Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters whats up with primer shortage

No......but, perhaps if I had an empty 500 gallon tank.........

My supplier said on Tuesday that he happened to call the distributor who just got an undisclosed quantity from Federal.
My retailer bought 25K, didn't what to be greedy. I, getting low, bought 1M of Fed 215 and 1M of Fed210M at $32 per. It just makes economic sense to buy that amount if you are a commited handloader, save a couple of dollars and get all of the same lot.
Yes there is a definite Obama Y2K syndrome out there. H.R.45 will intensify it in the near term.

By the way, to end the speculation, I met the Federal Cartridge employee today who makes the brass for Nosler. End of that mystery!

Not sure if that's a good end or a bad end to that mystery, but thanks for the heads-up anyway.

I used to be a huge Federal fan, but not in 20+ years. Perhaps they make a better "grade" (annealed differently) of brass for Nosler than they do for their own headstamped brass........seems weird, at best.

This was an interesting thread.

What I am seeing a bit of is those Clinton Era stashes are getting used up...time to hoarde anew!Pretty sure you are right about us being awash in components in another six months. The market just may be getting "toppy", I was just in a store today that had two ARs, and they had been there for four whole days!
Ingwe

[quote=RockyRaabYour gas analogy is a good one. Those of us buying what we need now and for the immediate future are like the folks who fill their tank when they need to. But we are NOT like the guy who pulls to the pump with a 500-gallon tank in the bed of his truck and fills that. [/quote]

Actually the gas thing is silly. Yup I'm one of those guys that pulls up with a 500 gallon tank in the back of my pickup and fills up. Mostly because I can buy gas and diesel 42 cents cheaper in town, than I can get it delivered bulk, with the ag tax taken off of it.


Anyway back to the primer thing they've been in short supply for quite a while, and yes there are folks hoarding them. One of our local slobber shops has a good supply of winchester primers, and variuos powders, plus today when I was in he had just received 2 cases of CCI large rifle primers. I bought the 1000 I'll need to shoot bpcr matches this year (good lord willin). They were 38$, but I didn't gripe because last summer when things were rediculous high he sold me primers from a fresh shipment at 21$ perK, and Aquila 22 match ammo by the carton cheaper than I'ld seen it anywhere else.

Actually I see lots of Magnum primers in the $25.00/1000 range in my local gun shops. In fact in the shops I have yet to see primersover $27.00. Am I going out to buy them all up, no.

I hope your right but I'm not willing to bet, I don't like the odds. The risk of loss is greater.

I'm up 10,000 primers and if bama does nothing good, if he does do something, then good on me.

I'm only out not having to buy primers for the next few years.

At what level is enough,,,enough? Don't you guys with 500,000 primers in your house worry that much priming compound going off in a fire?

Hang out on some forums like ar15.com and daily you'll see pics of guys getting in ammo orders of 10,000 rounds or more. Same for primers and reloading equpment.

Personally I already had a fair amount but since last summer I've added quite a bit of loaded ammo, primers, and powder.

If you hunt only you really don't notice it. If you shoot stuff like ar's, ak's, and handguns a lot you notice how much stuff is out of stock now.

If you buy it now and can afford it - it's not like it's ever going to get cheaper or easier to buy no matter who is in the white house or what party is in power. That's a FACT.

Let's see, incredibly long shelf life, pricing likely to go up faster than inflation either through regulation or raw material increases or plain inflation, it is for something I love to do, and I have the cash to do it. If I want to buy enough to last me for many years, guess I'll buy what I think I need when I find it. Course I feel the same way about a lot of things. Reminds me of the ant and the grasshopper story.....

I have been stocking up, not ashamed to admit it. I used to be the one who only bought as I needed it, like buying a 1000 primers at the gunshow, rarely buying powder in big jugs, bullets when I needed them, that kind of thing. Since Nov, I have stocked up with a couple years worth of stuff. I do forsee a huge tax or ban on buying powder/primers online somewhere in the future. I think the anti-gun crowd is chomping at the bit to really get some weird stuff going now that the climate in D.C. has changed. I just figured that I may as well ensure that I have the supplies needed to keep enjoying what I enjoy doing, without having to worry about finding the stuff I need in the future.

I emailed CCI to find out what the issue was. It really has nothing to do with hording or Obama or any other conspiricy. They are running their lines at capacity but they have three priorities. 1. Government contracts. 2. Their own line of ammunition 3. Primer sales to sportsmen/reloaders - - - in that order. Their capacity does not allow them to get to #3 very often. The attitude that I encountered there was that they were doing a great business with the current conditions. I also talked to the manager of a chain sporting good store and the owner of a privately owned store. Both told me that they have standing orders for primers but the wholesalers cannot get them from the makers.

No argument with what CCI told you, but you can't conclude from that statement that hoarding or Obama have nothing to do with it.

Just read any thread (of the many) on any chat board and the overwhelming thing that pops up is that people are buying all they can find. That covers ammunition (CCI #2 priority) as well as components. Demand is up because supply is low. Supply is low because demand is up. We won't break that vicious circle until something major changes. That change might be a sudden increase in supply, or it might be buyers finally realizing that having enough stuff for their great-grandhildren's reloading needs is a bit overboard.

I still think it is a dumb idea. If draconian laws are passed, what makes you think they'll allow you to keep all that stuff, much less shoot it?

Actually what the gentleman at CCI told me was that it was the government, (military and police) contracts that was taking the large majority of the primers and that would continue to be their focus.

The local SW sells their rifle primers as fast as they are put on the shelves. There were plenty of shotgun components this past weekend...They even had a space of floor taken up with PALLETS...about 9 that were full of shotgun shells...They had zero .223 or .22 lr shells and a very limited selection of just about every rifle shell they stock...the shelves were pretty barren...same for bullets & powder. Not a very good selection & what they did have they had very little of...I did see 9 cases or packs of federal 22 lr. 550 count at Walmart...I bought 3...should last me a few years. I'd rather have them & not need em rather than need em & not have them. If you ask me I'd have to say there is a LOT of hoarding going on..

I just bought a 1000 Fed 215 mag primers here for a mere $47.00 plus tax, you guys south of the border are so spoiled! LOL
I wish I could get em for 30 some bucks.
Components in my neck of the woods are pretty deer. (pun intended)
In the next little while I need to stock up on powder ($45.00+ a lb.) get some bullets, brass, and a die set for my 300WSM.
I bet for what I'll pay for that up here you USA dudes can buy a decent scope.
Firearms stuff in Canada is pretty high priced then we get the good ole taxes on top.
K.. I've had my rant now feelin better.LOL

Our local stores, when they have them, charge $10 more per thousand than you're paying.
I got lucky and found some of the Federal Magnums and 210's for around $35 per recently.

Well fellows, I did a little hoarding too. If the big guys in Washington make all that stuff illegal and want to come and get it, I'll wait by the bridge and make my stand just like the farmers did at Concord so many years ago. Death isn't the worst thing to fear in creation.

I cant find Fed 210 match primers anywhere?