Graf & Son has limiled supply of SP primers: best price hands down

[35remington]

Here is how to pay attention:

Watch politics and current events. Figure that there is now a guarantee of depleting impulse and panic buying on recurrent intervals from now into the foreseeable future. Bet on it. Because that is what has happened, and relatively recently. And also over a period spanning nearly 30 years now.

There were runs on guns, ammo and primers multiple times, just in the last ten years.

Sandy Hook was bad. Fears that a Democrat president would be elected on a couple of occasions. Threats of gun control followed these events and drove up impulse buying. George Floyd. Covid. You name it, unrest and disunity cause it. Repeatedly. Multiple times in the last ten years, as stated.

This all started in 1994 with the first primer panic proximate to the assault weapon ban.

If you are caught short now, resolve never again.

Primers are the last thing to return during such events. And yes, if some attention was paid to unfolding events and their recurrence the old guys don’t have much excuse. You now know primers are a commodity more valuable than money and smooth the bumps in supply when the next panic occurs.

And it will.

[35remington]

The other thing to note is shelves depleted of ammo divert primers primarily to factories trying to make more ammo to supply the demand and reloaders get last place in the soup line. No ammo means no primers for awhile and high prices.

Ironically in 1994 the run was on primers while there was plenty of factory ammo available which was puzzling….but it still happened. That one caught me a bit short but it didn’t last quite as long as it has recently.

This has been happening on a more frequently recurring basis as that 30 odd years has gone by. More often in a given period of time as we get closer to the present day, longer periods of low supply. The last ten years or so has been particularly bad.

Sandy Hook served notice that some particularly tragic event would launch an especially strong impulse buying spree in reaction to particular fears. The pace of how this appears in the news cycle has also increased along with the more frequent media focus on “mass shootings” whether the event was in fact actually that or just gang members tuning each other up. We are now all primed, so to speak, for this to happen practically all the time.

And that, gentlemen, is known as a clue.

[LeonardC]

Picked up some CCI sp primers today. $5.99 per pack limit of 2 packs total. I asked the clerk why their web site says $5.03 per pack and local is charging $5.99. He said "Shipping" with a straight face. I told him I was just glad they had some in stock and I got some.

Yes, I have some stuff stashed away. I seldom pass up reloading components when available and I have $ in my pocket.

[FergusonTO35]

Listen to 35Remington, he is a wise man. I'm shooting primers from 2016 now so I could go for awhile without buying any. I do buy a couple of trays from my local shop every time I'm in there just to replace what I shoot, but I would have to find a heckuva deal to buy in bulk. For some cartridges it's fairly cost effective to buy cheap factory ammo, pull the bullets, and reload with your slug of choice. That's what I do with .223 FMJ, put a good Hornady or Sierra soft point in them. Awhile back I found some .308 FMJ at 2000's prices and bought several boxes. Going to pull the bullets on those, reduce the charge a bit, and reinstall soft points.

[billmc2]

Listen to 35Remington, he is a wise man. I'm shooting primers from 2016 now so I could go for awhile without buying any. I do buy a couple of trays from my local shop every time I'm in there just to replace what I shoot, but I would have to find a heckuva deal to buy in bulk. For some cartridges it's fairly cost effective to buy cheap factory ammo, pull the bullets, and reload with your slug of choice. That's what I do with .223 FMJ, put a good Hornady or Sierra soft point in them. Awhile back I found some .308 FMJ at 2000's prices and bought several boxes. Going to pull the bullets on those, reduce the charge a bit, and reinstall soft points.

Are you reusing the powder that was originally in those cases or are you using your own powder. If you're using your own powder what are you doing with the powder that was originally in them?

[FergusonTO35]

On .223 I just leave the factory charge as is, only replace the bullet. I think these .308's are warm, they have very sticky extraction and flattened primers in my BLR. I'm going to drop the factory charge around 10% on them. For the excess factory powder, I put it in a clean plastic container and note the manufacturer, caliber, bullet weight, and original charge on the label. Then save it for experimentation. I always reduce the load from the factory charge when I use these powders.

[LeonardC]

Picked up some Winchester SPM primers today. $4.99 a pack, limit of 2.

[murf205]

The ONLY thing I can thank Barrack Obama for is that he showed me how and when to buy primers. Of course there was not a zilloin new hand loaders in the mix in 2009.

[FergusonTO35]

Picked up some Winchester SPM primers today. $4.99 a pack, limit of 2.

Sweet, sounds like progress!

[reddog81]

Sweet, sounds like progress!

Probably Sportsmans Warehouse. They haven't raised prices as high as everyone else but they have a limit of 200. Smart move by them to get people in the store and spend money on other stuff.

[deces]

Is that new primer company putting out product yet?

[ddeck22]

Is that new primer company putting out product yet?

Nope, doesn't seem like it will happen:

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...stries-Primers