Finding components is getting harder

I ALWAYS buy all the time when deals come around. This way I don't get caught in the panic. You save money and have what you need on hand. Been doing this my whole life. Get on mailing list of suppliers to notify you of their offers.

I was at a local ACE yesterday and the selection of cartridges is definitely filling back up. No 9mm though. Components are still a real hit-or-miss around Tucson. Primers especially.

Maybe once the people that are buying everything up remember that they are lazy and have no patience for reloading things will start to level out.

FROGO207 said:

Saturday I placed Haz-Mat order like I usually do two or three times a year. The only SR primers available were 3K Rem 6 1/2 small rifle. Got 8 pounders of IMR 3031 and IMR 4064. I am good for .22 Hornet primers for a while but still need to watch for more SR primers. I wanted to get several other pound containers of propellant to try out and they were out. Guess I should have not waited quite so long to order. Didn't want to go to multiple other places to order a couple pounds and get another Haz-Mat fee so I'll wait for now and take my chances. There have been other threads of tight supplies but I failed to pay attention and it crept up on me I guess.

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Ammo started getting the panic treatment about the same time this lock down hoax got rolling good. When people starting reading about places turning the criminals loose, then telling the public they could not buy guns, well here we go again. As always not long after ammo starts to get short next thing in anything to do with rolling your own. Few seem to remember the shortages from before and get caught again.

Went into Cabela's in Harrisburg Pa yesterday. It is a huge store. A 3 hour drive for me.

Ammo shelves, Bullet shelves, Powder shelves, components shelves all completely empty. If you found anything that you wanted to buy, the line was all around the store.

Left with nothing.

Stuff seems to slowly be coming back around here. I think a lot of what is being seen is both a small amount of panic/high demand along with interruptions in the supply chain.

snuzzo29 said:

Stuff seems to slowly be coming back around here. I think a lot of what is being seen is both a small amount of panic/high demand along with interruptions in the supply chain.

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All panic shortages become self fulfilling. Remember the great TP shortage? People see some empty spots, so they grab 5 times what they would. Someone else sees that and grabs 10 times. Soon you have a mad rush, they can not possibly get it into the store as fast as people grab it. Ammo, the rolling supplies works the same way. People wait till there is another panic, then tell anyone who will hear there is another shortage, soon everyone want so grab all they can. Supply chain can not possibly keep up. As it takes a while for the supply to catch up more panic and grab everything that hits the door. Amazing to watch it keep happening.

Ks5shooter said:

I ALWAYS buy all the time when deals come around. This way I don't get caught in the panic. You save money and have what you need on hand. Been doing this my whole life. Get on mailing list of suppliers to notify you of their offers.

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An amazing number of people NEVER seem to get this. When the stuff is stacked deep at the stores and online and there are sales, it's ignored. As soon as it's in short supply here come the hordes wanting more
Every time a shortage ends I tell people buy more than you need till you have enough to last a year of so. Stuff never goes bad. Few listen, most do not. Next panic they are scrambling and or paying scalper price all over again.

Yes, I picked a fine time to start loading .357 and 9mm but c'est la vie.

I did manage to grab 1K Federal small pistol primers and a pound of BE 86 from Midway. Bought some other things and shipping was included, just needed to pay $11.99 for Hazmat.

More than I'd like to have paid but it was either that or do without.

When supply loosens up, I'll stock up as needed but I'm not going into debt to do so either. I value keeping my finances in order more.

SQLGeek said:

Yes, I picked a fine time to start loading .357 and 9mm but c'est la vie.

I did manage to grab 1K Federal small pistol primers and a pound of BE 86 from Midway. Bought some other things and shipping was included, just needed to pay $11.99 for Hazmat.

More than I'd like to have paid but it was either that or do without.

When supply loosens up, I'll stock up as needed but I'm not going into debt to do so either. I value keeping my finances in order more.

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This panic, like the ones before, will end. To be way ahead of the game all you have to do is remember this when the shelves fill again. Normally takes a good while from one panic to the next. So just keep buying a little every time you go to the stores that sell what you use. Stuff never goes bad. Soon you will have enough that when the next panic hits you can ignore it as you are set

The only component I am a bit short of is Small Rifle primers. I have fewer than 15K.

I'll stock up again when they show back up.

I'm okay on everything else.

I recently started working at a outdoor Shooting Center and they have three different suppliers that they buy from all of which are now sold out of all ammunition. We now have 2 employees searching daily for ammunition just to keep some on the shelves and available to our customers. We are paying near full retail.

