Is reloading dying?

[Trooperdan]

I wanted some Trail Boss powder today and thought maybe I could also find a Lee powder drop die at the only place in Palm Beach County that I know of that carries ANY reloading supplies, Gander Mountain.
Much ammo, pyramids of Golden Bullet .22' buckets of 1400 (I think) rounds for $80, cases of shotgun and rifle ammo but darned if I could find powder. Had to finally ask and was directed to a wooden cabinet about 4 feet high by 5 wide that had about 6-7 types of powder! Also had trays of 100 primers for $4 but no Trail Boss. Cripes, I have more powder than they had! And not a bit of Lee equipment to be seen.
I think there is a gun show at the fairgrounds this weekend, maybe I can find what I want there. With so few places to buy powder and primers, reloading must be on the decline, both cause and effect! Is it like this all over?

 

[Culina]

Most people are buying online because when you go to the local gunshop, they only have a couple cans of powder and usually stuff you aren't looking for.

 

[rvenneman]

Do all online vendors charge a HazMat fee like MidwayUSA?


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[4barrel]

I woke up with a grin today. I think the dry spell may be coming to an end. I went to work early & gave myself a raise.

 

[rwsmith]

It's required.....

Do all online vendors charge a HazMat fee like MidwayUSA?


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Besides the fee, some materials may require ground shipment.

 

[Fishslayer]

Not sure how it might vary by locale but storage of powder depends on how much. Over a certain amount & the storage requirements become pretty expensive. One of our local chains has loads of bullets & equipment but usually a very meager supply of powder.

 

[Collo Rosso]

Is reloading dying? Everything I've read from manufacturers says demand for cartridge components has never been higher.

 

[Fishslayer]

Do all online vendors charge a HazMat fee like MidwayUSA?

Yes. Most places will charge you $30 x 2 if you order powder & primers.

Widener's doesn't usually have the greatest selection but you can order powder & primers on one hazmat fee. Not sure about Midway.

It really pays to compare. Some places will have lower prices but get it back on shipping & handling. A group buy with friends is where you can really defray the hazmat & shipping costs. IIRC you can buy up to 48# at a time.

 

[LAA]

Where I live, Cabela's, Sportsman's Warehouse, and Scheels have large inventory's of powders, equipment, bullets, primers, casings, equipment, etc. More than not, the prices are actually the same, or better than online, let alone the extra hazmat/shipping fees. Sometimes a part, such as a bullet removing collet might be a few bucks more. But it's great to have it, when I want it. IMO, powder selection, including Trail Boss, is very good right now. At least it's this way in the Mountain West area.

 

[Rule3]

So you go to a store (Gander MT) no less, in a reloading Mecca like Palm Beach. They have no Trail Boss powder and from this you conclude:

"With so few places to buy powder and primers, reloading must be on the decline, both cause and effect! Is it like this all over? "

 

[colt_saa]

I wanted some Trail Boss powder today and thought maybe I could also find a Lee powder drop die at the only place in Palm Beach County that I know of that carries ANY reloading supplies, Gander Mountain.

Drive over to the Gun Show this weekend. There should be PLENTY of powder at the Palm Beach County Fairgrounds on Saturday. It is a MUCH shorter drive for you than going all the way to Gander Mountain

Though I am not to optimistic on the die. You could always order that through Amazon or look at eBay. It will be at your door next week.

 

[johnnyflake]

Is reloading dying?

Not yet IMHO, however, the never ending increase in pricing of Primers, Powders, Bullets and so on, along with outrageous Haz Fees will eventually kill it and it's coming! Greed from the suppliers, will eventually kill the art of reloading.

The savings we once experienced back in the day (20+ years ago) is no longer a reality, and when ammo is readily available, as it is from time to time, and at fair prices, you may as well buy new commercial ammo.

 

[Chuck24]

Just to be clear, the merchants are not charging a hazmat fee so much as they are passing on the fee the shippers charge them.

 

[SLT223]

Do all online vendors charge a HazMat fee like MidwayUSA?


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yes. I believe Cabelas is the lowest @ $20.00....but their powder and primer prices aren't. I suspect it's a function freight negotiations, and the bigger guys who ship more have more leverage.

 

[Moe Mentum]

Maybe after the election results, things will start to calm down.

 

[Engineer1911]

And what would you have done for components if the other side won the election? It would have been panic buying like the world had ended.

 

[colorado plainsman]

Found CCI primers on the shelves of Walmart today. $3.79 per hundred, they had a good supply of pistol and rifle primers.

 

[gregintenn]

Why is there a hazardous shipping fee on powder and primers, but not on ammo? Guess what two components of loaded ammo are.

 

[Arik]

Maybe it's just not as popular? Not necessarily dying.

I know my friends and I have absolutely zero interest in reloading. I can speak for myself that I don't have the patience or the time or the interest to try different loads and they go home and tweak them. All I want to do is shoot the one day I have off. Same with my friends. No one wants to spend hours at a machine making ammo when one quick order at work takes 30 seconds and I can be at the range at the end of the week

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[Harrison]

It's cheaper, better selection, and saves a lot of driving around to just buy on line. Places like "Powder Valley" usually have a good selection at great prices.

