IMR 4895 Yea or Nay

[jonp]

Saw some at a local gs. $199/8lb keg. So...Yea or Nay?

[cbrick]

That's $50 over Powder Valley for an 8 pounder, they don't have it right now but they do off & on. $200 will depend on how badly ya need/want it.

Rick

[ShooterAZ]

If you need it, go for it. $25/lb is not bad these days.

[country gent]

IMR 4895 is a versatile powder, alot of uses in the rifle calibers. Its one of the old stand bys that seems to perform well accross the range of uses. In todays Market prices are up some, It depends on what you need and what your willing to pay for it. For what its worth I just opened a 1 lb can of BL-C2 that the price sticker read 9.99 on. LOL

[Kraschenbirn]

Around here, availability of 4895 (either 'H' or 'IMR') has been fairly erratic for the last couple of years but when in stock I've been getting IMR for $23-$24 for 1 pounders (Hogden for a buck/lb more) over the counter. Still got 3 or 4 of those in the cupboard so, unless that $199 were an OTD price, I'd have to pass.

Bill

[rondog]

I always consider the hideous shipping and "hazmat" costs when ordering powders online, so I very rarely do so. I'll pay higher prices locally, yet still come out ahead.

[dragon813gt]

It's been $25 a pound here for years. Powder Valleys prices aren't a reality for any store here. I paid $200 for an 8# jug back in March and don't regret it. Figure $30 for hazmat and $10 for shipping. That makes it $9 more than PV's price.

[Airman Basic]

That's $50 over Powder Valley for an 8 pounder, they don't have it right now but they do off & on. $200 will depend on how badly ya need/want it.

Rick
When I don't have any, I give it away.:popcorn:

[jaysouth]

It will never get cheaper than that, I promise. My local enabler has IMR at 199.99 and H at 203.99. He said his price just went up and he will raise the retail price accordingly on replacements.

[62chevy]

It will never get cheaper than that, I promise. My local enabler has IMR at 199.99 and H at 203.99. He said his price just went up and he will raise the retail price accordingly on replacements.

There you have it in a nut shell. Last year I bought 2 cans of Tite Group for 18 bucks + tax a month later they were 25 bucks.

[fatnhappy]

Around here, availability of 4895 (either 'H' or 'IMR') has been fairly erratic for the last couple of years but when in stock I've been getting IMR for $23-$24 for 1 pounders (Hogden for a buck/lb more) over the counter. Still got 3 or 4 of those in the cupboard so, unless that $199 were an OTD price, I'd have to pass.

Bill

I'm with Bill. I can buy 1 lb canisters for $23. Availability has been spotty lately, but I'd still hold off.

[4719dave]

buy it and its done load away ..

[runfiverun]

should be about $179.00,,, but if you need it, want it, or ain't got it.

[GabbyM]

I'd not buy it at twenty bucks.
Since I like to hit what I aim at.

[10mmShooter]

BUY IT.... $200 is the new "okay" for an 8 pounder in my area. In the NC and SC area, 1 pounders go from $26 to $34 dollars depending on brand. Any 8 lbers at $200 ish is okay in my book.

With powder availability still spotty.... I not going to try to take stand on principle on price over a few dollars. Buy it and be happy knowing its own your shelf if needed. :)

[birddog]

Hell no all your doing is giving these idiots a reason to continue to over inflate the already high prices. I'll order mine through our local gun club and current prices if available are around $130. If not available I can wait!!
Charlie

[sig2009]

Worst metering powder I have ever used!

[cbrick]

Worst metering powder I have ever used!

Wow, really? Just a guess but I'd say there are a lot of powders you've never used. :shock:

Rick

[btroj]

Like 4198?

[Petrol & Powder]

As others have pointed out, that's $25/lb.
IMR4895 is my primary rifle powder but I don't think I need 8lbs on top of my current supply and certainly not at $25/lb. If I had NONE, I would probably buy it at that price. After shipping and hazmat fees I couldn't order it for that final price. I'm sure there are plenty of shooters on this forum that will go through 8 pounds of rifle powder in short order but I'm not one of them.
So, my answer is a very solid, "it depends" :?

[fast ronnie]

One of the most universal powders. Seems a bit much, but availability? How bad do you need it? If you got it, the price on that jug won't go up.

[jonp]

I don't need it but I was going to try it out. 4064 and 3031 are doing doing about all I need and I have not broke into an 8lb'r of AR Comp yet. They had 4 jugs of that powder and also 4 boxes of factory 250Savage brass on the shelf. Where they got the savage brass I don't know.

