With no ammo on shelves who is buying .410 and .32 revolvers?

[Oninotaki]

TLDR: There is no ammo for .410 and .32 caliber revolvers on the shelves, so who keeps buying all the new stock of revolvers being made in them?

*I want to start with a quick caveat. I have no hard data on this, just my own personal observations. I only watch my LGSs and gun broker so my observationsare pretty limited.Mostly this question is for entertainment purposes only.

That being said I have been watching the gunbroker listings of/LGS inventory of Judges, Governors, Ruger LCRs, and Charter Arms professionals/undercoverettes. I have seen the models in stores get bought and new ones come in on the regular, and I see the listings on gunbroker come in waves. Bunches of listings with 10+ quantities all competing in price until they sell out with a few stragglers then raising their prices a bit before the next wave comes and the process repeats. All good healthy capitalism in action.

However there is hardly any ammo for these firearms on the shelves and barely any more on sites like ammoseek. So who is buying these firearms? How is there a market stable enough for them that there is regular consistent inventory of them?

I totally get the market for cheap SA .22s plinking on a budget that anyone can handle makes sense. A market for revolvers that you can't get ammo for however does not.

How many little old ladies inheriting their grandfather's stock of .32 ammo can there be out there? How many hipster/zoomers/Gen X/ other problem generation of the moment that think it's edgy to ignore the abundant and serviceable 9mm that have convinced their parents to let them miss this months rent so they can buy a revolver to go with that mall katana they got for christmas are out there? What critical piece of information am I missing?

Please serious and ridiculous responses only, as this is both a serious and ridiculous topic.

 

[mcb]

32 I can sort of understand but I am not seeing many 32 caliber revolvers or ammo. The 45 Colt/410 revolvers on the other hand I have never had a problem finding ammo for them. Even when the ammo shortage was at its worst you could still find a few boxes of 410 in my area. As a reloader either are easy to feed.

 

[CoalTrain49]

I don't know about .410 so I'll pass on that one. I just did a quick search for 32 S&W Long and came up with many places to buy it online. It's not cheap but it's available. If you're looking for 0.30/rd 9mm prices you won't find those for obvious reasons. Very few manufacturers are making 32 anything anymore and haven't for awhile. 32 S&W Long is a slick little cartridge and adequate for SD. Definitely a hipster cartridge. Probably should load for it yourself because of prices and availability at the LGS. They usually won't carry anything that doesn't move in a few weeks, shelf space being what it is.

 

[12Bravo20]

I can't comment on the availability of 32 caliber ammo. I started reloading my own 410 shells back in 1996 due to the price of factory ammo. I have plenty of reloading supplies so shortages did not effect me.

I live 20 minutes away from Graf's Reloading and an hour away from several Bass Pro Shops, several Academy Sports and one Cabela's. For the most part 410 ammo has been scarce in all of those places in the last couple of years. Availability is getting better in the last few months.

 

[WestKentucky]

32 hasn’t been on the shelf for a decade except at exceptionally well stocked shops. 32 mag had its glory days and then faded, and with that faded the ammo demand. 410 has always been plentiful but pricey. So realistically I don’t see that much has changed.

 

[pert near]

Off the shelf .410 shells of any load have been almost non-existent in my area. Not too long ago, I got a sale ad from Academy stores with some 2-1/2" #7-1/2 win shells. Price with shipping was just over $20/box. I ordered 5 boxes. After I ordered the 5 boxes & kept thinking about it, I decided to order an additional 5 boxes. Logged back in & Too Late - they were gone!

I do see a box or two available at smaller town feed-stores & hardware stores occasionally. Price is usually +1.5x 12 or 20 ga shells.

 

[N555]

There's only a few places that have .410 ammo where I am too.
A few months ago winchester did a run of 410 and it was everywhere but it didn't stick around long. Now only shops that gouge still have any

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I've seen two boxes of .32 S&W Long wadcutters in two different LGS in the past month, both with astronomic price tags. FWIW, even factory .32 ACP ammo is hard to find these days, though .30 Super Carry seems to be plentiful for the moment.

The .32 revolvers are a handloader's choice right now and for the foreseeable. I'm OK with that -- along with more modern stuff, I've got a total of seven old 7.5/8mm military revolvers that are all strictly handloading propositions.

 

[Barbaroja]

What your missing is that buying ammo online is easy, reloading is easy. Just because 9mm is available and works doesn’t mean it is interesting to everyone.

 

[bigpower491]

People who reload..........

 

[ontarget]

I just finally got the 32 H&R Single Six I've been looking for. I will of course be handloading for it, although I have found 4 boxes of 32 long ammo locally.
No 410s for me.

 

[jar]

Some of us have a reasonable supply of 7.65 and 32S&W and 32S&W long ammo on hand. Especially when you have been shooting 7.65 for a half century or more it jess seems to 'cumulate.

