Just curious. I stopped in a local sporting goods store over the weekend to buy primers for my recently purchased Speer plastic bullets. They had signs up near the powder, bullets and primers saying that because of shortages they were limiting sales on those items.

I don't reload, but have been thinking about starting and I'm just wondering if supplies are going to be hard to come by if and when I do. Other area shops I've been to haven't had any such notices posted.

The're a lot better now than a year ago, still not back to normal though.

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John

The first day you buy your first supply, Probably yes. The longer you hand load the better things get

I have been loading for decades. I buy my supplies in bulk when sales pop up. I always buy more than my immediate needs require

Easily my purchases are a year or more ahead of my usage right now.

The four shelves on this rack contain many 100 round packages and bulk shipments of jacketed projectiles.



I have never experienced a shortage

I've been able to find everything I want online, and those supplies have also been on the local shelves the past few months.

Primers and bullets are easy to find now . Powder also pretty easy to find with a few exceptions.
As Colt SAA said buy in bulk . I shoot between 1200 to 1600 rounds a month so for me bulk is the only way to go .

Yes. I'm still having problems finding handgun powder . People are buying up everything that hit's the dealer's shelves because of the political climate.

I went to a gun show Sat.

Three of the big dealers had what looked to be 100+ pounds each on their table. About 5-6 small dealers had 10 pounds or less.

Except for Power Pistol, I spotted most everything.

Thanks for the input. Like I said, I don't reload yet, but hope to be able to start soon. I don't do a whole lot of shooting, but I'm sure that will change once I get a setup and learn how to use it. I'm just waiting for the "boss" to give me the ok to make the initial purchase.

Oddly enough it was her idea as sort of a hobby to give me something to do other than outside work around the property.

Sounds like you have a great lady there.

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John

I wouldn't say that supplies are terribly hard to find, it's just that you may have difficulty if you have to have exactly what you want and won't make any compromises.

Most of us have our favorite powders, but since there isn't a "glut" of supplies at all the suppliers, then we may find that what we want isn't available exactly when we want it.
That happens with a lot of consumer goods. You go in to buy some Cheerios, they're out, so you come back with Frosty'O's. Meh.

The great thing about reloading is that there is rarely "only one" component that you "must have" in order to keep going.
Sure, I have my favorite powder, but there are at least 3 different powders that work just as well, so I can honestly say that I find supplies to be easy to find, and better yet, the prices seem to have been coming down a little as well.
It wasn't that long ago that a guy across the counter at a store that specialized in reloading supplies gave me a price of $208 for an 8-pound bottle of pistol powder, and he didn't even crack a smile. "No thanks" I said, and let him ponder about what he was going to do with all that powder since he wasn't interested in actually selling any.

Anyway, there's bunches of stuff out there. Just do the research and find more than a couple of each type of component that will work for you and you'll be good to go.

A5 has been scarce around here but a good friend found a new 1 lb old stock. So I will be happy for a bit.
I alway scan for WW 231 even though I have enough.
Its a hunt and a challenge but Never give up.
Jim

Work toward establishing a THREE-YEAR-SUPPLY of the components you need for your regular shooting regimen. That way, the next time there is a "run" on components, you can just sit back, and wait for the hysteria to die down.

Remember too, all gunpowder is made, and is distributed in cycles. You may find a particular favorite powder is unavailable for months at a time. Varget gunpowder is not like hamburger buns. They make a big batch of it, and then they move production to a different powder. When the Varget boat unloads, there is an abundance of Varget. People who are savvy to these cycles buy it WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE. You would be wise to follow suit. Otherwise, you may wait a very long time for another boat.

Same with all the other components.

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WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?

There was a fair amount of 231 available in the last few weeks on gunbot.
Do you watch gunbot?

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WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?

I think so. She's managed to keep me sane for the last 30 years.

All good info and I appreciate the input. I'm sure I'll be asking lots of questions when the time comes.

