Primer shortage???

[acl864]

Anybody out there still having problems finding primers? Seems like right after Christmas things suddenly broke loose and they were available again. Not a surplus by any means, but if you looked they were available. Also seems like the prices, while not back to normal, were at least within reason. My local reloading shop has Fed SP for $29 per K which, compared to some prices that were being asked just a few months earlier, seems like a bargain. Is the shortage finally over?

 

[kennyb]

it's possible...a lot more are floating around here...i was fortunate and had enough to easily see me through

 

[Jack Flash]

Prices are exorbitant (IMHO) but the shelves are now well-stocked.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Prices are exorbitant (IMHO) but the shelves are now well-stocked.

+1
at least here in Mich. I see that they have actualy risen in price in several places!! $60 per K? That's just plain rediculous, and that was at a reputable gunshop that has been around for a long, long, time.

 

[scattershot]

$60.00/1000???!!! I think they'll have those for a LONG time. At least if they were trying to sell them to me.

Around here (Denver) they are starting to become available again, at $32.50/1000.

I remember two prior shortages, and when the supply came back online, the price had doubled. $7.00 to $14.00, then $14.00 to $26.50, and now this...

The lesson here, of course, is to stay stocked up.

 

[Viss]

I ordered 5000 primers from Cabelas, $32.00 a thousand, with shipping and haz mat fee it came to $ approx. $40.00 a thousand.

I ordered them on 19th Feb. and won't recieve till 30th march.

Luckily I have a few thousand stockpiled.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

$60.00/1000???!!! I think they'll have those for a LONG time. At least if they were trying to sell them to me.

Believe it or not they even had to post a sign that the limit was one brick per customer! They are selling at that price.

I had enough to ride out the storm and still shoot regularly, but it sucks that places are still taking advantage of the situation. Especially this place which is well known.

We have had plenty of powder all along though. Almost every one you could imagine too, and they stayed at the same price until the normal price increase at the beginning of every year. Bullets are priced right out of reality too. Lead has come way back down, as has copper, but the makers are gouging anyway. Just like with gasoline-once they get it up there, they will never bring it back down.

 

[dmar]

I've been able to find primers locally for several months now; $29.95/k... Most of what I see is Winchester, Federal, CCI, but no Remington.

Actually, I did see some Remington primers at Gander Mountain today for $4.95/100, I think those will stay in stock for a while... I really don't understand how they can get by charging the prices they charge. Their reloading components are just about 2xs what the local shops charge. Who buys their stuff?!

 

[Black_Talon]

Still very, very few primers to be found here in SoCal.

 

[whelenshooter]

I was talking with the local gun shop owner here in Juneau, Alaska. He said there are some primers he still hasn't been able to get, but he has gobs of others and he actually had to finally tell one of his wholesalers that he wouldn't buy any more of certain primers. I noticed he has a ton of Federal small pistol and small pistol magnum primers in stock, though he has few large rifle primers and few Winchester primers of any kind. He usually tries to keep some of every brand and type in stock to keep everyone happy.

 

[Classic29]

I've never really had a problem with getting them here. Sure, there were times when only a box or two were on the shelves but that was because people were hoarding like crazy. All I had to do was ask and I recieved. It also helps when you've been a loyal customer from when the shop first opened.

 

[Jellybean]

All the store locally were charging a fortune for them, if they had them. The stores I've been to lately have them now, and are still charging a fortune for them. No wonder I don't shop locally.

 

[Black_Sheep]

They are $30 a thousand here but the local toy store limits purchases to 300 per customer with only CCI on hand. I wish the shortage would cease so I could find some Winchester SP and buy them in reasonable quantities. It's encouraging to hear that availability is improving elsewhere...

 

[jbouwens]

I've never really had a problem with getting them here. Sure, there were times when only a box or two were on the shelves but that was because people were hoarding like crazy. All I had to do was ask and I recieved. It also helps when you've been a loyal customer from when the shop first opened.

+1

It is nice to know the owner for 20 plus years, he always has a few K stuck in a back room for me, We did the deal one day and kind of torqued a guy off but the owner said " I've known the guy since Christ was a corporal--and he has probably paid my rent plenty of times over the years and all I will see from you is the out of state tag pulling out of the parking lot in 10-9-8-7.........." and he indeed was driving out by the time it counted down to one. It didn't help when the guy said he shot a ton (he went to the range 3 times in the last year) and he needed to "stock up". He asked for 10,000 primers. I got a laugh out of that.

 

[Jack Flash]

... Just like with gasoline-once they get it up there, they will never bring it back down.

I am hoping this is wrong but time will tell.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

I am hoping this is wrong but time will tell.

You and me both bro!

 

[dmar]

I am hoping this is wrong but time will tell.

I think the guys that are still charging ridiculous prices will have to come down. I was at a gunshow a couple of weeks ago, and asked a lady how much for her CCI primers, she said $40. I said, 'wow that's pretty high these days...' She acknowledged that it was, but they had bought them when the prices were real high, and was actually selling for their cost.

That being said, I really don't think it will go below the $30/k price. It's just the way it goes with pricing. I'm sure these manufacturers have already adjusted their business models to rely on the higher revenue targets... There are only a few real competitors making primers in this country, so it's pretty easy for them to stay in step with each other...

 

[Jack Flash]

...That being said, I really don't think it will go below the $30/k price. It's just the way it goes with pricing. I'm sure these manufacturers have already adjusted their business models to rely on the higher revenue targets... There are only a few real competitors making primers in this country, so it's pretty easy for them to stay in step with each other...

I think competition may be a little more intense than you suggest. There are primers coming in from Italy (Fiocchi), as well as Brazil and Russia (Aquila? and Wolf?). As supply begins to catch up to demand, somebody will realize they can lower prices and still have a reasonable profit.

So I'm optimistic that the price will slowly settle down to $20 / 1,000 or less. It should be noted here that I am sometimes inaccurate in my prognostications.

 

[DWalt]

I stocked up on whatever sizes I could find pre-Obama, so I am well fixed. Something that might help is that I have never had a problem in using small rifle primers in place of small pistol. Ballistics (MV) is identical in my testing. Only problem is since rifle primers have heavier cups, some handguns might have an ignition reliability problem - but mine don't. So if you normally use small pistol primers, don't pass up small rifle primers if you get a chance to pick some up cheap. You can't do the same substitution with large pistol vs. large rifle primers, as large pistol primer pockets, while the same diameter as large rifle pockets, are shallower, so large rifle primers won't seat flush with the level of the base, and that can cause problems. But don't use small pistol primers in small rifle cases as they could blow out due to their thinner cups.

 

[acl864]

Well based on what I'm reading here the shortage has eased... but it hasn't completely ended. I'm not pleased with $29 per K but I can live with it. From what you guys are reporting I'm lucky to find them that cheap.