Is powder and primers ever coming back?

[Maine1]

Short answer- NO.

You are talking about the Before Times. "It" will never go back to what it used to be with price or availability.

[Hannibal]

I saw CCI primers at a LGS over the weekend. $79.99/thousand. Higher than they should have been but not as bad as some I've seen. This particular store often has things that aren't available elsewhere but they're always priced fairly high. I presume that's why they have those things. Many people won't pay the price and leave stuff on the shelf.

[Jtarm]

I’ve bought a few pounds of powder lately.

Primers still too rich for my blood at roughly 10-cents apiece.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

I saw CCI primers at a LGS over the weekend. $79.99/thousand. Higher than they should have been but not as bad as some I've seen. This particular store often has things that aren't available elsewhere but they're always priced fairly high. I presume that's why they have those things. Many people won't pay the price and leave stuff on the shelf.

That's the best price you'll find. Buy them all!

[Hannibal]

I've got all I want for a long time. Someone else can clean them out if they want.

[Jtarm]

I called the LGS and the only primers he has are CCI SP magnum. 99.95 per 1000.
Gibsons in Weatherford had CCI SR magnum for $100/1000. They also had several powders but I quit looking when I saw 4198 for $58 lb.
I'll probably buy some SP or LR at that price if it appears.
It is what it is.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

Ah, we must be neighbors.

I’ve found reasonably-priced powder at Academy. They had small-pistol primers, too, but 10-cents apiece for Federal match magnums, not for me.

Midway has a 2-lb max on 1-lb canisters of powder, which isn’t worth the hazmat unless you’re desperate.

I’ve found Alpine the most reliable source but haven’t been there lately since I’m pretty well set.

[JoeJames]

I saw CCI primers at a LGS over the weekend. $79.99/thousand. Higher than they should have been but not as bad as some I've seen. This particular store often has things that aren't available elsewhere but they're always priced fairly high. I presume that's why they have those things. Many people won't pay the price and leave stuff on the shelf.

I paid about that much for Federal LPP's back in about February from Brownell's plus the dern Hazmat fee, plus local egregious sales tax = @ $107.00. So not bad - but did that include the sales tax? Our sales tax is right at 10.25%.

[Hannibal]

I paid about that much for Federal LPP's back in about February from Brownell's plus the dern Hazmat fee, plus local egregious sales tax = @ $107.00. So not bad - but did that include the sales tax? Our sales tax is right at 10.25%.

No, that was before taxes.

[Hanzy4200]

We will never see $30 primers and similarly priced powder. I think there is room to move down from $100 a brick, but my guess is $60-$70 will be the new normal. I hate to say it, but I told them so. I argued on here two years ago with guys who swore prices would be right back to normal in 12 months.

[45_Colt]

We will never see $30 primers and similarly priced powder. I think there is room to move down from $100 a brick, but my guess is $60-$70 will be the new normal. I hate to say it, but I told them so. I argued on here two years ago with guys who swore prices would be right back to normal in 12 months.

I am afraid you may be correct. The last time I bought primers they were $12 a thou for Win S & L rifle. Fed pistol was even less. Unfortunately I also put all the spent primers over the scales as brass prices were good.

As it is, I too don't see prices dropping that much. Supply chain issues, material costs, labor costs, devaluation of the USD. None of this is in our favor. Although a recession may help, but if it ends up being stagflation, forget it.

I'm just going to get what I can at whatever decent price I can. No orbital prices, just when they are reasonable.

45_Colt

[Greg Mercurio]

I'll chime in here as an interested but non-participant. If you waited until the post-Obama years to stock up on powder and primers, it's all on you. The handwriting was there in bold type if you were paying attention. While $39/1000 primers seemed outrageous then, $140/1000 seems fine now? Smart reloaders were buying in bulk long before the 2008 election, banking on the inevitable. We were not omniscient, just prudent. No, I'm not in the market to sell my stash. I'm not wiling to deplete my supplies at any price. If you're crying about current pricing, or supply chain issues, look back on your history and learn. Sorry if this seem brutal, but history is seldom sweet.

