A friend of mine was in a gun shop about a half hour from here, and sent me a text saying they had a couple packs of large primers for $6.99 each and was that a good price? I said, it's pretty good for these days so please grab them for me. Didn't even ask, but it turned out they were Federal. This was about 2pm. Made me wonder what they had at 9am that morning. I have about 1500 large still in my stash and would have preferred small ones since I only used large for 45 auto, but use small in .380, 9mm, 38 special, some 357 and .40
A Few Primers
- Thread starter Jonesy814
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bullseye308
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I’m so glad I have been going through these crap spells for decades and learned to keep at least 5 years of stock. I truly do feel bad for those of you dealing with this crap for the first time. I have never paid over $23.99/1000 and it looks like those days are long gone.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
Are you saying $6.99/100? That would be $69.90/k. Sorry but that sounds high even now. I think I would have passed unless I had none at all...
I just began reloading in 2014. I went into this with about 8000-9000 primers, split between small & small magnum pistol and large pistol. Last time I bought primers was late January, 2020. A large shop an hour from me was having A big sale the last weekend of March,2020. I had plans to go and get a few thousand but a week before the sale our governor shut down gun shops.
I have roughly 500 rounds loaded for all calibers I shoot, with 1200 small pistol and 500 small magnum primers still on hand. As for the price, I am used to paying about $4/100 unless there was a sale, then they are closer to $30, and the going rate many places is around $100 per thousand these days. At $6.99, a box of 45 auto would cost an additional $1.50 to reload. People are paying $30-$40 for a box of 45 auto these days, which is $12-20 dollars more than they used to be. When looking at it that way, my extra $1.50 cost to load a box seems fairly reasonable, and it was only 200 primers.
ParallelCode
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$6.99/100, considering you didn't pay shipping or hazmat, beats the best online prices I've seen this year ($75/k after shipping/hazmat spread across 2k).
Hooda Thunkit
Member
A friend of mine, who procrastinated a couple years ago when I urged him to stock up on primers, called me the other day.
He had found primers @ $100 for a brick of 1k. He asked me if that was a good price.
I asked him if he had any, and replied in the negative.
I asked him if he wanted to reload and shoot, he said yes.
I advised him to buy them. The price wasn't bad, all things considered.
Compared to 4¢ each, he paid 10¢. An extra $6 per hundred rounds loaded.
While this hobby can save money (sure it can), it's not a cheap hobby. If $6 more per 100 causes financial problems, you should probably find a different hobby.
Perhaps fishing. I understand that's cheap. All one needs is a stick, some string, a hook, and a worm.
He had found primers @ $100 for a brick of 1k. He asked me if that was a good price.
I asked him if he had any, and replied in the negative.
I asked him if he wanted to reload and shoot, he said yes.
I advised him to buy them. The price wasn't bad, all things considered.
Compared to 4¢ each, he paid 10¢. An extra $6 per hundred rounds loaded.
While this hobby can save money (sure it can), it's not a cheap hobby. If $6 more per 100 causes financial problems, you should probably find a different hobby.
Perhaps fishing. I understand that's cheap. All one needs is a stick, some string, a hook, and a worm.
dh1633pm
Contributing Member
I don't know about you, but my fishing friends need the latest pole, reel, and boat. Much more expensive then our shooting habits.
In small amounts (100 count), I can see paying more for primers. I have an excellent supply, but its not unlimited.
I found SPP limited to 5 sleeves, $6/100 a few months ago...the LRP I used yesterday were $4/100, bought 2 years ago...Seeing any on the shelves for any price sounds unique. I do have one pack marked $1.99, that store was going out of business 25 years ago...Point being I just don't remember cheap primers since the before Obama Regime. I seem to be good for a while with LRP and SRP other than I never remembered to pick up SPP, so if I see some under $8 I will pay...I just won't get as many.
Buy primers when they are available. Stock up on them when they are what you would consider cheap. Looking at the cost of individual primers (3 cents, 6 cents, 10 cents, whatever) is an exercise in frustration when you are looking to purchase thousands, maybe 10s of thousands, of them over course of months or years. The prices will always fluctuate. If you put a high limit on what you are willing to pay you will eventually run out of primers.
Live too long, and the sticker shock will kill you in the end.
There is actually no shortage of primers if we could buy Chinese or Russian primers. They would be very willing to sell us all the ammunition and components we desire, if only our elite allowed it. There is no effective competition in the United States, I have not checked recently, but the ammunition companies were at one time, all owned by one entity. Price competition is a shame. I talked to Eley during the Obama era, they claimed he was their best salesman, and they had their production lines running 24 hours a day, but, they were not going to expand their facilities or hire more people. It was just more profitable to keep the workforce small, but require massive overtime, and keep ammunition costs high by limiting production. I am 100% certain that none of the ammunition companies will add additional facilities to met demand.
