.38 special prices

[WRENCHHEAD]

over the weekend i drosed my first revolver and i'm wondering what kinda prices ammo is going for at walmart and such. turners got WWB 100 rnd boxes going for 29.99 in .38

what kinda prices should i expect with .357 too?

[Rwnielsen]

Try here

http://www.ammoengine.com/find/ammo/.357_Magnum

[JamminJ]

.38 Special has been pretty hard to find at WalMarts lately. The Turners WWB deal is really good, I took the opportunity to stock up. Usually you can score 1000 round quantities for a little over $300 on the internet, maybe a few bucks cheaper for PMC. Good places to look online are Palmetto State Armory or Ammunition to Go.

357 has been available at WalMart occasionally, its generally $26/50 when in stock. My stash for this caliber also came from Turner's, they had Fiocci for $20/50 a couple of months ago.

Happy shooting!

[ireload]

This is from six months ago. A WWB 125 jhp +P cost $27 in one of the Walmart in San Diego. Granted I only saw 2 boxes and yes I was happy to buy those boxes.

I have not seen any .357 mag. in Walmarts here.

[Waldog]

Regarding this website: http://www.ammoengine.com/find/ammo/.357_Magnum

Remember, next January you will not be able to mail order handgun ammo in Kalifornia.

ALREADY, MANY MAIL ORDER SUPPLIERS REFUSE TO SHIP TO KALIFORNIA

[choprzrul]

I used to use ammoengine.com, but I have found that ammoseek.com searches 2 or 3 times more sites. This usually translates to better pricing.

[Cowboy T]

If I were you, I'd think less about the price of either .38 Special or .357M ammo and much more about getting into reloading your own. February 2011 is not far away....

Each box of .38 Special that I make costs me $3.25. Each box of .357 Magnum costs me about $3.50 (different powder, heavier boolit). Compare that with what you pay even at a gun show today. And I never, ever have to worry about AB 962 again. EVER.

If I were you, I'd seriously look into buying one of these:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=814175

I'd also start buying lead, primers, powder, and plenty of .38 Special cases. You can get .38 Special cases on Gunbroker for decent prices. Why? Because, remember, February 2011 is not far away....

[383green]

Each box of .38 Special that I make costs me $3.25.

[slobson]

+1 to green's question, I am also in the very early stages of embarking on reloading and would love to pick your brain a bit, especially regarding .38/.357

[Sheldon]

Got some of the 158 gr SWC .38 bullets from here.... 2000 for $102.70 SHIPPED.

http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,23847.0.html

[Cowboy T]

Yep, 50 round boxes, $3.25. Neat, eh? :-) I also shoot .45 Colt, and the ammo with 200gr boolits costs me $5.10 to make. And that's with primer prices at current levels. Remember that you can get a lot of loadings out of cases if you don't use max loads.

I also cast my own boolits. For my practice .38 Spl round, I use a Lee 105gr LSWC boolit made out of wheel weights. That's another big money saver right there.

To anybody else: I'd dearly love to know if there are any reloading-economy tips I'm missing, as I'm trying to get my per-round cost as low as practical for .38SPL, .45ACP and .223 bulk practice ammo, without resorting to running steel-cased Wolf ammo through my nice ARs or constantly scrubbing lead out of my wheelgun's barrel.

Gladly. Rule #1: don't do max loads. Your cases will tend to last longer. For that matter, so will your gun!

Rule #2: Learn to cast. .38 Spl and .45 ACP are great rounds for this. Remember that they were originally designed for cast boolits. Buy lead on eBay if you have to, because even if you do that, it's still worth it. That $3.25 price includes pricing lead at $1.00/lb for lead. That's about what I paid for mine.

If you want to prevent leading in your bore, that's where matching alloy hardness to your load's pressure comes in. Turns out straight wheel weights are perfect for .38 Spl and .45 ACP pressures. Problem solved. :-)

For .223, there's been a lot of "oh no, it'll ruin your gun!" hysteria for using cast boolits. Hogwash. Yes, you can do it, and it works just fine, but just remember not to do max loads, and clean your gas tube periodically. Now, casting for .223 takes some experience to do well, compared to .358" or .452". It is easier to use jacketed, so just buy your jacketed bullets in bulk.

