more primers

[farmbif]

a quick look around gun broker I see a common price for primers is about $200 for 500 primers for buy it now. but what gets my attention are the pictures of some new fangled looking packaging on cci with the colored stripes
ive never seen these before. is it something new? are these folks getting current production jacking up the prices? my fishy business detector is going off.
seems like current bid prices are still around $200-$225/1000
how many of you folks would cash in if they hit $1 a primer

[truckerdave397]

At a buck a piece I am cashing in and out of the game.

[HATCH]

At a buck a piece I am cashing in and out of the game.

gonna sell your guns too??
There is NO promises that the price of primers or powder will every get back down to a reasonable price.

My suggestion right now is limit your shooting to just being able to maintain your proficiency. Do not sell ammo or reloading supplies unless your willing to NEVER replace them.

For me, I have a pile of large rifle primers. I no longer load anything that requires them. I could use them for pistol if push came to shove but I have plenty of those as well.
I can understand the draw to making easy money but at what cost? Giving up shooting entirely because you can't afford the ammo and you sold all your supplies????

[Murphy]

In my decades of reloading and casting, I've never seen a worse time to be a buyer, or a better time to be a seller.

Murphy

[Win94ae]

Just don't buy them until the price gets back to normal.

[downzero]

In my decades of reloading and casting, I've never seen a worse time to be a buyer, or a better time to be a seller.

Murphy

Me either, but I'm still not becoming a seller, and that stuff is stacked deep on the shelf for a reason.

[Shawlerbrook]

I look at it like this. Would you cash out your homeowners or life insurance for a quick profit? Just listen to the proposed laws coming out of DC where the gun grabbing Democrats have a monopoly. Here in NYS, we already got a taste of one (wrong) party rule. I want a lifetime supply of everything I need to feed all my guns.

[ryanmattes]

There are still sellers selling at the "before" prices. Limited quantities, sure, but I'll pick up a few hundred here and there to make sure I don't run out until we find out what the new "normal" price is. I know of a couple sellers who gave me their word that as long as their price doesn't change, my price doesn't change.

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[high standard 40]

I'm looking at these ads on Gunbroker an eBay showing shipping at $8 to $10. What are they doing about hazmat?

[Lloyd Smale]

comical thing was last week the local yoko outdoors show up here on tv had an episode on handloading. they had some yuppy with a shiny like new rockchucker and everything he had looked like it might have loaded 10 rounds. He sure thought he was an expert though. But who the heck could start loading today anyway. One things for sure a year from now your press and gear will still look like his. Even starting casting would be an exercise in futility today.

[whirlwind06]

I'm looking at these ads on Gunbroker an eBay showing shipping at $8 to $10. What are they doing about hazmat?

I’m pretty sure these are private sellers and they are not following the hazmat shipping regs.

[farmbif]

I could not imagine trying to get everything needed to reload today, sure would need deep pockets full of cash. think ill take a look at powder online and see what's happening just for fun.

[high standard 40]

I’m pretty sure these are private sellers and they are not following the hazmat shipping regs.

That better hope they don't get caught.

[farmbif]

I $130 for a pound of unique. anyone? auction hasn't ended yet.
lol, lol, lol
ad seems a bit fishy though, says flat rate shipping is $20, no mention of hazmat fee,
wonder how many of these sellers are gonna get caught sending hazmat without proper hazmat shipping.

[SeabeeMan]

I'm wondering how people are shipping this stuff. All of these items are available for shipment and I haven't seen a local pick-up only option.

[ryanmattes]

I stopped looking online when powder valley ran out and everything was backorder only. Since them it's been local shops only. There are a few around Dallas that get components at a slow trickle, and we go out east fairly regularly, so there are a bunch of small shops around that still have stuff on their shelves. Maybe not anymore, but a couple months ago I found a shop just west of Canton that had plenty of powder on the shelves. We're heading back out east next weekend, I'll add an hour or two onto my drive to check in with the shops out there.

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[rockrat]

MIght check out Midsouth for powder

[farmbif]

just checked Midsouth , zip, zero, nada, nothing not even black powder, but they got 9mm 124 gr bullets and ar lower kits, and one reloading press, that is if you get the RCBS explorer kit..
I just gotta laugh, I saw this coming at least a year and half ago, and the guy behind the counter at Walmart always looked at me like I was crazy every time I bought a bunch of 22's and I would tell him he might do the same if he likes to shoot because there's an election coming up.,

[Idaho45guy]

I've got about 8 cans of Goex FFFG( I think) black powder left over from when I shot in BPCR matches. It was hard to find back then, about ten years ago.

