Why do Canadian Primers not make it south to the US?

Answers should be restricted to industry insiders who actually know what they're posting about.
(I have my theories, one of which involves the Roswell Grays.)

There are distributors right now arranging to import primers from Bosnia so it would appear that there are no prohibitions against importing primers (hazmat) from foreign sources. If Canada has primers doesn't it make sense to shop there first?

Twice during hours of searching I have found primers in stock, variety of primers; LR, LRM, LP, SR AND SP.

The first company was in New Zealand and didn’t ship to the US.

the other company was in Canada and didn’t ship to the US.

Know how frustrating it was to fill your cart up with every primer you would need for the rest of your life, at reasonable prices, and be told at check out you’re AO?

Edit: I think my post was a little confusing. It was New Zealand and Canadian companies but the primers were the usual brands; Federal, CCI, etc.

Why do Canadian Primers not make it south to the US?

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Well they would be entering from the wrong direction. If they were first shipped to some point South of the border there would be no problem.

Probably a customs issue in there some where. I knew folks in Florida who would receive goods ordered by friends/relatives in another country, repackage the goods and ship them by US mail to the person who had ordered the goods. Illegal probably but hard to track back. Of course primers are hazmat which also complicates the matter.

I'm not sure they make any and just had supply of ours that were shipped north. I would be pleased to find out I'm wrong though.

_.

No hoarding and/or panic buying?

We are blessed with some incredibly permissive laws in the US regarding what can be shipped in terms of firearms components. In many more restrictive places even shipping components like a trigger or a barrel would be a major crime, to say nothing of something with the potential to be actually explosive, like primers. (Which can’t even be shipped in the USA without a certain amount of red tape.) There are also many laws governing what can be exported from one country, and what can be imported. No government wants the liability for its private citizens or companies potentially supplying insurgents in another country with arms, of having insurgents within its own borders thus supplied. NZ and CA are not exactly known as beacons of firearms freedom. They also have, doubtless, a much more sedate demand for things like primers, because there are many more hoops that must be jumped through to own one gun, let alone many.

I’m reminded of the massive brouhaha that resulted when a buddy of mine landed at Heathrow in the UK. Customs found one fired 22 shell in his checked duffel bag (which he’d used as a range bag the previous weekend.) From the furor, you’d think he had tried to sail a battleship into the Thames to shell London. It seems even possession of fired ammunition components without the proper paperwork is criminal, in some places. They eventually let the poor ignorant American go, but it wasn’t looking good for about 6 hours.

Skgreen said:

Rumor has it Canada has a good supply of Primers.

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I believe you're confused about the difference between Supply, Demand, and Availability.

There are certainly as many or more primers being made and sold in the US as ever have been; reports from manufacturers indicate this. This is supply.

There is at least several times more demand for primers in the US as there ever has been; this includes production of loaded ammo, and raw primers for reloaders. This is demand.

The ratio of demand in excess of supply leads to poor availability; it's not on the shelf where it belongs long enough for you to buy it.

While the supply of primers into Canada probably comes nearly entirely from the same production facilities as the US, there's no indication that there's been a 3 or 5 fold increase in demand like the US has seen. Additionally, the market in Canada has to be miniscule compared to the US. With this in mind, there's no reason to expect a shatteringly dramatic change in availability in Canada

Laphroaig said:

No hoarding and/or panic buying?

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Only in the US, ammo is readily available overseas

Google Canada gun laws
Canada is not exactly a free country

And it’s about to get a whole lot worse if the want to be clown dictator and the rest of the progressives get back in when we have an election in a few months. We will be lucky to be able to have flintlocks.

George P said:

Only in the US, ammo is readily available overseas

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I follow a guy who lives and hunts in Iceland. He has zero problem getting components. Of course demand there is quite low so whatever supply there is might not be that hard to get for the people who are allowed to.

The supplies are starting to get low up here. Went through a drought years ago and decided that wasn’t going to happen again. I have enough components to last several years. But if we loose our guns then I guess it doesn’t matter.

I read a similarly worded question on a .303 British forum several years ago while chasing components (or something), for that cartridge.

