Ammo seems to be trickling in various places sporadically.

Not so primers. They seem to NOT be around at all and the store buyers are very negative on prospects getting any.

What has been your most recent experience? Some coming back or not at all?

My local Sportmans Warehouse has all but SP and SR primers. When they come in, they don’t last long.

Everything else is on the shelf and has been for a while including LP.

Not much available on the shelf or online. Good thing I buy huge lots every 4-5 years, so I’m pretty well set. The old Boy Scout advice - be prepared makes a whole bunch os sense in times like 2020.

I bet most of the components are going to the big ammo manufacturers.

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I invest in Lead and Copper!

A few small gunshops are getting primers from the privet stock of customers. I have no need to sell mine, but I don't need to buy any either!

The wife and I were organizing the garage Saturday, and came across my shot gun primer stash 13k W209, 1k Fed 209, & 1k Fiocchi. I may need to buy some of the W209's I normally go through 10-15 k a year, but covid has me only shooting about 500 this year so far.

Ivan

Until my recent and anomalous score for SP primers at Longview, WA, Sportsman’s Warehouse, I hadn’t seen any since March. I haven’t seen any since in Washington, Wyoming or Tennessee. However, with increasing regularity, I am to see more LP and rifle primers. FWIW, Ive just recently found Unique and Bullseye at a little shop in Tennessee.

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213th FBINA

Another option for the poll; "I thought ahead and kept my primer inventory well stocked. I'm not looking for primers."...

Me too, but Iam always looking. If the price is right, I add to the stack. I also load ammo for friends so it helps them out.

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213th FBINA

Primers will become available next year after this frenzy ends...But you can probably take what a former VP of Remington told me....The old retail will be the new wholesale so prices will be up...and all depends on political issues...we may see another tax on reloading supplies

What tax is there on reloading supplies? The Pittman-Robertson Act does not apply to reloading supplies.

I seen a way to reload primers when I was looking for threads to find them, using cap powder or match heads , remove the crown from the used primer load the powder reinstall the crown,
its really getting serious now !

...are in better supply than pistol primers which are very scarce.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I'm stocked up fine and will be for a while, but it depends on how long this thing lasts. If it's more than a year or two,things may get rough around here.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I am thankful to be well stocked but have not seen any primers anywhere around here and not a lot of places sell them around here anyway but the ones that do have none. I am seeing ammo and even some 9mm but prices are way up on that and again thankful I have reloading supplies and don't need any.

I used to reload decades ago. Still have the equipment, but have probably forgotten how to use it. Time to refresh my memory

What's the best way to search for small pistol primers?

Early and often! Let your fingers do the walking & lots of shoe leather! and be prepared to drive to some out of the way places!

Ivan

Primers are available but you need to know where to look for them and they cost premium. I am in NE Atlanta. The 3 closest gun shops that sell reloading stuff all have had sellout and spotty inventory for primers and popular powder. I can go 20 miles up the road where the hole in the wall LGS has had a 1 brick per week limit since March and they have had limited inventory but rarely went two weeks with something out of stock. If I travel 40 miles up the road it is the same way with the two major gunshops there. Popular powder has been more of a problem. Get out of the major population center and there is more selection. Sort of like finding toilet paper in May or June.

I have enough powder, primers, and lead not to change my shooting habits for 3 to 5 years. I do plan on making my annual bullet order in November for my projected years use on the press. I am over 2 years ahead in loaded supply.

In the future...Like what happened to archery, handguns and ammo and fishing equipment. No primers in any of the LGSs in this area for quite a while.

Unobtainium

Did find 500 bullets, 125gr jhp for 38/357, maybe I set those aside with some sp primers for a future rainy day

Bloodhounds or possibly the psychic hotline.

Ammoseek.com might be of help if you're ready to strike fast.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

I've gotten into a habit that whenever I visit the LGS which is about every two weeks, I buy a brick of whatever primers are available whether they are SP or SR and magnum or standard. He never has a lot but I can usually get something.

Last week he had a couple bricks of SP standard and I intended to buy one brick till he told me they were limiting all primer sales to 500 total, so that's what I bought. I get it, he doesn't want one person buying up the whole supply.

He said the supply issue is still getting worse instead of better.

I'm in reasonably good shape. I'd hate to be someone who's out right now.

