Which powder gets hard to find? How long does it keep?

[jonp]

In stock? Unique, H110 and Promo. I also keep 2400, 3031 and 4064 along with this and that

Unique and Promo always

[dogdoc]

I will stock up before 2020

[tazman]

Around here, all the handgun powders and any shotgun powders useful for handgun or trap & skeet were just not available at all. Periodically, small amounts would show up at higher prices.
Primers also got very hard to find. Particularly, small pistol and large pistol.
Now, everything is available and at decent prices.
If you think you will need to stock up, do it now. If you wait for 2020 to roll around, there won't be any available to stock up with.

[Idaho45guy]

Picked up another can of WSF since it's the hardest to find and works well in multiple calibers.
Also picked up some Speer Gold Dots and primers. $75. Will be buying at least another can of powder and a couple hundred more primers every couple of weeks on pay day.

Should hopefully be pretty well stocked up by the next election.

Of course, Washington state could go after reloading supplies next...

[RogerDat]

I was online ordering a reloading press, the press was in stock when the page loaded. I went to double check the model number in a review I had open in another browser window before ordering. Came back and hit order to find a 6 month back order had grown in the few minutes between loading the item and ordering. So yes can change in a moment. Unsustainable circumstances will pass but things will also change. Prices, and contents will change as will no doubt laws and regulations. New powders are coming into market, as are new primers.

I agree Congress starts debating any serious restrictions and things will get unsettled fast, how unsettled will depend on scope of regulation and probability of passing. It wasn't that Sandy Hook happened, it was when Congress took up restrictive legislation that looked like it would pass that the real run took place. Bump stock ban not wonderful but not likely to set off hoarding & panic buying. Capacity and type of firearm bans will.

If you have what you need on hand it gives you options. If you can cast and load for it, have components to do that loading, then you can respond to the situation without panic and based on prior planning that informed your preparations. I still buy gas checks but I do have dies to make them. I also tend to have molds that do a plain base bullet even if my usual mold for same use is a gas check bullet. Long term what you have you can use, what you can't buy or can't afford at scalper prices you don't have available to use. It really boils down to what is financially possible and what priority you place on being able to load for the calibers or uses you consider important. The cost of an 8# jug in stock on hand and a few thousand primers that gives you a comfortable buffer is a worthwhile goal.

Hunters have different use cases than competitive shooters, some are looking to be able to feed semi-auto for regular range time, others shotguns for hunting, sport, or competition. Some have family that draws on their supplies, others just load for a limited number of firearms to "plink" with from time to time. An 8# jug of pistol powder for someone plinking with a revolver or two is huge. For a competitive shotgun enthusiast it isn't even a good start on the order. So comfort is both use, need, and emotional. Can't forget that for some folks knowing they are secure in their ability to maintain functional firearms pretty much based on own stock for a lifetime matters. Some are looking to next generation even. Those are emotional factors. It all cost money, figuring out what to budget that achieves your own personal goal is what matters. Took me around 6 years but I am comfortable in my lead supply now. Took regular purchases over time, looking for deals, and budgeting resources to the task. Same with powder and components. Not 100% where I want to be but closing in on the basics are covered and spending more effort on the outlier items now.

Know what you "need" buy it as you can until you have it. Replace as used. Don't worry and don't become part of a panic next time one happens. So .22 rim fire are much more available now. You use? Are you buying? I don't use that caliber a lot and have a decent amount going back to Y2K but looking at a big bucket and thinking after Christmas I might find that worth adding one of those to my comfort level.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

To the OP:
Unique and 2400 were the ones I wanted to buy,,,and found empty shelves at my favorite stores...or any stores.


As I remember it, there were two "events" in the last 15 years.

2008: China's buying up of any commodities they could get their hands on finally caught up with the World's Commodity market (Brass and copper effected ammo prices), along with Obama winning the election with the Congress being Liberal. Prices climbed as we bought all we could to stock up, under threat of law changes.

After a few years, the gun and ammo market had leveled off, due to the political changes in House (in 2010) and Senate (in 2012).

But then in 2013, Sandy Hook happened. This panic had a Perfect storm happen. Three major factors...besides us reloaders trying to stock up, we had the gougers, additional People buying to re-sell at high prices...and also, after many years of dismal growth in the sporting arms hobby, we got a new growth spurt of previously non-gun owners getting into the sport of shooting and reloading and even casting...I recall lots of different Lee products being unavailable and Lee having a long backlog of their manufacturing, particularly with products relating to 223/556 and 9mm.

Anyway, as others have stated...Lookout... 2020 is coming soon.