 

[dieselchief]

hmm, load them 32s up and blaze away. brass last forever...fwiw

 

[Walkalong]

I'll be happy to buy another .32 Cal revolver if a deal comes along.

 

[Tallball]

For 32's at least, reloading and buying ammo online.

 

[drobs]

I keep a 410 single shot shotgun by the backdoor for shooting squirrels that are chewing on my back deck. It's a low volume shooter so a couple boxes lasts me forever. I'm not going to go blasting with it.

I'd wager most owners of the Judge and Governor shoot a couple cylinders of 410 out of it. Then primarily use 45 Colt or in the case of the Governor - 45 acp. I've always been able to find ammo online. Even during the worst of the elections and pandemic. It was just a matter or did I want to pay the price or not.

I never got into the 32 calibers. 38 special and 357 magnum has always been cheaper than any of the 32 revolver calibers.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I can't speak to .410 as I have never been that into it. Never got into the revolvers there at all.

For the 32's I think it is several groups buying them (applies to many odd calibers). Reloaders of course, people who don't plan to shoot it much/any (don't understand those), foolish people who don't understand the ammo situation for said caliber, and people who don't care about the price of stuff and simply order what they want on line with little care for the price of it. The last group may well fall into the "don't plan to shoot it" group also.

Since I reload I'm a big fan of the 32 and 41mags. Helps with most of the less common rounds today though.

 

[EMC45]

I would buy EVERY .32 caliber (quality) affordable handgun I could find. I would never buy a .410 pistol. Never. I have a single shot .410 I got for a song, but so rarely shoot it, I gave my almost full box of ammo to a work buddy so his son could shoot doves on opener with his .410.

 

[WisBorn]

I don't have a 32 caliber revolver and truly don't remember seeing any new ones on the shelves or ammo for them. I do own a Bond Arms Rowdy in 45/410. I have seen a couple judges and governors but very few of them. I look for 410 shells but they are as plentiful as unicorns and honest politicians.

 

[cfullgraf]

I'd buy any 32 caliber revolver I run across if it is one that I do not already have.

.410 handgun, not so much. I figure I'd have a momentary interest in it and then it would languish in the gun safe. I have four .410 shotguns of various flavors.

In the past couple years I found .410-2-1/2" shells, I shoot skeet, and 32 SWL on line but I have not looked recently.

Besides, I reload.

 

[jstert]

i started buying 32 ammo before i had a firearm to shoot it. i did buy a 327/32 barrel for my bond arms derringer that hooked me on getting a revolver.

my 410 ammo buying started when i got a gently used h&r singleshot shotgun for $89. my first bond arms derringer came after. i actually prefer feeding the b.a. with 45schofield.

b.a. derringers, being slow, single-action, two-shooters with cheap additional barrels after the initial purchase, allow one to feed various odd ammo addictions without breaking the bank.

 

[eddiememphis]

I don't understand the popularity of Judge pistols. Everything I have read or heard about them is bad.

A .410 is designed to be shot in a barrel much longer than 3 inches. I see that they are making them with 6 inch barrels now but that is still 12 inches shorter than any legal shotgun. How much velocity is lost due to unburned powder?

How accurate is a .45 Colt after the almost 1/2 inch jump to get to the forcing cone?

Seems to be an answer to a question no one asked, but they are selling like crazy so good for them.

Just because it's popular, doesn't mean it's good. Hey macarena.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

I don’t.

.38 and .44 suits me JUST FINE.

 

[Frulk]

I was in a Cal Ranch store last week and they had Tungsten .410 slugs on the shelf. 5 per box for $46.

 

[jstert]

I don't understand the popularity of Judge pistols. Everything I have read or heard about them is bad.

A .410 is designed to be shot in a barrel much longer than 3 inches. I see that they are making them with 6 inch barrels now but that is still 12 inches shorter than any legal shotgun. How much velocity is lost due to unburned powder?

How accurate is a .45 Colt after the almost 1/2 inch jump to get to the forcing cone?

Seems to be an answer to a question no one asked, but they are selling like crazy so good for them.

Just because it's popular, doesn't mean it's good. Hey macarena.

any firearm can serve some role for someone.
a cousin living out in the woods on a private lane in rural new england got a taurus judge as his sole and first firearm several years ago. his town is occasionally patrolled by a sole, roving, state trooper only. property crimes and even assaults were increasing. i had been trying to convince him to become armed in some way, and trained, for some time. he chose the judge because it was “flexible” and “shotgun-like (i.e. biden-recommended)” i.e. socially ok with his very liberal “she who must be obeyed.”

whatever…i was just happy that he became armed, got a ccw permit and actually practiced some with it. as it turned out his judge became a “gateway firearm.” now his ccw is a fnx 45 pistol that he brought to the front sight training camp in pahrump nv last year. he still occasionally carries his judge, but it has mainly become his house gun. and in the process of becoming better armed he finally stopped marching entirely to her tune. so his taurus judge was a double win.