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Midway vs. Grafs
- Thread starter bfox
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i just checked out Graf's as I have never heard of them before...
The prices are almost the same as midway, and in some cases $1 or $2 higher.
But there is this aspect. I'm looking to load 7.7 Jap for an Arisaka. I priced the dies, etc. at Midway. Brass is Norma- pricy. I was flipping thru the Graf's catalog and saw their house brand. mfg. to spec, at a substantially reduced price. Of course this isn't an apples-to-apples comparison, but as with most things, it pays to shop around.
Sport45
Member
callgood said:But there is this aspect. I'm looking to load 7.7 Jap for an Arisaka. I priced the dies, etc. at Midway. Brass is Norma- pricy. I was flipping thru the Graf's catalog and saw their house brand. mfg. to spec, at a substantially reduced price. Of course this isn't an apples-to-apples comparison, but as with most things, it pays to shop around.
Check out Factory Sales for good prices on LEE dies and equipment. 7.7 brass can be formed from milsurp 30-06 if you really want to save money. Get a LEE case trimmer, chuck it in your drill press and get after them.
Liberty4Ever
Member
I've placed quite a few Midway orders.
Pros:
Reasonable prices
Sale prices are a little better, sometimes a lot better
The customer reviews are a great online shopping resource, and much better than marketing sales hype
Fairly easy to shop online, find what I want and make an order
Their online Wish List allows me to keep a list of low priority items and scan it to see what's on sale
Cons:
Shipping cost is a bit more than it should be ($10+)
Sometimes receive obvious returned items that weren't checked, just restocked
They always try to send a catalog I don't need with every order
I HATE THE DAMN STYROFOAM PACKING MATERIAL
I do not buy powder or primers from Midway because the added hazmat and shipping costs are just too high. I usually buy powder locally for $16-$20 per pound, or $85-$125 per eight pound jug. Supporting local gun shops is good, unless they are seriously ripping you off. I may start buyng powder from http://www.powdervalleyinc.com if local supply becomes problematic, but so far the cost difference + sales tax is about the same as hazmat + shipping in the quantities I buy.
I found a new supplier for reloading supplies. I placed an order for $211.05 worth of stuff, and it was a good deal on good stuff, and the service was top notch.
http://www.hi-techammo.com
They specialize in disassembled military ammo components. I bought 3000 pulled .223 M193 bullets from them for 3.1 cents each. Shooting .223 just got cheaper than 9mm! They also have brass, and a few oddball powders at very good to great prices. My order included 6000 CCI primers, and the prices were very good. When comparing prices, go all the way through their checkout process to see the total including shipping and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you're buying primers and not powder. Buy a full case of powder (four jugs, mix & match), and they pay the hazmat fees, which is great if you're going in with friends and each want a jug or two.
Pros:
Reasonable prices
Sale prices are a little better, sometimes a lot better
The customer reviews are a great online shopping resource, and much better than marketing sales hype
Fairly easy to shop online, find what I want and make an order
Their online Wish List allows me to keep a list of low priority items and scan it to see what's on sale
Cons:
Shipping cost is a bit more than it should be ($10+)
Sometimes receive obvious returned items that weren't checked, just restocked
They always try to send a catalog I don't need with every order
I HATE THE DAMN STYROFOAM PACKING MATERIAL
I do not buy powder or primers from Midway because the added hazmat and shipping costs are just too high. I usually buy powder locally for $16-$20 per pound, or $85-$125 per eight pound jug. Supporting local gun shops is good, unless they are seriously ripping you off. I may start buyng powder from http://www.powdervalleyinc.com if local supply becomes problematic, but so far the cost difference + sales tax is about the same as hazmat + shipping in the quantities I buy.
I found a new supplier for reloading supplies. I placed an order for $211.05 worth of stuff, and it was a good deal on good stuff, and the service was top notch.
http://www.hi-techammo.com
They specialize in disassembled military ammo components. I bought 3000 pulled .223 M193 bullets from them for 3.1 cents each. Shooting .223 just got cheaper than 9mm! They also have brass, and a few oddball powders at very good to great prices. My order included 6000 CCI primers, and the prices were very good. When comparing prices, go all the way through their checkout process to see the total including shipping and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you're buying primers and not powder. Buy a full case of powder (four jugs, mix & match), and they pay the hazmat fees, which is great if you're going in with friends and each want a jug or two.