[RED BEAR]

did i miss something i remember primers being hard to find but i had no problem getting what ever powder i wanted. i usually buy from a couple small shops and they always had what i asked for.

[rintinglen]

did i miss something i remember primers being hard to find but i had no problem getting what ever powder i wanted. i usually buy from a couple small shops and they always had what i asked for.

Apparently you were hibernating from 20143 to 2016 But honestly, where I live, pistol powders like Bullseye, Unique and WW 231 were very rare on the ground, with 2400 being non-existent. Daily checks of Graf and Sons,and powder valley yielded none for weeks , even months at a time. I buy primers now 10,0000 at a time and have built up my stocks of ww-231, Unique and Power pistol to where I should have a life time supply. I still need to get a jug or two of 2400.

[RogerDat]

The manufacturers run specific powders and cartridges in batches and keep a "normal" supply in warehouse or the materials pipeline. An post election run put a dent in it, then legislation under consideration post Sandy Hook really go the ball rolling (it didn't pass but by then scarcity was self reinforcing) Followed by ADI in Australia who makes much of the powder sold under US labels had a fire in the pistol powder facility. So perfect storm of pipeline supply getting pulled down while manufacturers were unable to rebuild it.

Once you have run all over trying to locate some needed or highly desired component that has almost run out you or anyone will be highly motivated to purchase "extra" in order to avoid that same problem in the future. Or to pass on your lucky find to others you know are in the same boat. So what supplies did enter the market were quickly transferred to basement and shop storage locations taking them off the market. It is how a hoarding situation is self perpetuating. People doing the "right" thing that makes sense individually can lead to an overall situation that is undesirable.

Simply put if one hasn't been able to find a powder for the last couple of months of looking for it and they finally find some the 2# they would have bought becomes buying 5 of the 1# cans so they can go twice as long without needing to hunt for it again and pass on a pound to their friend who is also running low.

The OP trying to figure out what to purchase now during times of plenty will help them avoid those issues in the future which is good but chances are the next situation will be different. Not likely to have a fire that takes out same capacity. Plus many will have stocked up on certain items taking them out of the demand side. I might buy primers if I loaded a big batch but am good on most powders I use much of for a long time. Not to mention a few 8# jugs that provide something that will work for pretty much everything. Might not be the best but certainly usable. 8#'s of Unique, 4198, Varget cover a lot of ground.

OP needs to not try to figure the shortages of last crisis. Needs to figure out own needs and address available supplies so next crisis doesn't matter.

BTW - there were some small gun shops that did generally have a decent selection of powder when major retail outlets did not. Often not handy to population centers or ones that historically did a steady business in reloading supplies. Too small a customer base to get overwhelmed by panic buying and historically regular large orders of components meant suppliers already had them down for repeat demand.

[RED BEAR]

the shop i used for my reloading supplies didn't display them they were in the back and you had to ask so maybe they started with a good supply and never ran out. primers on the other hand could be seen from counter and sold out. i shopped at that store from the day it opened until it closed recently. hated to see them go.

[RogerDat]

the shop i used for my reloading supplies didn't display them they were in the back and you had to ask so maybe they started with a good supply and never ran out. primers on the other hand could be seen from counter and sold out. i shopped at that store from the day it opened until it closed recently. hated to see them go.

We lost a local gunsmith owned shop awhile back. Was really bummed to see it go.

Nearest one now is about an hour away. Nice drive but after going that far I feel like I need to come home with something so.... just dropping something off costs at least the price of a pound or two of powder so I have something to show for the drive. They didn't run out but they are a good way out from any population center and most of the clientele is long term and steady. I think a new fellow coming in and trying to buy up a stock of powder would have been told no during lean times.

[xfoxofshogo]

i pick up a lot of HS-5 and HS-6 form a sale and it has 1972 they are still good as new and some old alcan powder no date on it but dose not have a screw on lid

At one shop here they want $30.00 for a 1 lb can

[Kimber1911]

I really started getting set up to load in 2011-2012, it became almost impossible to get what recipes called for so I also was buying whatever I could get, usually at some inflated rate, primers were tough to come by.Everything was out of stock, rationed, or backordered. I got into a few other projects and hobbies and had another kid and kind of mothballed the handloading hobby until recently. Just sorting thru what I have and getting going again, part of the issue was total lack of experience so some of the random powders I have were only purchased because it was all I could get, not what I needed. Now is a much better time to set up as needed, sell some excess, adjust inventory. I totally agree with having some stuff on hand for the lean times.

