Primer Plant Update

[Howa 9700]

Last week I found myself spending the night in Texarkana and decided to go out to check on progress of Expansion Industries new primer plant to be put into operation on the old Army munitions plant west of Texarkana.

Here is what you will find if you venture out to 777 Freedom Way, Hooks, TX. There is no sign at the entrance, but just north of this entrance is a locked gate, with a Expansion sign pointing south to this location. As can be seen, dozen or so cars and trucks in the lot, so something is going on. At end of drive is a security gate. The whole thing has a sinister look and feel about it, so wasn't excited about talking to anyone. Could be a primer plant or an ammunition plant or could be a meth lab.

Don't know much about Texarkana, but do know that when a person sees bars on the windows of a residential home, probably not the best neighborhood in town. There was one of those in the neighborhood.



Furthermore, according to their website, head shed for Expansion Industries is in Dallas area.

https://www.expansion-ammunition.com/

From their website, looks like their main product line is BLAMMO, that could be made by them or by just about anyone else, including use of primers from any source, including foreign imports.

Bottom line is, I'm not holding my breath on this one. Unless and until there is clear evidence of product showing up and these guys are more forthcoming with information, think this can be written off for now.

 

[CQB45ACP]

Last week I found myself spending the night in Texarkana and decided to go out to check on progress of Expansion Industries new primer plant to be put into operation on the old Army munitions plant west of Texarkana.

Here is what you will find if you venture out to 777 Freedom Way, Hooks, TX. There is no sign at the entrance, but just north of this entrance is a locked gate, with a Expansion sign pointing south to this location. As can be seen, dozen or so cars and trucks in the lot, so something is going on. At end of drive is a security gate. The whole thing has a sinister look and feel about it, so wasn't excited about talking to anyone. Could be a primer plant or an ammunition plant or could be a meth lab.

Don't know much about Texarkana, but do know that when a person sees bars on the windows of a residential home, probably not the best neighborhood in town. There was one of those in the neighborhood.

View attachment 1133587

Furthermore, according to their website, head shed for Expansion Industries is in Dallas area.

https://www.expansion-ammunition.com/

From their website, looks like their main product line is BLAMMO, that could be made by them or by just about anyone else, including use of primers from any source, including foreign imports.

Bottom line is, I'm not holding my breath on this one. Unless and until there is clear evidence of product showing up and these guys are more forthcoming with information, think this can be written off for now.

Can’t thank you enough for doing this. A picture is worth a thousand words. Actually though are you sure there wasn’t an underground bunker?

Oh yeah, one more thing, did you see a Prius with Washington tags? @Mark_Mark hasn't been active here recently.

 

[JmacD]

Don't know much about Texarkana

“Eastbound and down….” Ok sorry. Haha
It really doesn’t sound very encouraging…
I did talk to one of the Hornady guys few weeks back. He said they have two or three lines up making primers. If I recall right, he said their plan is to be selling to the public within 5 years…. And several more primer lines. (11 sticks in my mind)

 

[Jim Watson]

Hornady primers were not in my Rumor Range.
I have heard of Sig setting up for in house primer production and Fiocchi is said to be on the way.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Can’t thank you enough for doing this. A picture is worth a thousand words. Actually though are you sure there wasn’t an underground bunker?

Oh yeah, one more thing, did you see a Prius with Washington tags? @Mark_Mark hasn't been active here recently.

“3 Hours Later”

#10 Cap and Estes Black Powder is cooler!! lol

 

[Mark_Mark]

Hornady primers were not in my Rumor Range.
I have heard of Sig setting up for in house primer production and Fiocchi is said to be on the way.

Sig & Fiocchi 100% real deal

 

[JmacD]

Hornady primers were not in my Rumor Range.
I have heard of Sig setting up for in house primer production and Fiocchi is said to be on the way.

I had heard rumors. But this wasn’t a rumor. This was was talking with a member of management. They are making their own. They are quite making enough to keep up with their own stuff yet however.

 

[ballman6711]

Hornady primers on the horizon, even if it's a few years out, is a good thing IMO. More supply and more competition in the market has to be good for all of us, at least until it's not.

chris

 

[Mark_Mark]

Hornady primers on the horizon, even if it's a few years out, is a good thing IMO. More supply and more competition in the market has to be good for all of us, at least until it's not.

chris

didn’t know Hornady was in the Primers Game! SUPER GOOD NEWS!

I want to see PSA get in the Business!

 

[BreechFace]

I heard Elon Musk is developing a primer plant!

