Why is .38spl so expensive

Last year the wife and I went to the county run outdoor range in Las Vegas. They had a sign up with the different caliber ammo they sold along with prices. For the 38 Special and 357 Magnum it said "Discontinued." I asked the girl why and she said it wasn't popular. Or at least not popular enough to make it profitable to stock.

A brass case costs more. https://ammoseek.com 17 cents each for cheap loaded ammo in steel case.

New empty Starline brass is 16 cents each.

I have to believe it has to do with what ammo/calibers are used by police/military who are the primary customers for ammo manufacturers, and "we" are secondary.
With 38sp not being used by any major police or military, the production rate would be way less, making it cost more to make.
That's my take on it, just might not be it at all

Economies of scale works out much better for the more popular rounds. At the ranges I go to it’s rare to see anyone shooting a revolver, and if they are there’s a good chance they’re shooting reloaded ammo.

Why do you NEED S&B? Limiting yourself to 1 brand and then complaining about the price seems kind of odd.

If you reload with lead bullets it shouldn’t be too hard to get the cost of reloads down to about $10 per hundred. I cast my own and the cost is about $6 per hundred.

Economies of scale works out much better for the more popular rounds.

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I think it is largely this.
Check out Target Sports USA

https://www.targetsportsusa.com/38-special-ammo-c-56.aspx

Various .38 Special for under $20 a box, Cheapest is $12.99 a box.
Yes you have shipping but if you order enough it works out.
I haven't ran the numbers to reload it but I would guess around $7-8 a box if you want to roll your own.

$100 1000 NBC 158gr SWC shipped
$30 1 lb of Powder
$30 1k primers

Gives $160/k or $8 a box (plus your labor of course
Lee turret press kit and dies ~$300
(warning, this is a Rabbit hole that may lead to the reloading addiction)
Savings at say $6 a box over Target Sports USA, break even would be about 50 boxes
At your $28 a box saving $20 a box break even 15 boxes.

Purely supply and demand. Similar to why 28 gauge ammo costs almost twice what a 12 gauge load does. Makers don't make as much so unit costs are higher. Add in that they probably only make one production run per year.

OK
I was going to suggest reloading to the OP, and needed to find out what the cost of equipment and components would be to see what would be the payback.
So I picked a Lee Pro 1000 as the press, as I have/use one for 38sp, and started shopping for one.
Long story/short I found a Pro 1000 complete kit for less than what the powder measure in the kit costs if bought alone .
So I bought one (should have bought 2!)
Here it is, a Lee Pro 1000 for $32 Shipped
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KOW0U4/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I'm sure it's older model (no index pin) but who cares at that price
Go get you one.

Because it's special

alfsauve said:

I realize, as far as handgun ammo goes, the 9mm is probably the most popular. Followed in no particular order by .40S&W and .45ACP. Maybe .380ACP. But no less than 5th you'd think would be .38Spl. At least I'd think.

I need, yes NEED, S&B 38P. Which runs at the lowest, ~$28.50/100ct. But S&P 9mm runs only $14/100ct. Yes it's only 115gr while the 38P is 158gr, however, I just saw Brownells has S&P 45ACP 230gr for $25/100ct. You'd think 38P would be at most that price or even down around $20/100ct

Why is .38Spl so much more expensive? My reloads are only around $15/100ct. Is demand for it that low? Is there some insidious conspiracy against .38Spl?

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Sellior & Bellot is good ammo but you might try Fiocchi I have had good results with it in handgun calibers, but mixed results in rifle calibers

Fiocchi 158 gr FMJ $15.50 for 50
158 gr JHP $16.05 for 50

https://www.laxammo.com/handgun/38-spl-ammo

https://www.sgammo.com/catalog/pistol-ammo-sale/38-special-ammo

I suspect part of the answer is that semi-autos have become more popular than revolvers for most uses. Demand for revolver ammo is probably down.

cjwils said:

I suspect part of the answer is that semi-autos have become more popular than revolvers for most uses. Demand for revolver ammo is probably down.

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yep just like a box of .25 ACP costs as much or more than a box of 9mm

Lack of demand, nothing more, nothing else. I'd guess they sell more 10mm than .38 Spl. It's to the point where most guys who shoot .38 Spl are reloading it.

The Camdex reloading machine takes a full day to do a caliber change. If you have them set up for 9mm they only go down for maintenance. Same for .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and maybe .380 and 100.

.38 Spl, .357 Mag, .41 Mag, .44 Spl, .44 Mag, .327 Federal Mag and all the others are run as needed. But don't forget that lost day of production making the switch and getting the machine tuned.

You can also pick up a Dillon 450 for cheap and it's great for production like you need. Yeah it's not auto feed and index and doesn't have all the bells and whistles but you really don't need all that and it's fast and cheap. Check out fleabay - there's several complete setups right now for about $350 or check your next local gun show.

I feel the pain! Training my oldest from a 22 I wanted to start transitioning to a 45 (that's right skipping right past the 9mm....), using a 38 I was in sticker shock at the store. It's been a long time since I used this revolver, hope it will be a while from now that I may need it again. Moving to 357 with less cylinder fowling at the same price!

Volume considerations, I imagine. Cast in 38 and smallish charges of HP38 make for really cheap shooting. I figure $30 of primers, $15 of powder, and $80 worth of cast or plated bullets yields a thousand rounds. I cast so bullets cost me closer to $25 per thousand. Spitting distance of .22LR costs.

45ACP has similar economics. The bullets cost a little more, but you still save a LOT over factory.

A few years ago when ammo was scarce 28 cents a round was about the going rate for .38 Special where I lived.

If you insist on a certain ammo for your gun(s) then pay the price...or don’t.

Makes me all the more glad I found about 50 .38 Spl. cases at the range Thursday, you rarely find revolver brass there.

It is funny how seemingly fast that changed. When I started seriously shooting in the late '80's .38 special was the cheapest centerfire round yet it hardly seemed that everybody was packing revolvers.

entropy said:

Makes me all the more glad I found about 50 .38 Spl. cases at the range Thursday, you rarely find revolver brass there.

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Yeh, and when you do, they're usually in a neat little pile on the bench

These were on the ground; either somebody was practicing quick reloads, or shooting an S&W 52.

alfsauve said:

Okay, so I'll take, the cost of brass, not used by LE, and overall low demand as the primary reasons.

Just a few points I didn't cover initially.

I reload. Have for almost 50 years. But, when I shoot in competition I prefer to use commercial ammo. Spend $$$$ to travel to a major comp I don't want worry about ammo. I'm not a top tier competitor or anything. Bottom tier s more like it. I just want to have fun and the fewer things to worry about the better.

For ICORE the ammo has to make 120pf. Without going to a +p self-defense round, S&B 38P is the only one that reliably makes factor in a plain bullet.

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Wow, OK
You reload but don't trust your own work.
What kind of failures do you experience with your reloads ?
just curious,

It's not expensive for me... but then I've got 5,000+ cases, boxes of bullets and pounds of Bullseye and Unique.

a box of 50 158 grain in my area (UP) is about $24-$30. bought about 6 boxes three years ago and have reloaded since. I refuse to pay that for how much I shoot.