[Rickf1985]

And did you ever happen to think about those of us who were not in a position to "Stock up" for and number of reasons? In my case I had just bought a house and I had those bills and all of the associated bills that come with a "new" 70 year old house. Therefor I was not in a position to stock up no matter how much I knew about the situation. It really chafes my butt when people make it sound like those of us who did not stock up were stupid, or shortsighted, or flat out idiots. We are not all rich like a lot of the people I see on here! As far as paying 10 cents and up per primer, not worth it in my opinion. Add up the price of the primer, case prep materials, bullets, powder. It will always come to just about the same price as store bought ammo. And another thing to consider for all those people that say " Just go to your LGS and buy from there to avoid the hazmat and shipping" Ok, Fine, this is NJ. We have maybe 20 stores in the entire state amd most of them are concentrated in North Jersey, I am in South Jersey. Strike one. The next thing is you are going to pay for the hazmat and shipping anyway, they charge the same price I pay online to my door at the one store I have within 50 miles of me. Strike two. Strike three is that the never have anything just like the online places, they have their "best buddy customers" who get a phone call when the stuff comes in and those customers get the goods before it ever hits the shelves. Hence the average Joe never see it. Strike three. Done. And I can be pretty sure NJ is not the only state with this issue.
So, How about laying off the "well, you should have stocked up before Obama" routine?
Note, This is not pointed at the person that posted this in particular, it is pointed at all of those people that post this message.

[No_1]

Easy there Rick. Don’t take your anger out on us. Regardless of what you think most of us are not rolling in money. As a matter of fact most of the CB members are older, on a fixed income but have been around long enough to “see” the writing before it hits the wall. In this case the writing is always the same - every 4 years the price of components skyrocket. The prices never come down but availability always bounces back.

I am still pissed the cost of primers went above what I was paying in the 90’s which was $100 per case of 5000.

[charlie b]

Ya shoulda stocked up on _______________(fill in the blank). Maybe not as smart as you might think.

Prices are higher. Value of the dollar is less. Facts of life.

Prices of most ammo and components have gone up at this point, but, why? To compare, the value of my house has gone from $150k to $225k (50% increase), and it is still rising. The last primers I bought (this summer, CCI BR-4) were $80/1000. Pre-COVID they were $50/1000 (60% increase). Powder increased about 30%.

Would have been smarter to invest in a house pre-covid and then sell it now.

[Rickf1985]

Easy there Rick. Don’t take your anger out on us. Regardless of what you think most of us are not rolling in money. As a matter of fact most of the CB members are older, on a fixed income but have been around long enough to “see” the writing before it hits the wall. In this case the writing is always the same - every 4 years the price of components skyrocket. The prices never come down but availability always bounces back.

I am still pissed the cost of primers went above what I was paying in the 90’s which was $100 per case of 5000.

I am not taking it out on everyone, just those that try to make it sound like those of us who did not stock up were foolish. The people saying that have absolutely no idea whatsoever of the circumstances of the people that did not or COULD NOT stock up. Yes, we all know we should have but most of us that didn't could not. that is my whole point. Do not try to make it sound like we are lower class people. Do not make it sound like you are so much smarter just because you had the wherewithal to be able to stock up when others could not. All that does is rubs salt in an open wound. And I am only 69 years old so much younger that a lot of those on here. I also worked solid since I was 16 with very little time to do much reloading in that time. I did not have jobs that paid well at all, I was more focused on jobs that provided health care, mainly pension and health care after retirement. And since I was never lucky enough to know the right people to get me into the right high paying job I slogged through the low paying jobs that paid the bills and provided the pension and free healthcare.

I thoroughly enjoy being on this site and I have learned a lot on this site. I have also bought more equipment from members on this site then I ever bought in stores. Never a problem but it is when that type of statement comes up it puts a real damper on the general good mood of the site. At least for me because I was one of those that could not stock up. Those that could just laugh it off.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I look forward to the local 'rural' gunshow this coming weekend. It's only once a year and is one of the good ones with a wide variety of vendors, if you know what I mean. Last September's show (2021), three different commercial vendors had some primers, all were old stock with tattered boxes, obviously, they were digging into their personal stash, prices were $100 to $125 per brick. I found some nice looking 1970s Alcan primers for $3 a sleeve(100) from a old fellow's table, who said he was clearing out his basement. That same weekend, the LGS got in a shipment of CCI SPP and tagged them at $69 a brick with a limit of one brick...yep they sold quick. I'm not liking this new normal of $100+ per brick that I've seen recently at the few stores that are getting in new stock.