[Petrol & Powder]

If you have plenty of 4064, I'd pass. 4064, 3031 and 4895 are all good powders but not different enough to justify purchasing 8 pounds of 4895 in addition to your current supply.
I settled on 4895 but frankly, 4064 may actually be a slightly more versatile powder.

[waco]

Like 4198?

How about SR4759?

[rondog]

Hell no all your doing is giving these idiots a reason to continue to over inflate the already high prices. I'll order mine through our local gun club and current prices if available are around $130. If not available I can wait!!
Charlie
Oooo, I'd like to know more about ordering through your club! I'm a member of a 1000+ member club, and that would be awesome if our club could do that!

[35remington]

Given that it's 160 dollars for the same amount here locally with no hazmat/shipping fee, I'd term the prices everyone else seems to be glad to pay "scalping."

It is a good idea to remember who scalped you and who did not when powder eventually becomes more available and act accordingly to reward/rebuke those who took it easy on you/took advantage of you when it was easy to do so.

[dragon813gt]

How can you call it scalping/gouging/whatever when it's been the same price for YEARS. Since well before Sandy Hook. As I stated the price per pound for powders has been around $25 for a long time. No one has raised their prices here. When PV was selling CCI primers for $20 Cabela's was selling them for $35. Now PV is selling them for $28 and Cabela's is still charging $35.

You can't say a price is to high unless you live in that area. If you haven't noticed prices are vary a lot by region. The $107 that PV charges for a keg of Bullseye is not a reality in this area. Some shops have been charging $35 a pound and $40 per K of primers since before the panic.

[runfiverun]

$107. is outstanding, I pay 124.00 per jug for pistol powders.
I can get RL-19 locally [like right down the street] for $30.00 per pound, I can't find it anywhere else right now, i'll wait till I do.

[Blackwater]

The way the powder availability situation is right now, and for the forseeable future, if you need a certain powder, get it when you CAN because it may be quite a while before you encounter it again. It MIGHT show up at a lower price, but I sure wouldn't bet on it. Not with my luck, for sure.

And as to price gouging, when you make your living and support your family these days in the shooting supplies business, you're having a VERY hard time just trying to GET some supplies to sell of ANY kind, so I don't think we're being gouged so much as the crazy market situation and the laws of supply and demand are just making things difficult. The LAST people to blame are the good folks who TRY their BEST to keep us supplied. They don't make the stuff, and they don't set prices. All they're able to do is try to keep us supplied with whatever they can get, and they work dang hard at doing that. They are NOT the enemy. They're just the last people on the supply chain, and they are NOT to blame for ANY of the things that are happening, though many who can't or won't consider the situation fully still blame the blameless just because that's the easiest thing to do.

[Cadillo]

I haven't seen an 8lb jug of that, my go to powder for 3006 and .308, in over two and a half years. A buddy called me yesterday, and told me that a local gun shop had finally gotten in some one pound containers that are priced at $30.00 each plus tax. I passed and will milk the little bit I have left.

In your case, no shipping or hazmat. I think that I would buy it if you have a use for it.

[35remington]

I can call it scalping or gouging because it's been 160 here for years. You're getting scalped. I see nothing that would make powder of 160 dollars for eight pounds reasonable in Omaha, Nebraska and a bargain at 200 dollars somewhere else. Quite frankly many here would call 200 cheap given the per lb. cost they're paying, which is 35 dollars or better for rifle powder according to some. That's flat ridiculous.

This outfit I speak of (GU in Omaha) hasn't raised its prices for the panic. What excuse does your gunshop have? Trust me, they're selling all the powder they can get, and given that people buy it as fast as they get it their bottom line isn't getting hurt as bad as you want to believe. They made their profit (your scalpers you're defending for some reason) when they sold out their inventory much, much faster than usual. They probably moved two year's worth of inventory in two months.

If they don't have as much powder, at least they don't have inventory they have to carry (which is a cash liability most of the time) until someone buys it. It goes out much faster now and doesn't wait on the shelf so long. Save your tears for your inability to find it, not their bottom line. They're getting along just fine with the general increase in costs, excessive increases in cost and the buying sprees everyone's been on when powder does come in.

Sure you can blame 'em. Who puts the price tags on the stuff that cause the price increase? It ain't the maker so much as the final seller. They are NOT doing anything special to bring the powder to you to justify the cost increase.....they just have to wait their turn. They don't bring it to you....yet they increase the price. The makers and distributors bring it to you. All your gunshop does is ask for more when it runs out. YOU the consumer do that by increase in demand, not the gunshop. The gunshop does not labor to make more. They just stamp the price on it, and no doubt they make the most profit per pound, more so than the distributor or even the maker.

