component availability

[tomahawk223]

All the regular online vendors have been sold out of primers and bullets (.224 dia. ) for several months now. No .224 , 55-65 grain anywhere to be found and I have to wonder if the factory's are working 24/7 to produce , who is getting them?
example is Bob's 223 bulk bullets has not had their .224 ammo available for some time now, where are all their bullets going?
Hornady 55 and 62 grain all gone, whos buying them so fast to keep them out of stores like Midway, Midsouth, Brownells and stores like that.

 

[emptypockets]

Back in March a voice from 2013 called and said "get it while you can". I did and now I'm not singing the where is it blues. I hope this goes away soon and those who need it can find it.

 

[tomahawk223]

I get the panic buying, I have been doing it with .22lr since the shortage 6-7 years ago and still buy when I find it, up to about 100k now. Are the manufacturers of the .224 55-65 just providing them to the commercial loaders?

 

[emptypockets]

That is a question I cannot answer. I hear all kind of reasons for this but I don't have a definite answer. Hopefully it ends soon and business as usual becomes the norm.

 

[Moe Mentum]

Just watch the news and you will understand where all the ammo and components are going....same as last time.

 

[Moe Mentum]

8.4 million guns were sold from mid March to the end of June. Most were first time gun buyers. So, if you buy a new gun, stands to reason you will also buy ammo for that new gun....

 

[pasote]

i get the sierra 69 grain HPBT matchkings

All the regular online vendors have been sold out of primers and bullets (.224 dia. ) for several months now. No .224 , 55-65 grain anywhere to be found and I have to wonder if the factory's are working 24/7 to produce , who is getting them?
example is Bob's 223 bulk bullets has not had their .224 ammo available for some time now, where are all their bullets going?
Hornady 55 and 62 grain all gone, whos buying them so fast to keep them out of stores like Midway, Midsouth, Brownells and stores like that.

I am able to get the sierra 69 gr .224 HPBT matchkings from midway and brownells for about 20 cents each.
I just get on the "notify me when available"
list.

 

[tomahawk223]

I'm going to take a guess that we won't know until November4th as to where this is going.
can .224 bullets be cast and loaded with gas checks? is there such an animal?

 

[Liftrat]

And it seems that people aren't just buying ammo, but shooting lots of it. I picked up over 5lbs of brass at my public range the other day, most of it 5.56/223. Apparently folks aren't too concerned about reloading it, either.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I am not doing .224 bullets right now, so I still have a lot on the shelf.

I did just receive 200, 130gr HST Micro bullets for the 2" 38 that I will be testing soon...... they only took 3.5 days to get her with UPS.
I do think that they sat on the loading dock for two days but hay....
they are here and that is what counts.

I was a West Coast supervisor for a major warehouse in Sparks Nevada that shipped to LA, Seattle, Fla and back to the main office in Batavia NY........so what the shippers tell me is not pulling any wool over anything!! Been there done that.
It was really a fun job except for a desk load of Bills of Lading that had to be broken down and sent to all the departments.
However I did get a kick sending messages back to NY on the Telex.
They knew it was the Nevada Kid..... I loved to ring that Bell for the
Sylvania entertainment department, main office.

 

[bluetopper]

I went to Dallas today for an appointment with my cardiologist and on the way back stopped at a reloading supply store and found 1k Federal Gold Match small pistol primers for $47. Never paid that much for primers in my life but I was down to 3k and didn't realize it till this week. I was starting to get a bit nervous.

 

[stamper]

Out of curiosity, I was watching a GunBroker auction for 1,400 SP primers last week. They went out at $205 ... almost 15 cents each.

While wandering around at the nearest Cabelas a couple weeks ago, I noticed that they actually had 4 boxes of 1000-count in stock at the "normal" price (maybe $32??). Couldn't believe it. I'm pretty well set, but I bought a couple boxes anyway (leaving the other two boxes for the truly needy).

 

[smoothshooter]

I'm going to take a guess that we won't know until November4th as to where this is going.
can .224 bullets be cast and loaded with gas checks? is there such an animal?

Yes, and Yes.

 

[smoothshooter]

Unless one is periodically short of funds, there is really no good excuse to be caught short of ammo or components.
Anyone who pays attention to current events will know about the shortages, and the social upheaval that triggers them.

Hang on tight, we haven't seen anything yet, no matter how the November elections go.
Lots of turmoil in store for YEARS.

 

[Fishinfool]

Just this week, I ordered and received from Midway 500 various assorted 6.5mm bullets to start reloading for my Creedmoor.

I just now took a look at their site, and they list 101 various makes and weights of .224 bullets as being available (in stock) and ready to be shipped. Prices start at 13 cents per bullet. Free shipping over $48.00

Stuff is out there, and available. Might not be the exact bullet you want, or at bargin basement prices, but we are not dead in the water either. Another good source is local gun shops. This past week, at a small local shop I found Federal large match primers for $34 a K, ( picked up 2 bricks) and plenty of powders available. Picked up 2 lbs of H-4350 for $26 a lbs.

Now I just have to hit the reloading bench, do some experimenting, and see what that 6.5 will really do.

Larry

 

[mmb617]

Stuff is out there, and available. Might not be the exact bullet you want, or at bargin basement prices, but we are not dead in the water either. Another good source is local gun shops.

Agreed. My local shop has had the primers I want each time I've gone there. I just bought 1k of SRP's this week for $45 which is higher than it used to be but probably normal now.

He doesn't sell bullets in bulk, so I buy them online. I was able to order 1k of 55 gr FMJ .223's this week for $109 and they are being delivered today.

I'm in the habit of checking my bookmarked ammo suppliers daily and ordering anything they have in stock that I feel I'm getting low on. So far, so good.

It just takes more work these days.

 

[MyDads38]

Google is your friend and be diligent; that's all I can suggest. There are components out there. I just had a LGS call and said they had 1k Federal SP Magnum primers for $35. I didn't need them, but glad they called me. If you think rifle bullets/ammo is hard to find, try 9mm.

I was lucky enough at the onset of this mess to get 9mm/40 cal bullets and 10k Winchester SP primers before they sold out. I learned from last time to stock up when things were available and on sale. I'll never need to worry about powder. I have a good supply of primers and bullets. Haven't been to a range in 4 months, so I'm not using my supplies anyway.

As mentioned, get on the "Notify Me" list at several vendors websites. Keep checking at local shops and keep doing internet searches. Covid-19 and upcoming election making it hard :-(

 

[Glenn54]

I sure hope you're wrong about "Lots of turmoil in store for YEARS".

Unless one is periodically short of funds, there is really no good excuse to be caught short of ammo or components.
Anyone who pays attention to current events will know about the shortages, and the social upheaval that triggers them.

Hang on tight, we haven't seen anything yet, no matter how the November elections go.
Lots of turmoil in store for YEARS.

 

[slickracer]

Midsouth has Hornady 55 FMJs right now!

 

[mikerjf]

Though I don't reload all that much, after reading this I went to my local supply house and bought what he said was their last box of Missouri 158g coated LSWC. They also had a few boxes of 147g XTP's, which I've been wanting to try.

Local Fleet Farm is cleaned out of all factory 9mm, all 9mm bullets of any kind, most powder, most primers.