[gvnwst]

So, pretty much all of us have "noticed" the lack of reloading supplies, and i have noticed in particular, primers are hard to get. I am able to buy pretty much anything i want around where i live, they have huge amonts of powder, but NOT 1 rifle primer?! Why is it all primers, you need just as many projectiles, no? And it seems to be mainly limited to "rifle" primers, "pistol" primers are very available...(and i don't need to reload for any centerfire pistol:() Why is this?

[jcwit]

Pistol primers are very available?
Grafs & Sons Out of Stock
Natchez Out of Stock
Powder Valley Out of Stock

Don't sound very available to me.

[gvnwst]

Okay, from large places. Around where i am, there are a LOT. Gander Mtn (stopping selling stuff, because they CAN'T sell it!) had like 50k last time i went, all pistol. No rifle primers. Same for the super small reloading store i have.

[PT1911]

small boxed, relatively low price.. easy for hoarders to get and attempt to sell at a later date.... my guess anyway...

[goose2]

I have no problem finding all the powder I want. Its the primers that have me bummed out.

[PT1911]

lead, gunpowder and brass can be found or improvised... primers...not so much...much like a gun is useless without a cartrige, a cartrige is useless without a primer...

[Rembrandt]

Easy to understand the small rifle primer shortage.......fear of another AWB caused a panic buying frenzy on AR15's, most all are chambered for .223....which causes a run on ammo....which causes a run on components....etc.

Primers are out there, but not on the internet. Most gun shops are getting metered supplies in on a weekly basis. I picked up another 12K pistol primers this morning, (7K small and 5K large).

[gvnwst]

Hey, leave some for me, i only need like 200 for starters!

[ants]

This is why:

I picked up another 12K pistol primers this morning, (7K small and 5K large).

[Walkalong]

Yep, exactly why.

[gvnwst]

Okay, lets see here...how many primers do you have Rembrandt? Well, since you have so many, i get the next bunch, so i have some in the first place!:neener::D

Really, it sucks to not be able to even start with 200 primers! Just halt your buying some a newb can start, please!:o

[WNTFW]

I think it is because primers are (were) less than $30 per K.
Good bullets are about that per 100 or 50 on some cases.
Powder is roughly $20-25 per pound.

So on say .223 (rough math & pricing)
you get about 250 rounds per $25 on powder.
you get about 200 rounds per $25 on bullets. (Cheap Bullets! not SMKs)
you get about 1000 rounds per $25 on primers.

Then there is the HazMat fee your avoiding. 1K primers equals about 4lb powder in the .223 example.

If I had the money I'd have more primers than Rembrandt. I'm not criticizing Rembrandt. Most guys that can afford them already had plenty and can still buy more. I just try to buy my components in balanced quantities.

It is self fulfilling prophecy, cyclic and stampeding in nature.

[tbtrout]

Keep buying some powder when you can not find primers. One day, roles will reverse and primers will be plentiful and powder scarce.

[gvnwst]

Keep buying some powder when you can not find primers. One day, roles will reverse and primers will be plentiful and powder scarce.Exactly what i am plannning oon doin. now i just need to get some $ for powder, and a good setup for all the different calibers i will ever want.....

[Furncliff]

I'll bet the factories that produce primers have one machine for each size. The machines run day and night seven days a week producing X number. So they've been truckin along for years, they are producing a steady supply for their distrubuters who then sell to brick and mortar as well as e-stores. All of sudden demand shoots sky high, some dip wads are hoarding 20K or more. Now they can't turn up the machines much and they can't buy new machines because they are super expensive and the machines take 6 months to build. And what plant manager wants to be stuck with a gazillion dollar machine when the demand slacks six months from now?

That's my take anyway.:barf:
:)

[cliffy]

Common primers come from America and Brazil. Why are both country's so light on primers? I feel it's a conspiracy, like when sugar circled landing ports to INCREASE prices, or when gasoline became unavailable in 1974. I hate conspiracies, yet here we are: primerless. We must live with the dirth, until prices become RIGHT. We, consumers, have no say within a world market. cliffy

[redneck2]

I just got a 5k case of Federal 205M's (small rifle match) last week.
Really, it sucks to not be able to even start with 200 primers! Just halt your buying some a newb can start, please
I'd suggest getting at least 1k at a time as they become available. Actually they are, you just can't walk into any store at any time and get them. Gotta look around.

A few months ago there weren't any bullets. Now there are plenty. There wasn't any powder. Now it's showing up.

