Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .380 FMJ, why so hard to get?

I have a Ruger LCP and have been finding FMJ ammo for it hard to get, I have a box left from before everyone got afraid of Obama.

There is lots of hollow point around, but I am looking for the solid stuff for practice. Tests have shown that the .380 is not particularly powerful and the hollow points are stopping too short in the body cavities to effect the vital organs for defense. The FMJ will penetrate more for effect.

Why is the once common .380 FMJ so hard to find right now?

Look here

http://www.freedommunitions.com/category-s/1824.htm

The .380 pocket gun craze (that started in 2008) created a demand that has exceeded production for several years now.

Things were just starting to recover a year or so ago when Glock introduced their .380 pistol. That caused another spike in demand and the price went up and availability went down.

I've noticed that availability is starting to rebound but prices remain high; $17 a box for FMJ is a "good buy" these days.

I'm still shooting some I bought for $237 a thousand but they're dwindling fast.

I don't know that the 380 FMJ is that hard to find, at least around here and I'm not sure your theory on stopping power is in any way correct. Also I will say, you need to at least give your gun a good wringing out with what you're going to carry in it...though it seems you're set on FMJ, that's not what I'd carry for self-defense.

That said, all 380 ammo was difficult to find at one point, then the shortage got solved. I don't remember what the excuse was at the time. I do know that the Kel-Tec guns are tremendously popular and they alone have increased the sales immensely. On the flipside, it could be that sales of 380 pistols themselves are down due to the proliferation of like-guns in the relatively same size range in 9mm. I don't think a lot of people shoot 380's for recreation much. So the demand may not be there.

When Seecamp came out with an excellent platform in 32 ACP which took the new Silvertip ammo which was touted by Evan Marshall as nearly as good as 380, sales of that ammo really took off. Then Seecamp and others came out with 380 platforms which were the same size as 32's. That about killed the 32. I doubt that is at work here, but maybe.

Then again maybe it's a government conspiracy against the 380. Maybe it doesn't work well against your typical white cracker.

I'm a notorious ammo hoarder but I gotta admit, if you've got use for a thousand 380's, you've got me trumped. That is hardcore.

Probably more and more people are realizing that the .380 rounds is great for self defense.

I think that it's the opposite of what some posters here postulate. We don't sell anywhere near the number of .380's as we used to. The mini 9's have taken over. The ammo companies have dropped back to making runs of 380 and converted some of the lines back to 9mm, etc.

I suspect that a lot of people who are not inclined to be burdened by a real gun as part of their daily activities see a 12 ounce .380 and figure they can work that into the stuff they carry around on a daily basis. Going from nothing to something is a major improvement for them.

In most of the country, the shelves are full of 9mm at $12 a box and .380's are non-existent or only available in limited numbers at inflated prices.

Why would a manufacturer be inclined to produce less .380 and more 9mm?

I think you're probably right.

Plenty of Sellier and Bellieu (sp?) 380 around here, FMJ. If you need me to grab you some, PM me. For actual daily carry, I highly recommend the Buffalo Bore 100gr FNHC which is loaded to give 1125fps from my micro 380 (Kel Tec P3AT). Thier hollow point stuff is 250fps faster than most other 380 ammo as well.

NOTE: the Buff Bore 100's WAAAAY over-penetrate....

The ammo companies make a lot more profit on the premium hollow points. So the HP's get priority for manufacture over the economical FMJs. Not fair to those who own older high quality guns that often wont function with anything but FMJ ammunition: guns like Colt pocket models, Mauser HSC's, older Sauers etc. This is addition to responsible shooters who want economical practice with their defensive handguns.

a .380 beats a sharp stick, but not by much. It was designed for folks that want to feel good about having a gun, not caring how effective that gun might be. Or not be.

I was at Cabelas 3 weeks ago and got a box of .380 FMJ. Only problem was the price - $18
When Bush Jr. was the POTUS 380 was selling in the $8 - $10 range

Well at 3 to 5 feet which is where most self defense around here happens a .380 works just fine.