Through the primers then powder shortages I never missed a beat. I was reloading at a good clip, not extreme but a fair amount each month. I just started keeping an eye on things and when I saw something that was a good deal I went for it. If bullets were on sale I didn't just buy a few hundred, a picked up a couple thousand. This was several years ago and in the process I was thinking about retiring someday and not having the available cash to spend on reloading supplies. To remedy this I just started loading up. I have several cases of primers, powder in 1lb and 8lb jugs for both rifle and pistol and bullets in all calibers. Also started pouring my own bullets for 38/357 and 45. Have some molds for 40 and 9 but have not even tried to get a load worked up on them. My best advice is first find what you want to use, getting different powders to try out gets expensive. Buy more than you think you will need when there is a sale and shop around. I purchased most of my stuff local and worked with the guys around here. Primers for $26/1,000 when there were none to be found anywhere and 8 lb jugs of W231, Varget and H335, I was a happy camper. In fact, between a friend in the western part of the state and a brother in law in the east I was keeping everyone in supplies.

The quicker you can get yourself into the buying cycle for components, the better.

The reloading equipment/tools to do it are always available so you do have the luxury of being able to buy that later, keeping in eye out for sales and specials (RCBS has a rebate going until the end of this year), and with the Christmas shopping season (and Black Friday/Cyber Monday) nearing the horizon, sales should start to get juicy.

There are certain powders that are a staple (such as Alliant Unique or Win 231, or Hodgdon HS-6 as examples) for reloading handgun calibers. When I first started out, I was shooting .38 special and .45ACP and all I used was Unique, and when I got into Magnums, I added 2400. Those 2 powders alone will cover a wide range of loadings. Also, those are powders made by Alliant, there are ones made by Hodgdon that can serve the same purpose, such as HS6 and H110.

There is no shortage of experience and knowledge here, be sure to ask for advice/opinions as you proceed through the process of "gearing up"... you'll save some frustration and $$ in the process.

If you're very certain that you are going to start reloading and it's just a matter of time until you by the equipment, then I'd recommend that you start buying a pound of powder here and a pound there, of the "tried and true" stuff, while it's available to build a "starter set" supply.

You need to ensure that by the time you've finally acquired your reloading equipment, you won't be all dressed up with nowhere to go... start getting the components now.

Also... after you spent a small sum for the first 1 pound canister of powder, the wife is not going to want to see that $$ go to waste, and should seal the deal on buying the equipment

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

You're about to venture into a contagious hobby, once you've loaded a few rounds, shot them and hit what you aimed at, you're hooked! ! Welcome to the club! Lot's of very knowledgeable folks here and most are willing to help. Best of luck to you!

No but it`s time to start. Thanks.
Jim

And start laying in supplies to last. What calibers are you loading for? I don't know how much money you have but coated cast lead bullets are inexpensive and available.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

The Daily In Stock Reload Notices Thread on this forum can be pretty useful too.

My bullet stockpile doesn't look as fancy as Colt SAA's, but have enough to tide me over for a little while.

38sp and 9mm to start, possibly adding 45 later. I've been saving all my brass since I bought my M&P9. I only have 5 or 6 hundred accumulated so far, but I have about 1200 rounds waiting to go to the range. I just recently got into the local gun club, so just getting started.

For me I've gotten the best deals on powder from the gun club I belong to. Primers usually from gun shows. At the last show I bought S&B LP and SP primers for $20/1K. Bullet deals I find best online.

Getting better all the time!

Nice buckets

I specifically stayed away from my casting ingots, molds and furnaces. That is a whole third hobby.

Better yes, but far from normal. Pistol powders are still vague in some types. Federal pistol primers still not readily available, but in general yes it's better.
To the op, just jump in & get going. Add to your supplies as they become available. We are only one catastrophe away from another shortage.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

In a thread in another forum I commented that acquiring brass was like saving for retirement: Make consistent but small steps (focus on consistent) and over time you build up a lot. For example, I started with something like 500 9mm cases. Between trips to the range with friends (who don't reload) and consistently going through the range's brass buckets I have about 2,000 9mm cases. That's over a 5 month period. I figure if I can come home with just a few more cases than I bring I'm making progress.

