38 S&W Albion Ammo?

[Timthetwin]

Hey Guys,
So I have a question, I have a feeling that I already know the answer, but where else do calguners go when they are curious . So I have a 1943 Albion chambered in 38 S&W, and I recently took it out to shoot and went through about 50 rounds. I received the ammo with the gun from a grand parent. Now I need some ammo for it so naturally I want to the usual sources, like Aimsurplus and Ammotogo. The cheapest I could find it for was Privi for about $18 for a 50 round box. I am guessing thats about standard. Heres my question though. Does anyone know of a cheaper source on new or surplus ammo. I really like shooting this pistol but at that price I dont see doing it very often Let me know if you guys have a line on good ammo. Other wise, as I suspect this is probably the standard price.

Thanks Fellas

~TtT

[gun toting monkeyboy]

That is about standard. Big 5 will occasionally get some in once in a blue moon. But their prices are about the same. Other than that, save your brass. This is one of those cartridges that is just cheaper to reload. Watch for deals online, and sales.

The really good news is that Enfield revolvers like yours can take the much more robustly loaded .38-200 ammunition. Not that you are likely to find any surplus. But you can reload your own and really have some fun. I usually end up with a 200-215 grain projectile moving at a bit over 600 fps. That may not sound all that impressive, but trust me, it packs a lot of energy into a little package. If you are feeling less adventurous, you can just use regular 158 grain bullets at around 760 fps. Good luck.

-Mb

[Timthetwin]

Thanks m8! I am kicking myself that i dumped my brass on that last shooting excursion Can you say DUMB!

[Milsurps]

Miwall has 38 S&W round nose lead. Maybe 4-5 boxes at each gun show they attend.
Works fine in my Dads old Colt Police Positive.
Can't remember the price, but I didn't fall over.
HTH

Edit add:

http://gun-deals.com/38 S&W

$$$ Ouch !

[wingnut948]

Cheapest I've seen was some old Kynoch MkIIz for $15 a box at Ammotogo, but that was a couple years ago and have not seen it since.

These days I reload with some starline brass and either Hornady 125gr. HP or some 160gr. FN I found at western bullet. As was mentioned, reloading is the way to go for cheaper rounds, and the added bonus of being able to find the best load for your revolver. Love those old Enfields!

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Don't stress. The brass isn't that expensive or hard to come by. And in low-powered rounds like this, it lasts almost indefinitely. I tried some 125 grain JHPs that I had Shell Reloading cook up for me when I was in college, long ago. They shot ok, but hit way low of the point of aim. Figure out which bullet weight your gun was calibrated for, and just go with that. Some were set for the 200 or 178 grain .38-200 loads, some for the more-standard 146 grain loads. IIRC, Enfields have a replaceable front sight, and it is often marked 146 or 200. At least according to one collector I used to know. If you can't find the 200 grain bullets, you can sometimes do just as well with the 180 grain ones. Just remember to seat them fairly far out of the case. As long as it fits in the cylinder, you haven't seated it too far out. Go do a google search on the .38-200 and you will see what I mean.

-Mb

[smle-man]

The WW2 military round was a 178gr conical FMJ bullet loaded at 650FPS. The usual WW and Remington 146gr lead bullet load is for the T.R. era topbreak Iver Johnson and H&R revolvers and very underpowered for use in a more modern top break or swing out revolver. You can do a lot better reloading.

[Timthetwin]

Thanks for the input fellas. I think I will make the investment for reloads.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

It is worth it. If only because it lets you shoot more often. And even if you go with the 146 grain loads, realize that they are not to simply be shrugged off. A Tee shirt won't stop them. They were the standard police load in the US for more than 40 years.

-Mb

[Mike A]

Ken Waters' "Pet Loads" has a bunch of loads for the .38 S&W from cheap old top-breaks up to the Ruger Security Six.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Ken Waters' "Pet Loads" has a bunch of loads for the .38 S&W from cheap old top-breaks up to the Ruger Security Six.

That is where I get my reloading data. In fact, that is the main reason I bought that book to begin with. He is the only legitimate source I trust when it comes to 200 grain loads.

-Mb