Is it even worth it?

B

(BH)

New member
is there ever gonna be a steady supply of decently priced handgun ammo? the only gun that i own and can ever find ammo for is my .40 cal.

im in the market for a small pocket/BUG gun. all of the guns i want are .380's and im beginning to wonder if its even worth buying one. if and when i get one, im going to want to test out ammo for obvious reasons.

i mean say i were to go out today and buy the .380 (CCW) that iv been wanting, i wouldn't even remotely be able to test it properly. if i did find ammo it would only be like 1 box and obviously thats just not sufficient when it comes to me trusting the gun/ammo.

so is there hope?

i wont even have my CC permit for a couple of months. so i have a while until il be carrying. the thing is i have the money now, and my LGS has both of the guns iv been looking at getting. they are both in new and priced very well so i naturally would want to get the gun now. that way by the time time i have my permit i will have done the necessary tests, and become familiar with the gun and trust it to carry. what to do......?????
 
Get a

Seems like most people are stocking up on .22 to ride things out. The only other ammo any larger I see is .25 acp and 22WMR. 2" 22 mag could make a decent bug, cheaper ammo as well and semi plentiful.
 
Ammo will be available again. It is just a question of when. People are in a panic and buying up everything they can get their hands on. This will pass. It will not last forever. Here in Utah you can find all calibers except .380.

I predict in a year from now there will be more ammo than any of us know what to do with. If you want to buy a .380 I would go ahead and get one if you find a decent price on it.
 
.380 is around you just gotta look. i stood at the gun store looking at a bersa .380 for a good hour before buying it. i had to wait almost a month before a gun show came to town and i only found 4 boxes of federal classic 90gr hollowpoints. shot two box's to make sure the sights were good and it feeds well. you don't need an avalanche of ammo when you're carrying, prolly not even 2 magazines. if you live in a neighborhood or go where you need more than 100rounds of ammo you should leave wherever that is.
 
I say YES, it is worth it. This situation has happened before, and it won't last forever. .380 Auto is in a very unique position in the middle of this, it's really in a place that NO other caliber is in. Consider that before all this happened, .380 was not all that popular a caliber. Moreso than like .25 or .32, but nowhere near the popularity of the big hitters like 9, .40 and .45. Nowhere near them in sales, so production of .380 was nowhere near those calibers.

Typically, manufacturing of this kind of product sees a plant with some dedicated lines and some revolving lines. You can bet that ammo company "X" has a set of tooling and a work area that churns out 9mm FMJ all the time... and right now, most likely around the clock.

.380 on the other hand wouldn't have it's own line... it would be coming off the same line they use to produce .32, .25, maybe 10mm, whatever. Some area and equipment that's configured to run .380 ammo for a stretch, then shut down, changed over, and started up to produce something different.

And even if it's not the ammo company itself set up in this manner, it's the supplier who is actually forming their bullets. Nosler runs this way.. primarily a rifle bullet maker, they churn out .224" and .308 bullets around the clock. But their handgun bullets are a separate revolving line, and that's why just 3 weeks ago I finally got my 150gr JHP's that I ordered on Thanksgiving weekend!

Anyhow, back to my point. If you flip the calendar back a year or two, .380 sold kind of like .32 and .25 sold. Some, not a lot. Even long before this, .380 ammo was more expensive than 9mm. Smaller, so why? Simple-- the demand for it wasn't high, so they didn't produce a lot of it. It wasn't a cash cow that sold by the case like .40 S&W. It was a niche caliber.

Until the P3AT came out and got some momentum, then the Ruger LCP just took the market completely by storm. Those pistols are similar but there is no denying how big of a hit the LCP has been, especially since concealed carry has swept it's way across the country.

All of a sudden, .380 ammo is nearly as popular as the big three, but the ammo companies are still set up to produce it like it's as popular as .32 auto.

The ammo companies will react eventually, but it's elastic and doesn't happen immediately.
 
a7mmnut said:
.357 Sig?
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That's the only ammo two local Walmarts have in stock. I guess no one buys that stuff around here.

Luckily, the gun shop still has most ammo. Except .45colts. :mad: They've not had a box in atleast 4 months.
 
I was at a Big 5 the other day and ALL they had was .380.

But maybe you should think about getting a .38spl J-frame for your pocket needs? Then at least you won't have to think about testing your ammo, just practicing.
 
I have read some commentary that previously odd-ball calibers are now more likely to be available than common calibers. I suppose that makes sense. I've owned a 10mm handgun for ten years, and never bought a round of factory ammo for it, but even if I could find it in stores, I'm not willing to pay 2x the usual price for it.
 
this too shall pass

Remember 3 months ago when there were no "black guns " available at any price ? The sky was falling , everybody with a tax refund was buying anything they could find and the gun shop gurus were proclaiming the end is near for anything more than a single shot 22 ! Yesterday at my local range - gun store
I saw approx. 35 ar's saiga"s ak"s etc. some were actually accumulating dust !
Now there is no ammo and the gurus are all predicting doom and charging stupid prices for target ammo .Remember , that this too shall pass , supply will catch up with demand , all the chicken littles will max their credit cards and you will be able to buy what you need . just be patient and don't fall for the hype.
 
yeah i have really considered a S&W 638. i love those little guys but truth be told i just really want a NAA Guardian or a Micro Eagle. but S&W isnt totally ruled out. nor is a ruger sp101......
 
UtahHunting:
I predict in a year from now there will be more ammo than any of us know what to do with.
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This will never happen. As long as there is ammo, regardless of how much, I will always know exactly what to do with it! :D
 
If you can afford it and want it, by all means get it. First, it will keep its utility, that is to say the need will not go away. Second, it will only appreciate. You are almost guaranteed that you can sell it for what you paid for it (within reason). It is a win-win situtation.
 
I'm not sure how it is elsewhere, but around here there is plenty of ammo available if you're willing to pay more than you were a few months ago. Wal-Mart and other retail stores can't keep anything for handguns in stock, but the two gun shops here have plenty of 9mm, .38, .40, .45, etc...

Blazer Brass which runs $8.97 for 9mm at Wal-Mart is $11.99 at the gun shop. I constantly see boxes of Fiocchi and Remington there in all calibers as well. I bought a few boxes of Fiochhi the other day for $12.99 a box. Almost 50% more than I'm used to paying for a box of BB at Wal-Mart, but if it's all that's available, it's all that's available.
 
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