I figured it might be worth something these days, but alas, it is still available online and for $25 a can or so. Guess I will just hang on to it since I still have a rifle that I can use it in.

[JimB..]

I’m thinking about how to reach out to gunbroker and ask them to help regulate the sale of hazmat items. Even if there is no disaster, sure enough the news will eventually pick up on it and I doubt that headlines about illegal shipping of explosives (they’ll be even more dramatic) putting people and planes at risk will be good for the hobby long term.

I’m torn, free people doing free stuff vs enforce a few rules...how far down the slope are we going?

[VariableRecall]

MIght check out Midsouth for powder

A buddy of mine managed to grab some powder from midsouth when it restocked and it was gone before he told me about it.

[monadnock#5]

Last week Midway got a shipment of IMI 9mm. $1200 per case, $60.00 per box of 50. Today I got an email notification that they are offering the same ammo with FREE shipping.

We haven't put the madness behind us yet, but maybe it has leveled off.

[Murphy]

Me either, but I'm still not becoming a seller, and that stuff is stacked deep on the shelf for a reason.

Exactly my friend. I have empathy for those who couldn't afford to stock up on supplies. Then, there are those who have been through this a few times and decided a new $1,000 phone every 2 years (keeping up with the Jones), buying another lastest & greatest fantastic plastic handgun, dropping $$$ eating out...etc, you know the kind. I have no sympathy for them, they did it to themselves.

I retired 19 months ago after 35 years with the same outfit. I made plans and stuck to them. I picked up the guns I wanted along the way with overtime money, etc. I have what I need. It'd be a shame after all that if I didn't have ammunition to shoot in them, right?

Weather providing, if I feel like firing up the grill and tossing a couple of ribeyes on it this weekend, I can. And while the charcoal is getting ready, if I decide to burn a 100 rounds of magnums out of one of my handguns, I will. If I want to burn another 100 after eating, I'll do that too. I ain't rich, but I ain't poor either.

There seems to be two mindsets about the current reloading supply situation. One, it will go back to normal eventually. Two, we're doomed and what you have is all you're going to have, ever. I'm hoping for the sake of others, it'll be number One. What has really gotten me about it all, it seems some of the ones crying the loudest, had years to do something about it...and didn't.


Murphy

[mrmachinist]

I wish I had stocked up more. I have several thousand primers and a decent amount of powder and components but I really wish I had really stocked up years ago. I guess if it comes back to normal I’ll stock up for the next round of these times.


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[tankgunner59]

I have enough to keep us going for a good while. I didn't buy my supplies to sell at a gougers price, if I had enough to sell some I would sell them for what I paid. Would you sell your food, even at an inflated price if you weren't sure when you would be able to replenish your supply? I certainly wouldn't.

[rbuck351]

What Murphy said. I am in a similar point in life with similar thoughts. Good post.

[trapper9260]

Reload all primers and caps now. So what ever way it gose for you will be set . Time will show what will give us. I seen how the things going on gunbrokers . But will not get into it . So i just stick with for what I have . Not into to make money later , just keep me with what I need . to keep doing what I want .

[Brassmonkey]

I’m thinking about how to reach out to gunbroker and ask them to help regulate the sale of hazmat items. Even if there is no disaster, sure enough the news will eventually pick up on it and I doubt that headlines about illegal shipping of explosives (they’ll be even more dramatic) putting people and planes at risk will be good for the hobby long term.

I’m torn, free people doing free stuff vs enforce a few rules...how far down the slope are we going?

It's always good to police our own before the gov feels they need to help.

[snowwolfe]

At a buck a piece I am cashing in and out of the game.

You and me both!

[snowwolfe]

I'm looking at these ads on Gunbroker an eBay showing shipping at $8 to $10. What are they doing about hazmat?

There is no requirement for a hazmat certified dealer to add a fee. They generally do the fee just to increase their profit margin.
I am not sure what to think of this hazmat stuff. You have to be certified to ship powder or primers. Yet the average Joe can ship primed brass or ammo and no hazmat is required.
Why are primers in a box safer than primers in a brass case?
Powder............why is powder now safe to ship once it is inside a brass case WITH a primer?

[Plate plinker]

At a buck a piece I am cashing in and out of the game.