 

[BC38]

Not sure how it works for Gander, but I'm pretty sure I can order anything I want from Cablas, have it delivered to the local store for pickup, and not pay any shipping or hazmat fees.

I think it is a combination of the fact that they are already getting a truckload of stock for their shelves delivered along with my order, and the idea that if they get me into the store maybe I'll buy something else too.

BTW, that seems to be a good sales strategy on their part - 'cause it usually works. I almost always end up finding SOMETHING else to buy every time I go there to pick up an order

I sure hope it doesn't change now that those "male Goose" guys have bought out Cabelas....

 

[Harrison]

Yes. Most places will charge you $30 x 2 if you order powder & primers.

Widener's doesn't usually have the greatest selection but you can order powder & primers on one hazmat fee. Not sure about Midway.

It really pays to compare. Some places will have lower prices but get it back on shipping & handling. A group buy with friends is where you can really defray the hazmat & shipping costs. IIRC you can buy up to 48# at a time.

Powder only charges one fee. I often order both primers and powder.

 

[BC38]

Maybe it's just not as popular? Not necessarily dying.

I know my friends and I have absolutely zero interest in reloading. I can speak for myself that I don't have the patience or the time or the interest to try different loads and they go home and tweak them. All I want to do is shoot the one day I have off. Same with my friends. No one wants to spend hours at a machine making ammo when one quick order at work takes 30 seconds and I can be at the range at the end of the week

This seems to be becoming more common. Lots of people seem to have more disposable income than spare time.

 

[Arik]

This seems to be becoming more common. Lots of people seem to have more disposable income than spare time.

For me personally I can't say o have exactly more disposable income but what I know for 1000000% is that I don't have time or patience. Especially patience. If a load doesn't work or completely malfunctions I have no interest or desire to go home and try again. I just want it to work without figuring out what went wrong. At this time I can buy 9mm range ammo at just over $200 for 1k rounds. That works for me

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[BC38]

For me personally I can't say o have exactly more disposable income but what I know for 1000000% is that I don't have time or patience. Especially patience. If a load doesn't work or completely malfunctions I have no interest or desire to go home and try again. I just want it to work without figuring out what went wrong. At this time I can buy 9mm range ammo at just over $200 for 1k rounds. That works for me

LOL, well, if you can afford the price to buy it, but not the time to make it, then you have MORE money to spare than time to spare.

Not trying to say you have LOADS of disposable income - only that you have a better supply of it than you have of spare time.

And like I said, that seems to be getting more common these days. Too many of us seem to be running 90 miles an hour with our hair on fire every waking minute.

The curse of modern society....

 

[Jack71]

Reloading isn't for everybody, but I enjoy it and have plenty of local sources for powder and primers (this wasn't true a few years ago). I usually buy my bullets online - the selection is better and so are the prices.

As for saving money, maybe there isn't a lot to be gained by loading 9mm and a few other common pistol calibers. But for something like .357 SIG, 44 Special and .38 Super (all of which I shoot) I save a lot of money and am able to tailor the loads to what I like.

 

[Jboutfishn]

It's cheaper, better selection, and saves a lot of driving around to just buy on line. Places like "Powder Valley" usually have a good selection at great prices.

Good guys.

 

[carpriver]

Where I live I depend on a small gun store about 20 miles away. Gander Mtn is 90 miles away in Marquette MI. and they don't have a decent supply of powders or primers, Durhams has guns and ammo but no reloading supplies. Cabala's is 90 in Green Bay and has a fairly good supply of supplies including Lee dies and others manufactures. I call my local gun shop see what she has in stock, or if I am going to Green Bay I call the cabala's and order in store pick up of supplies, if they are in stock I can pick them up. if all that doesn't work I go on line and order from one of the firearms supply companies.

Reloading takes effort to find and get the components. But for me it's all part of the hobby

 

[hdwhit]

With so few places to buy powder and primers, reloading must be on the decline,...

You cannot draw that conclusion from the limited experience you point to.

The on-line sellers can generally offer better prices and greater selection than a local gun shop, so reloading appears to have largely migrated on-line.

And, yes, on-line sellers either have to charge a hazardous materials fee for the hazardous material they sell or else build it into the price of what they're selling. This is a fee charged by the shipper. If you order a large quantity of primer and/or powder you will probably find that even with the hazardous materials fee, the unit price is lower than if you bought it locally.

 

[Deadctr]

Cabelas

Not sure how it works for Gander, but I'm pretty sure I can order anything I want from Cablas, have it delivered to the local store for pickup, and not pay any shipping or hazmat fees.

Couple months back, Cabelas ran an online special on primers. I went to order a few thousand, and since I drive by the store in Hamburg, PA regularly, I thought having them shipped to the store would save me the HAZMAT fee.

....When I went to complete the the order, a message came up saying they the couldn't ship primers to the store..........

Yeah, ....I thought the same thing.