[Grump]

Okay, this little Iraq/Afghanistan adventure is taking place when we have about twice the population we did during our 10 or so years in Vietnam/SE Asia, and we're doing it with about half the number of troops we had deployed during the Johnson years. I also understand we're NOT running a million rounds of .5.56 per month per helicopter gunship's mini-guns with the current static policing actions in both theaters of operations.

So, why is it I have NOT been able to find a single box of small rifle primers for 3 months from about 5 sources including the LV Bass Pro Shops (who wanted $4.99/100 for large pistol a few weeks ago!)?

There's been 1 pound of WW-748 through a single shop during this time and I missed snagging that one. H-335 is also sold out all the time. One shop says they order stuff all the time but have to take what their distributor decides to ship from their list.

The only thing I've been able to find for .223 is a few good deals on Hornady 55-gr FMJBTs, but that's been mail order. I'm ready to choke down HazMat fees and just order powder and primers in larger quantities than I like, not for price savings but to simply GET the stuff.

So, what are conditions elsewhere in this great land?

[K3]

Two words:

Powder valley

http://www.powdervalleyinc.com/

I just ordered some CCI 34s and 41s.

Pretty sure they have Fed SR primers in stock too..... checking....


Yep, they have 5000 for $120. Add shipping and hazmat, and you *should* be under $150.

CCI #400 are $112.50 for 5K

Remington 6-1/2 are $115 for 5K

Win SR are $107.50 per 5K but those are out of stock.

[ranger335v]

There has been a lot of talk of shortages on the net recently. Talk of shortages causes fear. Fear causes panic buying and hoarding, which makes the original talk self fulfilling. Sorry you got caught short but it'll soon pass.

[Halo]

Widener's seems to have plenty of Wolf primers of all types. I've not used Wolf primers yet, but I've heard only positive things about them.

[nambu1]

I have used Wolf LR primers and did not have any problems with them. The last time I needed primers, I checked 5 different suppliers and they were all out of most sizes except of a few small rifle (less than 3000).

[1911user]

Definitely powder valley.

Either the shops don't work very hard to get new powder and primer stocks or they should find new distributors. I could have 50K primers and 50 pounds of powder on my doorstep in 2-3 days; they could also.

[ADKWOODSMAN]

I'll second those two words--powder valley!

[NavyLCDR]

I'm lucky. Though I haven't been reloading lately, I have been shopping at Sportsman's Warehouse here in Washington State and they've got just about everything on the shelves, primers, powders, even multiple boxes of the cheep plated bullets I use for plinking.

I just moved from OKC and the SW there was out of just about everything most of the time.

[dagger dog]

Must be related to the area in which you live.The only problems here in the mid-west is being able to afford the reloading supplies.

Our nearest Bass Pro,keeps their prices just about the same as Midway , not including hazmat.

Powder Valley is the best tip today. If you can drum up some other shooters in the Las Vegas area you can split the shipping and hazmat

[CU74]

I see lots of recommendations for Powder Valley. Since I live in Kansas, I'd have to pay state sales tax on Powder Valley purchases. I've found Graf & Sons to be a good source for my powder and primer needs. http://www.grafs.com/

[Lazuris]

Dude stock up on rice as soon as you can cus there will be no more rice and everyone will die and it will all be George Bush's fault as always.

[Walkalong]

LOLhttp://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x37/Walkalong/anim_rofl2.gif I'm heading to the grocery store right now. :)

Guys here in town don't want to order primers for stock because they would have to charge so much. The gun shop owner where I go a lot is not going to carry them anymore.

[XD-40 Shooter]

Good thing I ordered 10,000 Wolf Small Pistol primers from Widener's a couple weeks ago, and I bought a 8lb keg of Unique, for loading my 40 S&W rounds.:)

[Halo]

So are you guys pleased with the Wolf primers? I think I'm going to try some when I run out of Winchester.

[zxcvbob]

So are you guys pleased with the Wolf primers? I think I'm going to try some when I run out of Winchester.