That’s very tempting. I’ve thought of selling most my stuff. I could be nearly debt free I think.

[mrmachinist]

If I could find a non corrosive recipe (that you can buy the chemicals for) to reload primers I would be all about it. I have the stuff to make bp and I think I need one more to make a corrosive primer....


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[JimB..]

There is no requirement for a hazmat certified dealer to add a fee. They generally do the fee just to increase their profit margin.
I am not sure what to think of this hazmat stuff. You have to be certified to ship powder or primers. Yet the average Joe can ship primed brass or ammo and no hazmat is required.
Why are primers in a box safer than primers in a brass case?
Powder............why is powder now safe to ship once it is inside a brass case WITH a primer?
The ammo is hazmat but there is an exception for small quantities so us regular guys can ship it with proper labeling.

I think you’ll agree that the energy in a 70lb box of loaded ammo is markedly less than in a 70lb box of primers or of powder. That’s just how I think of it.

[Handloader109]

There is no requirement for a hazmat certified dealer to add a fee. They generally do the fee just to increase their profit margin.
I am not sure what to think of this hazmat stuff. You have to be certified to ship powder or primers. Yet the average Joe can ship primed brass or ammo and no hazmat is required.
Why are primers in a box safer than primers in a brass case?
Powder............why is powder now safe to ship once it is inside a brass case WITH a primer?

Other way around.... You can ship Primed brass all day long with no hazmat. But loose primers in their OEM box requires hazmat.
And the dealers PAY to take the hazmat training. They are just passing on the cost of sending their employees to get the training. Along with taking care of the paperwork for EACH shipment. Yeah, they probably make a bit of money on this, but it ain't that much.

One thing that most of you guys don't realize is that the gun industry has very slim margins. Things like primers and powder have been a maybe 10% margin for most dealers, just the same as Bud's selling a particular gun for 20% under msrp, which is in most cases less than my dealer cost. (or just a few dollars more)
You are seeing a lot of dealers bump up the prices 5, 10 50% on stuff that is hard to find as they have to hunt it too and if people will pay, they will charge. It is what the market will bear. I myself have probably twice the powder I will ever use, but way less primers. Plenty for a few years, but not a lifetime. Will I try and buy at high prices? Nope.

[farmbif]

Im not sure but think that when shipment is labeled hazmat it is shipped by ground or truck freight rather than in airplanes. there have been ups cargo jets brought down by hazmat cargo on board, big crash in Dubai, as well as the value jet crash that killed all the passengers in the everglades as result of hazmat cargo.
should gunbroker police sales, someone should, every time there is a firearms related incident it gives the leftists more ammunition in their gun grabbing efforts.,
if a cargo jet goes down as a result of some greedy idiot improperly shipping hazmat powder or primers we will all probably paying the price somehow.

[dverna]

Murphy....good post.

We all have different circumstances and I understand that. But I see people making bad choices every day and then whining about the results.

I have no regret about taking advantage of....what is phrase used to make me feel guilty..."my shooting brothers" who did not plan. I have helped and will continue to help people I know who need ammunition to hunt or protect their homes.

I do not know how much shooting is "necessary" but I bet it is less than 1%. Especially for those on forums like this. Hard to feel the need the help others who just want to have fun. Even at current prices, $500 will buy enough to protect their home and family for a long time. Selling one of their least used rifles or pistols gets them there! BTW, plenty of primers listed at $100-120/k if you look around.

Things will get better, but unlikely to the levels of 2-3 years ago. I expect the "new normal" will be $50/k primers, $45/lb powder, $35/brick .22's once the panic/hoarding passes. My gut tells me that will happen in about a year. So, selling excess inventory (especially in primers and .22's), is a good "investment". Keeping a 4-5 year supply will provide a safe margin of error if the shortages last 2-3 years.

I can afford to shoot $100/k primers but am too cheap to waste money like that. We will be moving to shooting high end air guns for most of our plinking this year.

We find ourselves in a Catch-22. If we believe prices will never get better, can we "waste" money that could be used for other needs? If we believe primers will never be available again, why shoot up our inventory to make holes in paper or ring steel? Won't they be worth $500-1000/k? Is putting holes in paper that important? Not to me....and I love to shoot.

