Accurate Arms pistol powders now Made in USA!?!

[Mark in GA]

I called Accurate Arms yesterday afternoon to ask a reloading data question and spoke to a guy name Johan. He told me that their pistol powders (No. 2, 5, 7, 9, and 4100) are being made in the US by General Dynamics (in Florida). It also sounded like some of the Ramshot line was coming from there too.

He said the exchange rate on the dollar pretty much killed their relationship with there previous supplier in Europe (Czech Republic?).

Anyway, I thought this was interesting news. I don't know how long ago the change over happened though.

Mark in GA

[Mike, SC Hunter]

Good! I like #9 in .44 spl..

[Andy Griffith]

Isn't that the old Dupont plant off US-301 not far from Jacksonville, correct?

[Mark in GA]

Actually I think the General Dynamics facility is near Tampa. I believe it is the old Oiln facility, then it was Primex, then St Marks Powder. I may not have the order on that right though.

This may be a recent switch, so there is probably a good quantity of the other foreign mfg'd powder still out there.

Mark in GA

[ArchAngelCD]

I also think it's the St. Mark's plant making the AA powders and some of the Ramshot and Hodgdon/Winchester powders too. (as in Zip, W231/HP-38)

[Mark in GA]

Was at a gunshow this weekend and they had some Accurate powder. Most of their extruded rifle powders said made in Canada (I would guess by the same maker as the IMR line). The pistol powders were partially USA Made (No.2 and No.5) and partially Belgian made (No.7 and No.9).

All of the Ramshot powder they had was Belgian made.

Mark in GA

[ScottJ]

We have a scary shortage of powder plants in the US: The Uninvited Ombudsman Report, No. 90 - Hidden Firearms Threat

1- Hidden Firearms Threat

The lamestream media told you:

Nothing.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

The two plants that make smokeless powder in the U.S. are the General Dynamics plant in St. Marks, Florida (manufactures for Hogdon and Winchester, plus military contracts), and the Alliant plant in Connecticut (manufactures for the Alliant family, plus the Lake City Arsenal). All other powder used in the U.S. is imported (from Canada, Australia, Scandinavia, Israel and others). Two plants for the entire nation is not a very deep backup reserve. Any threats to these operations -- from government, law makers, activists, public pressure, enviro-wackos, islamists, etc., is a threat to us all. Thanks to Montana-based rights activist Gary Marbut for bringing this to my attention. We need to keep a careful eye on this.

[ArchAngelCD]

Powder isn't the only thing we have a manufacturing shortage on. There are many items that can be linked to the military and defense we no longer have any capacity to make for ourselves. If anything really bad happens we are in a world of hurt.

[blastfact]

See what the idiot college boys and there greedy boss's have done. They have all but ruined a once great nation.

Heck found out today we can't get gaskets for plate and frame heat exchangers until 2-11-11. There made in the UK. I would like to meet the college boy or girl that made that idiot deal. No hard working common man or woman would ever do anything that stupid.

How many computer parts are made in China the Armed Forces depend on?

Now we can barely make our own gun powder. What a joke! Go to college and ruin the country.

[ArchAngelCD]

So blastfact, tell us how you really fell???

[Skip Sackett]

Originally Posted by blastfact

See what the idiot college boys and there greedy boss's have done. They have all but ruined a once great nation.

Heck found out today we can't get gaskets for plate and frame heat exchangers until 2-11-11. There made in the UK. I would like to meet the college boy or girl that made that idiot deal. No hard working common man or woman would ever do anything that stupid.

How many computer parts are made in China the Armed Forces depend on?

Now we can barely make our own gun powder. What a joke! Go to college and ruin the country.

I only have miscellaneous college credits, no degree or anything, but one thing they did teach us was the use of "there, their and they're".

I'm not sure that going to college and ruining the country are mutually inclusive either. I have 5 children that are going to or have been at college, albeit Bible Colleges, and I think they are doing a fine job of trying to save the country, one soul at a time!

As for the plate and frame problem, there is a program called MM#2 (I think) that can keep tabs on your parts room stock and order ahead of time automatically. That way, you don't have to wait a long time for replacement parts. You set up minimums and maximums and it generates purchase orders that all you have to do is send in. Some folks even have it set up to automatically go to the vendor!

Here is what I would do with those kinds of heat exchangers if I didn't have enough gaskets to replace all of them at one time; keep it closed and do a chemical clean until I had the gaskets. One thing I did about 25 years ago may help too; take the unit apart carefully, maintenance men have a hard time with that from time to time, and reuse the gaskets that can be shortening the number of plates for those that have bad gaskets.

It gives you less heating/cooling ability but the cleanness gives you more. Kind of like a trade off.

Hope this helps.

Oh, I thought I would give my educational credentials too:
Dropped out of high school between my junior and senior grades because of a little "legal" trouble and went into the Marines. While stationed at Iwakuni, Japan, I got my G.E.D. by simply taking the test and passing. Went through some troubling times after getting out of the Corps but started working as a maintenance man in a rubber factory. Took some C.E.U type of classes along the electrical side of things and went to work as a non-union electrician. Worked there for several years, getting a ton of OJT and then went back into industrial maintenance. More CEU classes, some specialized training in programmable controllers and such and elevated to engineering technician building special machine controls. Went into the IBEW, took a test there too, and for 15 years worked on a service truck doing machine control repair, design and retrofits. One of my customers had an opening in their engineering department for an electrical engineer and offered me a job. I took it. So, lass weak I coodunt eben spall injuneer, this weak, I are won.

p.s. I think MM#2 was designed by someone that went to college though, you may not want to use it!

[Rule3]

Originally Posted by ArchAngelCD

So blastfact, tell us how you really fell???

It appears someone told HIM how They felt.

Oh well, back to ruining the Country