Where to Watch For Primers

[Veteran]

I have noticed, that especially this week, there have been a lot more primers available vs. the last few months.
The places stocking and selling primers albeit at a higher cost from $70 to $100 (more than in the old time) have been Brownells, Midway, and Powder Valley. Still cheaper than $2-300 on Gunbroker per 1000.

More of it has been pistol primers, but there have been some small rifle and large rifle primers too. Don't believe that personally I have seen
any Large Rifle Magnum Primers yet. But, maybe those are coming too?

Powder Valley has been cheaper, and mostly CCI Brand if I'm not mistaken. All of this has been more CCI than other brands, with some Remington, and maybe some Federal.

But, if you need primers keep and eye on Brownell's, Midway, and Powder Valley. Maybe you will score some? All of these places have daily limits.

Doesn't seem to be a shortage of .50 Cal. Primers, but shooting massive quantities of that is already cost prohibitive......much less the cost of ear protection, and new muzzle brakes......

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

this is just depriming the industry , people selling their old stock will eventually run out too

my question to the primer mfgs ... why the double in price increase ???
cause you can ??

why not the double in production ??? has any primer mfg added to production tooling and/or production lines

 

[Carlos88]

this is just depriming the industry , people selling their old stock will eventually run out too

my question to the primer mfgs ... why the double in price increase ???
cause you can ??

why not the double in production ??? has any primer mfg added to production tooling and/or production lines

Ask Larry at midwayusa. A carton of primers is over $100.00 shipped.

BTW, there is no need for the hazardous charge. I get powder or primers and they're ALL rattling the box. Little paper here, maybe some floaties or peanuts. It's not right.

 

[Veteran]

Yes, I have wondered a lot of the same things......There does seem to be an inexhaustible supply of primers on Gunbroker though for
2-300 dollars per 1000......At first some of that was clearly old stocks, but now it seems more like new stock......wonder where it is coming from? Why did Hodgdon's open their own retail store too? Seems like its hardly ever stocked, but why is it even needed, especially since it ain't stocked much?

I can understand manufacturers like Remington who have been hounded into bankruptcy being disrupted, and everyone being disrupted by the pandemic, and it does seem like straight ammunition has gotten much better though still not good in the last month or two if you know where to look, but components like powder, primers-especially primers, and even bullets and brass, and even
reloading tools, like dies, neck turners, concentricity guages, anything and everything has gotten in short to non-existent supply?

Of course semiconductors in the Auto, phone, and computer business has done the same supply nose dive.....Used autos were up 17% in April alone......and like 25% this year. There ain't many new ones to buy! China is responsible for that one IMHO.... they have been buying up the semi conductor supplies, and if they go into Taiwan, we are going to be in a pretty fix........about like this famous painting by Tait---Its Called a Tight Fix......(see attachment)....If you enlarge it you can see the hunter has lost his rifle, and has only a hunting knife......his hunting partner is way in the background aiming a different direction at something else, and is unaware of the situation.......Our country is a little bit like that other hunter......doesn't really see or understand what's going on in the neighborhood, IMHO. But, yes, I have wondered which billionaires have warehouses full of powder, primers, bullets, and necessary gear.......Taint me!
No pun on Tait intended..... Semiconductors are in all our military gear, and electronics throughout the economy.

Next Pandemic is a semiconductor and rare earths shortage??? Or maybe the Delta Variant.......or worse.....Tight Fix.....

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

i wish any distributor would show their cost .. to know who is doing all the inflating

what material or mfg expense such as labor .. went up 200% ??? ..

so now that they are almost done capitalizing on overpriced factory ammo .. now that us reloaders have a black hole in our primer flow .. they created this reloading primer shortage .. trying to appease the factory ammo shortage.. and i suggest it is calculated.. whilst in the process not just us long time customers .. but all the component suppliers in the industry

IMO the reloading community.. should have been where they sent the majority of their inventory

but doing it this way ,they get 2 shortages to prolong

 

[Pmacc60]

I was in Cabelas yesterday and they had CCI primers both lg and small rifle . 200's and 450's $69 per 1000. I found 1 lb of retumbo as well. The local gun shop has powder but it shows up in different and varying quantities , I understand Alliant is going to be more available in August. A stop on the way home and I ran into 1300 Federal gold match 210 lg rifle primers total cost was $91 .