I haven't used 'em much yet, but I like them so far. I wish I had bought 30000 instead of 3000.

[evan price]

One of the reasons that is exacerbating the "shortage" of reloading components (And I'm ignoring the easy ones, "There's a war on ya know" & "World demand for metal is at an all time high") is the simple fact that finished factory ammo has taken a series of drastic price increases in the past six months.

Ten-fifteen years ago I remember 9mm Luger ammo was $10 a box of 50 for range ammo. Good stuff was more.
Fast forward about 2 years ago and you could buy 9mm Luger for $5 a box of fifty.
Granted, five years ago components were cheaper, but it still didn't make financial sense for the more tightwadded of us to reload considering you saved so little money on common calibers like .38 special, 9mm Luger, and even .40 S&W and .45 ACP- most weekend shooters didn't shoot enough ammo to bother with saving $5 a weekend by reloading.

Fast forward to Mid-2008, and 9mm Luger is $10 a box, 45 ACP, .38 special, .40 S&W, etc are over $15 a box. Suddenly. $4/50 rounds of .45 is a good deal and worth the time.

Plus, presses and equipment are better now than it was 30 years ago when our fathers or grandfathers reloaded.
Progressive presses, accurate powder measures, carbide dies, case tumblers, all have made it easier to reload than back in the day when they had those gigantic heavy cast iron presses and a teaspoon and a funnel.

Supplies are a mouse click away from your doorstep. Advice on what works or what is a great deal is another mouse click from your monitor.

Communities like THR now can mentor newbies over Teh Innernet and help people get over their fear or hesitation towards something new like reloading.

As a result, more and more shooters are reloading. We're now into the warm seasons, and people are needing more ammo.

Figure things are going to stay busy until either the antis find a way to shut us down (like bullet microstamping) or things get really scarce.

Primers powder and projectiles are out there, it's just the low-hanging fruit has been plucked and you may have to look around a little.

I know that I can find stock in whatever supplies I need, right now, if necessary- I keep on top of things like that on Teh Innernet regularly. It's called supply chain management.

This is nothing like the Great Primer Scare & Shortage of 1992 (iirc... 1992? 1993?) when the talk was about converting primers to have a chemical expiration date beyond which they would not fire- and people scrambled to buy any primers they could, just in case.
THOSE were dark days when people darn near had knife-fights in the primer aisles of gunstores and roving bands of toughs scoured the wastelands seeking the precious metal disks that went bang...

No, wait, that was Mad Max...

[ants]

Grump

1. Buying retail reloading supplies here in Las Vegas has sucked since the 1970's. That won't change. Don't bother complaining.

2. You want primers and powder cheaper, without hazmat fees or shipping? Seek out Sheldon and Jane at Crossbow Enterprises from Colorado. About two weeks before a gun show, call and tell them what you want. You can pick it up from them when they arrive in town Friday before the show.

[ojibweindian]

I just picked up another 5K CCI Large Pistol primers and 5 lbs of Unique yesterday and 2 weeks ago, I bought 3K Winchester LP primers and 3 lbs of Unique. Lots of sales going on at the two places I most frequent.

[Halo]

Plus, presses and equipment are better now than it was 30 years ago when our fathers or grandfathers reloaded.
Progressive presses, accurate powder measures, carbide dies, case tumblers, all have made it easier to reload than back in the day when they had those gigantic heavy cast iron presses and a teaspoon and a funnel.

This and a few other things I've read suggest that case tumblers are a relatively new thing for reloaders. When did they become prevalent, and how did people clean their brass before tumblers? I was given a Lyman Turbo 1200 and I figure it's probably about 20-25 years old, but maybe it's not nearly that old after all.

[CBS220]

Gun stores can't beat the prices on online dealers... it simply isn't worth their trouble, because reloaders are so predisposed to ordering things anyway.

[ranger335v]

Halo - "When did they become prevalent, and how did people clean their brass before tumblers? I was given a Lyman Turbo 1200 and I figure it's probably about 20-25 years old, but maybe it's not nearly that old after all."