Are you stocking up or just waiting for the next shortage?

I'm going to start putting back lead. I suspect it will be banned or more likely heavily taxed before Big O's first term is up. I'm looking at maybe 2-3 tons.

[Dark Skies]

Woohoo! I managed to lay my hands on a thousand of each Federal small pistol, small rifle and large rifle primers today - at regular prices. I am officially prepared for zombies.

[Remy]

Shhhh don't know to much, dont say to much

[redbandit98]

well, those of you who think pistol primers are easy to come by consider yourself lucky. I have two gun shops in my area. Both have always been waaay overpriced. Last I checked it was about $5 per hundred and thats even If they have them. Most of the time they dont. I have to order my primers online and no one has any online or has had any the last two months Ive checked. I am on the "contact when they come in stock" list on all the major suppliers. You guys that can just stroll into your big box stores and pick up what you want count your blessings.

[helg]

I think it is because primers are (were) less than $30 per K.
Good bullets are about that per 100 or 50 on some cases.
Powder is roughly $20-25 per pound.

So on say .223 (rough math & pricing)
you get about 250 rounds per $25 on powder.
you get about 200 rounds per $25 on bullets. (Cheap Bullets! not SMKs)
you get about 1000 rounds per $25 on primers. With the above logic the math for small pistol primers for 9mm with cast bullets should be:
- .75 cents a shot for powder (Titegroup 4gr, $13/lb)
- .36 cents a shot for lead (WW, $.2/lb, 125gr)
- 2.5 cents a shot for primers as said above.

Rife primers should go up in price, but pistol can not.

[moooose102]

to much hoarding going on. many things are not available regoinally. some shops seem to have this, the next has that. you just have to look in every nook and cranny. you will find what you need. think of it as a treasure hunt! it is a PITA, but what are you going to do?:banghead:

[SharpsDressedMan]

Primers are simply the one thing you don't have, can't make, or can't reuse. You can make bullets for just about anything, and probably have SOME brass (which is reloadable until it wears out). Yes, you do need powder, but many of us can substitute other powders we have until we use them all up. If we are out of primers, we stop reloading right NOW.........

[Rembrandt]

Okay, lets see here...how many primers do you have Rembrandt? Well, since you have so many, i get the next bunch, so i have some in the first place!

Not buying to scalp, buying them to use. Reload not only for myself but our kids families as well. We use to be quite heavy into the shotgun sports but the kids interests have gravitated in recent years to AR's and handgun competitions. We load and shoot in excess of 100K-to-150K rounds each year.

Never worried much about primers when the local stores carried inventories, now have to buy in larger quantities for the upcoming year because of the shortages. It's simply economics and buying in a timely manner. Started buying components as a group over a year ago to get better price breaks and spread out hazmat charges. Unfortunately we didn't start buying up rifle & pistol components in time.

[MikeRz]

Refer to my previous post named 'Yippie'. I just ordered powder and primers from Graf & Sons on 3/31 and received them both on 4/3. I put the products on b/o and they filled the order as soon as they could I guess? Their web site said 'out of stock' then and still does. I think they have tons of supplies but just don't update the web site...

Mike

[scrat]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/4486529/Military-US-Army-Weapons-TM-31210-Improvised-Munitions-Handbook-1


SCROLL DOWN TO PAGE 44

[kimbershot]

just got back from 4 diff. gunshops. two were out of large pistol primers, two others had some--i picked up 2k in one store and 3k in another. all complained of shipping delays. basically i stocked up on primers as i will be casting my own bullets (have enough 1x fired shells). i should be self sufficient for several years with my level of participation. (also--mold/handles) are on back order in many places.:banghead:

will opt for several more pounds of 231 as it is still readily available in my area.

good luck to all.:what:

[coloradokevin]

I've really never been more frustrated with shooting sports than I am right now.

I've been searching for winchester small pistol primers for months now. Eventually I found one box of Federal small pistol primers at a small local shop, for something like $3.75/100. The price was crappy, it wasn't the brand I wanted, and the box was at least 10 years old.

Here in CO I've checked:

Green Mountain Guns
Reloader's Corner
Sportsman's Warehouse
Bass Pro Shops
The Firing Line

This is getting a bit out of hand. I'm just SOooo glad that so many people felt the need to stack themselves 100,000 primers deep at home! Good luck in a house fire!