Someone came across a stash of Berdan primers and wondered about shipping them into the U.S. I don't recall the details but there seemed to be many licensing issues to deal the components and hazmat fees involved. Additionally, these primers were not made in Canada, and, given the dramatically smaller market for components there, nobody wanted to go through the bureaucratic obstacle course to make it happen.

That and the Roswell Grays like to mix SPPs with their green chili for extra "pop".

George P said:

Only in the US, ammo is readily available overseas

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What I was trying to say was there are still components available in Canada (and apparently other countries too) because they didn't succumb to those two things, yet. Plus, as many have said, there isn't as big of a demand as there is in the States. I feel confident that things will return to what ever normal is going to be sometime, hopefully soon. The hoarders and panic people can only hold so much.

It seems though, that every time this happens, prices tick up a notch or two.

Laphroaig said:

What I was trying to say was there are still components available in Canada (and apparently other countries too) because they didn't succumb to those two things, yet. Plus, as many have said, there isn't as big of a demand as there is in the States. I feel confident that things will return to what ever normal is going to be sometime, hopefully soon. The hoarders and panic people can only hold so much.

It seems though, that every time this happens, prices tick up a notch or two.

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I seen quite a few primers for sale at my local bass pro this morning. All Federal.

Carl N. Brown said:

Answers should be restricted to industry insiders who actually know what they're posting about.
(I have my theories, one of which involves the Roswell Grays.)

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everyone knows Canadian primers have maple syrup in it

My wifes family lives in Montana within a 30 min drive from Canada. I have been curious as to what the rules are on bringing them back across into the U.S. I'm in Idaho, I'll drive my a#% there and buy a ton. I've seen they are regular priced there. If it were that easy id think folks would be running primers for a fortune.

I live in Detroit and have a coworker that commutes daily from Windsor as an essential worker and I investigated this a bit. From my research, ammunition and reloading components are not allowed to be brought over the Canadian border into the US due to ATF regulations without an advance permit. In addition, to purchase ammo in Canada, and I assume reloading components, you need a license call a PAL in Canada. I say that I assume this is the case for reloading supplies also, because I did go to an online store and this PAL number was requested in the checkout process for primers.

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/f...nd-permit-importation-firearms-ammunition-and

See category 3...


category i—firearms
(a) Nonautomatic and semiautomatic firearms, to caliber .50 inclusive, combat shotguns, and shotguns with barrels less than 18 inches in length, and all components and parts for such firearms.

(b) Automatic firearms and all components and parts for such firearms to caliber .50 inclusive.

(c) Insurgency-counterinsurgency type firearms of other weapons having a special military application (e.g. close assault weapons systems) regardless of caliber and all components and parts for such firearms.

(d) Firearms silencers and suppressors, including flash suppressors.

(e) [Reserved]

Note: Rifles, carbines, revolvers, and pistols, to caliber .50 inclusive, combat shotguns, and shotguns with barrels less than 18 inches in length are included under Category I(a). Machineguns, submachineguns, machine pistols and fully automatic rifles to caliber .50 inclusive are included under Category I(b).
category ii—artillery projectors
(a) Guns over caliber .50, howitzers, mortars, and recoiless rifles.

(b) Military flamethrowers and projectors.

(c) Components, parts, accessories, and attachments for the articles in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this category, including but not limited to mounts and carriages for these articles.

category iii—ammunition
(a) Ammunition for the arms in Categories I and II of this section.

(b) Components, parts, accessories, and attachments for articles in paragraph (a) of this category, including but not limited to cartridge cases, powder bags, bullets, jackets, cores, shells (excluding shotgun shells), projectiles, boosters, fuzes and components therefor, primers, and other detonating devices for such ammunition.

(c)-(d) [Reserved]

Note: Cartridge and shell casings are included under Category III unless, prior to their importation, they have been rendered useless beyond the possibility of restoration for use as a cartridge or shell casing by means of heating, flame treatment, mangling, crushing, cutting, or popping.

I emailed a Canadian reloading supplier and inquired about buying primers. A gentleman called me a short time later and explained that he could not send me primers due to Customs restrictions. I thought it was darned nice of him to call me.

Constrictor said:

I seen quite a few primers for sale at my local bass pro this morning. All Federal.

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And 30 minutes later they were gone.
There are many such "right place, right time" stories.