This is NOT justified on their part.

Those here that haven't learned from previous shortages (Clinton, Obama One, Obama Two and Newton) probably deserve the gouging prices they're paying. The rest of us learned, applied what we learned......and aren't getting gouged like the rest of you are.

If you don't learn from this one, you really, really, really deserve what you get in the future. You shoulda learned already, actually.

[shaggybull]

Cabela's here has it stock most of the time I stop in and look

[RogerDat]

Local cost of business can vary, state and local taxes, property or rental cost, insurance, labor, even shipping costs which are all cost of doing business. So some variation in price should exist at retail nationwide.

However I think 35remington makes an important point the largest cost factor for retail profits is the investment of capital in the stock to sell. When product flies off the shelves you get your return on investment rapidly. If you mark up the product by 33% selling it in 3 days is more profitable than selling it in 3 months even if it is the same amount of markup. You have your cash back and your profit to reinvest and you only have 3 days of overhead if nothing else. Now if you have a situation where you can mark that product up 55% and still sell it in a few days that would be even better for the bottom line. Some places treat their customers like cash cows others like a valued relationship. I know which I would rather do business with.

Many manufactures and distributors are on the records as saying they are not raising prices due to the demand. Adding shifts yes jacking up prices no. Seems like it would be too easy for that to be verified or leak if not true to make it a practical thing to lie about it.

As to the OP question I think $200 is a lot to drop on something you might or might not like. If the price seems high now it sure won't seem lower if you have that jug sitting on a shelf unused a year from now. If it will work for what you need to load, and you don't have access to what you would normally use and it's a case of pay the price or don't have any then.... well then you would not be asking you would have jumped on it.

Otherwise if it was not this or nothing I would try to pick up a lb. and try it, and frankly only purchase 8# of anything if I knew it was going to be used in a reasonable amount of time. Which of course depends on how much you reload, and what you consider reasonable amount of time. I figure having a couple of years worth of average consumption on hand is "reasonable". Tend to build back up to that every year, start looking for good deals on what I have used about once a year. Sometimes a good deal on quantity causes me to purchase more and I build up a little overstock but that is an overstock of something I use.

[Lead Fred]

Id say NAY.

I have metal cans of 4895 that I paid $99 for, and plastic ones I paid $129. I can still get it all day long at $150 an 8 pounder.

Sounds like someone is a war profiteer

[30CalTy]

Oooo, I'd like to know more about ordering through your club! I'm a member of a 1000+ member club, and that would be awesome if our club could do that!

Motivated club member stands up and says he'd like to set up a group buy and drop shipment. Organizes money and the order. Goods show up on a pallet.

Even if you do it informally and get only 2-3 people and do a regular order, it makes the hazmat go to nearly zero.



I'm sure someone will buy it locally at $200, but it won't be me. I'll get it at the $160'ish.

[michiganmike]

Powder is still relatively tight here in central Michigan, and more expensive than $25 per lb, regardless of manufacturer. My 7mm-08 performs very well with H4895. I would pay the asking price if I could get it at that price locally, and not regret it for a minute.

[milrifle]

I've never bought 8 lbs at a time, but I do have probably 4-5 lbs of 4895 (H & IMR) on the shelf. It is in the $28-$32 range at stores and gun shows around here. That is...all except the LGS closest by. He didn't have any 4895 last time I was there, but has 4198 for $52. He still had some others on the shelf for $32, but they were not powders I use or even recognized. He also still has some $60 primers on the shelf. I'm betting they are left over from Sandy Hook.

[762 shooter]

That price is high if you have plenty.

That price is great if you have none.

At $179/8 pounds a 24 grain load costs $0.0767 per round. At $200 it costs $0.0857/round.

At $179/8 pounds a 42 grain load costs $0.13 per round. At $200 it costs $0.15/round.

Don't strain at a gnat. Per round, the difference is trivial. Not enough to stop me from shooting.

762

[dondiego]

That price is high if you have plenty.

That price is great if you have none.

At $179/8 pounds a 24 grain load costs $0.0767 per round. At $200 it costs $0.0857/round.




At $179/8 pounds a 42 grain load costs $0.13 per round. At $200 it costs $0.15/round.

Don't strain at a gnat. Per round, the difference is trivial. Not enough to stop me from shooting.

762

Well said!