What are you paying for primers?

[Ron B.]

Sunday
March 8, 2009

I'm certain a lot of you folks are like me; suddenly realizing your supply of primers is getting low, and wondering where you are going to find more, since every Internet site is sold out. MidWay is not even accepting backorders.

This past Friday, I'd stopped by my local Big R store; visiting their sporting goods area. I noticed they had Federal Large Magnum Pistol primers on sale for $1.75 per hundred. So, I bought all they had left; 3 bricks, or 3000 primers. Yesterday, I stopped back in; noticing more Federals. But these were not on sale. I once again purchased all this store had. My wife and I went to Pueblo later that morning. All the gun stores were sold out of primers. I suddenly recalled there was a Big R in town; and went there. Over a two day period, I ended up with over $750 invested in primers. I know I paid too much. But, did I?

Here's what I paid:
Win Small Pistol $3.09 per hundred
Win Small Mag Pistol $3.22 per hundred
Win Large Mag Rifle $3.39 per hundred

CCI Small Pistol $3.09 per hundred

Federal Small Mag Pistol $2.02 per hundred
Federal Large Pistol $2.63 per hundred
Federal Large Mag. Pistol $1.75 per hundred
Federal Large Rifle $3.03 per hundred
Federal Large Mag Rifle $2.63 per hundred

[zampilot]

Primers around here, if you can find them, are anywhere from $29/1000 Remington rifles to $33+/1000 Federal rifle.

[Bubba w/a 45/70]

NO, you did not pay too much. Even if you can find Win. primers in any amount here, they will cost you at least $3.49 per hundred; no breaks on 1,000 lots anymore. CCI seem to be the only ones that are left in any amount and even they are getting harder to find in the stores.


North Dakota (locaton)

[imashooter2]

Shyda's in central PA February 28th. Winchester large pistol $23.99 per K with a $4 break on a sleeve. They had Winchester, CCI and Federal. All sizes, as many as you wanted. Don't recall the prices on the rest, but none of them started with a 3.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Saturday in Richmond, Va. WSR were $28.95 + sales tax per K, CCI BR SR were $41. 95 + tax.

BvT

[BruceB]

I tried to make a point on the earlier thread about wheelweight prices. It seems that I failed to make my position sufficiently clear, at least to some people.

On this thread, I see primer prices quoted that run from about $20 per thousand to something over $40. That's a big spread, and I suspect that the lower prices are found at HONORABLE merchants who are selling older stock at the original price, and not re-pricing to take advantage of the situation.

The point I want to make is this, whether it concerns alloy, primers, cases or powder:

What it costs today is one thing, but what are the components going to be worth to us when there are NONE AVAILABLE????? I'd much rather pay a bit "too much" now, and have the components on hand, than have to embark on a search sometime in the future when there is NOTHING in the stores.

So I pay $30 for a thousand sparkplugs today, and maybe sometime in the future the price drops to $20 (unlikely, but...). So what? What have I lost? ONE CENT per round, but in the meantime I've had the means to load ONE THOUSAND rounds of ammunition. If primer supplies vanish, or the price skyrockets, then buying them in advance served me well.

The things available now, even at inflated prices, could very well be priceless if the situation worsens. I recommend laying-in a decent supply of everything, and then being prepared to strictly ration ourselves as to consumption if worse comes to worst. There will be no way of knowing just how long the period of scarcity will be.

We don't need a bunker-full of components, but I think that a reduced-consumption supply for a couple of years would be prudent. Also, for us bullet-casters in particular, some components will serve for several uses. Pistol primers and quicker-burning powders do very well with our cast projectiles in rifles. This greatly reduces the number of items we "need", in order to keep shooting in times of shortage.

Again, I'd rather pay $40 for a thousand primers NOW, than be unable to find them at any price in the future.

[Throckmorton]

Hate to admit it,but they've got me where they want me..IF I find ANY primers..which I cannot around here.....I'll pay what they ask,shoot less centerfire,and keep buying .22 lr rounds.
Speaking of .22lr rounds,they are disappearing fast too as folks realize that centerfire is getting harder and harder to get. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Ron B.]