As to stocking up?
I am pretty stocked up with other primers and "was" stocked up with SPP, but I sure did burn through my SPP stash in the last two years.

ANYWAY, I hope to find some SPP this weekend at the show.

[Electrod47]

Short answer- NO.

You are talking about the Before Times. "It" will never go back to what it used to be with price or availability.

Exactly. There is a reason time frames of the past are referred to as "The Good Old Days". Those were the good old days. It was fun while it lasted. Yesterday The Rockhouse near Meridian MS finally had a tad of powder. Picked up one of the two 1lber's of BLC (2) on the shelf, it 42.99lb Got home and set it next to the last Lb I had bought there 2 years ago with 21.99 price still on it.

[dverna]

Rick,

I am guilty as charged. It is childish to gloat over being stocked up and I have done it.

But, I was also laughed at by many of my fellow club members when I would buy shot by the ton, powder by the case and 25-50k primers at a time. Many wanted me to "help them out" when things got bad. But of course, at the price I paid for stuff when I stocked up. Yea...sure... I wound up selling most of my stash to "others" and not dealing with my "friends".

I have enough "stuff" left to hunt and defend my home and maybe plink 3-4k rounds a year for my lifetime. I do most of my shooting with good quality air guns to maximize trigger time and conserve what I have left. So, you can keep shooting cheaply if you want to, but it takes shifting gears from powder burners. BTW, may as well sell stuff you cannot afford to shoot and invest in guns you can afford to shoot. That is what I did.

I agree with you. $100 primers make shooting for fun too expensive. They are still a good value for hunting and self defense loads, and most of us will not need more than 1000 a year. Still affordable IMO.

For the others reading this:
It is a matter of priorities. If those complaining about prices had put aside $50/mo over the last two years of this crap, they could order 10k primers today, at rip off prices on Gunbroker, and be set for years of hunting and self-defense ammunition. But how many bought $5 coffee, $10 meals at McDonald's or ate out more than they should?

Being able to defend our homes and families are very high priorities and things are not getting better. We should be glad we can get components easily, if not cheaply, by ordering what we need online. I fear there will come a day when that will not be possible. Then what? My advice is to "read the writing on the wall" and squirrel away a few of thousand primers and a few pounds of powder for what could be coming. It may be the best $1000 a person can invest.

[Hannibal]

Rick,

I am guilty as charged. It is childish to gloat over being stocked up and I have done it.

But, I was also laughed at by many of my fellow club members when I would buy shot by the ton, powder by the case and 25-50k primers at a time. Many wanted me to "help them out" when things got bad. But of course, at the price I paid for stuff when I stocked up. Yea...sure... I wound up selling most of my stash to "others" and not dealing with my "friends".

I have enough "stuff" left to hunt and defend my home and maybe plink 3-4k rounds a year for my lifetime. I do most of my shooting with good quality air guns to maximize trigger time and conserve what I have left. So, you can keep shooting cheaply if you want to, but it takes shifting gears from powder burners. BTW, may as well sell stuff you cannot afford to shoot and invest in guns you can afford to shoot. That is what I did.

I agree with you. $100 primers make shooting for fun too expensive. They are still a good value for hunting and self defense loads, and most of us will not need more than 1000 a year. Still affordable IMO.

For the others reading this:
It is a matter of priorities. If those complaining about prices had put aside $50/mo over the last two years of this crap, they could order 10k primers today, at rip off prices on Gunbroker, and be set for years of hunting and self-defense ammunition. But how many bought $5 coffee, $10 meals at McDonald's or ate out more than they should?

Being able to defend our homes and families are very high priorities and things are not getting better. We should be glad we can get components easily, if not cheaply, by ordering what we need online. I fear there will come a day when that will not be possible. Then what? My advice is to "read the writing on the wall" and squirrel away a few of thousand primers and a few pounds of powder for what could be coming. It may be the best $1000 a person can invest.

I have a completely different take on this. It's not problem you can 'stock' yourself and your family out of. Hold your elected representation accountable. Start a grass-roots effort and make a change. If you're not willing to do that then you've already given up and lost.