Any reloaders here? Primer shortage

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Just curious if there are any reloaders here that have noticed the scarcity of primers. Specifically, small rifle and pistol primers. Almost no one has ANY quantity in stock and the local shops that do have a few will only sell 200+- to a given customer.

It's far worse than '93-'94 and I find it somewhat unbelievable. I'm convinced there are people buying tens of thousands of primers to hoard who shoot very little and haven't reloaded 1000 rounds in their entire lives.

I have a course to take in a couple of months that will require 500-1000 rounds of pistol ammunition. No way am I going to shoot factory ammo. Unless something changes, it seems I might be using small rifle primers to load the required quantity of .40 S&W ammo. At least I have a lot of those.

Just unbelievable...
 
I reload a lot and it is worst than 93-94.

People are spooked and as long as they are, supplies will be short.

Plus add that more people than ever before are getting into reloading (and people buying guns that never had one) and the wars the demand is high. (as far as sm rifle)

It will be years before you see anything change. And the supplies will either go away (due to some laws) or go back to a normal state. But I think whatever happens, we will never see supplies and availability (or prices) per Nov 2008 ever again.

People will continue to stock up due to what they have seen these last few months.

Take care, Bill
 
Don't reload currently but used to years ago. A friend of the family contacted the primer manufactures and asked about the shortage. Only one company responded and they said that they are working 24/7 and the back log is down from 90 days to 30 days...

With finished ammo flying off the shelves as well, it's no wonder there is a shortage. I'm sure that ammo companies get first dibs.

I saw a piece on Fox news a couple of days ago that went to an ammo place and they said they have never seen such demand. They got caught off guard and had to get raw materials in line for manufacture. This took time to happen and is part of the cause of the current shortage.
 
I agree about the prices. I doubt we'll see primers again for $20 per 1000. Sooner or later production has to catch up with demand though. Or so I think. I just can't imagine people wanting to keep buying at the current rate when they already have 50K or 100K sitting around.

This is one time I wish I was more easily drawn into the stampede. If that was my nature I'd have bought 10K last year.

I'm sure everyone is running 24/7 right now. They haven't had demand like this in years. Might as well make some $ while they can. No telling what will happen later.
 
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Originally Posted By: Steve S
People are stocking up so the government has more to confiscate.


Molon Labe
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Steve S
The gun and ammo bubble will burst then what!!!


Then you kill the Zombies....
39.gif
 
I have been reloading for years and this is as bad as I've ever seen.

I started noticing a "shortage" of certain brass late in 07 which I attributed to the war and the rise in the price of metals in general. IMO the industry had not recovered from that when it was hit by the rush on supplies from recent political fears(valid or not).

With that, I started stocking up on supplies with the thought of saving some money, never thinking things would get to the state they are now.

One thing that does not seem to be in short supply though is powder, kinda makes you wonder if the reasons for the shortages are hoarders or speculators?
 
Originally Posted By: jsharp
Originally Posted By: Steve S
People are stocking up so the government has more to confiscate.


Molon Labe
wink.gif

They will, not too many people will stick up for and protect each other .
 
Originally Posted By: Steve S
The gun and ammo bubble will burst then what!!!


Maybe the companies will be in line for a bailout? As if
LOL.gif
 
Originally Posted By: jsharp
Originally Posted By: Steve S
The gun and ammo bubble will burst then what!!!


Maybe the companies will be in line for a bailout? As if
LOL.gif

They don't contribute enough$$$$ to the politicians to be considered!!!
 
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Originally Posted By: jsharp
Originally Posted By: Steve S
The gun and ammo bubble will burst then what!!!


Maybe the companies will be in line for a bailout? As if
LOL.gif

They don't contribute enough$$$$ to the politicians to be considered!!!


Not to mention the lack of political correctness perceived by the current regime.
 
Originally Posted By: BoiseRob
Originally Posted By: Steve S
The gun and ammo bubble will burst then what!!!


Then you kill the Zombies....
39.gif



head shots only
 
Originally Posted By: TurboLuver
I have been reloading for years and this is as bad as I've ever seen.

I started noticing a "shortage" of certain brass late in 07 which I attributed to the war and the rise in the price of metals in general. IMO the industry had not recovered from that when it was hit by the rush on supplies from recent political fears(valid or not).

With that, I started stocking up on supplies with the thought of saving some money, never thinking things would get to the state they are now.

One thing that does not seem to be in short supply though is powder, kinda makes you wonder if the reasons for the shortages are hoarders or speculators?
NO powder anywhere around here.

I use quite a few different powders (and was stocked up well before November 2008) But right now at many places that normally stock powder like Accurate 2230, Win 231, Herc 2400, Unique, Clays and such are out of stock ALL SIZES.

Nope, we have a major panic going on and I wished every one that owned a firearm would join the NRA and 2nd amendment foundation. If that happened, the idiots on the hill would not even think about messing around.
06.gif


Then things could calm down.
 
My neighbor and I handload.

Brass, bullets, primers are all nearly impossible to come by at the moment.

Panic buying for fear of future scarcity or higher (than already) prices.
 
The war is part of it, the economy is part of it, and time of year. The military would get first order on anything for the ammo they use, manufacturers would be fools not to fill that order first. The manufacturers are probably not cranking up production this year like they normally would because the economy is slow and recreational activities(target shooting would be one of them) usually get cut first when people don't have money. Also factor in the price of metals right now, and higher demand commands higher prices and less availability, I'd be cautious over production costs/volume if I were them too. This time of year is when reloaders and target shooters start gearing up for the ranges which is creating an even further reduction in available stock. I'm not going to touch on those insist on stock piling, just in case.
 
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Today's update - I got a "Product Arrival Notification" from Midway yesterday for some small pistol primers. I go to their site to check and they're marked "out of stock."

The email was time stamped 4:08 PM. It was 4:25 PM when I checked. However many they got in were sold out in less that 20 minutes.
smirk2.gif


I don't think war usage is a big factor in this. It's been going on now for a number of years and the contract quantities should be steady. The spring rush should also be accounted for since it happens ever year. That leaves our old friends the speculators and hoarders that are driving it.

At least I have plenty of everything else. Maybe I'll find someone who will trade 1K small pistol primers for 1K of small rifle. I've lots of those.

Bill in Utah - try to find Winchester 748 powder. Even a single pound. I haven't seen *any* for 6+ months...
 
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Too bad we were not closer. I'd make the trade (I've got just a "little" of both...)
grin2.gif


Win 748. EXCELLENT choice

I seem to love and have "some" AA2230 for the .223 but the 4 lbs of 748 that I used up was great! (also very nice powder for the .308)

I agree the shortages are mostly due to one reason. With someone high up stating that they want to register ALL the weapons last week that was REAL smart...
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We have a major fight coming up.
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