Now for you guys that live in war zones were a gun fight breaks out around every corner I'll readily admit I'd want something more potent like a M-4 sub machine gun (assault carbine) with a squad to back me up and CAS at my command.

Fortunately, for now at least, I live in a relatively safe community where a .380 is more than enough gun although I do like my .45 Auto because I shoot it so much.

Maybe Bush Sr. 380 has always cost more than 9mm.

I don't remember .380's ever being much less than $9 a box.

A couple of weeks ago, I shot up a box of Federal .380 hardball from a stash that dates back to the early 80's and the Wal-Mart sticker on the box was $8.99. A box of PMC 90 gr HP's from the same period was marked $13.99.

I still have some 9mm hardball from that period that's marked $12.99, which is more than I pay for it now.

Federal and CCI Blazer FMJ's were $9.99 per 50 before the Obama inflation hit.

I've been buying winchester hardball for $21/50 and various low rent others for ~$18/50 since I bought my .380 in May of this year.

I've been shooting 2 five round mags per week just to get acquainted with the little gun, a S&W Bodyguard...

I frequent 4 stores that carry ammo, and 3 of those consistently have .380 fmj on the shelf...
All 4 stores have the premium defense loads on hand...

Local Walmart has finally had some 380 in stock, they wanted $15/50 for steel cased Tula 2 weeks ago. Earlier this week, they had Federal red box for $20/50. I passed on both since we have a small supply left and the wife doesn't shoot a whole lot.

This was the first I had seen any here since we moved here in July last year.

Dale

I guess i am bad. A few years ago i found a online company where shipping included got me a 1000round case of 32.acp at ten bucks a box. I don't think i could get the brass hardly for that. I really can't remember buying .380.
I do know that cast bullets work in it, and i have used a 9mm 122grain cast bullet in 380, which works for tin cans. All a 380 is is the 9mm short, which means a little less velocity.

Picked up two bulk packs (250) of Remington UMC ammo at Bass Pro for $89 a box last week. They had plenty of Rem bulk packs on the shelf including 9mm, 40S&W, and 45 ACP.

I remember $8 for a box of 380 and I'm not all that old.

What's outrageous is I paid $24.99 for 20 rounds of Federal Hydra shock 380's last night. Got two boxes. My Browning 380 holds 13 rounds per mag, 2 mags. They didn't have Buffalo Bore. I got some more 9mm Hydra shocks and they were the same price as the 380's. I prefer my 9mm's but that Browning is sweet if a little big for a 380.

I bought 220 rounds at the gunshow this weekend. It didn't seem to be in short supply at all. 200 rounds were FMJ.

Yes ... that was an outrageous price

My 380 is an old Colt 1908 pistol ( Model M ). I have not fired it in maybe five years. I fondle it
and clean it more than shoot it. This post got me thinking about the old pistol so I jumped over
to GB to check out value/prices.
Anyone else have an old Colt 32 or 380 ?

UPhiker is right. .380 has always been more than 9mm, on average. At least, that's what I've seen here over the last 30 years or so.

It must be hard for ammo makers to second guess the shooting public. One day, the .380 is an impotent mouse round - the next, it's the cat's pajamas. Same goes for 9mm. Not too long ago, it was the pipsqueak du jour. Now, every body's all over themselves to pronounce it "good as anything". Back in the eighties, the .45acp was becoming lame - but now it's the death ray.

How do you plan your production for that?

When you understand how ammo is produced, your observation is spot-on. Projections in many instances are many months away from actual production, so they cannot respond quickly to consumer trends.

With the exception of a few dedicated facilities producing rimfire stuff, the major ammo makers make production runs on a limited amount of equipment.

In other words, they tool up the equipment to make 9mm's and produce _______ rounds. Then they tool up to make .380's and do the same thing. The process repeats itself for all the various cartridges and each respective loading (FMJ,HP,SP,etc) and the process starts over again. If they guess wrong regarding consumer demand, it's months before they have an opportunity to guess again.

Couldn't have put it any better. The cure is to load them yourself. It isn't fun loading them little bastids, but at least I don't pay 20 bucks a 50 which is what the LGS wants.