.380 Availability- what Winchester says

[Demo]

Like most I am tired of looking for good factory .380 ammo. So I contacted Winchester and asked some questions.

Here is a link to the interview: ArmsTalk.com | Gun Blog and Forum

 

[Angie]

kinda surprised about the 357 sig.

 

[Prometheus]

For those that don't know it, for non popular calibers, they rotate out manufacturing and do it 'seasonally'.

i.e. They run a press for 9mm year round, but they may reload .32acp on press for 2-3 months and then do .25acp for 1 month out of the year and then do .380 for 4 months ect. ect.

Even large manufactures like remington and winchester. It can take a day or two to completely change out one of these large automated presses so they don't do it for "transient" reasons.

I'm willing to bet that .380 barely made the top 10 list just 5 years ago.

 

[Demo]

kinda surprised about the 357 sig.

That didn't surprise me as much as the .38 special. I asked if that was a favorite LEO back up caliber and he said no- it just has that high a demand.

 

[JohnP82]

cool link. thanks for sharing
I too was surprised about the .38 dont get me wrong, I like the round I was just surprised it was above the .45

 

[Demo]

The .357 Sig wasn't too surprising. The .40 has pretty much caught up to it performance wise- without the roar and flames.

 

[Comp]

I just was lucky enough to score 5 boxes of Winchester Ranger T Series in 380 last week. I would of bought more but I am not to financially set atm. They only had like 3 boxes left so i am sure they are sold out.

 

[XtremeVel]

Interesting list. Thanks for sharing !

The .357 Sig wasn't too surprising. The .40 has pretty much caught up to it performance wise- without the roar and flames.

Doesn't surprise me either. Mainly due to all the others listed, the .357 would be the one I would think that reloaders would consider loading last, making buying it their only source. I know many reloaders that wrongly think it would be a PITA to load , and just buy factory ammo instead.

 

[groovatron]

I've been finding a ton of .380 this past month. It's about time. I even found some golden sabers last night, which I prefer as a defensive round. My biggest problem is the price. The stuff should only cost $10 a box. If that was the case, I would consider plinking with the round. But at current prices, no thanks.

 

[WLW]

I was at Beech Grove Gun Shop yesterday and they had stacks of it! Speer was the most populuted brand in the .380 section of the shelf.

 

[Demo]

I was at Beech Grove Gun Shop yesterday and they had stacks of it! Speer was the most populuted brand in the .380 section of the shelf.

What is the name of this store please?

 

[pudly]

What is the name of this store please?

That would have to be Beech Grove Firearms. A very good gun shop. I was going to post their web URL, but it looks like they've let their domain expire. Here is a Yahoo link.

 

[Cannondale]

"Doesn't surprise me either. Mainly due to all the others listed, the .357 would be the one I would think that reloaders would consider loading last, making buying it their only source. I know many reloaders that wrongly think it would be a PITA to load , and just buy factory ammo instead."

Agree this can be a bit of a PITA to reload and some what slower to reload than 9s or 40s but sure is a nice round to shoot

 

[Joe Williams]

What is a pain about the .357 to reload? I've done it for years, and like reloading it way more than I do the 9mm. I think 9mm is a pain in the rear, personally. .38 Special and .357 are some of my favorite to reload for.

 

[WLW]

If we're talking pain... I'd rate 32 ACP, or .380 ACP as a "pain" small... and requires precise small charges.

 

[tharlow514]

If the demand is so low on the list and they are producing 7 days a week why has the availability been poor and the price high? Something doesn't add up to me. The availability has increased but the price is still ridiculous. I think the prices are artificially high because of a short term spike in demand so hopefully that will come back down as the popularity of the round levels off. I reload anyway so that is much cheaper.

 

[XtremeVel]

What is a pain about the .357 to reload? I've done it for years, and like reloading it way more than I do the 9mm. I think 9mm is a pain in the rear, personally. .38 Special and .357 are some of my favorite to reload for.

I said .357, but met .357 sig ( # 6 on the list ) . It's not bad to load, I said some view it as a pain. I have found it's quicker to run it thru a .40 carbide sizer first, then no lube is needed later when sizing the neck and shoulder. Also, I do feel a need to pay more attention to the neck tension / crimp due to such a short neck retaining the bullet. Bullet set back would be bad on this round. But a good point about loading this round is the cost. It costs much less to load then .40 or .45 due to it using 9mm bullets, and IMO, much funner to shoot.