 

[Pmacc60]

i wish any distributor would show their cost .. to know who is doing all the inflating

what material or mfg expense such as labor .. went up 200% ??? ..

so now that they are almost done capitalizing on overpriced factory ammo .. now that us reloaders have a black hole in our primer flow .. they created this reloading primer shortage .. trying to appease the factory ammo shortage.. and i suggest it is calculated.. whilst in the process not just us long time customers .. but all the component suppliers in the industry

IMO the reloading community.. should have been where they sent the majority of their inventory

but doing it this way ,they get 2 shortages to prolong

I was talking to the owner of the gun shop I have been a customer of , he told me Federal cares very little for the reloading community and only ships out over flow in their primers. I was shocked to hear how this major manufacturer cares so little for the customer base. I was also told that raw materials are really in short supply and this is driving up cost . Know that this is all second hand info but I've known this guy for 45 years and he is good to his word. I'm thankful for the supplies he has gotten for me as well as not gouging the public.

 

[Sgtwest]

I was talking to the owner of the gun shop I have been a customer of , he told me Federal cares very little for the reloading community and only ships out over flow in their primers. I was shocked to hear how this major manufacturer cares so little for the customer base. I was also told that raw materials are really in short supply and this is driving up cost . Know that this is all second hand info but I've known this guy for 45 years and he is good to his word. I'm thankful for the supplies he has gotten for me as well as not gouging the public.

 

[Wachsmann]

Somewhat sounds like the lumber mill industry. The lumber mill are charging the big box stores much more since the pandemic for lumber and also the home building industry is also competing for the lumber coming out. Not that we have exhausted our trees it's more of a extra over flow of stock that the lumber mills had to keep every one going at a good price. Apparently the stay at home order/ covid causesd a huge shoratage in lumber ( a lot of DIY projects during 2020 that exhausted the overflow) and now the lumber mills are getting rich off of it. Not alll of them there mainly about 3 to 4 that are mass suppliers.

 

[Sgtwest]

Some folks don't understand that there was 23 million gun sales last year . Think about it if you bought 100 rounds with your firearm. How many bullets is that ? Billion Second because of Covid many plants had to close down with that then you have the materials needed to make ammunition is closed also. Then there is Remington that was closed because of bankruptcy they had close to 25 % share of the ammunition market. The last part is that Vista Outdoors owns CCI, Speer, Federal, and now Remington. I what I have been told by friends who live near the plants is that they are working close to 24 /7 the third shif is a lot lighter but working. All make primers but the are trying hard to fill the back orders of ammunition. Where I live I am starting to see more ammunition becoming available and even powders too. Most manufacturers have stated that products cost will be going up approximately 15 %.

 

[fmuguira]

Carlos88, I think Brenda needs another set of shoes for the 4th!!

Hope when things improve my fellow shooters will remember who "gouged us the deepest" ….. I will cause I m like an elephant

 

[2ndtimer]

Hope when things improve my fellow shooters will remember who "gouged us the deepest" ….. I will cause I m like an elephant

And when the "gougers" have an abundance of primers down the road, and have to lower their prices to move them, selective amnesia will set in. And your motto then will be forgive and forget. (As long as you get the best deal. That is how free markets are supposed to work.)

 

[tygr840]

Natchez had them a couple days too & some decent powder shipments just to add them to the list to watch. Anyone ever been to Lewiston Idaho to visit CCI? I saw a post once about them having retail sales as well as tours.

 

[cjl2010]

Just got 5k SRP from Natchez on a Discord notice. Some of you guys are going to ruin shooting for yourselves if you have to keep tabs on a lifetime worth of "gougers". In a year or so when I reach the end of these 5k primers I doubt I'll remember I paid an extra $100 for them.