Rule #3 (hinted at the end of Rule #2): Buy in bulk. Purchase your primers in the 5,000 pack whenever possible. You can save about 15 to 20% by doing this. Shop around for primers and you will find better prices. I regularly get them for $30 per 1,000 at gun shows, and I've seen them for $25 (Winchester).

And finally, Rule #4: Consider using Lee equipment for reloading and casting. Your up-front cost goes way down, and it makes reloading much more affordable. I swear by Lee's 6-cavity moulds and really see no reason to use anything else unless you want a hollow-point.

[Cowboy T]

Leading with cast boolits and how to prevent it

+1 to green's question, I am also in the very early stages of embarking on reloading and would love to pick your brain a bit, especially regarding .38/.357

The vast majority of my shooting is .38/.357, and by year's end, I will have loaded 30,000 rounds of .38/357 and .45 Colt (yes, combined). I'm at nearly 20,000 already. Yes, I shoot a fair amount. :-)

Now, leading was mentioned with cast bullets. It's a royal PITA to clean out leading. Here's how I avoid it. I've learned there are three major rules, all of which are of equal importance.

1.) Match your bullet hardness/strength to your load's pressure. For .38 Spl and .45 Colt/ACP, straight wheel weights (BHN 11-12) are the perfect alloy. Do not even think about Linotype. For .357 or .44 Magnum, a BHN of 15-16 is, I've learned, perfect. I mix 50% Linotype with 50% wheel weights or "pure" lead to get this BHN. Most cast bullets sold by manufacturers are way, way too hard, say, BHN 18. That will cause leading at .38 Spl- or .45 ACP-type pressures. I know, because it happened to me with .44 Special. I switched to my own cast boolits, and bye-bye leading!

2.) Make sure your cast boolit is the right size for your bore. For .357-caliber firearms, that means cast at a thousandth of an inch above that, which is .358". For .45 ACP and post-WWII .45 Colt (nominal .451"), that means they should be .452". My cast boolits for .45 Colt are .451" to .452". What saves me is the softness of the boolits.

3.) Use a decent lube, and enough of it. My lube of choice is liquid Alox. You can get it either from Lee Precision or (even better) from LsStuff (www.lsstuff.com). At the pressures we're talking about, a little goes a long way.

I get zero leading in my guns by following these three rules. And it's easier than you might think to do this.

I've got some videos on how to reload and how to cast, if you're interested. Just check out http://www.sanfranciscoliberalwithagun.com. Any questions, post here or email me.

[JamminJ]

I saw a few WWB 100 round packs at the Westminster WalMart for $30.97.

[humgunner]

http://georgia-arms.com/38special158grleadroundnoseflatpt1000pk.aspx

[slobson]

The vast majority of my shooting is .38/.357, and by year's end, I will have loaded 30,000 rounds of .38/357 and .45 Colt (yes, combined). I'm at nearly 20,000 already. Yes, I shoot a fair amount. :-)

Now, leading was mentioned with cast bullets. It's a royal PITA to clean out leading. Here's how I avoid it. I've learned there are three major rules, all of which are of equal importance.

1.) Match your bullet hardness/strength to your load's pressure. For .38 Spl and .45 Colt/ACP, straight wheel weights (BHN 11-12) are the perfect alloy. Do not even think about Linotype. For .357 or .44 Magnum, a BHN of 15-16 is, I've learned, perfect. I mix 50% Linotype with 50% wheel weights or "pure" lead to get this BHN. Most cast bullets sold by manufacturers are way, way too hard, say, BHN 18. That will cause leading at .38 Spl- or .45 ACP-type pressures. I know, because it happened to me with .44 Special. I switched to my own cast boolits, and bye-bye leading!

2.) Make sure your cast boolit is the right size for your bore. For .357-caliber firearms, that means cast at a thousandth of an inch above that, which is .358". For .45 ACP and post-WWII .45 Colt (nominal .451"), that means they should be .452". My cast boolits for .45 Colt are .451" to .452". What saves me is the softness of the boolits.

3.) Use a decent lube, and enough of it. My lube of choice is liquid Alox. You can get it either from Lee Precision or (even better) from LsStuff (www.lsstuff.com). At the pressures we're talking about, a little goes a long way.

I get zero leading in my guns by following these three rules. And it's easier than you might think to do this.

I've got some videos on how to reload and how to cast, if you're interested. Just check out http://www.sanfranciscoliberalwithagun.com. Any questions, post here or email me.

AWESOME info, thank you much