 

[CQB45ACP]

I don’t know about primers but boy someone’s making a lot of balloons!

 

[CQB45ACP]

I heard Elon Musk is developing a primer plant!

That’d be cool!

 

[Charlie98]

I've seen this primer factory startup on a few different forums. I am firmly in the 'I'll believe it when I see it' camp, however... even if I hope it to be true.

Real estate isn't cheap, however, even an old ammo plant outside Backwater, TX... so they are likely doing something in there, even if it's not making primers. Given it's locale, meth lab sounds about as plausible as anything...

Since it's sort of germane to the discussion... I have to ask... What's up with SIG? A firearms manufacturer for sure... but now all of a sudden (over the past few years...) they are making scopes, RDS's (I now have one...) ammo, component bullets, ear muffs... and just about anything else they can slap their name on. Are they just rebranding other people's stuff, or is SIG actually manufacturing all this?

 

[Mark_Mark]

That’d be cool!

Make the old Twitter developers pack Tesla Primers!!!! YES

 

[Howa 9700]

Hornady primers were not in my Rumor Range.
I have heard of Sig setting up for in house primer production and Fiocchi is said to be on the way.

If these guys don't do anything but make primers for their own use, it's still a plus, as that takes the burden off Vista Group's primer demand, so maybe that frees some of those up to sell as primers vs. loaded ammo. It would also ease the threat of Vista Group's monopoly on primers. Even a few small private lines open things up. These outfits have been as dependent on Vista as anyone else. If they make their own, they are not.

I suspect Fiocchi would be making 209 shotgun primers.

 

[Howa 9700]

Tesla primers would probably be electronic.

 

[Jim Watson]

What's up with SIG? A firearms manufacturer for sure... but now all of a sudden (over the past few years...) they are making scopes, RDS's (I now have one...) ammo, component bullets, ear muffs... and just about anything else they can slap their name on. Are they just rebranding other people's stuff, or is SIG actually manufacturing all this?

Go over your non-gun Sig branded stuff with a magnifying glass and see where it comes from.

They are loading their own ammo here and are setting up for in-house primers. I wonder if they are drawing the brass and swaging the bullets? I doubt they are making powder or even plan to.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Tesla primers would probably be electronic.

Tesla makes rockets too! bet they would make se killer Primers

 

[Charlie98]

Go over your non-gun Sig branded stuff with a magnifying glass and see where it comes from.

That's why it had me scratching my head. Even 40 years of Glock moonieness hasn't driven the Glock aftermarket like SIG is doing.

They are loading their own ammo here and are setting up for in-house primers.

That would be the good news, then...

 

[higgite]

Tesla primers won’t go “POW!”. They’ll go “tweet!”

 

[adcoch1]

Tesla makes rockets too! bet they would make se killer Primers

Space bolt primers. With rocket technology.

All joking aside, it's cool to hear that Hornady and Sig are getting in the game. And I'm with mark_mark, PSA should too!

 

[BreechFace]

Back to some seriousness as @adcoch1 said...

It's good to see some other names in the primer game, if you recall the industry was tight in the primer industry here in the US.

I believe we were down to Vista Outdoors and Winchester as the only two primer manufacturers here in the US. Vista buying up competition is some cause for concern. So Sig and Hornady getting into the primer market is welcome news, but I'll still believe it when I see it.

 

[12Bravo20]

I have to agree. Even if Hornady and Sig are only producing primers for in-house use, that will take some pressure off the other manufacturers to release more primers to the public.

From the different articles I have read, we won't see any primers from the new Fiocchi plant in Arkansas until 2025.

I keep hearing that PSA is getting into the ammo business so maybe they will produce primers too. I haven't seen any concrete evidence yet.

 

[N555]

Well if it was easy everyone would be doing it.

 

[Rule3]

I've seen this primer factory startup on a few different forums. I am firmly in the 'I'll believe it when I see it' camp, however... even if I hope it to be true.

Real estate isn't cheap, however, even an old ammo plant outside Backwater, TX... so they are likely doing something in there, even if it's not making primers. Given it's locale, meth lab sounds about as plausible as anything...

Since it's sort of germane to the discussion... I have to ask... What's up with SIG? A firearms manufacturer for sure... but now all of a sudden (over the past few years...) they are making scopes, RDS's (I now have one...) ammo, component bullets, ear muffs... and just about anything else they can slap their name on. Are they just rebranding other people's stuff, or is SIG actually manufacturing all this?

Sig isn't "making" all that stuff, Just putting their name on it. Many many companies do that.