In early 2014 I had to go by a PA Cabelas on my way to and from JFK. Then, as now, the shelves were nearly bare of components. Pure politics at that time, no pending civil war or Plague in the mix, nor inflation IIRC. It passed, so will this.
How in the world have we landed in a place where 30-06 and 270win cant be found on shelves in the middle of America. There no excuse for it.
We landed in this place by forgetting the value of autarky. We got to thinking that it was better to get our lead from China, our copper from Chile, our nickle from Russia, our steel from Japan and our nitro powder from Australia, even though all of the above are readily producible in the US. But it was a few bucks a ton cheaper to get it somewhere else so we did. Now China, Chile, Russia, Japan and Australia decide if, what, and when we produce. And they've decided it'd be better if we didn't produce much. For our own good of course.
Look around you and think what things you see can be manufactured within 100 miles of your current location from raw materials. If the answer is not a damn thing except maybe food, be prepared for some serious hurt coming down the pike. And don't think "at least there will be some food" because there won't be - the materials for industrial farming can't be produced within 100 miles of the farms either.
There’s no excuse, except abject poverty, for allowing oneself to run short of needful things when all the warning signs of previous market blips are right in front of one’s face. There are reasons: inattention, laziness, distraction, arrogance, naivety. Finger-pointing and conspiracy theories might soothe hurt feelers, but I’ve yet to see any evidence that there’s some evil plot afoot to wreck Deer Season.
This is just the beginning of the shortages. Things are going to get a lot worse and more expensive. Be prepared for a long ride. There may never be " back to normal " again.
And get prepared for the day when an FFL will have to "transfer" reloading supplies to you. It will be a very easy switch for the anti-gun legislators to flip, because the system is already in place.
"Keep your mouth shut, work hard. Life is tough. Work through it.” -- Stetson Bennett, Quarterback, Georgia Bulldogs
Looking in the usual places is bound to produce frustration, need to get creative in your search. Since Covid and China Joe I've been able to find everything I need to reload, bullets, primers and powder and not at inflated gouger prices either. I search gun shows, swap meets, shooting ranges etc. wherever shooters gather, wanted signs in these places always have produced what I'm searching for and at reasonable prices. Bartering works well, try it sometime.
Within the last 18 months i have purchased some 1200 7mm and 308 caliber bullets mostly Hornady sst's, eld m's, interlocks and sierra gk's. An 8 # keg of h4350 and h414, 2 #'s of 7828ssc and R-23 [ i left behind a 8 #er of R-23] And just last week a brick of 215m primers. All from my local stores! Keep in in mind i didn't buy everything they had, just what i needed or wanted to tryout! And there has been alot of loaded ammo showing up in the last 6-8 months! Caveat everything sells quickly u snooze u lose!
Within the last 18 months i have purchased some 1200 7mm and 308 caliber bullets mostly Hornady sst's, eld m's, interlocks and sierra gk's. An 8 # keg of h4350 and h414, 2 #'s of 7828ssc and R-23 [ i left behind a 8 #er of R-23] And just last week a brick of 215m primers. All from my local stores! Keep in in mind i didn't buy everything they had, just what i needed or wanted to tryout! And there has been alot of loaded ammo showing up in the last 6-8 months! Caveat everything sells quickly u snooze u lose!
Name names. Where did you buy this plethora of components?
Casey
Not being married to any particular political party sure makes it a lot easier to look at the world more objectively... Having said that, MAGA.
Within the last 18 months i have purchased some 1200 7mm and 308 caliber bullets mostly Hornady sst's, eld m's, interlocks and sierra gk's. An 8 # keg of h4350 and h414, 2 #'s of 7828ssc and R-23 [ i left behind a 8 #er of R-23] And just last week a brick of 215m primers. All from my local stores! Keep in in mind i didn't buy everything they had, just what i needed or wanted to tryout! And there has been alot of loaded ammo showing up in the last 6-8 months! Caveat everything sells quickly u snooze u lose!
Name names. Where did you buy this plethora of components?
I guess they are honey holes! So i will just say "The Badger State"
How in the world have we landed in a place where 30-06 and 270win cant be found on shelves in the middle of America. There no excuse for it.