You know what Guys & Gals?
I'm usually not one to blame the government, like so many do. But whom do you know who has the power to buy every single item any company sells? And, doing so under contracts which, may run for years?

Something's going on here; we all know it. Certainly panic buying has something to do with it also. But, how can we, the consumer buy if there's nothing out there? According to all the retailers I've spoken to their suppliers are telling them no idea when a lot of reloading components/centerfire ammo will be available again. Personally, I believe we've only begun.

[Storydude]

I want to know if there is a "Primer shortage" then why are my store's shelves ull of CCI, Win Wolf and Federal AND CCI just laid off 100 people?

Western NY, 27.99/1K small 28.9/1K Large matters not what brand. BR and Magnums are 1-5 bucks more per 1K depending on brand.

[wonderwolf]

Primers over the weekend at a local gun show have almost doubled in price since last month. I think its the dealers doing massive mark ups. Going to talk to one of my guys who sells stuff without trying to make a profit and see what prices he has. I'm running low on LR primers and Small pistol so its time to restock and lay up a good surplus as well because I don't want to get caught without any primers at all.

[Jbar4Ranch]

If you think things are bad where you are, check THIS out.

ONE brick of 1000 Federal F215's went for $170, plus $10 shipping, plus $22.50 hazmat... $202.50, delivered, for a thousand primers.

Friday, the local Sportsman's Warehouse had 5 boxes of Federal large magnum pistol primers, 1 box of Federal GM large magnum pistol primers, and maybe 10,000 209 shotshell primers. Six hundred non-shotshell primers, that's it.

[Idaho_Elk_Huntr]

I bought 8000 primers last weekend, federal 215's 210 gm and Winchester large rifle For less than $170 including tax

[Idaho_Elk_Huntr]

If you think things are bad where you are, check THIS out.

ONE brick of 1000 Federal F215's went for $170, plus $10 shipping, plus $22.50 hazmat... $202.50, delivered, for a thousand primers.

There wasnt a hazmat involved in that deal and I bet the primers were shipped through USPS.

[UweJ]

Here in Germany the prices also went up steadily. They now range from $30 to $37 per brick.There is no real shortage but the dealers are not stocking up the way they used to.Hazmat laws require them to higher safety standards and lots of them just don´t want the hassle.
Uwe

[Jbar4Ranch]

Hazmat wasn't mentioned in the deal anyway...

OK, so at least $180, shipped. And they weren't even current production, they're in the old red & black boxes from a few years back.

[targetshootr]

I'm pretty sure it's retailers taking advantage of their customers. As I said in another thread, a local wholesaler still has WLPs in stock for $22/1000. You have to be a member of a range to get them at that price though. Point being, that's the same price they were charging last year.

[Ron B.]

Natchez Supply had CCI primers on sale a month or so ago. Then I paid less than $20 a thousand. It now seems such a long time ago. Natchez Supply is out; their list now showing around $25 PM for the same primers. Once, I bought all my primers from Wisener's. They no longer have any.

GRB

[WildmanJack]

i bought 8000 LP Winchesters a couple of weeks ago. first 3000 were $30.00 a box, the next 5000 I got for $25.00 per thousand. I thought that was pretty good.
Jack

[Kraschenbirn]

Essentially, I'm not. Restocked all my "shorts" from Graf's last fall (Win LR and LP @ $24/1000) and estimate, at my rate of consumption, I have close to a 5-year supply on hand.

Was in our (only!) local gunshop last Saturday...checking for any "new arrival" old milsurps...and found only a few boxes (100s) of CCI and WW on shelves. I've been a customer for years and owner knows I'm set up for volume reloading (and something of a packrat). Waved me over to one side and asked if I had any Federal (primers) I'd be willing to trade. "For What?" says I, and he offered me $25 a carton (1000) trade against any used gun in the rack. Needless to say, I passed on the offer.

Bill

[corvette8n]

I was buying CCI small rifle military primers from a gunstore about 30 miles fom me for 17.95/thousand, last month he got a new batch in and he now charges 35.00/thousand. Supply and demand.