Help me understand the primer shortage.

[Nevada Ed]

I don't understand the shortage............

The wars are at a low.
We are not gearing up for a war.

Are we shipping the primers out of the USA ?

At some time sml pistol primers have to surface again, so we can get some.
Maybe put a 2k limit on all buyers?

 

[typetwelve]

I think it's a combo of things.

First, the easy guess, is the panic driving people to snatch everything up.

Second, and take this for what it is, I heard somewhere that companies are devoting their primers to making actual loaded ammo at the moment. So...Fed or Win, or CCI not currently shipping primers because they are being used in loaded bullets.

 

[Rocket3]

Hoarding started it, now going into loaded ammo. My guess.

 

[silverstateS&W]

typetwelve has it correct! primers are going into loaded ammo.
plus the loaded ammo is being snapped up by first time gun buyers, (9mm) and experienced shooters buying more than they need-remember the toilet paper shortage? "I heard there might be a shortage so i bought a years supply-pretty soon there is a shortage.
this happened after Newtown, 1999(y2k scare) and several time in the iterim after a year or two things return to normal

 

[tomahawk223]

sitting in front of my computer last night, I get the email notification from Midway that the small rifle magnum CCI came in, I clicked on my Midway account with a minute and they were out of stock.

 

[ajgunner]

I bought what I figured was a life time supply back in the Clinton era. So glad I did. Nothing makes me smile like opening a new brick and finding a receipt showing I paid $9.99 for the brick.

I have also been helping 3 younger friends that are getting into loading. With my help each of them has probably secured about 1 year worth.

What I have preached is the simple fact that primers and powders will never be lower priced than they are now. Also they do not seem to rot and go bad. If you can afford to stock up, you can also get a big grin on your face similar to mine when you open a box in 20-40 years from now. My son thinks I am going to leave him a bunch, but I have plans to use them all up in the next 20 years---if I last that long.

 

[Funflyer]

Only thing I understand is there's no shortage of primers in my workshop.

 

[reddog81]

People are buying up all the ammo. The same companies that make primers make ammo. It’s more profitable to sell loaded ammo.

Couple that with many people wanting to start reloading and others that might not typically reload buying up components and you have no primers to be found except for very inflated prices.

If 9mm ammo typically costs $.20 per round and the price jumps to $.60 per round it’d make sense that the demand for primers and all other components would jump.

 

[mikld]

Yep, I believe the current political situation spurred panicky ammo purchasing, and closely followed by panic component buying. Then primer manufacturing is primarily going to ammo manufacturing with a little trickling down to reloaders (I think primer manufacturers would rather sell/ship 1 million primers, all at once to a large ammo manufacturer than sell 1 million to a large reloading component vendor a bit at a time to a few warehouses).

Firearm sales are also record setting and I think that too is from panic buying. I visited the local Big Box store today and saw a gun I had been thinking about so I bought it (or I thought I did). After the NICS paperwork was filled out the clerk asked me for my phone number mentioning I'd get a call when the NICS check goes through, in a couple weeks! My last gun purchase only took one extra day, back in Feb., but it seems like the 15-20 minute check is taking weeks because I was number 4,568th in line for my background check...

 

[gmiller0737]

As soon a someone gets primers in stock speculators buy as many as possible & sell on Gun Broker or elsewhere for $150 plus per thousand


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Telecaster]

We ARE gearing up for a war.

 

[typetwelve]

As soon a someone gets primers in stock speculators buy as many as possible & sell on Gun Broker or elsewhere for $150 plus per thousand


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had to look it up...

OH.MY.WORD.

This is pure insanity:

10000 Federal No.100 small pistol primers - Reloading Supplies at GunBroker.com : 878874402

10 boxes of primers, current bid of $1400+, buy it now of $2900. Holy smokes!!!

$290 a case?!? Those are...er, were everyday $30 cases.

Wow...I guess if someone is willing to pay that much but for me? I'd just not shoot.

 

[reddog81]

Those are...er, were everyday $30 cases.

This time last year retailers couldn't give them away... You could find them on sale and the manufacturers were offering 25% rebates. I got some for close to $20 a case.

 

[oldman10mm]

Six months ago I was selling off excess reloading components inventory. Various bullets and brass went quickly, primers I offered for $30/brick, had no takers, so I'm still sitting on them and not for sale.

 

[dr. mordo]

About 20 mins ago I shopped for ammo for the first time since the pandemic started.

Not because I need it, but I was curious.

WOW.

Luckily I reload 95% of what I need and have enough components to last for a couple years or more if I ration.

 

[jimbo728]

Visited a big LGS today. No Small Pistol Primers. What I wanted was 125gr .357 bullets. None. Ammo was available but very expensive. Close to 40 bucks for a box of 50 Blazer Brass 9mm.
I did buy a 250 ct box of Nosler Custom Competition .223 69 gr bullets at $58.00. Under the circumstances I thought that price was acceptable.
The price of guns was astronomical. Im glad Im all set but really wanted to get those 125gr .357 bullets.
I hope we can recover from this price hiking and shortages soon.

 

[typetwelve]

Guns and ammo I can speak about...

Reloading supplies, not so much.

Personally, I've been through late 2008 and late 2012 and in time, both settled down. Early 2013, run of the mill $750 AR's were fetching easily double that, you couldn't get ammo like 223 or 9mm to save your life and we all know the 22LR absurdity.

By fall of 2010 and 2014, things had settled down. I bought my first AR in Oct of 2010 and with it, a case of Fiocchi 223 for under $300. I built another AR late 2014 and parts were readily available as was ammo.

I've only been reloading since early 2019, but I listened and learned. A Co-worker at the time was a decades long reloader and was telling me horror stories about powder/primers during droughts...and I listened.

One way or the other, if I had to make a guess, things will settle late 2021, spring 2022. In other words, get comfy...it's going to be a while.

 

[Warren Sear]

How long the shortage continues depends entirely how the fall elections go.

 

[NJM15]

just heard. . .

A friend of mine said the reason for the shortage of primers, and shortage of regular loaded ammo is due to the ignition material not being available , the primers are made in the US , but the material is made in china.
don't know the truth in that but it adds up, I recently found everything I am wearing is made in china from cap to shoes
Thanks Obama administration for giving china the ability to do this.

 

[Hasbeen1945]

It’s real simple to me. All the guns in the world are useless without ammo.
Gun control can be about ammo control. Have enough in case.