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Price IntelligenceLast updated September 19, 2026

.38 Special Ammo Prices in 2026: What's Actually Happening

TL;DR

As of September 19, 2026, .38 Special ammunition shows a median observed price of $0.670 per round across 21 tracked retailers (30-day window, 9,229 daily-best observations). By purpose, range/practice (FMJ-class) ammunition has a median of $0.520 per round and premium/defensive (JHP, hunting, match) has a median of $1.04 per round. Compared with August 2026, the median has risen 1.5%.

Median $/rd
$0.670
Observed range
Not stated
Tracked retailers
21
Window
30d

.38 Special cost per round

Observed daily-best price per round across tracked online retailers, broken out by where each price sits in the distribution of current listings.

.38 Special observed price per round by distribution band, updated September 19, 2026.
Distribution bandPrice / round
A quarter price at or below$0.538
Typical price$0.670
A quarter price at or above$1.10

Based on 9229 daily-best observations across 359 products and 21 retailers over 31 of the last 30 days.

Recent trend

Current median compared with frozen monthly snapshots from the append-only price history.

.38 Special median price-per-round change versus prior monthly snapshots.
ComparisonThen (median $/rd)Now (median $/rd)Change
Vs prior month (August 2026)$0.660$0.670Rising +1.5%
Vs ~3 months ago$0.670
.38 Special monthly observed price-per-round history.
MonthMedian $/rdLow $/rdHigh $/rd
March 2026$0.699
April 2026$0.899
May 2026$1.00
June 2026$1.00
July 2026$0.740
August 2026$0.660

What the .38 Special price data shows

Across the trailing 30 days, .38 Special ammunition has a median observed price of $0.670 per round. The middle of the market — the 25th through 75th percentile of daily-best prices — runs from $0.538 to $1.10 per round. These figures come from 359 distinct products listed by 21 tracked retailers, with data on 31 of the last 30 days.

Looking at the append-only price history: relative to August 2026 (median $0.660), the current median has risen 1.5%. These comparisons describe observed movement in the recorded data; they are not a projection of future prices.

The spread between lower- and higher-priced listings (about $0.561 per round here) reflects differences in pack size, bullet type, and brand within the .38 Special category: bulk cases and basic range loads sit toward the lower end of the range, while small packs and specialty loads sit toward the upper end. The numbers describe what is currently listed, not any single product.

All prices are observed daily-best per-round figures from tracked online retailers, in stock at the time of observation. Coverage varies by retailer and source, and in-store or local pricing is not included. The underlying history is append-only, so past observations are never overwritten. This page reports what the data shows and does not advise any action.

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