Price of revolver rounds

Volume of sales. More 9mm, 40, and 45acp shooters these days. Time to reload as components tend to cost based on material weight more than popularity.

$29.99 for .357 mag!? I'd LOVE to shop your market - I'm around $39.99 for a rack of 158gr SP's - and that's all they have here.

That said, and frankly, if you're a .38/.357 shooter and NOT handloading, you're missing half the fun. A Lee Hand-press is $30, dies $31 (+$12 for the crimp die), and powder/bullets around $20 and $25 respectively.

I haven't bought a factory box of .357 or .38 in at least the past 8 months. I go to the reloading section and find a box of .357 bullets. Or I drop $15 for a pack of commercial cast, and push them into a .38 case with a bit of Universal or Bullseye in it.

Revolvers are stupid-easy to handload/reload for. Take advantage of the easy brass retrieval and easy COAL setting. Oh, and crimp the daylights out of it if you so desire - you don't need to rely on the neck for headspace.

+1 for handloading and revolvers.
They just go hand in hand so well together.

I was starting to double think my choice to start handloading since I was cranking out plinking 5.56 rounds for about what steel cased cost until I ordered up some 357 dies and never looked back.

It's as simple as handloading gets and the savings are tremendous!

Start casting, and then you'll be able to afford to shoot.

factory ammo......I have only bought two boxes in the last ten years and that only occurred caus the price was right and I hadnt seen .32 SW anyplace in a coons age.

Volume of sales. More 9mm, 40, and 45acp shooters these days.

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This is the reason

benzy2 said:

Volume of sales. More 9mm, 40, and 45acp shooters these days.

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This along with the fact that most magnum handgun ammo uses a slower burning powder that takes more volume than fast powders used in pistol rounds. Not only does the increased volume mean more cost, but IME, those powders also cost a tad bit more. Also bullets used in magnum rounds like .357 and .44 mag are generally a higher costing JHP or JSP as compared to FMJ.I think for rounds like 9mm and .45ACP because of the once high volumes of Mil Surplus plus foreign made ammo, also kept prices down.

Reloading is really the only way to go if you want to shoot on a regular basis. Next would be buying in bulk by the case.

The only thing I buy "by the box" these days, is an occasional box of "premium" SD type ammo, and even then, I shop the web for the 50 round boxes, that can often be had for only a dollar or two more than the 20-25 round boxes most dealers carry.

These days, I regularly load 9mm, and .357mag. I also load .38 Special, .45acp, and .45Colt too, just not the same volumes.

9mm costs me around $6 a box, and 357mag, around $12 a box (about double what they were just a few years ago). I use jacked bullets for both, as I dont feel like dealing with the leading issues.

I use HC lead for the .38's and .45's, so they tend to be slightly cheaper.

I've noticed the same thing and plan on reloading for .357 in the very near future. Nothing elaborate, but a basic $30 Lee pistol loader kit.

I buy 9mm by the 250 value pack when I can find it, .45 by the 100, and always keep at least 150 rounds of .40 in case I can't find 9mm (like today, for some reason. Not a box on the shelves at Gander, Wal Mart, or LGS). I may end up reloading for those calibers one day, but I just don't feel like chasing brass right now. I don't shoot enough for it to be a big deal.

However, the .357 is my favorite caliber of any handgun. I don't shoot a TON of it because it's slower to load/unload out of the gun and even in a stout revolver, it can be a bit more punishing compared to 9mm or the thumping push of a .45. But, I've kept close to 500 pieces of brass over the last 5 or 6 years for .38/.357. I didn't want to throw them away, but I didn't have any use for them. Besides, I didn't have to chase after them either. Just shoot and dump into my range bag where I keep my empties.

If this works out, then I might actually end up buying a .45 Colt

Fiv3r said:

I've noticed the same thing and plan on reloading for .357 in the very near future. Nothing elaborate, but a basic $30 Lee pistol loader kit.