Last Tuesday I spend my day trying to find primers. Finding myself now down to my last 600 LPP. This because I recently started casting lead bullets and working up a lot of 45acp. 1k LPP would last me about a year, that was until I started casting. There are no pistol primers to be found anywhere. Not even a couple of the local small off the path shops. Solution, just gathered up about 500 45acp Small Primer brass.

Seems this Large Pistol Primer shortage has been going on long before all this.

So.......
Went on a trip Reno from cali.
Stopped at
Bass Pro.
Cabelas.
Scheels.
And LGS.
All were 100% out of pistol ammo only high end obscure rifle ammo in stock oh yeah expensive shotgun and 22 available. Scheels had a fair amount of dwindling components.
Cabelas has about 10/12 pistol cases half of 1 case had guns same as bass and scheels.
LGS plenty of hand guns and good amount of ammo. All are at least twice the price at least twice.
Same with ammo. I noticed steel case 7.62x39 20rnd box $18.99.
I am all stocked up for several shortages but I still shop looking for deals. NONE TO BE HAD.
The pic is just 1 from Scheels but all looked like this. That was 2 weekends ago. Fri/Sat this weekend went to the national forest to shoot. The place I go is very popular maybe 20 shooting spots within 5 miles so after I shoot I pick up brass. I end up with a 5 gal bucket near full everytime except this time. Most trips tons of rifle brass other then 223 lots of obscure. This trip 1/2 bucket very lil rifle brass. Good amount of 223 and a ton of 9mm the brass I picked up mostly expensive hi end. Lots of Norma hornady sig browing lapua nickel.
So this trip ended up being quality not quantity.
I did get 20 7mm rem mag norma.
I thought I would find more as most ranges are closed and the few that are open have problematic social distance rules.

This is why I stock up and stay stocked up. Any little whim and people go retarded. With this new hoax these people wiped out all of the toilet paper, going to the bathroom has nothing to do with the illness.
The same people are buying up guns and ammo with no direction to shoot them.
My brother inlaw wanted a ride to cabelas last weekend to exchange a jacket he bought for my 9 year old grandson.
While he was at customer service I checked out the gun department.

Here is thier ammo racks.


Here is thier rifle & shotgun rack.



Since the last government adminstration and thier concoted gind & ammo shortage I got in to reloading and stocked up so I would be prepared. My next project is to get into casting bullets.

One of the things that help me determine my component usage is to label it with the month and year I purchased it. Gives me a general Idea of what components I need to keep on my radar. (Kegs of powder/primers, etc)

Once your usage is more clearly defined, then it becomes easier to buy stuff on sale when you really don't think you need it,,,

It's time like these that turn those I really don't need it purchases into Sure glad I bought some back then! moments!

Highland Lofts said:

This is why I stock up and stay stocked up. Any little whim and people go retarded. With this new hoax these people wiped out all of the toilet paper, going to the bathroom has nothing to do with the illness.
The same people are buying up guns and ammo with no direction to shoot them.
My brother inlaw wanted a ride to cabelas last weekend to exchange a jacket he bought for my 9 year old grandson.
While he was at customer service I checked out the gun department.

Here is thier ammo racks.
View attachment 926090

Here is thier rifle & shotgun rack.

View attachment 926092

Since the last government adminstration and thier concoted gind & ammo shortage I got in to reloading and stocked up so I would be prepared. My next project is to get into casting bullets.

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You sound of the same mind set as me..
I am super stocked up 50 or lb powder 20k primers 9 buckets of brass. 10k or so bullets.
Last shortage I got into casting and powder coating I cast maybe 10k bullets but since so flush with jacketed I dont load much cast other then .458.
I went and got hold of a few hundred lb lead several k of gas checks bottom pour pot all the moulds and sizing dies. I really think other then primers I could go the rest of my life with what I have.

I stocked up pretty good on handgun shooting components, I could see this coming with the next election. I never dreamed of the Covid 19 crap and the civil unrest. but I already had enough through any election issues, if I watch myself and don't waste my ammunition. I have probably 4 years supply for 9mm and .357magnum. I may have to quit shooting once a week though.
I hope I bought enough.
The range I shoot at still has lots of ammunition on the shelves but they have a limit of one box per person per day. That's smart on their part.

I may start buying their factory ammo and save my components and ammo until theirs runs out.
i'll see how that works.

I guess it is what it is.

I look for this shortage(scare) to run up to and possibly through the November election