Shooting curtailed due to primer shortage

[windrider919]

I have had to quit shooting because no one in my region has primers for sale, not Carters Country, nor Bailey's House of Guns / Shooting range nor Bass Pro. I did not 'panic' and buy in fear of the Obama election and since I usually buy to replace what I shot I have run out. Had a good day at the range shooting and then went inside the store to buy a box of primers and they were out. They said they had called all over trying to get more but no luck. Several of the other discussions here on Cast Boolets have been talking about it and quite a few members are bragging that they bought many K of primers and will not run out for years. Which leaves me who shoot about 100 a month with none. A guy at Carters which is a huge store in Houston said a couple guys bought all they had. He told me that they bought over 50 K of primers in every size. Now thats hording!!!!!!! So much for consideration of your fellow shooter. I used to shoot 'black gun' a lot and I could see having between 2K and 5K but the jerks bragging about 25K could not shoot that many in a war. They fear a collapse of society or banning by the liberals but they hurt the rest of us by being pigs. Like I said, in either case they have aquired more than any one person could reasonably use. It is a free country however. And as devils advocate: in a free market the law of supply and demand can mean temporary shortages. I just hope that the Liberals don't do anything too stupid and that the manufactures can replace the stock as soon as possible. Anyone agree? Disagree/

[Lead pot]

When we had the last primer shortage a few years ago I learned a lesson.
When the dealers got a few in the price doubled because of the shortage.
When primers started to appear again on the shelves of the suppliers and were plentiful again I stocked up with five sleeves (25, 000) and I never let that number fall, I just rotated the stock because I knew it would happen again some day.
Well It did happen again and my forsite has paid off.
I don't call it hording I call it looking ahead.
Now when there in short supply it's kinda like your favorite hound dog having a litter of 9 pups and she only has 8 dinner plates one will go hungry if he ain't on the ball.

[rhead]

Lead pot: Foresight is what is called hoarding by those who have no foresight. They do not understand the term. They see the world the way it is right now and cannot imagine any change. If something changes that alters their life the ones that are prepared must be "hoarding" because there is no such thing as "foresight". Some of them are just young and will learn from their experience. others will not.

The charities of the world are supported by those who have the foresight to accumulate a surpluss. Not by those who never consider the next step until movement is past due and not by those who whine about some elses "Karma ". If I get worried about my Karma I will discuss it with a Hindu. They call often enough.

[Dennis Eugene]

Anyone agree? Disagree/

but the jerks bragging about 25K they hurt the rest of us by being pigs

I disagree with the name calling. In fact your whole post smacks of "spreading the wealth around". Dennis

[Shiloh]

Is it hoarding if we stocked some in when they were available and plentiful,
not to mention reasonably priced??

Shiloh

[jhrosier]

Windrider,
It is time to accept the situation and deal with it.
If all you need is 100 primers per month then someone in your area will probably be able to help you out. You might have to ask politely and pay a premium, but you will get what you need to tide you over.

Would it be the end of the world if you had to pay $100 for a thousand primers on gunbroker?

Put a WTB/WTT on the bulletin board at your local range and see what happens.
Boolits and brass are just as hard to find as primers in many places. You might be able to arrange a swap with one of your shooting buddies. Yeah, I know that it is technically illegal to barter boolits that you make yourself(without a federal license), so swap some that someone else made.

Turn your anger into action. We are all pulling for you, really!

BTW, buy 4K primers and put them away in an ammo can and forget about them after this foolishness passes.

Jack

[RMulhern]

DAs don't 'hoard'!!

They just bitch....and do without!!

Must be 'part-time shooters'!!

[imashooter2]

25K of primers isn't that many at all.

High Power, USPSA, Bullseye, ICORE, Bianchi... All of those have dedicated enthusiasts that will shoot more than that in a single year. Heck, there are plenty of plinkers that will shoot that much.

I'm saddened to hear you are in a bind, but those that shoot plenty saw the writing on the wall and took care of business.

[Apache]

Ummmmm.......If you couldn't see this coming (I prefer to call it "stocking up" not hoarding) you deserve what you got. This has been going on for at least 8 or 9 months!!!

Shoulda got urs when the getting was good..........next time (if there is a next time) maybe you'll be a "jerk" or a "pig" like some of us.

signed:

hoarding "jerk" and "pig"

[Kenny Wasserburger]

Sorry fella if your looking for Sympthy here its not to be found, In 91 I saw this coming and began to buy primmers, I carry around 40-60K on hand at any time, and Just recently came on to a deal of 7000 old white Box WLR's That I use for my Long Range Loads boosting my Hoard as you call it to a touch over 25K again.

BTW just asking did you vote for OBAMA?

