Remington UMC 130 gr

[tubeshooter]

If you see some at a good price, I wouldn't hesitate to get some.

It is classic range/plinking ammo. Shoots clean. Very mild, easy on the shooter and the gun.
I don't reload, but people seem to like the brass evidently.


You could do worse. Never had an issue personally. Probably makes a good rabbit load, I would imagine.

 

[Buckeye63]

I have used Remington 38Spl 130gr FMJ for practice and plinking for several years now .. Clean ammo , always go bang.

Now about 38Spl +P .. They are different stages of +P ..
I have noticed that Remington 38Spl +P 125gr SJHP . .. Bucks quite a bit more than the 130gr FMJ ...

I have noticed Federal 38spl +P 130gr
HST has LESS recoil impulse than the Remington 125gr +P SJHP

Then the Underwood 125gr 38SPL +P XTP is on a different level....

Seems like their is no standard 38spl +P load

 

[Pat Riot]

I find the Remington UMC .38 Spl at Walmart 250 rounds for $69.00 often. Good practice ammo and good brass.

 

[NoirFan]

I have to disagree a bit, I have found Remington pistol brass to be the weakest for reloading out of all the major ammo makers. When I have a case split 8 out of 10 times it is an R-P head stamp. It’s not a deal breaker but I wouldn’t buy Remington ammo with the intention of saving brass for reloading. Winchester, Fiocchi, Herters, Aguila are better for that.

OP if you’re looking for cheap bulk 38 ammo online is the way to go, you can almost always get a lower price per round: https://www.sgammo.com/catalog/pistol-ammo-sale/38-special-ammo?sort=round_low

 

[ThomasT]

Unlike the above poster I have never had any issues with Remington brass but I won't argue with someone else's experience.

If you have 5,000 rounds socked back I would think that was enough. If it were me I would start building a reloading kit using your once fired brass. So save it. Its the most expensive part of the cartridge. You can buy Lee tools for reloading. They are not the best but they are affordable and work fine. I have many Lee dies and bullet molds and never broke or wore out a single piece. Once you get your kit it doesn't cost much to crank out two or three hundred rounds for a weekend of shooting. I have had all the powder, bullets, primers and brass so long I don't even remember what they cost. Its like shooting for free. And I have 1400 pounds of lead on hand if I need to cast more bullets.

Also start scrounging lead from the tire shop. Casting your own bullets is fun. I have several Lee bullet molds in 38 caliber. I have cast several thousand WC and SWC bullets and have a couple of tubs of them ready to load. The tumble lube system works very well and I size my bullets with a Lee sizer that mounts on the press. If I were relying on factory loads all these years I wouldn't have been able to have shot a third as much as I have to date. I don't watch TV. I either load ammo or build RC model planes to pass the time.

 

[Eddietruett]

I reload all my ammo, but I have found that Georgia Arms has some real good ammo and at one time it was priced pretty reasonable if you bought in bulk. Also Defender Arms has some pretty good deals according to some buddies that buy in bulk.

 

[NoirFan]

Unlike the above poster I have never had any issues with Remington brass but I won't argue with someone else's experience.

I'm not saying Remington brass is awful, just that it's the most prone to splitting out of all my pistol brass, but it's still 38 special so even the R-P brass lasts a long time. Also, I get scorch marks on the outside of the brass with Remington range ammo which makes me think the case isn't fully sealing the chamber. So it's not terrible just not my first choice for bulk buys.

 

[ThomasT]

If your cases are getting black after being shot maybe your loads are too light for the brass to expand. Or you have a slightly over sized chamber. I am guessing range ammo is lightly loaded and the brass is fully sized down to make sure it fits every gun made in that caliber.

Maybe try some dies made for Cowboy Action loads. It doesn't resize the brass as much as the normal die sets do.

As far as I know all brass splits eventually. If you over bell then crimp hard it really works the brass. A taper crimp die is easy on the brass also.

 

[ThomasT]

If you are going to buy 130gr ammo you may want to stay away from the Winchester stuff.

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=600984

 

[Waveski]

Duly noted.