The Pittman-Robertson Act was backed by hunters, fishermen and outdoorsmen and was passed in 1937. States use their P-R funds to restore, manage, and enhance wild birds and mammals and their habitat. P-R projects also include providing public access to wildlife resources, Hunter Education, and development and management of shooting ranges. As of 2018, over $12 billion has been collected since 1939 for wildlife conservation thanks to the Pittman-Robertson Act alone. The legislation has yielded significant results for wildlife conservation. I doubt that your information about future taxes is valid.

I agree we have supported P-R lo these many years. I know the funds came into good usage projects. I lived in Md.Know of no ranges in the state built with their funding...and I know of at least 5 shooting clubs that applied for funds. All were told the range funding had been allocated... I applied for funds for our club...twice... same answer both times...but that I guess is a state problem. But the DNR in Md has done quite a bit with PR funds for wildlife. Here in Wyoming I have been told by G&F that the people fighting delisting wolves and grizzlies have received the P-R funds.

I have a few hundred rounds of each the calibers I shoot, but six of my pistols use 9x19, and since three of those are titanium cylindered airweight 637-2 J-frames, I use 147gr in all six to protect the titanium cylinders in the Smiths. I'd like to stock up on two or three thousand rounds of that. I ordered a thousand once fired cases yesterday and found 250 147gr jhp jacketed bullets, but so far, no primers or powder.

Should I also look for sr, sr Mag, and sp Mag primers & grab whatever is available? I'm assuming they all would work in a pinch, as long as I don't load to max.

Small rifles are worth a try if you can find some. Dimensionally they're the same size but I understand the cup is a bit thicker on the small rifles and they burn longer and hotter. Many people have reported success, a few report failure to ignite.

I'd try some if I could get them. Work your load back up, obviously.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

I'm sufficiently supplied so all I notice is there seems to be fewer and fewer people at the shooting range these days.

Even if Trump is re elected, expect shortages until at least summer 2021, Imo. If Biden wins, maybe quite a bit longer, if ever again Imo. It is not beyond happening that libs restrict ammo further & ban reloading all together. No 2A protecting ammo or reloading. Its how Europe started controlling its masses.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Primers and powder have been fairly available in my area. Over the past couple months I bought 4K primers mainly SP and LP to keep my stock level up as well as 5 lbs. of powder mainly Power Pistol, H4895, H4198 which I use most often.

Primer prices for Federal and Federal GM Match in my area are running $34 to $38 per thousand. Win. or CCI primers for pistol are between $34 and $36 per K. Powder prices are around $2 per lb. more than they were first of the year.

I found 2000 small rifle primers but left 1000 on the shelf. In retrospect, I should have got them all. Who knows when I’ll see them again?

But I’m good for at least a year at my rate.

I haven't checked on primers for months (I've got a good supply) but I recently sold 1800 LPP for $60.00. Man drove 60 miles to buy them, had another one considering driving over 150 miles.

Things must not be to good around here.

After reading all the scare talk, I did an inventory tonight. In round numbers, I have 5000 each in SR, SP, and LP, and about 8000 LR. Plus around 3000 209 shotshell primers (I haven't loaded shotshells for many years). That actually should last me through a long drought.

The ones I am lowest on are the large rifle.. I really don't need more than a few thousand of them though. 14M SPP and about the same SRPs. Maybe 15 M LPP...30M Shotshell. Only one I wish I had more of is the small pistol. I probably use twice as many of them than any of the others. But I let a very good friend have 7000 and another needed a 1000. I'm still good for quite a while

My FFL buddy who is also a Class 5 manufacturer says this is basically correct:

Mostly because the US government is buying huge quantities of ammunition, according to his information. He named Homeland Security, actually. Why they need so much is a mystery and we can speculate a great deal on the subject.

I didn't click the poll since I have NO idea what's happening except what I hear third hand.

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Come and take it!!

That is my case. But nevertheless primers are still available in my area.

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Expect the unexpected

I visited a small store at a Tennessee shooting range this morning. I found 2000 small magnum pistol primers at $36 per 1000. I also snagged:

231 $22/pound
Tailboss $15.50/pound
2400 $22/pound
Bullseye $22/pound

It’s been a productive couple weeks.