CQB45ACP
Member
Sunoco racing fuel is $15/gallon in 5 gallon pails. A good fall weekend will easily take two pails. But like the fragrance of an indoor range, it’s intoxicating. Who cares about the price? Not me.
And compared to what our golfing brethren spend, all of this is cheap.
Akula69
Member
.06 or .07 cents per primer is pretty good (as prices go at this time) and I don't see them coming down until (like Slamfire said) some competition shows up. Yeah, I remember getting them for .03 cents per....but those days are long gone...think about when you've ever seen prices go back down in an almost monopoly situation?
Hell, if you include hazmat and shipping you are at 100.00/brick anyway. Since the supply has eased somewhat I have switched from "Get them if you can" to "Who has the least overall cost?"
Hell, if you include hazmat and shipping you are at 100.00/brick anyway. Since the supply has eased somewhat I have switched from "Get them if you can" to "Who has the least overall cost?"
Git em while you can nowadays............best/picker
I buy my rounds of golf in bulk
One price for an entire season of golfing.
AJC1
Member
Megabass isn't any cheaper than shooting trust me....
CQB45ACP
Member
Good deal. Public courses around here are few, expensive, and just okay—twilight golf is $40 plus cart. I guess bulk packages are available. Private courses are ultra expensive—$100K common—and the caddies drive caddies (old joke, golfers all drive carts these days of course)I buy my rounds of golf in bulk
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Mark_Mark
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I love fishing! we have a ocean fish here that looks just like a bass!
Yeah, fishing is not free
FROGO207
Member
The last time I purchased anything more than 1K primers at a time they cost me $14 per K at the time. Still working at using them up too.
That was before the Clinton presidency and I had made a killing on some stocks. Purchased land, firearms, and cases of primers. Seems all three choices were good solid investments it seems.
That was before the Clinton presidency and I had made a killing on some stocks. Purchased land, firearms, and cases of primers. Seems all three choices were good solid investments it seems.
GeoDudeFlorida
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I noticed a golf course for sale on the way home from work last week and hoped for a fleeting moment someone would buy it and open a rifle range. Then I remembered which county I was in and realized it had but one possible fate: to become more cracker-box, low-rent housing units.
Golf is an expensive hobby - one I've manage to avoid - but it too is on the decline as the costs of living and inflation catch up with older generations. Our current generations have better things to do with their leisure time than hit balls around a park. What I can't say but it apparently has nothing to do with leisure.
Mark_Mark
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was that in 1939? right before the war… lol
Mark_Mark
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Golf is only fun with a laser range finder and cold drinksI noticed a golf course for sale on the way home from work last week and hoped for a fleeting moment someone would buy it and open a rifle range. Then I remembered which county I was in and realized it had but one possible fate: to become more cracker-box, low-rent housing units.
Golf is an expensive hobby - one I've manage to avoid - but it too is on the decline as the costs of living and inflation catch up with older generations. Our current generations have better things to do with their leisure time than hit balls around a park. What I can't say but it apparently has nothing to do with leisure.
The shooting ranges and golf courses around here are opposite of what you would think. Golf courses are full of people 30 and under (which is why you need to join a club) and the shooting ranges are mostly people older than 40. When 223 ammo is readily available again I expect the younger crowds to be back at the ranges.I noticed a golf course for sale on the way home from work last week and hoped for a fleeting moment someone would buy it and open a rifle range. Then I remembered which county I was in and realized it had but one possible fate: to become more cracker-box, low-rent housing units.
Golf is an expensive hobby - one I've manage to avoid - but it too is on the decline as the costs of living and inflation catch up with older generations. Our current generations have better things to do with their leisure time than hit balls around a park. What I can't say but it apparently has nothing to do with leisure.
I gave up fishing and photography to free up cash for guns and golf.
ballman6711
Member
I remember when 112 octane was $5/gallon and my road racing bike got ~8 mpg. Didn't care back then, and yes the smell is intoxicating and unforgettable.
And primer prices going up is to be expected with everything that has happened in the last year or so. I recently paid $70/brick for SRP so I could start loading for my AR-15, and don't think that's too terrible at this point in time. Bought from a LGS so no hazmat or shipping.
Hope prices go down soon, but I'll keep reloading and buying as I need to.
chris
I was outa the country for a few years, back now and of course setting up my reloading bench at the new place digging around in my old stash i was pretty happy to find lots of small and large pistol primers.
Mostly CCi but lots of Sellier and Bellot, I vaguely remember buying them in lots seems like they were very cheap and no problems firing.
Are they still around ?
Bet/picker
Mostly CCi but lots of Sellier and Bellot, I vaguely remember buying them in lots seems like they were very cheap and no problems firing.
Are they still around ?
Bet/picker
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