I've always kept about 1,000 primers per kind on hand. I'm out of all pistol, have 100 large rifle, and 800 small rifle primers. That isn't going to take me very far by my estimation!

[redneck2]

Shortage for the same reason shelves of bread and milk are empty before a big snow storm. Everybody wants a lot at once.

[41 Mag]

Years ago when I started getting serious about loading, I bought powder a pound at a time and enough bullets and primers to use up that particular powder. I ended up with a dozen or more powders, for loading several rifles and handguns. As time wore on, I purchased primers and bullets in bigger quantities, but still only bought the one pound containers of powder. I ended up having to retest some loads more frequently due to changes in burn rates and that got to be annoying. That led me to purchase some powders 8# at a time.

Then I started to consolidated my powders to ones like 4895, 4831, Unigue and 296, in order to cut out some of the powders which sat unused for years. Once I did this I started buying bullets and primers in bigger lots as well, and since, I have always had at least 1-2K of each primer size on hand.

I sat down year before last, and figured up what I had on hand, and based on what I shot the most of, needed to have on hand in components. This was based on how much I had shot and loaded for several rifles and handguns over the previous couple of years. Then I slowly started to purchased enough to last me for a few more years.

Now every load will not be the absolute top ended load for each and every firearm I own, but with the components I have, I will get good accuracy, lots of shooting, and hunting with every firearm I own, and won't have to worry about anything changing on my loads until I use up my current lots of components.

As to what is referred to as hoarding, by some, or simply filling inventory by others, I look at it as nothing more than clearing out older stuff, and restocking my inventory. Bottom line is I got mine before any panic, I shoot WAY less than some here and WAY more than others, and will be content with what I have for a goodly amount of time, or until the goon squads come a knocking at the door. At that point in time, I guess we will all have to decide, to either put up or shut up.

[Dark Skies]

In the past I used to buy a few hundred primers in advance of a session on the range for whatever rifles I intended to shoot. The nearest full bore range to me is a good sixty miles so it's really a whole day event with 120 + miles of driving. I tend to shoot during weekdays because it's too crowded over the weekend - which means taking time off work. It also rains a lot here. Consequently I don't get to shoot there as much as I'd like. Now that there's this drought I've had to seriously upgrade my stock quantities to be sure that I can shoot on the days I can wangle. NOT shooting my rifles can have serious consequences at the end of a year.

In the UK you have to have permissions for each and every firearm you intend to shoot. We call them 'slots'. To obtain permission you need to be able to show good reason for wanting to purchase each firearm. If your main reason is for sporting / target shooting then you're expected to shoot each firearm at least three times per year. This was a recommendation after the Dunblane enquiry. In terms of curtailing firearm crime it's, obviously, absolute bollocks. However, that's the sort of law we have to contend with over here. So you can see, no primers, no shooting, which would mean I could end up in the situation where I have to squeeze in a years worth of shooting a quite sizable collection of full-bore rifles into quite a reduced time frame just to justify my continuation of my sport. It's ridiculous. So I'm having to stockpile components to make sure I'm not placed in that situation.

EDIT. Laughably there doesn't seem to be any fixed figure for how many rounds you shoot. Technically, I guess, I could take all of my rifles to the range three times a year and only shoot one round through each rifle per session and still be within the realms of 'good reason'. On the other hand I could take all my rifles to the range just once a year, shoot two hundred rounds through each rifle and NOT meet the 'good reason' qualifier. How this has any bearing on keeping the public safe I cannot imagine.

[Martyk]

There is a very good post on the subject here: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=5489211#post5489211

[Primersinmyshoe]

Dark Skies, can you have pistols in the UK? I mostly shoot 1911's as was wondering what it's like to own and shoot handguns across the pond.

[Dark Skies]

If a gun is of historical interest - WWI and WWII or similar vintage pistols then yes you can. But the pistol must genuinely be of this era rather than a modern copy or continuation of the model. It MUST be kept at the club and you cannot remove it from the premises - although if you swapped clubs you could have this done for you.

We can still own and keep cap and ball black powder pistols in our own home and take them to a range for shooting. Western style pistols have a large following here.

You can also keep a modern pistol if you are a vetinarian - strictly for humane destruction of an animal - no shooting for fun.

You can own a modern pistol if it has an extremely long Buntline-type barrel - size matters here - in our crazy country this is actually classed as a rifle in the same manner as a carbine. But if it's bigger than .22 then you can't have semi-automatics. Wheel guns are OK in bigger calibres.