.380 Ammo still limited or scarce

[wyntrout]

Dang! I have two .380 FMJ ammo orders at Sportsman's Guide. The one that was forecast in today -- S&B 92-gr FMJ -- has been slipped to the end of December!! The other is still June 11. I'm not holding my breath. I'm going to start looking some more... not that I ever stopped! Oh, they have WOLF 95-grain JHP in stock around $17 a box of 50.
Wynn

[hsart]

Dang! I have two .380 FMJ ammo orders at Sportsman's Guide. The one that was forecast in today -- S&B 92-gr FMJ -- has been slipped to the end of December!! The other is still June 11. I'm not holding my breath. I'm going to start looking some more... not that I ever stopped! Oh, they have WOLF 95-grain JHP in stock around $17 a box of 50.
Wynn

I have a backorder at Cabelas for over a year now... a bit ridiculous if you ask me. I know some people who have just purchased a .380 gun and had no idea that there was little or no ammo available. My local shooting range and a few gunshops have some at 27-30 per box of 50!!!!!

[wyntrout]

The pickings are slim online. I checked at Ammo Engine and it's really slim there.
I went back to Sportsman's Guide and thinking of canceling the S&B order, but it went back to April 30 from Dec 30! It was April 16 when I ordered it.
.380 at the last gunshow was available... several brands of FMJ at $22 a box... one was Aguila. I just saw the Aguila for $40 a box on AE. I shot 150 rounds of that in my new P380... worked fine... had like 2 failures to feed that required pulling the slide back and letting it go to chamber the round. I thought $22 was high then!
I only have one box of that left and I need to try out the P380 since I worked on the feed ramp with grinders ... stone and carbide. I may have royally screwed that up trying to lengthen the ramp area a bit using that rounded bottom. I finally got it smooth by polishing the heck out of it, but I'm hoping I don't have to buy a new barrel!! (P380 barrel: $140.80 plus shipping... if they have spare ones, yet! One of these will bring the cost of my P380N up to about retail price!)
I got carried away and scared that I would never get it smoothed again. I had to wrap 400-grit sandpaper around a round file to smooth down the rough area I created. And then polish the heck out of it.
I'm not patient or very skillful with tools and sometimes... too often... I do more damage than good!
Wynn

[Dietrich]

Pickings are slim to none around here.I see some .380 at local gun stores from around the $25 to $30 dollar range but never in large quantities.About a year ago,I realized that I wasn`t using my Bersa Thunder at all and it was due to the fact that I was hoarding my ammunition because of the lack of availability.I then threw what is known around here as a Dietrich hissy fit,bought a Dillon 550 reloader,traded the Bersa and ammo in on a PM9 and never looked back.As far as I`m concerned,it was one of the best moves I`ve ever made in firearms ownership.Love that PM9 and love that Dillon 550.The Dillon has already paid for itself twice by the way.

[jlottmc]

See I was just talking to the ole lady about trading/selling my Bersa 380 CC. I have an 1851 44 black powder and a 38/42 Turkish Mauser that I may sweeten the pot with. The Mauser is a maybe, and I still hesitate to get rid of anything, but... 380 is available at one shop around here (and I live about an hour or so from Cheaper Than Dirt's place), and what is available is higher than a fart. I was thinking about getting back into reloading, but...

[docbrazos]

380 Hard Ball is Trickling in. Even at Wal-Mart. H ve found some White box Winchester. SD 380 is still tough to come by even a a buck a pop. For me, My PPK's fit the bill occationally between my Kel-Tec 32 and my CW40. I May not get to shoot them much but they're sure not on the Trading block yet!

[bayoutrigger]

Georgia Arms - .380 ACP
"Canned Heat" .380 ACP 95gr Full Metal Jacket 500pk NEW
Your Price: $220.00

[at_liberty]

Georgia Arms - .380 ACP
"Canned Heat" .380 ACP 95gr Full Metal Jacket 500pk NEW
Your Price: $220.00

That's $22 a box, about the same as gunshop supplies of PMC .45 ACP. Although a shame, it is interesting to see the popularity of little pistols make the ammo market crazy.

Many sources have quantity limits per customer. I guess that is a way to try to get the hoarding somewhat throttled back.

At that price, .380 should be well worth reloading, but if not one of the big three; 9 mm, .40 SW, and .45 ACP; component supplies will be even more limited. I am finding a few .380 cases in the brass I collect, and I keep them in case someone might want them. They sift out as 9 mm and cause that caliber to require extra care in case prep. I plan to reload 9 mm to have heavier bullets for bowling pin matches in minor caliber. It will be cheaper than Federal 147 gr FMJ RN.

[jlottmc]

I saw some at that one LGS that I went to they were charging $50 and up for FMJ, and only now am I seeing much of anything on the shelves elsewhere. This store had HP's, but they were up to three digits, so I sold my 380, and haven't looked back since.

[kahrseye]

I saw some at that one LGS that I went to they were charging $50 and up for FMJ, and only now am I seeing much of anything on the shelves elsewhere. This store had HP's, but they were up to three digits, so I sold my 380, and haven't looked back since.

I agree, I sold my last .380 when I decided to get the PM9. I can pocket carry my PM9 just as easy and have no problem finding reasonable ammo for it.

[Moto_joe]

My local shop has 250rnd boxes of Magtech for $90. Pretty good deal considering.

[linksrds]

At my local WalMart they had 6 boxes of WW white box, 100 rds. of .380 at $33.73 tax inc.

I have shot quite a bit of the WW FMJ with the truncated bullet and I like the ammo. It works fine in my Kahr P380 and it seems to be a little hotter than other brands, namely Remington and MagTec

Jsut keep checking your local WalMart and check after 8pm because that is when they stock their shelves.

[Bawanna]

PMC 380 ACP Target 90 Grain Full Metal Jacket for Sale at Buds Gun Shop $19.00

Just saw this as I was browsing around Buds. Not sure if it's a good deal or not, I generally don't shop for 380 much.

[wyntrout]

I went to my local Wally World today. They had lots of 9mm FMJ... all kinds. I saw one box of Rem UMC .380 95-gr FMJ for $17.47 and bought it just to have something different. That's the first .380 I've seen there.
I bought a couple of the Winchester White box 100 packs of .45 ACP 230-gr FMJ for $32.99 each. That was the only kind they had and they had at least 5 or 6 more boxes of that. That's about $16.50 a box, so it's hard to beat. The Federal for $15.99 has been absent for a while. I only saw one box of that months ago and bought it.
Wynn

[Copper&Black]

I just picked up 4 boxes of 380 @ 19.98 +tax each at my local police supply place. They had plenty more, and say it's not as scarce anymore in South FL.