Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Bullet pricing

Hoping someone in the know can provide some illumination.

Firstly anyone paying attention will know that prices for all commodities have been increasing over that last few years driving up prices so one should expect bullet prices to prices to rise as well.

However the retailers I have spoken to are seeing Nosler prices increase significantly faster than Hornady. To the point that one retailer had all their Nosler bullets on sale and were not going to order more.

Why the difference? Did Hornady stock pile material at lower prices? Did Hornady contract for future material prices at beneficial pricing? Is Hornady reducing their profit per unit to capture more market share?

At this moment Hornady is the most abundant product on the shelves of those who sell reloading components in Western Canada.

I’ve been a big user of Nosler products for many years and have always been happy with the product, but if the price differential remains when I shoot off what I have I’ll need to look elsewhere.

Thanks in advance for your input and hoping y’all have a wonderful Easter.

Hornady makes up the vast majority of availability in the USA as well.

Only a guess but I suspect the cost of doing business in Oregon (Nosler) is pretty high compared to Nebraska (Hornady).

No illumination from here. Sometime back I kicked off a rant over Partition pricing. As an example, back in January the local SW had gotten in 3 boxes of 6.5mm 140 grain Partitions. $76 each. Those 3 boxes are still there on the shelf.

I lean towards bonded bullets; A-Frames for Africa, and now Oryx and the newer BondStrike for NA. When the remaining dwindling stock of Partitions and NABs are gone I won't restock unless I come across some from folks looking to unload.

I'm also building a pile of various mono bullets to range test and then go find something to test on. Though definitely that's still Plan C.

Like you, the local SW shelves are loaded with Hornady. Sure wish they'd offer up Interbonds in more calibers tho.

I like nosler bullets in 20, 22, 24, 25, and 28 calibers. Prior to about three years ago, I used them almost exclusively.
But due to availability, price and performance, I’ve pretty much switched to Hornady for all the mentioned calibers. I do have some noslers on the shelf from the past, when they’re gone, I’m using Hornady only.

Volume and demand.

Nosler is proud of their products. I used Partitions for the most part until they got so high. I have a good many tipped Bear Claws I use for 270’s and 7 mags. I’ve switched to Barnes TTSX for most everything else.

I've been using Hornady bullets for years. They are great people. Not trying to gouge the hell out of us like Nosler. I actually just bought some Hornady 6.5 140gr ELD match bullets for $36/box the other day. Just using those as an example. Hornady is keeping us stocked up and shooting, while other companies could care less about the little man (which is the majority of us here). I have said in open forums that I am not buying anymore Nosler bullets. They are not for us. They are for themselves and the almighty dollar.

BS. At least not when we are talking Nosler. There are other underlying reasons going on over there.

There is that, but one must also consider that Oregon was under strict Covid mandates for 2 years, Hornady only got shut down for 90 days. Food for thought.

My two-cent opinion is that Nosler makes the best bullets [that used to be] commonly available and I was willing to pay a little more for them because of something I read a long time ago. A writer pointed out the fact that the cost of a bullet is really almost nothing in the grand scheme of things, and especially if you travel to hunt in far away and exotic places (which I do not, but no matter). I've always been very happy with Ballistic Tips, Accubonds, and Partitions. Since availability has become a huge problem in more recent times I have been more willing to use "good enough" bullets from wherever I can find them. I've found that PRVI's 100-grain 6mm soft-point shoots well in my 6mm Remington, for instance. This bullet may not be the equal of a 95- or 100-grain Partition, but will it really matter? I most seriously doubt it.

