Walmart had .380's today!

[Jeremiah/Az]

The Walmarts close to me have not had .380's for about 2 years, since I bought my P380. An old friend gave me 200 rounds & then he died. I don't think that's what caused it. So, I did get to shoot it. They had green box Remington hollow points today. I bought a box of 100.

[CarlCyrus]

The Walmarts close to me have not had .380's for about 2 years, since I bought my P380. An old friend gave me 200 rounds & then he died. I don't think that's what caused it. So, I did get to shoot it. They had green box Remington hollow points today. I bought a box of 100.

One box...only one box? If they hadn't had .380 for two years and they had 10 boxes, I would have bought all 10. Carl

[Jeremiah/Az]

They had 2 boxes. Probably should have gotten both, but I'm thinkin' I've heard it's pretty dirty. I want to try it first. I'm not so sure HP are so good in the .380 which doesn't have too much penetration in the first place. What say ye?

[TheTman]

My closest Walmart just had 100 round value packs of Remington/UMC (I think) HP .380 cartridges. Not sure what grain. I was so surprised to see it, I had to do a double check and make sure it was .380 hp's. I remember it was a green and yellow box, makes me think it was Remington. I've don't think I've ever seen a box of 100 .380's hp's before. I don't have a .380, so didn't get any of it, and I don't recall the info on it. I was just looking around on the web, and don't see anything like those 100 round boxes at my usual ammo shops. I wonder if that was some kind of Walmart only type of thing.
They NEVER used to have .380, they did order it, but it would sell out fast, last time I was in, they had 4 or 5 of those value packs, another couple 100 round FMJ packs, and several different boxes of 50.
Funny thing is they were running low on .45 .40 and 9mm and they usually have plenty of those. Guess they are do some experimenting or something.

[Jeremiah/Az]

They had the 50 box for $17+ & the 100 for $31+. There was also a box of PMC that I was not interested in.

[O'Dell]

My WM usually has 380.........., and 44 magnum, 9mm, 38 special, 357 magnum and SIG, 40 cal, and just about everything else except 45 ACP. Guess what I'm looking for!

[deadhead1971]

.380 is out the wazzu here in the Raleigh, NC area. It's like an all you can eat buffet. Funny thing is, nobody wants it any more. A lot of folks deep-sixed their .380s in favor of 9s and .40s. That's why I got a PM9. I have a LCP too and have several hundred rds on the shelf. The demand has gone down, and that's good for .380 folks. The rep at Walmart in the ammo section said "I'd rather have a rock than a .380." I have a .380, and it's a nasty lil' round.

[kb2wji]

They had 2 boxes. Probably should have gotten both, but I'm thinkin' I've heard it's pretty dirty. I want to try it first. I'm not so sure HP are so good in the .380 which doesn't have too much penetration in the first place. What say ye?

I say I better go grab some microwave popcorn, cuz its about to get rowdy up in here! :D

[Ljutic]

They had 2 boxes. Probably should have gotten both, but I'm thinkin' I've heard it's pretty dirty. I want to try it first. I'm not so sure HP are so good in the .380 which doesn't have too much penetration in the first place. What say ye?

I've shot a ton of the UMC value pack HPs over the years. I don't find them to be any more or less dirty than other 380. I personally find that this particular load has an incredible amount of flash for 380 so it's range ammo only. I keep a bunch around because the 100 count value packs are cheaper than buying 2 50 counts boxes of FMJ at Walmart.

I say, I've got Speer Lawman fmj loaded in my P380. Shortly, I will be doing chronograph tests of all 380 FMJ that weighs 95 grains or more. I have 11 varieties on hand to test. I have 3 more varieties to get my hands on before I can start testing. I will carry the one that delivers the highest velocity and reliability in my specific P380. I've given up on HPs due to availability and cost. I want my 380 carry ammo to also be my range ammo.

[wyntrout]

I go to the sporting goods section every time I go to a Wal-Mart just to see how the ammo supply is doing. A few days a go they were out of .380 and .45, which sucked, since I was looking to buy a few hundred rounds of .45 to replace my last two or three shooting sprees. The shelves were bare of anything I needed. A month or so ago I saw all kinds of ammo... 4 or 5 kinds of .380 and lots of Federal, Winchester, and UMC .45's. I don't even count the Tula stuff.

