Where Is The .357 Magnum Ball Ammo?!?

[majormadmax]

As a few of you know, I was lucky enough to get a great deal on a beautiful Colt Trooper Mk III .357 Magnum last week to join the 1954 Colt .357 Magnum I inherited from my Dad.

I've been trying to find some plain Jane range ammo, i.e. Winchester White Box ball ammo; but all I can find is self-defense JHPs.

So I stopped by an Academy this afternoon and the nice guy behind the counter says they haven't been able to get anything but the SD stuff for the past four months. He readily admitted that he did not know why that was the case.

I don't subscribe to most conspiracy theories, I honestly think there has to be a logical reason why .357 Magnum ball ammo is nowhere to be found.

What's odd is that this particular Academy had tons of .380 Auto, a caliber that was in short supply a few years back when I had my much-hated Kel-Tec P3AT. It was one of the reasons I trader that pistol away from a much-loved Taurus PT111 in 9mm, but I later returned to the 9mm Kurz when I bought a Taurus PT738 TCP. I was amazed at how much easier (and cheaper) .380 had become, it was ridiculous during the height of the ammo drought!

Anyhow, back on topic, does anyone know, or at least provide a reasonable theory, as to why .357 Magnum ball ammo is so scarce?

Oh, and before anyone suggests it, I am well aware that I can shoot .38 Special in a .357 revolver; I'd just like to shoot the .357 Magnum sometimes without having to "waste" SD ammo on paper!

Thanks! M2

 

[TexMex247]

I think most of what you'll find are semi-jacketed flat points. There aren't any factory loads using true "ball" ammo they don't do RN bullets in case of levergun use. I go to Sguide or wMart for it .

 

[RetArmySgt]

I havent seen ball in a while, just JHP soft tip. And alot of that is in my ammo horde.

 

[XinTX]

Haven't seen any in stores. Heck, a month or so back I had to go to 5 places just to find one box of .38 Special for target practice. Almost all had SD ammo (with its associated price) but no target rounds. One place on line to get some is:

HANDGUN AMMUNITION

 

[Texas42]

Weapons world has some (out of stock of course)

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Academy is always where I got my .357 target stuff, but that does not help you much, lol.
Just pick up some .38 so you can at least shoot it.

 

[majormadmax]

Thanks for the replies, I do have some .38 but I'd like to shoot some .357 through it.

And TexMex247 is right, semi-jacketed flat points is what I meant. Walmart hasn't had any, but I thought Academy would.

We've got the big gun show tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to find some there. If not, I'll try AmmoEngine or just use the JHP although I think that's kind a waste for simply target shooting...

Cheers! M2

 

[clydeboone]

ammunition to go All flavors in stock: 357 MAGNUM : Ammunition To Go
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[Rifleman55]

Since .357 is easy to reload, why don't you learn to reload it? A pound of powder and cast bullets and some primers will make yo a lot of ammo cheap.
If you look around you can buy the equipment used and save some money.

 

[shortround]

Factory .357 "Ball" is impossible to find, because there is no such thing. It is "un-obtanium."

158 grain jacketed hollow points and soft points are quite easy to find, albeit at twice the price of just three years ago.

Since the .357 Magnum was never type-classified as a military cartridge, it will never earn the appellation of a "Ball Cartridge."

 

[tmd11111]

The only ball ammo I have ever recalled seeing is for pistol calibers such as 9mm, .38 super, and .45acp. The reason for the ball design is for reliable feeding. This is not necessary for revolver ammo.

 

[majormadmax]

OK everyone, if you take the time to read my clarification in post #7 you will see what I meant. No need to belabor the point. I used the term "ball" to describe what TexMex247 clarified as "flat nosed" ammo, it's definitely not hollow points so I apologize to anyone who got upset over my description.

I've come to the conclusion that I'll just simply buy the WWB JHP I can get fairly cheap at Walmart instead of scrounging around for the flat-nosed ammo.

By the way, it's interesting that at all the gun stores I went to, no one seemed to have any issue with me calling it "ball" ammo. But I know some people really get their panties in a wad when someone says "clip" instead of "magazine" or calls a semi-auto AK variant an "assault rifle." We're just talking terms here...

 

[pvtsnowball82]

Wait, you know they don't make .357 ball ammo, right?

 

[Kingsnake]

For range work in caliber .357 Magnum look for the Blazer 158 grain jhp's.

This is an aluminum case reduced load featuring a shallow hollowpoint that is probably best suited for range work exclusively, as the bullet does not seem to expand in water, flesh, or anything short of a large soil backstop, and the Speer factory techs have advised against using it for self defense for this reason.

Avoiding .38's in Magnum chambered revolvers, I have fired buckets of this .357 Blazer ammo in everything from a 3 inch Model 60 to a classic 5 screw Model 27 and it to be reliable, accurate, and as clean as anything else out there.


Pricing is affordable and it can found online or any decent gunshow.

 

[shortround]

OK everyone, if you take the time to read my clarification in post #7 you will see what I meant. No need to belabor the point. I used the term "ball" to describe what TexMex247 clarified as "flat nosed" ammo, it's definitely not hollow points so I apologize to anyone who got upset over my description.

I've come to the conclusion that I'll just simply buy the WWB JHP I can get fairly cheap at Walmart instead of scrounging around for the flat-nosed ammo.

By the way, it's interesting that at all the gun stores I went to, no one seemed to have any issue with me calling it "ball" ammo. But I know some people really get their panties in a wad when someone says "clip" instead of "magazine" or calls a semi-auto AK variant an "assault rifle." We're just talking terms here...

No gun shop (what few are left here) will bust your balls when looking for .357 Mag Ball Ammo -- they will sell you whatever they have on the shelf and gladly call it "Ball" at $30+ a box of 50 rounds.