Steady source of primers... new to reloading

[Zjnovak]

Im kind of irritated, so I'm sorry if this seems like a rant. I have begun to source reloading items, as I am wanting to get into reloading. I've got a Lee Classic turret waiting for me at a shop a few hours away and am waiting on a day I can go get it. I have built a workbench in my basement and got that all ready. I have brass (picked some up from my last range trip) and a member on the forums has helped me get started with some bullets/additional brass.

Today, I called Recob Shooting (NW of Madison WI) and they said they had 30k+ CCI small pistol primers in stock. I had them set 1,000 aside. I left home (Milwaukee) and got there a few hours later. Asked the man that was working, and he said they sold out. I drove 150 miles to find out they had none. Decided that it would be a waste anyways, so I picked up 500 large pistol primers and 1 lb. of powder.

Before this happens again, can someone tell me of a steady source of small pistol primers so I can begin? I would rather not get destroyed with a $30 hazmat, but that seems like the only option. The person working said that if I found a place in WI, hazmat would be about $16. Or, if somebody would be willing to sell me a few hundred that would be very well appreciated too.

Thanks in advance

 

[Skip Sackett]

Now you will most likely have to wait until things die down. I know hindsight is always 20/20 but, you should have started reloading long, long, ago!

When they do come available again, stock up. Buy 5000 of each, and you usually can get them for one hazmat fee making the additional cost minimal. Gotta have some cash on hand so, start saving today. Then, when the shelves are loaded again, wait a week or two and you will see sales going on for them. I got a notice just 6 months after I had bought 20,000 that they were going on sale. I got another 10,000.

I have been able to gift a few to sons and sons in law as they started loading. I have been able to go in with a friend so we could get 40,000 primers under one hazmat fee. THAT will save you some money!

I went to a store over the weekend and they had primers. Not every kind but, enough different sizes, you could get something to go bang if needed. Got to gun shows is another possibility. I have scored at them before too.


Just remember, when they come available, have cash.....plenty of it and get what you need.

 

[colt_saa]

There is no such thing as a steady source of primers these days.

Get together with the buddy that is helping you set up, along with anybody else and order 10k or 20k at a time. That way you split the Hazmat among you.

Remember to place a group re-order before you run out.

 

[Cdog]

It happens. In the mid 90's (pre interweb for me) primers were more difficult to come by than they are now.

 

[Zjnovak]

I am going to a gun show this Saturday and I can check then. I read that some locals at the shows are charging $10 a box, when I just paid $3.50 a box. Should I suck it up and buy them, or wait it out?

 

[Zjnovak]

@Skip
I am fairly young, so its not like I had several years to plan ahead. I have been shooting since I was young enough to hold a gun and use common sense. I have been hunting since I was 8. It was just recently that me and my dad decided to get into the hobby.

At first it was to lower the cost of shooting. But now, its just so I have some ammo to shoot!

 

[Triggernosis]

Hang on a couple of more months - they'll become more available as the panic-stricken hoarders pizz away their money buying stuff they'll probably never use. Just be patient and wait.

 

[LittleCooner]

check with Powder Valley in Dexter Kansas. The Radcliffs are great to deal with and and are as large a dealer in powder, primers, etc as there is in the country. Its a bad time to try and find components. It will settle down, but no one knows exactly when.

 

[Titegroups]

At some point in time they will become easier to find, be patient it may be quite a while.

 

[rwsmith]

I found primers

I found a small quantity today for $5/box which wasn't bad, I'm hoping it will hold me a few months. I just got back into reloading again myself this last summer and have been buying little at a time since then but not enough for this dry spell. Thank goodness I got my new gun about a week before the SHTF.

 

[Argonnakid]

It would nice to see some primers other than Tula around here. I have tried their product and they just seem to be not up to snuff.

 

[rwsmith]

Get any you can

At this time get any good make of primer that you can find. The problem with this is that for reloading, changing a component like primers compels you to reduce a load and work it back up to where you want it. I don't anticipate any problem because most primers of the same type are fairly equal, but you still have to drop back and work up when changing any component. I have three brands of bullets of several types and two brands of primers now. This means that I'm going to be spending a lot of time shooting starting loads, but I'd rather do that and keep shooting. Just look at it as a fun exercise in adaptability. Keep good records so that if later you end up with original components, you will know where you left off, load-wise and won't have to start all over.

 

[Skip Sackett]

@Skip
I am fairly young, so its not like I had several years to plan ahead. I have been shooting since I was young enough to hold a gun and use common sense. I have been hunting since I was 8. It was just recently that me and my dad decided to get into the hobby.

At first it was to lower the cost of shooting. But now, its just so I have some ammo to shoot!