[farmbif]

I remember several decades ago after getting transferred to Florida from Louisiana I had my reloading stuff stored in garage and a friend/aquaintance was over and saw reloading written on a box and asked about it. I ended up giving him a case/5000 Winchester shotgun primers, fast forward a year or so started shooting skeet again and regretted giving those primers away when I had to lay out more cash to replace them. I guess part of it was this I never saw said friend again.

[Soundguy]

My wife mentioned I should sell half my primers for the 200-300$ a thousand like others are selling.. since I bought them for 25-35$ a thousand.. but I can't bring myself to do it.

While primers PROBABLY will come back.. and might be similar price.. who knows in this political climate... they might stay high.. or be much harder to get.. or stupid registration rules for ammo components may pop up... I'd rather just keep what i have...

[ryanmattes]

Powder and primers are a commodity. When there are more primers produced than there are people who want to buy them, the price will drop. It'll just take some time. I'm expecting by mid-2022 that there will be a whole lot of guns and reloading equipment on the market for cheap, because less than half of the people who joined the mad rush to buy will have the interest and the inclination to really load and shoot regularly.

I'm not terribly worried about legislation getting in the way. 2020 saw record numbers of new gun buyers, as many as 23 million guns sold, 40% of which were to first time buyers. A whole lot of Democrats became gun owners over 2020's summer of "mostly peaceful protests."

There are 160 million voters in the last general election. There are 120 million gun-owning households in the US. Gun control is a lost cause at the national level. California and New Jersey will keep doing stupid stuff, but I can't be forced to live in those places.

I keep telling people: pay attention to your state, county, and city elections. Those are far more important to your life than who sits in the white house. Biden can babble about gun control all he wants, what matters is who your governor, mayor, and sheriff/police chief are. They set policy in your neighborhood. If the law says guns are a right, but they want to harass you, you're in for a world of hurt. On the flip side, if gun control laws pass nationally but your county sheriff refuses to enforce them, then they don't mean anything to you. Start the closest to home, and work your way up as it matters.

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[Multra]

Agree, democrats and republicans don't want to spend the political capital they have on the national level to mess around with guns, they just want to stay in power and keep the fat checks coming, rocking the boat stops that.

[Idaho45guy]

A buddy of mine managed to grab some powder from midsouth when it restocked and it was gone before he told me about it.

Tri-state had stacks of .22 ammo yesterday. 800 round packs of Federal for $49.99. They also had a bunch of .30-30 ammo. Still no pistol ammo, powder, primers, bullets, and no .38 Special. If they did I would have grabbed a couple of boxes of .38s for you and let you know it was in stock.

[FISH4BUGS]

How many of you folks would cash in if they hit $1 a primer
I am sitting on 10,000 SP, 5000 sp mag, 7000 lp/mag 5000 lr and 15,000 sr.
I didn't buy this with reselling in mind.....but at $1 per primer I would have to think long and hard.
Probably use it for trading more than the cash....but man, it sure would make the stop and think.
I learned my lesson last time around and stocked up.

[JimB..]

Agree, democrats and republicans don't want to spend the political capital they have on the national level to mess around with guns, they just want to stay in power and keep the fat checks coming, rocking the boat stops that.
If one side wins and another loses, then the checks stop rolling in on both sides. Divisiveness in government draws contributions and votes.

[SciFiJim]

At a buck a piece I am cashing in and out of the game.

I have more primers than I will realistically use in the rest of my life. I stocked up in 2012 when it looked like Obama was going to get reelected. At a buck a piece, I will cash in, but not out of the game. I could sell half of what I have and still have enough. That would allow me to buy a few more toys to play with.

[Shawlerbrook]

I hope you guys are right about new gun control laws, but do not bet on it. Just wait until the next high profile shooting and see what a Democratic monopoly does. If what the state and federal government has done in the last year in response to this pandemic doesn’t scare you, your not watching close enough.

[Soundguy]

I am sitting on 10,000 SP, 5000 sp mag, 7000 lp/mag 5000 lr and 15,000 sr.
I didn't buy this with reselling in mind.....but at $1 per primer I would have to think long and hard.
Probably use it for trading more than the cash....but man, it sure would make the stop and think.
I learned my lesson last time around and stocked up.


I hear ya..if it hits a buck a primer on secondary market.. I may liquidate 15k....

[Soundguy]

I hope you guys are right about new gun control laws, but do not bet on it. Just wait until the next high profile shooting and see what a Democratic monopoly does. If what the state and federal government has done in the last year in response to this pandemic doesn’t scare you, your not watching close enough.