[ejcrist]

Gosh, yeah I remember 2008 and especially 2013 like it was yesterday - hard times. I still have flashbacks and wake up in cold sweats, especially about 2013. I shoot mostly revolver (handgun steel silhouette) and hunting, and mostly 32 H&R, 38 Special, 44 Special, and 45 Colt. During the shortage 2400 and Unique was next to impossible to find. 4227 wasn't as bad - that's one of my favorite 45 Colt powders. I had a pretty good supply before the two shortages but I was working on buying enough to eventually have a lifetime supply because I figured things were more likely than not to get more restrictive over the years than less. I continued to buy when stuff was available during the drought and cut back on shooting quite a bit. Afterwards I continued to slowly stock up and now I think I'm good for the rest of my time on earth. If I had to do it again I'd stock up on 2400 first since that seemed to be the hardest to get post 2013. After that it's a tough call because most handgun/shotgun powders were scarce in my neck of the woods but I'd probably go with Unique and 231. After that I'd say they were all equally difficult to get. Like the others have said, just figure out which powders you use most, how much you need to be comfortable for a few years, and then start purchasing it at regular intervals. Do the same with primers and brass too - I remember both were hard to get but especially pistol primers. The drought was a terrible time for the shooting sports. Even though I'm well stocked now I really hope to never see anything like that again.

[6.5 CM]

I'm having trouble finding Dupont 80 and HiVel.

Seriously guys, there are sooooo very many powders made, I find it hard to believe anyone in the USA is unable to shoot for lack of powder.

Powder Valley ALONE has 202 kinds of smokeless powder in stock. INCLUDING 2400, 4227, H110 and every other one I've ever heard of. If you live in a Blue state or only buy at the LGS you could have a problem. Sorry.

[Idaho45guy]

Bought another 1000 CCI 500 small pistol primers today while grocery shopping at WalMart. Next paycheck it will be powder.

[scattershot]

Try to keep a good supply of Unique on hand. You can load just about anything with it. Should last forever if kept tightly sealed and away from extremes in temperature.

[retread]

This is a very bad practice. Powder that smells and has red dust is fertilizer and nothing more. Powder is a chemical compound and what you saw was decomposition. It should not be loaded when in that state.

I got some IMR 4198 in the one pond cans that matched the description, rusty dust and foul smelling. I used it for fertilizer. Of all the cans I have picked up of that vintage and earlier, that can is the only one I have had to toss to date.

[Dave18]

yrs ago friend of mine came by and dropped off a good sized cardboard canister of red dot, 16lb? his brother died, and he had to clean the place out, he had no use for the powder and dropped it on me, interesting thing was his brothers place, it was in florida,the powder kept in the garage, and think even went through a few hurricanes, so we were kind of skeptical of it burning right, well, loaded some up and tried it, just a slight hint of smoke, that was it, burned that keg up that yr, shooting skeet, keep thinking someone was telling us, they quit making the canisters in the 60s, one of the older guys that hung out at the skeet range, when talking about the powder, and we shot it up around 2000 give or take a yr,
while there is no hard fast rule, Im guessing if everything was done right during what ever run of powder out there, it could almost last a lifetime or more, since we are still shooting ammo from ww2, and quality control back then was nothing like we have now days,
even black powder has surprised me, have been told about percussion pistols and muzzleloaders that had been left loaded for yrs, and went off on first try
sorry for rambling so long, powder longevity has really fascinated me, when you don't think the stuff would be so long lasting,

[ejcrist]

I'm having trouble finding Dupont 80 and HiVel.

Seriously guys, there are sooooo very many powders made, I find it hard to believe anyone in the USA is unable to shoot for lack of powder.

Powder Valley ALONE has 202 kinds of smokeless powder in stock. INCLUDING 2400, 4227, H110 and every other one I've ever heard of. If you live in a Blue state or only buy at the LGS you could have a problem. Sorry.

The original poster asked: "Just wondering for those that lived through the last drought, what powders became the most sought after?" so that's what we're commenting on, not about having trouble finding powders now. Back during the drought I checked Powder Valley, Graff's etc. many times a day and purchased when something I needed was available, which was rare. There was also an app, and I don't remember the name, but you queried the powder you were looking for and it gave results of any vendor that had it, but again you'd almost never see Unique, 2400, etc. being available. That's why it's not such a bad idea to build an inventory since you're going to use it anyway, and if there's ever another run it won't really affect you. Not only that but it's not at all uncommon for manufacturers to cease making certain powders with small sales volume that you might prefer and have spent a considerable amount of time working up loads on. This has happened to me a couple of times. The replacement powder may be better or worse but either way you'll have to go back to the drawing board and start all over again. Anyway, long story short, it never hurts to be prepared.