The Lunger

[docone31]

Somewhere on this forum is a link on rebuilding spend primers. Anyone who is really out can do a search for it.
My wife constantly would question me on "don't you have enough?". Well, today, she is not like that. When we go to the range, they have a limit on 2 sleeves of primers per person per day. We get four. Each time. Now she does not talk like that. She found she loves shooting as much as I do and took for granted "things" will always be there.
In the '80s, I had built a concrete outbuilding so I could store powder, primers, bullets, I did not cast back then. My first divorce took care of that. My second divorce took care of my Hawken, powder, caps, Ruger #1, powder, primers, etc. My third divorce took care of what little I had accumulated, my fourth divorce left me homeless in Alaska, My fifth divorce took my sharps, powder, everything.
I have always looked at it as what can I carry, what do I need.
Now, my wife and myself, are getting into caplocks. She has never fired one before. We already have powder, caps, lead, molds. We are getting acutremonts, powder gear, capping gear. Someday, I might even bring her to a rendevous!
I have a "friend". A shooter, Liberal, hater of the NRA. I keep shakeing my head at him. I taught him to reload. I fixed his smithing mistakes. Big ones at that! My wife, myself, and him, we built Palma Rifles to just shoot paper at our range which he will not join. Well, he cannot get primers, has no powder, a few pulled bullets. He wants some of mine! No.
I warned him.
I wouldn't want to be anywhere with him outside of a metropolitan environment anyway.
Cabelas gets primers. I get sleeves from them from time to time. Midway says they are coming in, then refunds our money 6 weeks later. I just got enough brass to last a while. Since I shoot paper, I get real mileage from my brass!
I am not sure what is really going on. We shoot rimfire at the range now mostly. I get a brick every time we go. Members only.
This week, my wife and myself are going to make some grey smoke! I would have never gotten her to handle a caplock in other circumstances.
How much we took for granted!
She likes the smell of melted beeswax now also.

[mag44uk]

Plenty of primers here in the UK!
Tony

[Baron von Trollwhack]

windrider919,

It would be best to make your pitch for a primer bailout to some of your democrat friends living in your area, who, while supporting hopey changey, and with blissful thoughts, or no questions at all of old time gun rights being sustained as a new wave of progress led by the "we ain't after your guns socialists", lately see the light of the darkness descending upon THEIR gun freedoms, AND HAVE BEGUN TO HOARD, thus greatly exacerbating the shortages. Some of brak's own supporters are very itchy now. I suspect even berkey left wingers are hiding primers underneath their gro-lights.

Most of us observers of politicians, historians, pioneers, lovers of freedom, and just plain nature , noticed long ago that most skunks smell and most politicians lie, particularly so with the crooked, corrupt, paid for play, to hell with America, get mine now ones we got and have had for a while.

I for one grew up with an understanding of ancient thoughts by such greats as Aesop, of "ants and the grasshopper" fame, and can do no more than offer the above advice or make some local swaps with my ant buddies.

BvT

[Poygan]

Being a frugal sort of person, I stock up when I run into a good deal. Maybe ten years ago, Gander Mtn. was having a great sale on primers...maybe under $10.00 per thousand. I think I bought over ten thousand at that time. To put it in context, I reload around 2,000 rounds per year. About a year ago, they were selling small pistol mag primers for $1.15 per hundred and I bought 11,000. Do I consider this hoarding? No. I think it is more prudent than buying small quantities on an "as needed" basis.

[jh45gun]

"I did not 'panic' and buy in fear of the Obama election and since I usually buy to replace w I did not 'panic' and buy in fear of the Obama election and since I usually buy to replace what I shot I have run out"

That pretty much says it all as the average gun owner panicked when Obama won the election or even before that. Even I who never stocked up on primers before bougth a few just to have on hand and my income is limited. Local gun shop is now out of primers. A month ago he was again. As soon as he gets more in I will be buying some more just to have on hand. With out primers your gun does not go bang. Makes sense to have some on hand I do not call it hoarding I call it being smart.

[rbuck351]

I am one of those hoarders and have been hoarding for 40+years. I hoard primers, powder,bullets,lead, food,gasoline,tools and everything else I can think of and afford that may help my family and I survive when the stores run out of stuff. I did not panic and buy in fear when Obama was elected as I was already prepared. If you are not prepared to help yourself you certainly won't be prepared to help anyone else. I have hoarded to help myself and others of MY choosing when thing get tuff. Call me anything you want. I'll will call myself prepared. I am sorry for your lack of fore thought, but I thought what would happen after electing a collectivist was a given. I believe that this shortage will pass. Please prepare your self for what ever may be the next shortage as shortages are the norm in a socialist society.