We landed in this place by forgetting the value of autarky. We got to thinking that it was better to get our lead from China, our copper from Chile, our nickle from Russia, our steel from Japan and our nitro powder from Australia, even though all of the above are readily producible in the US. But it was a few bucks a ton cheaper to get it somewhere else so we did. Now China, Chile, Russia, Japan and Australia decide if, what, and when we produce. And they've decided it'd be better if we didn't produce much. For our own good of course.
Look around you and think what things you see can be manufactured within 100 miles of your current location from raw materials. If the answer is not a damn thing except maybe food, be prepared for some serious hurt coming down the pike. And don't think "at least there will be some food" because there won't be - the materials for industrial farming can't be produced within 100 miles of the farms either.
I live close to some high grade silver/lead mines here in N. Idaho and about 100+miles away is a smelter in Trail, B.C. so we are producing materials locally. Speer has a bullet producing facility in Lewiston Idaho and I lest I forget there's a antimony refinery just a few miles from my house.
We have rich defined veins of these materials. There's one road cut that intersects a lead/silver vein along I-90.
I'm seeing primers and powder start to trickle in. Mostly mail order from powder valley, midway, midsouth, natchez, etc. Bullets have been coming to local gun stores in small batches. Usually sell out quickly and prices are still going up. We maybe at the peak of prices now but it's hard to pass up when you see something you need. Eventually prices will decrease when demand drops. But it's only a matter of time until the next political panic.
Primers are going for $.08 to $.10 apiece. Used to be half that. Wonder where it's going to settle? Almost like inflation is starting to look real.
I'm seeing primers and powder start to trickle in. Mostly mail order from powder valley, midway, midsouth, natchez, etc. Bullets have been coming to local gun stores in small batches. Usually sell out quickly and prices are still going up. We maybe at the peak of prices now but it's hard to pass up when you see something you need. Eventually prices will decrease when demand drops. But it's only a matter of time until the next political panic.
Primers are going for $.08 to $.10 apiece. Used to be half that. Wonder where it's going to settle? Almost like inflation is starting to look real.
Stop whining. Biden’s Spokes-tootsie says inflation is a good sign. Of course, she was in diapers the last time it was this bad, but clearly she knows a lot or they wouldn’t let her speak for the President, right?🙄
Why is it you can find 6.5 creedmore and 6mm creedmore 300 blackout and 350 legend on local shelves but not 243, 270, 30-06 or so many others?
It's the new world order. They aim to divest us of chamberings linked to generations of American greatness disempowering white masculine hegemony.
does that mean the next time I see you you will be wearing a onesie and have a manbun....
The government plans these shootings by targeting kids from kindergarten that the government thinks they can control with drugs until the appropriate time--DerbyDude
Whatever. Tell the oompa loompa's hey for me. [/quote]. LtPPowell
There is an ammunition manufacturing plant about 40 miles from me. I know a half dozen or more employees there. They are producing ammo in record volumes and making record profits while doing it. They rarely run FMJ pistol ammo because the JHP has a much higher profit margin and the demand is such that it will sell just as quickly as FMJ. I presume most, if not all ammo manufacturers have been operating similarly. When that happens, all the component (bullets, primers and powder primarily) manufacturers are running at max capacity just to keep up with the demand from the ammo manufacturers. This leaves little capacity to produce ‘reloading’ components for those of us who were already reloading, pre-panic. Let alone all the new ‘reloaders’ in the market because they can’t find ammo.
Don't speculate when you don't know, and don't second guess when you do.
I just bought a 1,000 small rifle primers at Sheels in Sioux Falls. They have primers, bullets and powder. They limit purchase of primers to 1,000 of each type. The price was high in my opinion ($80) but money is not as valuable as it was two years ago. Everything is expensive! Look at hamburger, gasoline, housing etc. Try to get a discount on a new car/truck. Look at the cost of a used rusty pickup with 200,000 miles. Until we have a representative for the people that work back in office our money will continue to deteriorate in value, that’s my opinion.
I prefer classic. Semper Fi I used to run with the hare. Now I'm envious of the tortoise and I do my own stunts but rarely intentionally
There’s no excuse, except abject poverty, for allowing oneself to run short of needful things when all the warning signs of previous market blips are right in front of one’s face. There are reasons: inattention, laziness, distraction, arrogance, naivety. Finger-pointing and conspiracy theories might soothe hurt feelers, but I’ve yet to see any evidence that there’s some evil plot afoot to wreck Deer Season.
I'd say Pappy has this pretty figured out. Simple truth.