This is not a slam ZJ, but, I have a saying:
"Every shooter should be a reloader and every reloader should be a bullet caster." ~ Skip Sackett

Folks just don't seem to get the "get up and go" to start some things until they are hard to get started in all on their own. This is no slam on your dad either, great man no doubt, but, he certainly has had ample opportunity to get into reloading, since he has taken time to teach you to shoot, and for some reason, decided against it. He shouldn't have done that. Whatever the reason.

My wife and I raised 5 kids on one income, and, not all that great of one and I love to shoot. I tucked away cash and traded for tools to get into reloading because I wanted to shoot with my kids and that is the only way I could afford it.

A side benefit of that is that NOW, during all of the recent shortages and hysterical buying of components, I still can reload and haven't got one single shortage of anything.

Again, this is not a slam at anyone. Maybe it will help solidify some of that common sense you already have. If you live long enough, you will have kids too, pass it on.........(the common sense and the reloading tools!)

 

[blujax01]

Hard to believe but the tragic events that lead up to this shortage happened a mere six weeks ago. I know a lot of folks who normally would not make a range trip in that time.

As others have said, be patient - this too shall pass.
And as Skip noted, we can all learn a lesson here, the ancient one of the Boy Scouts - Be Prepared.

 

[Coaltminer]

Cabelas in my area seems to keep a good supply of small pistol, not always in the brand you prefer, for about $40 a thousand.

 

[SMSgt]

If I'm going to drive 150 miles to buy an item in high demand, you can bet I'm making the purchase over the phone before I start out.

 

[carpriver]

Cabalas lets you order on line with pick up at the store. I have used it a couple of time. I live 275 miles from the store in Richfield Wi. I know they have the stuff I need when I get there.

 

[reloader7.62]

@Skip
I am fairly young, so its not like I had several years to plan ahead. I have been shooting since I was young enough to hold a gun and use common sense. I have been hunting since I was 8. It was just recently that me and my dad decided to get into the hobby.

At first it was to lower the cost of shooting. But now, its just so I have some ammo to shoot!

It's just bad timing and thats all and it's happened more than once before. Most of us that have been through this several times learned a long time ago that you have to put some stuff back for a rainy day,you can't take anything for granted. My best advice is to just grin and bare it till things calm down,save you money don't overpay for things that will be cheaper later on and stock up as you can. Don't try and think about getting everything you need all at once unless you just have the cash it will overwhelm you. Buy a little extra here and there and it will add up over time if thats all you can do. Buy in bulk whenever possible it's cheaper in the long run.

 

[Steve in Vermont]

check with Powder Valley in Dexter Kansas. The Radcliffs are great to deal with and and are as large a dealer in powder, primers, etc as there is in the country. Its a bad time to try and find components. It will settle down, but no one knows exactly when.

PV is now shipping orders placed on January 12th. I placed an order for bullets on January 15th and usually receive them the same week. They are not taking backorders. I suggest you bookmark their site and check it regularly. As I said before this (shortage) has 3 phases. We're in phase 1 now, every shelf has been picked clean. Phase 2 will occur when supplies start to return and people will start hoarding for the next shortage. In phase 3 things will calm down and supplies will return to normal. Only hindsight will tell when we passed from one phase to another.

 

[Zjnovak]

This is not a slam ZJ, but, I have a saying:
"Every shooter should be a reloader and every reloader should be a bullet caster." ~ Skip Sackett

Folks just don't seem to get the "get up and go" to start some things until they are hard to get started in all on their own. This is no slam on your dad either, great man no doubt, but, he certainly has had ample opportunity to get into reloading, since he has taken time to teach you to shoot, and for some reason, decided against it. He shouldn't have done that. Whatever the reason.

My wife and I raised 5 kids on one income, and, not all that great of one and I love to shoot. I tucked away cash and traded for tools to get into reloading because I wanted to shoot with my kids and that is the only way I could afford it.

A side benefit of that is that NOW, during all of the recent shortages and hysterical buying of components, I still can reload and haven't got one single shortage of anything.

Again, this is not a slam at anyone. Maybe it will help solidify some of that common sense you already have. If you live long enough, you will have kids too, pass it on.........(the common sense and the reloading tools!)

That is very true. My dad had also been shooting since the 60's. He actually did reload for a short time with a buddy, however it was just 12ga and 44 magnum. We later moved, so they no longer loaded together (tools and components were his friends). He has always wanted to reload again but just never got into it. We just figured that now that I'm old enough to buy my own ammunition and firearms, we would split it 50/50. Another reason for not reloading was the fact that ammo was way cheaper then... not so much now.