me his Micro Eagle because he didn't like it, but I still haven't had any oppurtunity to shoot it. I did get some hollowpoints for carry but I can't afford to shoot those.

 

[dondavis3]

Ruger LCP is a great conceal carry gun

I carry it in my front pocket in a DeSantis Nemesis Hplster.

You can find .380 ammo on line - in stores and at gun shows.

You just have to shop around.