It just reinforces that idea of if you see something you want, buy it because the next time it might not be there.

My year range membership just ran out and I won't be shooting as much as last year, so I'll just pay as I go and try another range, too. I did a lot of testing to get my guns operating correctly and reliably... well so did Kahr, but they're great now, except for that 3rd or 4th round jam in some of my .45 mags the last trip. The seven-round mags never jammed, so that's what's in my PM45 next to my TV chair. I wish that Wolf would come out with stronger springs for the .380's and .45's. I asked them to do that, but I'm just one customer.

Wynn:yo:

[heeler]

I look forward to reading your chron test Ljutic.
I generally carry WWB 95 gr. flat nose fmj in my Diamondback because they always work and all the tests I have read show great penetration.
Have thought of carrying the 102 gr.Golden Sabers as they also feed and eject perfectly.
Plenty of .380 available in stores and online.
A couple of weeks ago I scored 500 rounds (10 boxes)of Sellior & Bellot 92 gr. fmj for 12.73 a box delivered.

[wyntrout]

Ballistics by the inch updated their .380 tests last year and include data on the popular .380's:
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/380auto2010.html

There's also a muzzle energy graph comparing the various types of ammo in energy and range. There's a link above the chart on the 2010 test page.

Wynn:)

[jlottmc]

Wynn, I asked Wolf's for stiffer springs for all my guns, 45's included, and got nowhere.

[wyntrout]

I just checked again and they still just have stuff for the 9mm's and .40's.

I've bought a lot of magazines to try in my PM45... 1911 Officer size... 6 and 7 rounds. The springs are usually pretty weak when compared to the Kahr magazines. I bought all of those Check Mate 8 round mags and one officer's 7-rounder to try. The ones for my Champion seem to work okay now, but the one OM7 I tried in the PM had the same problem with the spring popping out from under the follower on the last shot. I need to work with that 'cause I'm still wanting a compact 7+1 capability for my PM45. The OM7 is easier to conceal than the 6-round Kahr with extended grip. Now I can try tinkering with the feed lips and follower a bit.

Wynn:)

[jimbar]

.380 is out the wazzu here in the Raleigh, NC area. It's like an all you can eat buffet. Funny thing is, nobody wants it any more. A lot of folks deep-sixed their .380s in favor of 9s and .40s. That's why I got a PM9. I have a LCP too and have several hundred rds on the shelf. The demand has gone down, and that's good for .380 folks. The rep at Walmart in the ammo section said "I'd rather have a rock than a .380." I have a .380, and it's a nasty lil' round.


I'd challenge the rep to a fight, he/she can use the rock of their choice, you get your .380

Let me know how that works out :D I saw an instructor on a gun show about self defense, who said anyone thinks .380's are not up to the challenge, " I'll shoot you 7 or 8 times with my .380, then it will be your turn".......

[O'Dell]

I'm not crazy about the 380 round either [usually shoot 45]. but my son gave me a LCP for Christmas, so I've been carrying it some. I figure 6 or 7 rounds will at least get somebody's attention. The baby pistol is making me lazy though. It's a lot easier to drop it in my pocket, in a holster, than to thread a holster on my belt and get a jacket.

[onegun]

I've found .380 ammo to be plentiful around here. It's not in my top two or three calibers but it sure is fun to shoot. Gotta do some yard work tomorrow but then I'm going to the range and shoot another hundred or so through each of the P380, the K9 and my SIG P220. I try to shoot every week but during Crappie and Pheasant seasons I don't make it.

I have a twist to my P380 shooting that's a little unusual. My right (strongside) index finger is so arthritic that my first joint knuckle is twisted and enlarged. I have to make an effort to shoot the P380 out near the tip of that finger as the finger is almost too large for the trigger guard. Luckily, I can and do shoot weakside. I don't have that problem with my left index finger. Since I'll only use the 380 caliber as a backup it really doesn't pose any problem. I've shot it left handed about 85% of the time so far. My carry is weakside front pocket in a Nemesis. My K9 has a large enough trigger guard I don't have that issue.