Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Is NORMA Powder Kaput?

I have read that after Hodgdon acquired Western Powders the import agreement/contract with Norma did not transfer to Hodgdon.

Does this mean that Norma is kaput and no longer being imported into the United States?

Thanks

It has been so long since I have seen it, that I thought it was gone years ago until I saw this post.

I'm sure Hodgdon is doing everything they can to choke competition in the US market...been their business model for the last decade. Once the big H gobbles Alliant we'll see some powder prices that will boggle the mind. Shooters World/Lovex/Explosia will be next in big H's crosshairs.

Around here the supply has been decent and prices only went up about ten bucks a pound. Not sure why things are so different in other places...?

Googling, Ohio has 282 people per square mile, the 3 northern counties here have 7 people sq mile...looks like they send it where the customers are? Three stores sell powder in my county (same size as Hawaii), I have not seen any new production powder suitable for rifle cartridges on the shelf in 3 years. Occasionally they have estate sale powder.

They’re not so different anywhere else either. Price of most everything has gone up, in some cases significantly.

If demand continues to fall prices will come down with commodities, manufacturing, retail price, etc. The price of shipping a shipping container across the Pacific or from Australia has gone from $2000-$3000, to $22,000 and now is back to $2000-$3000. But some of those high prices are still moving through the supply chain stream.

Then again the demand for munitions is going up, and we may be competing with that for our powder and primers.

A friend of mine owns a LGS over on the front range. Early this fall he was asking $56 a lb for H4350. When I asked why so much he sad his mark up was the same as it has always been, but that he had to pay a LOT more just to get some powder on his shelves.

Popular gun powders are few and far between in Ohio too. When you can find it the price is out of sight. I saw Varget for $75 a pound this week.

Ron

Well jeebers Norma powders disappeared for about 25 years after Alliant started the RL series.

I was told by a major U.S. primer manufacturer several months ago that a much larger percentage of their primer production is going into military ammo these days. Can't imagine that the percentage has dropped since then....

The same thing is no doubt happening with powder, especially in Europe.

After all they left in Afghanistan and gave to Ukraine I don’t doubt it. There’s not enough munitions left to shoot at us.

Lol…..I guess there’s a silver lining in everything!

The good news (I think) is in the new spending package Congress just passed directs 50 billion dollars to expanding munitions production-everything from bullets to rocket artillery.

I heard the same. Then I get e-mails from different shops advertising small rifle and small pistol primers in stock albeit at high prices but, no large primers at any price. Here's my question, Since the military's principal use is for small primers and only use large primers in 7.62 for the snipers, why are small primers available and large unobtainable? Something stinks!

Primer manufacturing capacity being reallocated to small rifle could do it.

The military just changed to the 277 Fury that may use a LR primer. Don’t know but the base is .470 (30-06 is .473) seemed plausible that a LR primer may be required.

Of one thing we can be absolutely sure: no one is making more money under the current increased pricing than they were prior to it.

We were told the same thing here (Australia) regarding primers and Reloader powders. We won't be getting any primers for two years minimum. Lucky I have a good stash.

Elvis,

I've considered a "good stash" of primers essential since the mid-1990s, when the Clinton "assault weapons" ban resulted in a similar "shortage"--partly because some handloaders back then considered at least 100,000 primers a good stash--sometimes buried in their back yard inside PVC pipe. This was because a wide-spread Internet rumor claimed that all primers made after the ban were designed to "go dud" within six months. (Have yet to run into any of those primers.)

Still, after two or three more primer "shortages," there are still handoaders caught short, including many who still believe they can just go down to the local sporting goods store and buy a couple hundred any time they need 'em.....

John

And I want some of that really, really good dope you're smokin' if you believe any of that will be allocated to any possible route to the civilian market.

I really think that the market is right where most mfg'ers really want it to be........kinda like vehicles: sell all they can produce at a premium price. What's not to like for them as many companies are reporting record sales & profits.

MM

Got a boat load of varget in today. $42 a pound and a whole bunch of 8 pounders.