I got my 1200 over 20 years ago, forget exactly when. What did we do previously? We can get cases very clean with a simple overnight soak in a bath of white vinegar and water, 50:50, but most of us just wiped the brass clean and used it.

There are two reasons to use a tumbler; one, to just get it clean and, two, to make it shine. I think most users today are more interested in shine than clean. But, that's okay, it is pretty.

Are "better" tools available today than 30 years ago? Well, some of it's fancier for sure, but better? I don't thinks so. In fact, most everything I purchased over 40 years ago is still on the market and it's still considered high grade stuff today. There have been a few design tweaks but no really major changes. I think carbide pistol sizers are the single neatest improvement since '65!

Richard Lee and modern CNC machining has helped hold sale/manufactoring costs down so, compaired to inflation since '65, it's much "cheaper" to start reloading today and that's helped a lot of newbies get into reloading over the years.

Progressive presses and electronic powder systems are indeed newer but really no better, as such. We DID have excellant measures and tricklers in '65, many of which are still made. I know no one who measured powder with a spoon, but I'm sure it happened somewhere! :)

I still have no need for a progressive press or digital powder system, don't trust them to do as precise work as I do. I go to few shoot-um-up movies so I have never developed a taste for just pulling the trigger on a semi-auto to listen to myself pop off a magazine full of reloads. I just don't need the newer high volume production tools but it's different strokes for different folks and that's okay too.

[amlevin]

The only shortage I am experiencing is money. The price of components is going up, just like the price of crude oil.

[zxcvbob]

I need to take an inventory. I've been buying components whenever I find them cheap. I think I probably have enough pistol powder to last me 30 years (and that's mostly what I shoot), and a few thousand bullets, and several hundred pounds of lead. But I only have 10 pounds of rifle powder, and I have no idea about primers.

I could be just about out of large pistol primers and not know it. Or maybe I have plenty. No idea.

Also need to check my supply of .22's.

[Grump]

I'm "shopping" in the south LV valley and Washington County, UT. Prices in UT are almost always better, but availability is getting sketchy for .223-type consumables other than bullets.

[sublimaze41]

Don't know if anybody has mentioned it but Powder Valley :evil::evil::evil::evil:

This just shows you how you have to keep some stock on hand to avoid being short when your store has none.

It is also hit and miss in my area as well. I have not bought much powder or primers locally in a few years. Good Luck !!

[MinnMooney]

I had a tougher time finding SR primers 6-8 months ago than now. I can pretty much walk into most sports stores and find powder and primers. They might not have everything for me that's on my list but then I just go 3 blocks to the next store and see if they have it.
There have been times - last fall comes to mind - when I couldn't find SR primers to save my soul.

[xsquidgator]

Again, Powder Valley!

In central FL, I have still not found a store with much selection and any kind of stockpile of components. That left going to the gunshows, which wasn't bad, but wasn't too convienent either. Try lugging 50# of lead bullets of various kinds, a few thousand primers, and a couple cans or more of powder all the way out to the parking lot, and that isn't too fun. Don't forget having to pay $8 to get in and also sales tax on most things, too. Much as I like the beef jerky booths there it's kind of a hassle.

I did that for a while until I got over my irrational fear of shipping and hazmat charges. My first time round with Powder Valley I spent about $300 but got the same amount of stuff that it would have cost me $350 or more to get at the gunshow, even including the shipping and also the hazmat fee. Powder Valley's prices are so competitive that if you buy enough stuff, you WILL come out ahead before very long (they have primers for about $22 per 1k, where are you going to find them at that price locally?) And, all I had to do was to go online and it showed up at my door a few days later, no lugging stuff around. And, Powder Valley had a much wider selection of stuff to choose from. I just placed another stockup order with them and look forward to doing business with them over the long haul. No hard feelings towards the local stores, it just doesn't work out that reloading components are something that's easy for them to compete with the online places on.

[moxie]

I haven't checked anything local lately, but I did check Powder Valley just now and they have lots and lots of powder and primers. I noted some powder prices cheaper than 15 years ago.