The one trick I have used from time to time is if I find myself able to use one certain powder quite a bit It is much more economical to buy the 4 or eight lb jug. Your local store generally doesn't want the bigger ones sitting forever on their shelf but they usually can get you one. Doesn't hurt to ask
my 2 cents
id use grafs over midway any day any time
midway people are rude just plain rude and i dont understand it ive bought from them before and i for some reason cant get a catalog from them and i call them and they say they send it out but i never receive it Grafs on the other hand after i ordered from them the first time they always send me a catalog whether i have ordered recently or not.
i have a ffl and i would love to support local gun store but they only want to handle what powders they think are important and only 1 or 2 brands(find out later that they only carry what the in town wholesaler has so they dont have to pay hazmat)so i order what myself and some others need
the price that they charge is i think gouging to a point because all thay have to do is drive across town and get what they need
oh i forgot grafs is very friendly for in store pickups too!
id use grafs over midway any day any time
midway people are rude just plain rude and i dont understand it ive bought from them before and i for some reason cant get a catalog from them and i call them and they say they send it out but i never receive it Grafs on the other hand after i ordered from them the first time they always send me a catalog whether i have ordered recently or not.
i have a ffl and i would love to support local gun store but they only want to handle what powders they think are important and only 1 or 2 brands(find out later that they only carry what the in town wholesaler has so they dont have to pay hazmat)so i order what myself and some others need
the price that they charge is i think gouging to a point because all thay have to do is drive across town and get what they need
oh i forgot grafs is very friendly for in store pickups too!
Liberty4Ever
Member
fog,
I think we have very different experiences, based on very different interactions with these companies.
You thought Midway employees were rude. I place all my orders on the internet and neer talk to them. I have emailed a product suggestion or two, and I always receive a prompt and courteous reply.
You have trouble getting Midway to send you a catalog. I never use their printed catalog because I always shop online. I place about two orders a month, and every time, there is one page in the too-long process of completeing the order where I am asked if I want a catalog. Their full catalog is about half an inch thick. I have to uncheck the box every time so they don't throw a catalog in the box with my order. As if having a printed catalog would convince me to buy more stuff than I already do.
Isn't it odd how two people can see the same company so differently based on how we interact with that company?
I think we have very different experiences, based on very different interactions with these companies.
You thought Midway employees were rude. I place all my orders on the internet and neer talk to them. I have emailed a product suggestion or two, and I always receive a prompt and courteous reply.
You have trouble getting Midway to send you a catalog. I never use their printed catalog because I always shop online. I place about two orders a month, and every time, there is one page in the too-long process of completeing the order where I am asked if I want a catalog. Their full catalog is about half an inch thick. I have to uncheck the box every time so they don't throw a catalog in the box with my order. As if having a printed catalog would convince me to buy more stuff than I already do.
Isn't it odd how two people can see the same company so differently based on how we interact with that company?
Barr
Member
I have dealt with both but I tend to prefer MidwayUSA. They have the best selection of products and the best laid out website. My primary gripe is it takes forever to surf the MidwayUSA site for whatever reason. Click on the same link 3-4 times when I am in the Reloading Sections of the site. BTW, the catalog makes a great drool item when you need to kill a little time and not anywhere where there is a computer nearby.
Most of my lead shot, powder, and primers I buy at Wideners because they are just 25 miles up the road.
Most of my lead shot, powder, and primers I buy at Wideners because they are just 25 miles up the road.
Liberty4Ever
Member
+1 on the MidwayUSA page loads taking too long.
Their site sees a lot of traffic. Most servers would have trouble serving static pages with small graphics during peak times, but the MidwayUSA site is so handy because they allow dynamic pages so you can search their database for your own search criteria and that adds a lot of processing to the server or whatever back end computing is searching the product database.
Most of the time I try to search using their prescribed search methods, using the tabs at the top to pick a category and work my way down their menu items to eventually pick a page of products that interest me. Sometimes there's a competitive product that is better than the one I wanted. But sometimes, usually for oddball stuff, the custom searchng can be handy, even if it brings their website to a crawl.
Their site sees a lot of traffic. Most servers would have trouble serving static pages with small graphics during peak times, but the MidwayUSA site is so handy because they allow dynamic pages so you can search their database for your own search criteria and that adds a lot of processing to the server or whatever back end computing is searching the product database.
Most of the time I try to search using their prescribed search methods, using the tabs at the top to pick a category and work my way down their menu items to eventually pick a page of products that interest me. Sometimes there's a competitive product that is better than the one I wanted. But sometimes, usually for oddball stuff, the custom searchng can be handy, even if it brings their website to a crawl.
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