Reloading components on the rise

[martinbr]

I just got word from my local dealer that ammo and reloading components are going to be going up again by the years end. This isn't good news for recreational shooters that are on a budget or just plain don't have tons of cash to throw away at punching holes in paper at the range.

I got into reloading last year, and now what I have been told is that they are trying to make the components almost as expensive as just going and trying to find the best deal that you can on cases of ready made ammo.

I know copper is just going to keep going up. That's a given. I am not willing to start melting down lead to save money. Nor do I have the time or space to do so.

So the bottom line is that if this is true and we are going to see prices of primers going close to $35.00 per box at your dealer, it's not worth it to me and I am probably going to cash in on my collection of guns and just keep one in a safe for the house with a couple of boxes ammo.

Anyone heard anything about this?
martinbr

 

[cdrt]

There have been a ton of posts on THR regarding prices going up on ammo and reloading components. A lot has to do with the world market for metals, the war in Iraq (Army ammo orders are up 300% from two years ago) and the fact that the dollar is weak against foreign currencies. That's why there's a shortage of .223 and .308 especially.

Can't give you any advice about quitting shooting. I'm still doing just as much as I've been doing since I started shooting Bullseye again. I just try and find the best prices I can for bullets, primers and powder. Bought a bunch of primers at Camp Perry and some powder. I get my .45 bullets locally and usually buy .38 HBWCs from Midway since their prices aren't too bad for Remingtons and Horndays.

 

[Black_Talon]

Sure, it's fairly well known that the cost of components has been going up, that's why loaded ammo prices have been rising. It's already been effecting us reloaders.

The best bet is to buy now, and buy in bulk. Group-buys from places like Powdervalley can really help too.

 

[Steve in PA]

You "just" got word??

Man, its old news that the prices for ammo....even the components are going up. Heck, you are just now beginning to be able to find decent quantities .223 projectiles to reload.

 

[dmftoy1]

The thing that's interesting is that primers have been climbing up into the $27 per k range for all winchester primers locally . . but our local dealer has a sale once a year and was able to sell them at $20 per k . .that's still more than I was paying at gun shows, but we bought up almost everything he had in various sizes at that price. I'm hoping he gets another shipment before the end of the month.

FWIW

 

[davinci]

check out Powder Valley, they seem to have good prices.

 

[woodfiler]

only so far

The components can only go up to a point where it becomes impractical
to buy them//

mmmm are the anti's behind this...???

wood

 

[Master Blaster]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070817/D8R2UKLG0.html


"It's all based on the demands in Iraq," Duhamell said. "A lot of the companies are trying to keep up with the demands of the war and the demands of training police departments. The price increased too - went up 15 to 20 percent - and they were advising us ... to order as much as you can."

Higher prices are common. In Madison, Wis., police Sgt. Lauri Schwartz said the city spent $40,000 on ammunition in 2004, a figure that rose to $53,000 this year. The department is budgeting for prices 22 percent higher in 2008. In Arkansas, Fort Smith police now pay twice as much as they did last year for 500-round cases of .40-caliber ammunition.

"We really don't have a lot of choices," Cpl. Mikeal Bates said. "In our profession, we have to have it."

The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Mo., directly supplies the military with more than 80 percent of its small-arms ammunition. Production at the factory has more than tripled since 2002, rising from roughly 425 million rounds that year to 1.4 billion rounds in 2006, according to the Joint Munitions Command at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois.

Most of the rest of the military's small-arms ammunition comes from Falls Church, Va.-based General Dynamics Corp. (GD), which relies partly on subcontractors - some of whom also supply police departments. Right now, their priority is filling the military's orders, said Darren Newsom, general manager of The Hunting Shack in Stevensville, Mont., which ships 250,000 rounds a day as it supplies ammunition to 3,000 police departments nationwide.

"There's just a major shortage on ammo in the U.S. right now," he said, pointing to his current backorder for 2.5 million rounds of .223-caliber ammunition. "It's just terrible."

Police say the .223-caliber rifle round is generally the hardest to find. Even though rounds used by the military are not exactly the same as those sold to police, they are made from the same metals and often using the same equipment.

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK), which runs the Lake City plant for the Army, also produced more than 5 billion rounds for hunting and police use last year, making the Edina, Minn.-based company the country's largest ammunition manufacturer. Spokesman Bryce Hallowell questioned whether the Iraq war had a direct effect on the ammunition available to police, but said there was no doubt that surging demand was affecting supply.

"We had looked at this and didn't know if it was an anomaly or a long-term trend," Hallowell said. "We started running plants 24/7. Now we think it is long-term, so we're going to build more production capability."

That unrelenting demand for ammunition will continue to put a premium on planning ahead, said Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who so far has kept his department from experiencing any shortage-related problems.

"If we have a problem, I'll go make an issue of it - if I have to go to Washington or the military," Arpaio said. "That is a serious thing ... if you don't have the firepower to protect the public and yourself."

 

[Redneck with a 40]

It won't affect me all that much. I've already got 3000 40 S&W reloads stockpiled, they are target rounds. I'm currently working on my box of 2000 Remington 125 grain SJHP's, still got about 1000 to go. I shoot about 50 rounds/week, so this supply will last me quite awhile.

At the gun show's around here, CCI small pistol primers are still going for $20/1000. I buy a box at every gun show, I keep at least 3 bricks of primers on hand. Bullets at the gun shows are still running $80/1000 in 40 S&W, these are copper plated, which is fine for target shooting. Our next gun show is the last weekend of Sept., I'll see if prices have increased, and another one in November.

 

[jjohnson]

Many Prices Going Up Sept 1

Yep, regardless the reasons....

I got a notice from Natchez (www.natchezss.com) advising that prices for most ammo and components are going up on September 1 - and they have links to the suppliers' notes that tell about it. It appears to be a widespread phenomenon, so it's time to stock up.