If this works out, then I might actually end up buying a .45 Colt

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Man, I would really consider spending the extra fifty bucks and getting a hand press and 3 die set. OK, extra seventy bucks for the Ram prime attachment as well. You can make nice dippers out of 9 mm or .40 cases filed down to the right volume, but the press will be SO much faster for the steps that require force. The whack-a-mole looks incredibly tedious, even for revolver quantities of ammo.

The only thing I don't like about the hand press is that extra breech-lock bushings are not free. (OK, the handle could be a little more ergonomic, too. )

Where are you seeing 9mm for $11.99?

mostly it's sales volume, but also bullet construction. Most 9mm, 45 and 40 is fmj, while 357 and 44 mags tend to be jhp's.

Where are you seeing 9mm for $11.99?

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Not here...

Not since the mid 90's...

Start casting, and then you'll be able to afford to shoot.

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Haha.
I thought this too.
Now I spend all my money on wheel weights and for scrap lead at the salvage yard. lol

Not since the mid 90's...

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Mid 90's, I was buying 2000 round cases of Norinco/China Sports for $125-$150 a case. Surplus was around $75-$80 a 1000.

It was actually cheaper back then, to buy surplus than it was to just buy the components to reload the same number of rounds, and that goes for .308 and .223 as well.

I just reloaded fifty .38 special cartridges using 3.5 grains of Bullseye to push 158 grain LSWC Missouri Bullets. Since I had the brass already, my total out of pocket cost today was between $6.00 and $6.50 for the box of 50. Revolver cartridges are especially easy to reload successfully.

Of course that 'total' does not include the cost of the reloading equipment, but since I do not include that expense when I talk with my wife about going out and shooting my reloads, why would I mention it here?

I started with a hammer and the the Lee Loader and it taught me a lot. The one piece of equipment I would recommend right away is a hand primer with a tray. I used to 'pop' 10-12% of my primers on installation with the hammer, but now my failure rate is consistently less than 1%. Eventually (sooner more likely than later) you WILL be getting a single stage press and a set of dies. Reloading is a very enjoyable part of my hobby, especially on bitter cold or rainy days.

Reloading is the way to go, save up the monies you'd spend on ammo, get you a reloader set up, and start making your own. My initial expense in '71 was about $200.00, thats for everything mind you, thats all paid for now. I load for about 5 revolver calibers, 6 rifle calibers, yes, the bullets and powder cost me too, but when I can reload 300 rounds for less than what it would cost me for 100 factory rounds, HA, I'm waaaaay ahead of the game.

Mid 90's, I was buying 2000 round cases of Norinco/China Sports for $125-$150 a case. Surplus was around $75-$80 a 1000.

It was actually cheaper back then, to buy surplus than it was to just buy the components to reload the same number of rounds, and that goes for .308 and .223 as well.

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NORINCO 9mm and 7.62x39 dried up here by 1994...

After that 50rd boxes of Bullseye 9mm remanufactured were the cheapest here at ~$9.99...

Man, I would really consider spending the extra fifty bucks and getting a hand press and 3 die set. OK, extra seventy bucks for the Ram prime attachment as well. You can make nice dippers out of 9 mm or .40 cases filed down to the right volume, but the press will be SO much faster for the steps that require force. The whack-a-mole looks incredibly tedious, even for revolver quantities of ammo.

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+1. Getting the right equipment to begin with instead of going the cheap route, saves you $$$ in the end. In for a penny, in for a pound.

Don

X1000 on rolling your own. I would personally rank the the 38/357 as one of, if not - the easiest rounds to learn to make on your own. they have an incredible range of applicable powder selection, and since they don't headspace on the mouth - they're a little more generous with crimp, and they'll take a good range of bullet weights and styles. You don't have to chase your brass when you shoot, and they last a looooong time with lighter loads.

Amazing how much stuff has gone up in 4 years.
Flashback to Sept 2010.



And just a few years before that.

damn. firearms are yet another thing I got into "just after the golden age" lol.

I have not bought any factory loaded 38spec/357s since the 80s. I bought my loading setup then and never looked back. Reloading 38s is so easy and economical that for me there is no other way. I shoot mainly light target loads and brass seems to last almost forever!