I hope so too..because im not so 'assured' that nothing they throw is going to stick.

Thinking like that could be dangerous.

[thxmrgarand]

My bet is that Shawlerbrook is right. The White House is avidly awaiting a big school shooting, and possibly that hasn't happened because so many schools have been closed for so long. Once that happens this White House will be in lock-step with Democrats in Congress, and Democrats in many state capitol buildings, with the fervent help of the media to first ban this and that, register and tax all firearms, and then of course use that data to come for our guns. They won't be able to take but a fraction of them in the early days, and we have an unusually pro-Constitution US Supreme Court so that could be a roadblock to Democrats. But the White House could take much of the fun out of our hobby and our rights. The 2022 election season, at least for Congress, begins this summer. Every gun owner who lives in or near a state that might have a seat that could convert from D to R, or a seat that is in danger of going D, needs to work on that campaign. The House and the Senate are each close, and converting either one to R control would be enough to make it to the end of this Biden term. Last year my state of 730,000 saw a $60 million US Senate race because of outside money and independent agency money. We have only one state-wide print newspaper and two television stations in the entire state, so you can imagine how that amount of money flooded everything, and what that means is that ground-pounders, literature droppers, sign-wavers, 4th of July parade float builders and the like are relatively more valuable to a campaign than once was the case. A thousand dollar donation to a campaign here bought a front-row seat only a few years ago but now its volunteers that are scarce (there is only so much radio, newspaper and TV capacity, and that quickly becomes saturated). I feel I owe it to preserve the Second Amendment for the people coming up now. And I really am a single-issue voter.

[poppy42]

I'm looking at these ads on Gunbroker an eBay showing shipping at $8 to $10. What are they doing about hazmat?
Undoubtedly shipping them illegally. I certainly wouldn’t take a chance considering the penalty can be the same whether you’re shipping or receiving. I don’t look good in stripes!

[ryanmattes]

Undoubtedly shipping them illegally. I certainly wouldn’t take a chance considering the penalty can be the same whether you’re shipping or receiving. I don’t look good in stripes!This. I'm allergic to prison.

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[Stewbaby]

I $130 for a pound of unique. anyone? auction hasn't ended yet.
lol, lol, lol
ad seems a bit fishy though, says flat rate shipping is $20, no mention of hazmat fee,
wonder how many of these sellers are gonna get caught sending hazmat without proper hazmat shipping.

I just hope they don’t endanger somebody...

Also a secondary concern...Just imagine the new laws if a plane goes down and they find out it was due to reloading powder or primers shipped illegally by a layman.

[Soundguy]

Then it will be in person only...etc.

[JimB..]

I went ahead and sent my thoughts to gunbroker, I suggest that you each do the same.

[VariableRecall]

Tri-state had stacks of .22 ammo yesterday. 800 round packs of Federal for $49.99. They also had a bunch of .30-30 ammo. Still no pistol ammo, powder, primers, bullets, and no .38 Special. If they did I would have grabbed a couple of boxes of .38s for you and let you know it was in stock.

Glad to know you're thinking of me! With my current stack of reloaded ammo I'm good on .38 Special for now. Honestly I haven't seen .38 Special in stores since November. I still have that Cowboy Action .38 special in my ammo box but considering that there's no way I could use it indoors it's probably going to stay there. Unless you want it, of course. If you happen to have someplace to use it without choking in gunsmoke let me know. I've got 95 of em left. Took 5 shots to get the picture...

[Idaho45guy]

Glad to know you're thinking of me! With my current stack of reloaded ammo I'm good on .38 Special for now. Honestly I haven't seen .38 Special in stores since November. I still have that Cowboy Action .38 special in my ammo box but considering that there's no way I could use it indoors it's probably going to stay there. Unless you want it, of course. If you happen to have someplace to use it without choking in gunsmoke let me know. I've got 95 of em left. Took 5 shots to get the picture...

Nice! I don't own anything in .38 Special or .357 Magnum. Weird.

[VariableRecall]

Nice! I don't own anything in .38 Special or .357 Magnum. Weird.

Would have to say that Henry rifle of yours is a real looker. Red dots sure look funky on a lever rifle but that thing must be a very handy rifle in person!
A classic Cartridge with a modern twist on the rifle!

[Mr_Sheesh]

Don't forget your state Attorney General as well as the other state offices, a lot of those have gone big on anti 2A activism and we need to remember them next election, for that reason...