Powder availability

[twarr1]

Is powder plentiful for everyone now?
I need to cut down some of my propellants due to a job change and advertised several sealed containers locally at $25/lb. No takers.
Does everyone have plenty now or is everyone hanging on to every $ now days. Just curious what the situation is elsewhere.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

25.00 a lb is reasonable these days. Powder on the shelf's is still 30-40.00 a lb. I think it's the economy. A lot of folks are struggling with food and fuel prices.

 

[length_of_pull_1]

Your advertising must have missed your audience. I have a hard time believing some thrifty handloader wouldn't be interested in your wares. Here in KC the powder is out there, but it's not plentiful and it's usually closer to $40 than #30 per lb.

 

[Bfh_auto]

Is powder plentiful for everyone now?
I need to cut down some of my propellants due to a job change and advertised several sealed containers locally at $25/lb. No takers.
Does everyone have plenty now or is everyone hanging on to every $ now days. Just curious what the situation is elsewhere.

If you were near me I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I think it's more of waiting on the other shoe to drop. Everyone sees the effect of inflation and is waiting to see if it gets worse.
I'm thankful we are debt free with the ability to help others.

 

[Charlie98]

I would think in 'Central TX' you would be able to easily find a taker. I had no problems here in DFW getting rid of some W231 I had, etc, etc. If you haven't, post it here as a FTF or local pickup to where you are...

 

[Hartkopf]

Central Texas can be a 3 hour drive.

I’m stocked fairly well and not looking to buy for a while.

 

[Buzznrose]

What are you selling and where is it listed? PM me please

 

[KY DAN]

I think it's a toss up

Smart money handling for these unprecedented times says SAVE SAVE SAVE so when the bottom falls out you CAN BUY ON YOUR TERMS and SAVE SAVE SAVE.

Rifle powder is the only powder I can't find locally, I use IMR 4895 and Winchester 748.

 

[Charlie98]

Central Texas can be a 3 hour drive.

Dallas to Fort Worth can be a 3 hour drive... depending on traffic.

What I meant to imply is... The shooting and reloading base in Texas is quite large, if I am to believe the limited products on the store shelves these days, and the attendance at the gun shows I've been to. Certainly there would be someone closer than 3 hours willing to take it off his hands.

 

[Hartkopf]

What I meant to imply is... The shooting and reloading base in Texas is quite large, if I am to believe the limited products on the store shelves these days, and the attendance at the gun shows I've been to. Certainly there would be someone closer than 3 hours willing to take it off his hands.

I agree but I think most reloaders are stocked up well enough not to be buying much of anything now. Many are not hurting to the point of meeting private sellers. Also, since primer prices won’t come down it will hurt the sales of powder and bullets.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Is powder plentiful for everyone now?
I need to cut down some of my propellants due to a job change and advertised several sealed containers locally at $25/lb. No takers.
Does everyone have plenty now or is everyone hanging on to every $ now days. Just curious what the situation is elsewhere.

If I had $$ I would be hanging onto them. I got a 15% raise last year and it’s been eaten up by inflation and fuel costs. I’d be willing to bet quite a few of the fixed income folks are tightening their belts a few notches about now.

 

[Varminterror]

Private sale powder goes within minutes to hours at $30-35/lb around here, if unopened. It’s worth the same as if it were new from a retailer.

 

[Buzznrose]

Private sale powder goes within minutes to hours at $30-35/lb around here, if unopened. It’s worth the same as if it were new from a retailer.

I recently sold four unopened and one almost full jars of powder of $125. It was a combo of Win 231, CFE-P, and Varget. (Win 231 was the open container). It sold in a few hours on TexasGunTalk forum.

I am flipping over to VV powders and have already bought the ones I plan to load. At the rate I load, I’d have sat on those other powders for too long for my liking. Plus, where I used to be an “accumulator”, I’m becoming more of a “selective minimalist”, so just made sense to sell.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

The only powder around here, north central NC, is rifle powder for .223/556. That is all that's on the shelves and it isn't selling well at $45.00/lb.
But if they would have had IMR 4064, I would have paid that for it.
None to be found locally.

 

[earlthegoat2]

It seems to be available as long as it’s not 4895 or Varget.

 

[Archym]

In Nazi-Land IL there is little if any powder on the shelves at "Local" gun stores. What little I've found on the shelves in the St. Louis-Metro area is mainly rifle powders. H4350 can be found in 14oz (really...you can't even sell a full pound any more??). Occasionally there will be a few jars of CFE Black. After taking a trip across two rivers to a store out in St. Charles, MO I was "lucky" to find a jar of 700x ($29). About a year ago my father and I were lucky again to walk into a store that was just putting stock on the shelf and got a jar of CFE Pistol ($34). Those that own/run local gun stores will not divulge any information on the phone as to what they have in stock unless you are (closely) related to the person answering the phone. Around here it doesn't do you any good to have jugs and bags and buckets of powder since there's no primers to be found anywhere.

 

[herrwalther]

Powder is available around me (AL). In the popular stuff. Primers and brass, that is another story.

 

[Howa 9700]

A year and a half ago, when I resumed reloading after a decades long break, I did so out of concern that ammo might one day be gone forever. With almost nothing available at the time, I bought a few powders then I would not buy today. But back then, something was better than nothing, which is what I had getting started. An example would be A2495 instead of Varget.......and IMR4955 instead of H4831sc. Since then all of the powders on my A list have turned up. Have enough to last me into the foreseeable future, so really don't need the B or C list powders. If someone wanted them, I'd gladly part with them, but why buy from me when the same powders....or the A listers.....are now sitting on the shelf. So my plan is to just hang on to them. If it all blows up someday, they will still be there. Having said that, if someone wants those powders, let me know.

But bottom line is, I'm now out of the market. Twice in the past month, I have stared right at an 8 pound jug of Varget and walked away, leaving it for someone else. Did it then and would do it again today.

Hopefully everyone like me is in same boat, so hopefully getting back to normal supply and demand condition on the shelves.

 

[CoalTrain49]

If I had $$ I would be hanging onto them. I got a 15% raise last year and it’s been eaten up by inflation and fuel costs. I’d be willing to bet quite a few of the fixed income folks are tightening their belts a few notches about now.

That would be me and my wife. She wanted to move to a more expensive neighborhood last year but I put the kibosh on it. I had a bad feeling about that. Then inflation came down like a big sledge hammer. Our investments took a yuge hit so we're cutting back. I haven't purchased any reloading components in several years. I'm just not going to pay 40 bucks for a pound of powder even if I can find what I want.

 

[ballman6711]

I just got back from one of my LGS and they had powder, bullets, and some primers. When I asked about primer limits, they said they had a limit but the primers had been there for a couple weeks so I could buy all I wanted. I grabbed a brick and a half and left the rest for someone else.

FWIW, they only had srp.

chris

 

[Nature Boy]

It seems to be available as long as it’s not 4895 or Varget.

This is true. Those two powders work out to be the best in so many applications that they are always in high demand.

There are alternatives. Vihtavuori N135 for H4895 and N140 for Varget.

What I have found interesting is that Vihtavuori powders have been MORE available during the last 2 years than they were before all of this nonsense started. I’d love to know why.

 

[AJC1]

This is true. Those two powders work out to be the best in so many applications that they are always in high demand.

There are alternatives. Vihtavuori N135 for H4895 and N140 for Varget.

What I have found interesting is that Vihtavuori powders have been MORE available during the last 2 years than they were before all of this nonsense started. I’d love to know why.

With all the Norma available during this crisis I figured they would have components available and nothing. I wanted to try some 203b.