Whatever Nosler's problem is, I think it's going to seriously erode their market share. I'd hate to see them go under because it's better for all of us if there are more competitors in the market. We'll all find out how it shakes out eventually. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Having worked in a machine shop years ago,I saw widespread drug abuse among many of the workers in that shop.Lot of good machinist became lousy towards the end of their work shift after using drugs while working.I don't know if that's the case with Nosler but,the state's laws have become quite lenient towards drug use.I know the oilfield had a lot of problem finding workers who could pass a drug test too.Something is going wrong at Nosler,who knows. https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.c...s-legalized-vs-decriminalized-drugs.html

When companies forget how they got to be what they are, & who allowed them to be there, it's time for the customer to move on. I used to try Noslers 1st for most rifles I was loading for. There is still some stock left in my closet, but it's getting thin. SPS prices were full retail for the few blems they have last time I visited. I like to experiment, but once I go through the time & expense of developing a new load with a different bullet I wont be buying any more Noslers. Barnes are cheaper than Partitions or Accubombs... & somewhat available.

Same with Sierra. The 225/358 Gamekings have no equal except for maybe... Noslers. Bummer. There were no 225s when I started loading the 35s. Betcha that Hammer has something worth trying?

Same goes for Alliant. RL26 will be hard to replace, but the few 8#ers I've seen for sale recently are about $100 more than even Hodgdon's extruded powders. That well-fed Jason Vanderwhatever dude can blow smoke & stock options up somebody else's ass. Even Vihtavuori is cheaper now & has been working well for me. Ramshot is worthwhile too.

Fuggem. They need us more than we need them.

I understand you wanting to stick with a brand you trust. I think, given the circumstances, you should explore other options with Hornady, Speer or Barnes. Even if there was a definitive answer to your Nosler question, it still won't address the problem of high prices and availability.

Been 5 years or so since I shot a jacketed bullet, and that was just a very few. My stockpile is substantial and likely will remain so, 'cause I'd much rather shoot cast. A few pennies for a 500 grain bullet don't hurt. Unless you're a buffalo.

Sierra too!

Never a Hornady fan, just wasn't.
The Covid thing makes me less so.
Unless Speer steps up, there are few choices for folks who
don't need Special Bullets to shoot deer.

I briefly met John Nosler back in his Ashland Or. days, but there has been a lot procreation going on since then, 4 generations....there are a lot of Noslers by blood and by marriage....and I think a lot of them on the payroll. When my daughter worked for them in Bend, they had the best employee benefits in Oregon. Just my opinion, but I don't think raw materials is their pricing problem.

I actually am surprised that it took half a page to get to this. It was my understanding that it was pretty common knowledge.

I don't believe it is a supply issue. This far after beginning of pandemic everybody is buying raw materials at the same price. My belief is along the lines of some previous posters. Over may years and several generations of Noslers, they have built a reputation for excellent products. Now they are attempting to monetize that reputation. The current generation running the show want to cash every check they can, from crazy high bullet prices to selling essentially Howa rifles as custom Nosler rifles.

I have a pile of Noslers on hand, but will not be replacing them at these prices. Funny, but any more Barnes are looking like the less expensive option.

I've taken the Hornady plant tour a couple of times, and I was always impressed with how they tried to keep their costs down.

Where Sierra (I've taken their plant tours, too) buys lead wire from "somewhere else", Hornady bought the lead and made their own lead wire. I think the same thing was going on with their gilding metal for the jackets.
I have no idea where or how Nosler gets their component material, so I can't comment on that, but Hornady does most of their stuff "in house" vs. Sierra, at least.

I like and use whatever bullets shoot well in my rifles/pistols, but Hornady seems to nail down the cost issues pretty well.

In Canada, these are the prices of some popular 165 gr .308 bullets at a Canadian retailer. Price per bullet in brackets. Prices are without taxes or shipping. To convert to USD, take off 30%.

Nosler Partitions are far and away the most expensive at $2.08 ea. Even their cup and core BTs are $1.04 ea.
---

Barnes - $72.99/50 ($1.46 ea)

Hornady Interlock - $62.49/100 ($0.63 ea)
Hornady SST - $70.99/100 ($0.71 ea)
Hornady CX $75.99/50 ($1.52 ea)

Nosler Partition - $103.99/50 ($2.08 ea)
Nosler BT $51.99/50 ($1.04 ea)

Sierra Gamechangers - $87.99/100 ($0.88 ea)

Speer HC - $42.99/100 ($0.43 ea)
Speer GS $30.99/50 ($0.62 ea)