I say this because I think the exact same approach can be successfully applied to acquiring components. I have my stores that I'm willing to buy from - and I check them very consistently. I just drop in and see what they have - typically once or twice a week. Most of the time I don't buy anything. But one day, for example, after going to a Cabela's 1-2x/wk for about 8 wks, they had 4 lbs of Titegroup on the shelf. SCORE! This has also worked picking up .22 at Walmart. Most of the times they're out, but a few times I've literally happened to walk in while they're stocking the shelf. One time a guy said "We got a shipment in but I haven't looked at it. Let me go check. He comes out wheeling a trolly filled with ammo. :-)

By doing this I've acquired quite a number of pounds of pistol and rifle powder - definitely enough to keep me calm if something happens to supplies. I just made a list of the components I was willing to buy and kept it in my phone. It makes it easy when I'm looking at the shelves.

OR

If you don't keep at least 3yrs supply as a reserve, well that is on you. You can't say you didn't see it coming. Yes it will cost you a bit to be prepared, but then it always does.
My shooting hasn't slowed at all thru these hiccups.
I do as much to be self sufficient & flexible as possible with my reloading. Have at least 3 diff powders/loads available for each caliber. A lot of diff powders since I have 25 diff calibers. Cast bullets for you handguns if possible, even swaging rifle bullets for your most used caliber isn't a bad idea. As long as you keep a good supply of primers available, your shooting/reloading doesn't need to skip a beat. If I had to, I could put any powder to use for most calibers, but you gotta have those pesky little primers.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

X2. I always keep 2-3 years worth of ammo (or components to make it) on hand for every caliber I shoot. Once in a while it comes in real handy! The period from Dec 2012 to this summer has been one of those times. Fortunately, allot of it seems to have freed up nicely in just the last 4-6 mos. Now if I can just find another 8# can of Clays ..........

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Dave

Three years ago my go to powders were AA#2, AA#5. Now is any shot gun powder. I have a new go to powder in Hi Skor 700x. As others said many pistols are in short supply yet.

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Carpriver.

Are reloading supplies in short supply ?

Well in my neck of the woods.............They have been . They are getting better. They are not like it use to be and in this state may never be like it use to be. Gun shows are smaller with less stocking dealers. l have found I have to travel North or South to find what l need . We are limited to five pounds of powder on hand. Good news is , if you pack it in little tiny brass containers and seal it with lead you can have as much as you like.

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Not so Free in the Free State

My wife gave me a rockchucker kit and a few other tools, enough hardware to start, as a gift. It was about 4 weeks before I was ready to mount the stuff in the garage.

So I start getting everything configured and read books and then decided that I guess it's time to buy components, powder, bullets and primers.

Around Dec. 2013, Jan 2014 components were in much tighter supply then they are now. Still, on my first shopping trip I bought 3 pounds of powder (1 ea of Titegroup, AA#2 and Power pistol). A week later I opened my fist can of powder so I now had less than 3 pounds but within a month I owned 10 pounds of pistol powder and since then have used and bought a lot more powder.

Primers. I have about 40,000 pistol primers. Many of those are CCI which I like but they do not work with my revolvers. Only Federal primers will do and they are probably the hardest to procure. Still, I have about 6000 of them.

Bullets. My achllies heel as far as components go. No real shortages of then just hard to keep them in stock.

Brass. I have a lot of 9mm probably about 16K. 38 about 6K, 45 maybe 3K.

The point I'm trying to make is that if you have the desire to be well stocked with ammo, regardless of the supply situation, it is still possible to find components but the prudent among us is keeping an inventory of components to weather any situation.

My motto is "see powder, buy powder"

If I have any advice buy yourself a GOOD reloading manual. A childhood friend and i taught ourselves how to reload from a Speer reloading manual and a Lee Anniversary kit. That was 20 years ago and thousands and thousands of rounds. Go slow and I mean dead stop slow when u start out. Check everything and then check it again. We both didn't have anyone we knew who did it and followed the book by the letter. Good Luck and get back to me in a few years when u have a reloading bench and equipment that u look at and say to yourself "I haven't saved a damn cent" HAHA. It's all for the fun.

A good motto. Judging from conversations with some friends in the industry...I don't think the past shortages of many reloading components is over yet... and may even become worse than it is right now . I am hoping that statement is incorrect