Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Powder price

About a month ago Vista Outdoors announced there will be significant ammo price increases because of the cost of powder. In the past month I’ve seen this bit of news carried on a dozen or more websites.

And yet, most folks on here are still unaware….

We reloaders are a really really small portion of the powder consumption. If you wish to do your part in minimizing powder consumed then more efficient cartridges are the best option I have encountered.

Personally primer prices have been as much of a concern to me as anything.

I have not backed down to 221 fireball for deer though 6mm ARC has been very effective. Thinking I could have went to 6x45 though.

In light of the current pricing and availability issues, I am developing Barnes-StaBall loads for all of my center fire hunting rifles. I have found that both Barnes bullets and the StaBall powders have been readily available and somewhat reasonably priced. I have also had some very good results on both paper and critters with this combination. Moreover, if Biden goes out the door signing an executive order banning the use of lead bullets on Federal land, I have my workaround already in my recipe books.

For now. In some cases it’s because the price increases are not even across the board. Material costs inputs are locked in through contract in advance. When those contracts expire the new costs may go down, or up.

When most Alliant powders were cheaper and available guys on here were threatening to blow off Hodgdon and their price increases. Then costs caught up with Alliant. Same claims with Ramshot.

Staball powders might be selling under contracts made months and months ago, and the next production run may come in at an entirely different cost.

None of the powders or primers are immune from being preempted by military contracts. Hodgdon made note that the StaBall line is USA made. But remember, the Enduron powders were made in Canada by General Dynamics—an American company. What happened to Enduron can happen the StaBall.

Powder prices are ridiculous. I will not pay those prices. Alliant, if you can find it is 59 per lb in my neck of the woods. Hodgdon and Ramshot powder are available, along with VV. Several years ago, Trump Era, I could see the writing on the wall. I decided to start laying back what reloading supplies that I thought I would need for my rifles for the foreseeable future. Probably enough to last the rest of my life

I have many, many thousands of LR primers. Thousands of bullets, Many, many, many pounds of powder and plenty of brass. Matter of fact, back in Oct I had a friend give me 8lbs of IMR 4895 and 8lbs of IMR 4831.

If there's ever a fire at my house Im going to inform the fire dept they had better fight the fire on that side of the house first, (while pointing). LOL

Yeah-that is possible.

But, StaBALL is currently priced right, available now and has more shelf-life than I have years of reloading in front of me. If necessary, I’ll deal with your forecasted potential pricing issues when I run out of all the StaBALL I have purchased…

Yeah it has! Just for curiosity I was cruising around on Midway's site. IMR 4831 is $72 for 1lb and $514 for 8lbs and is out of stock. Wow, wow, wow.

Sometime in 2020 after a pretty good powder price jump I paid $219 for a 8lb jug of IMR 4831 and don't shoot it that much but I got it just because. I also at the same time paid $237 for a 8 lb jug of H4895 to add to my H4895 I had, because I do use that quite a bit. My one buddy shook his head and basically called me an idiot. Not an idiot now.

Not too long before that I paid $169 for a 8lb jug of IMR 4350 from the same shop. Times are a changing fast. I'm good till the end of my days on everything but powder.

Oops, just went and looked, I'm right on the prices but wrong on when I bought it. I got those two 8 lb jugs spring of 2021. That makes the current prices even more of a jump in that time frame.

I see an 8lb jug of RL16 in a local gun shop for $525 yesterday. Insane!

I'm gonna have to get pretty desperate before I even entertain the thought of paying those kind of prices and I'm a long ways from desperate. They can keep every ounce produced, wont be getting money from me, but I doubt that and 1000 more people just like me will mean anything or make any difference.

I’m not unaware, it’s simply not a huge deal for me. I'm well-supplied with ammunition, and the stuff I need to make more. I’m only dependent on the industry for shotshells at this point, and some rimfire, and if they go up (again) I’ll pay what it takes to continue my clays shooting. A couple of years back, they were both expensive and scarce, I can do expensive to keep shooting as I please. Nothing to be done about the prices.

I came across 1lb of N555 online where the hazmat + shipping was more than the price of powder.

Think I'll wait.

Yep, a store here had it three weeks ago at $589 for 8lb of RL16. Same store last week, that 8lb jug was $563. That’s about the only price drop I’ve seen here locally. LOL! The funny thing, that same store had an 8lb jug of Retumbo for under $300.

Consider, as an obvious alternative to your perspective, that man's desire to keep his own life (fend off the power hungry you mention) through violence is just as potent a driver

Indeed. The need to defend one’s self is in the car as well, but in the second seat by definition.
Best regards sir,
F01

Some serious profits happening somewhere.

I got this in a email from Powder Valley.

Well, I was looking for large pistol primers today and saw RL16 at $88 a pound. At that price I’m done with Alliant powders.

Ouch! Shop near me had RL16 last week for $59/lb and I thought that was insane.

Who owns Alliant Hmmmm.

The price of gasoline and powder have been witnessed with the same subjectivity, based only on how expensive it is today. People have lost sight of supply, demand and politics that interfere with those prices.

The market does influence those prices more than people will recognize, but when you have something in great demand and the supply weakens or gets threatened, the price goes up.

If you bought powder when it was plentiful, you wouldn’t be bitching now, you would be reloading and happy. Gasoline doesn’t store well and it would be impossible to have a storage container to stock up, so the gas pump regulates your price.

Once you recognize this is the way things are, you will buy powder and shoot, or you won’t and just bitch about it…