[exile]

This has been going on for at least a year. For example, last March I purchased a .357 magnum. Called Midway looking for .38 special cases. None. Zero. Went to the gunshop, they could not find .38 special cases anywhere, from anybody.

I used to buy primers once box (1,000) at a time, until I went to the store and they did not have any. Now I buy in larger quantities. This has forced me to patronize some folks I did not before (Midsouth, Starline) and I have learned that they are great folks to deal with and have better deals than others. Starline's brass prices include shipping so they are much cheaper than Midway, Midsouth's primer prices are good enough that even with Hazmat they are cheaper than Cabela's. Wish I had known that before.

I used to look at people who bought new cars the same way. Eleven years ago when finances were better, I bought my first new car. Now that times are worse, I still have a car, whearas if I had bought another used one, I wouldn't even have a car.

I wish I had bought lots of primers when I could. I do not consider it "hoarding" if you are going to use them. My guess is future penalties for private sales on primers will make people who are buying them to sell think twice. If you are buying them to use, more power to you.

In my opinion, things are not going to get better. Saturday night on FOX news the headlines read, "China and Russia propose new global currency" and "Geithner says new global currency o.k." or something to that effect. Nobody even bat an eye while they were saying this. Things are not going to get better.

A few trips to the store to buy primers when you are out will make you a "hoarder" like the rest of us. Probably the shortage is being created by people who voted for Obama and have never owned a gun before, much less done any reloading or bullet casting. Now those are the folks that make me mad. As much as I appreciate new shooters, these folks will probably never join the NRA, GOA, JPFO, SEF, call, e-mail or write their congressman to protect gun rights. They will just buy what they can and depend on the rest of us to fight the battle, just like most gun owners who say, "They will never take my shotgun".

When you get home from the store and are frustrated with no primers being available, take the time to contact your elected officials while you are mad about infringements on your 2nd Amendment rights. That way your frustration will be put to good use.

Sorry to rant. Good luck on your search for primers.

exile

[mikenbarb]

Im a real happy pig hoarder and I wont miss a single day at the range for the next couple years and neither will any of my Buddy's if they run out of primers because I have plenty to share and share I do. Does that make me a pig or a hoarder with the 50,000+ primers(I had 80,000 but my friends are happy now.) I bought in advance when they were available to everyone for the same price from the same place? I think not and I have even helped out ALOT of members here with supplying them with primers because they ran out and none can be found unless you spend a 100 bucks a K. I bet you their real glad im a primer pig hoarder when their guns go bang and will continue to go bang till I run out myself and start grinding matchheads for primers! Theirs a difference with what one considers a pig or whatever it be but I dont consider myself a pig at all and none of the guys I continue to supply with primers think im a pig either. They consider me smart by thinking ahead and realizing this was going to happen and the problem is we all saw it coming but all didnt take advantage when we could and are now paying the price for it. Plus im glad I bought them instead of some Liberal buying them that doesnt need them and would wind up throwing them in the garbage after Obama is voted out. I didnt vote obama but knew this was all coming because its happened before if you can recall.
Im done typing because im going shooting now.

[Digital Dan]

Hmm, er, well, there was a huge run on primers during the Clinton era, I have no idea why. Salesman Hussein has done so well there's a run on everything. I have adequate resources for my flintlock since it's not a spray and pray thing. I don't paper patch that one, just for the record, don't mean to be off topic.

I once went on a skeet shooting spree for about 3 years and shot 12-16K rounds per year. Dunno what constitutes hoarding in that venue. Couldn't do it now, obviously. Unless I load #9 in the flinter....not paper patched.

You can shoot more in a war. I used to shoot as much as 10K/day sometimes....not paper patched either.

[azrednek]

In previous primer shortages the short supply was temporary and dealer's stock quickly recovered. When I first heard of shortages starting right after the election I mistakenly assumed it would be a repeat of previous shortages. My 20/20 hindsight tells me I should have bought up all I could have afforded.

The US free market and the unwritten rules of supply and demand will return sufficient supplies as long as there isn't any government interference. It could be several months, a few years or a drastic increase in price before supplies become sufficiently available.

Reloaders hoarding primers are not the only reason for short supplies and my personal opinion it is only a very small portion of primer production and not the reason for the shortages. A vastly increased level of retail ammo purchases, ammunition hoarding by the public, military contracts and law enforcement agencies account for a major portion of all the primers being manufactured. Not by a very small portion of the public hoarding primers. The majority of newly manufactured primers are going to be used to keep up with the public and govt demand for ammunition. Naturally the manufactures will use their primers where they can make the most money, manufacturing ammo.

Blame the war, fear of new gun control laws and hoarding of ammo for the problem. Not the very tiny portion of the public that load their own ammo having foresight to stock up to ride out the temporary shortages.