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213th FBINA

I have been fortunate to purchase locally 5K small pistol primers, 2K small rifle and 1K large rifle magnum primers over the past 4 months. The pistol primers were all less than $25 per thousand, and the rifle primers Federal small gold medal match and Federal 215 were priced under $28. All at the local Sportsman’s Warehouse. Granted, there were many visits that came up empty, but patience and persistence has paid off.

Regarding tax on components: There's a bill in the House that would add a 30% federal tax on firearms, and 50% on ammunition and components. I don't recall the bill number, but you could find it in the latest issue of "American Handgunner", in the Second Amendment column. Hopefully it won't pass, or it's already been deep sixed.

Chuck

Chuck

Had an errand to run this morning, stopped in a store that has the best variety of reloading supplies within 30 minutes of me.

No pistol primers at all nor lrps, cci br-4 srp at $90 per 1000, I had to laugh.

Picked up three cans of bullseye, some foaming barrel cleaner, and two 100rd storage boxes. Those were normal priced.

Btw, federal 22lr 525rd, $80 a piece, umc 115gr 9mm, $27 per 50. So, some items are outrageous, some items are high, some items are normal.

No sub 240gr 44 bullets at all, that irritated me,lol.

I was in an LGS today and spotted 4 or 5 boxes of small pistol primers, the 100-ct. boxes. Turns out they were part of a consignment of reloading stuff and they couldn't sell them individually.

any updates on primers....are there any showing up places aside from Canada?

My LGS has primers (small and large) at $9.95 / 100. I understand it's "market" price now and glad I don't need any at the moment.

A friend called last night to tell me a local retailer had powders in stock. He picked up his limit of 1 can of 2400 for $28. I told him to take the wife and go get a couple more in the morning. He did and was surprised to see a line out front at 9am opening time. Seems the word had gotten out. When he got to the back they had run out---but it was not powder that had caused the line. They did still have a few pound of powder but had also gotten in several cases of primers. Sadly he was to far back in the line and neither he or the wife got anything. So at least we know there are some coming around here and there. Oh ya, the primers were at their regular (pre covid) price of $3.79 per 100. They were selling a limit of 1 brick per person.

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"Tastes just like chicken"

One of our local places gets them occasionally but they sell out in an hour.
I think It will be like this for at least another year. Even then it will be a slow come back & prices will certainly be higher.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I'm on a wait list here for primers--my LGS is great about honoring the wait list and not gouging on the prices.

Sometimes you have to know what to ask for--I walked in Thursday and they had 9 boxes of Speer 9mm 115 grain CPRN bullets for $49.95/500. Who knew? I bought 5 and told a friend a work about it. He bought only 2 boxes, so the next day I bought what they had left--2 boxes. Hey, everyone else had a shot at it, right?

All I've seen is a few boxes of 100 large magnum pistol primers in months of checking in NW Oregon. I have a few in my stash but a few more to get me through the next year would help.

Powder Valley sent an e-mail that was very pessimistic in regard to the primer shortage and when it might ease. They gave several reasons for their opinion.

November 8, 2008; the first thing I did that morning was to buy 5000 SP primers, 5000 LP primers, 5000 SR primers, 5000 LR primers, and 1000 percussion caps. I have them stored in a cool dry place. They are for a future drought, not to be used. I buy primers when I need them, and I do have an assortment.


I do reload 9mm for my two machineguns. They go through ammunition like here is no tomorrow. When my friends in California visit me in Nevada, I take them to the range to shoot my machineguns and have a taste of freedom. Maybe from now on, they have to bring their own ammunition.

Nothing but a big old grin on my face when I crack open a box of primers and find my original receipt inside. Check the price and the date at the bottom.
Pretty sure this was during the Clinton era when components were scarce. I didn't stop buying until I figured I had a lifetime supply put away.

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"Tastes just like chicken"

All the primers you need on GB! You will need to mortgage the farm to buy them and these were bought!
Federal #100 Small Pistol Primers Case Of 5000 - Reloading Supplies at GunBroker.com : 885372951

That lgs would lose my business charging like that. You want to control amounts sold, I get that, but 2.5x normal pricing, bye-bye business.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I could fo the same but I am actually concerned this never goes back to pre 2020 days & we have no primers or the going price is $50/1000.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO