Is 9mm the new .380?

[SwatMedic338]

I'm not talking stopping power or wound channels here but availability.

Only until recently have we seen the .380 round start to trickle back into the marketplace after many months of a scarce supply. One of the reasons for this drought was the run on small pocket carry .380's made by many of the top manufacturers. While these rounds weren't impossible to find, they certainly weren't readily available at most Walmart stores and other usually reliable retailers. Prices also jumped due to high demand and low circulation.

2011 is shaping up to be the year of the (almost) pocket carry 9mm. Kimber, Ruger, Sig...all offering new models designed to capitalize on the growing demand for smaller concealed carry guns. Add those to the small 9 offerings from Glock,Taurus, Kahr and many other manufacturers and it leads me to question; will the 9mm go the way of the .380 and become scarce and expensive?

I understand that there are other factors at play but I defer to the membership here (who know much more about this than I do) as to whether we could see a 9mm shortage and price spike due to the demand these new pocket 9's could place on ammo makers.

Thanks for your input.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[farronwolf]

No way the 9mm will ever be as scarce as the .380. The round is used by law enforcement and military all around the world. It is probably the most widely distributed and produced round, well maybe behind the .22 lr.

Second, most of the folks that have pocket pistols don't shoot them very often. Just the nature of the gun, what is the saying "carry a lot, shoot a little" with the pocket pistols.

[patrol]

The best thing you can do to help assist no ammo shortages is to continue to pay your NRA Membership dues.

[kapnketel]

I do not see it happening, too many 9mm's out there so a strong demand and at the moment plenty availability. Ammunitiontogo is even running a sale special on 9mm at the moment. More small 9mm handguns will not add to the already large numbers of firearms in circulation like the 380 pocket craze. There were not a lot of 380's out there, a sudden change caused the shortage.

[jtmoose]

I think 9mm being a NATO round will keep plenty in circulation. It does seem the pocket 9mm is the new black though.

[Stevew]

I think the ammo shortage was due to people having the knowledge to thouroughly test and train with their SD handgun, plus fear that gun grabbers were going to pass laws restricting ammo. Not nearly as many people buy a gun, run a mag through it and call it good to go as they did a few years ago. I do think 9MM ammo sales will go up.

I also believe that some people that want the new handguns that are coming out will wait and see if they follow with other calibers.

[hogdaddy]

The best thing you can do to help assist no ammo shortages is to continue to pay your NRA Membership dues.

I Help by stocking up on PRIMERS ; ) PS 9mm will always be arround
H/D

[TapRackBang]

The 9mm used to be called the .380 magnum. so its not the the new .380 its always been a .380 .But I don't see any declines..

[OD*]

The 9mm used to be called the .380 magnum.

Really, by whom?

[WvHiker]

I read somewhere that the .380 shortages were do in part to ammo companies only running .380 batches a few times a year, ostensibly due to low demand (up until the current .380 pocket craze). I don't know if this is true or not, but I do know that 9mm they crank out all the time. I'm not worried about it become scarce any more than I worry about .22lr or 12 gauge becoming scarce.

I go through a lot of 9mm, so I hope it stays plentiful and cheap. It's why I chose 9mm as my carry caliber; I like to shoot as much as I can, as often as I can with what I carry.

[shockwave]

Just bought a few boxes of 9mm at WW today - they had 3 different brands available in 9 luger: WWB, Federal and Wolf. Between $11 and 14 for a box of 50. Which is anecdotal, but I'm not foreseeing shortages of 9mm. Getting 38 spl and .357 mag is still hit and miss.

[AZ Infidel]

No shortage of the 9mm around here. Seems to be littering the landscape so to speak.

[Sleipnir]

The 9mm used to be called the .380 magnum. so its not the the new .380 its always been a .380 .But I don't see any declines..

Hard to believe due to the fact that the 9x19mm Parabellum went into production in 1902 and the .380 ACP came about six years later in 1908. Simple logic dictates that the .380 is actually a downsized 9mm further evidenced by the .380 ACP's German name of 9mm Kurz (short) and the alternative title used in the American lexicon of 9mm Short.

[Tubby45]

9mm Luger won't ever go away.

[SwatMedic338]

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like with the pipeline always open for military and LEO use, we shouldn't see the inventory drops like we had with the .380

This is good news to my ears since I will probably be grabbing one of those small 9's in the upcoming months. Like I mentioned in my original post, you guys know more about this issue than I do and I appreciate the answers! :)