Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .380 ACP, why so scarce?

I am down to only 20 rds. of new .380 ACP left in my cartridge box and have 12 rds in two magazines for my Kahr CW 380. Normally I swap out the ammo after a year of carry but rotated my two mags instead, from the one I carry in my pocket to the one in my backpack side pocket as these are now over two years old.

Cannot find .380 that will work in my mechanically tight Kahr, this gun is ammo finicky. Why they chose all those tight tolerances for a close range defensive pistol is beyond me? I simply cannot just run any brand in this pistol, as there are some of those mini-boxes of 20 rds, but not the brand I know to work. 9 mm is easily available, but not .380, why is that?

Supply and demand. The demand for 9mm Luger is much higher than .380 ACP. And probably explains why 9mm Luger prices are often lower than 380 ACP, as there is a lot of competition to sell.

This comes up from time to time. It's because .380 ACP represents a small minority of their sales. Think about how many police departments make huge 9mm orders (or .40 S&W or .45 ACP) vs how many rounds of .380 ACP are purchased annually. They only do occasional runs of .380 ACP, while they pump those others out continually. Most who carry a .380 ACP don't do a lot of shooting with them.

It does. The OP posted the exact same topic about 6 weeks ago. The ammo is out there, he just doesn't want to pay the prevailing price.
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...26632/where-is-the-380-ammo#Post16126632
Here's who has it in stock...
SGAmmo. https://www.sgammo.com/catalog/pistol-ammo-sale/380-auto-ammo
Ammotogo. https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/index.php/cName/pistol-ammo-380-auto

Yep. It's out there. LGS here even has it.

Yep. I see some from time to time.

Haven’t shot my old LCP .380 in over a year. I’m too tight. 🤠

I have seen a lot of it lately as well as 9mm.

Until recently, I even had trouble finding .380 bullets to load, other than FMJ round nose.

Use 12 of your new 20 to switch out ammo and get on a bunch of notification lists for your preferred ammo. Why keep old ammo in your gun if you still have new stuff?

I usually pocket carry a Bersa thunder cc & I haven't seen any shells locally only online. I've got a couple boxes of good hollow points, & maybe 1/2 a box of ball ammo. I shoot it every so often to make sure it functions. Purely self defense up close gun, no need to run a bunch of rounds through it. It's always been higher than 9mm, not an economical round.

Nowadays, there is the proliferation of subcompact 9mms, like the Sig P365 and many of similar size/performance.

I'd imagine considering the recent events of lawlessness, many gun buyers may feel better going with the small 9mm, than the 380.

If any of that is so, it could up the demand for 9mm that much more, and less overall demand for 380 ammo.

What load are you looking for?

I have a bit. All old stock.

Search federalpremium.com and buy directly from the manufacturer...it comes up every now and again.

Just gotta shop around. Stop into the local shops you frequent. When people know you they often have it behind the counter for customers they know by name, or at least by looks if you are in there enough. Those shops most often have it at decent prices too.

thank you leaky waders, i just ordered some needed ammo. cheers.

I have found my Kahr likes, Speer, Federal, and Aguilla brands well. Winchester shoots low and to the right, Remington jams after every 4th round. Too afraid to try others as this might be a waste of money if it does not work. I used to have a Ruger EC-9 that carried well, bigger and heavier than my .380, but it was stolen in a burglary, Might get another one but there are so many compact 9''s to choose from now including double stacked mag. I prefer solid bullets over hollow points as the .380 is so marginal that the FMJ's will penetrate into the vitals better in the torso..

Call these people https://precisiononeammunition.com/ but don't waste any time.

Pricey

Buffalo bore has some great .380 rounds in stock, and decent price for good carry rounds