when will you buy primers?

I buy when I find them less than $60/1000. New or old stock. Have a lot of small rifle that I've been using for small pistol and they have been working just fine. I'm lucky in that I bought over 5K of various types about two years ago, at the start of Covid, and it has been keeping me shooting.
Got my neighbor into reloading last year and he has taken to it big time. Finding primers is the biggest stumbling block for him but he has managed to find enough to keep loading.
Powder has settled down, though at almost twice the price of two years ago. If this is any indication of how primers will go, can we expect prices to be $60-70/1000?

John
 
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I stocked up in March, 2020 when I saw a sale at $28 a brick. With the quantity I bought the Hazmat fee was negligible. I have several years worth left. I have NOT altered my shooting schedule to conserve.

My guess is that the "True value", with inflation, is in the $40-50 range. What we are required to pay right now is simply price gouging. The demand exceeds the supply, so they can charge whatever they want.

There WILL come a time when the supply exceeds the demand. Then prices will come down. The oldsters are dying out and the youngsters aren't interested in reloading.

Looking at the actuary tables I figure I need a 20 year supply. When they hit $40 a brick I'll put in a lifetime supply. Until then, I'll go maybe as far as $80, but I'll only buy a brick at a time.
 
Telecaster said:
$110 per thousand seems to be as low as they're going to get. I almost bought some last week, but didn't. I was just amazed to see so many bricks in the store.
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Cabelas / BassPro sells them at $90. The price was higher a few months ago.

Supply is iffy. I have a link on my computer and I check every few days. They DO get them in, but they go fast.

The time between shipments appears to be getting shorter, and the length of time on the counter seems to be getting longer.

When we start to see items on the shelf lasting until the next shipment comes in, then the prices will come down.

This ain't rocket science. We have all seen this before. It's just lasting longer this time than we have been used to. We all need to be patient.
 
I'm pretty good on all but LRP right now but I only have one rifle that uses them so the 1k or so I have will last a while.

I keep an eye on prices as eventually I'll have to buy more, but until then I'd have to see prices considerably lower than they are now to get me buying.
 
Thankfully, I've barely edged into a good stash of mine that were bought for the 'Prepare for Y2K' thing..... ;)
 
I'm 70 years old and I will never have to buy primers again in my lifetime. I reload for pistol only and have 60,000 primers total on hand. Last year I sold 30,000 primers to fellow members at my gun club for $50 per 1000 and I had plenty of buyers. I may sell a few more as I am not reloading at all these days. I have been buying cases of factory ammo for the last five years and have more factory ammo on hand than most gun shops.
 
When I see them on shelves, I'll consider buying. I haven't seen one box on my local shelves in three years. I know the price I'd going to be higher. I'm hoping $80 is the ceiling.
 
Never stopped

I've never stopped buying primers. I acquire them as they are needed. Always try to stock up when low and prices are relatively good but those stocks never seem to last as long as I thought they might.

As several others have posted, as we age there comes a point when it seems likely one has a "lifetime" supply of some things. I can say I won't be looking hard for small pistol primers anytime soon. As for the rest it's a balance between availability, need, and cost.

I saw everything except LRP last week at a gun shop in Abilene and they wanted $12.99 per 100 for all with no quantity discounts. I thought that was bit excessive and can do better online even paying hazmat. They also had the best powder selection they've had in years but it was $40 to $60 per pound. Some of those seemed an okay price and some did not - but that would likely vary for most of us based on need.
 
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rbmac52 said:
I'm 70 years old and I will never have to buy primers again in my lifetime. I reload for pistol only and have 60,000 primers total on hand. Last year I sold 30,000 primers to fellow members at my gun club for $50 per 1000 and I had plenty of buyers. I may sell a few more as I am not reloading at all these days. I have been buying cases of factory ammo for the last five years and have more factory ammo on hand than most gun shops.
Click to expand...

The good thing about them, you can always sell them or trade them especially during a shortage.

A while back you could have laid up a lifetime supply of primers and powder for about 3 or 4k. I bought my supplies with the just in case they shut down ammo access not really for everyday shooting. I bought cheap ammo, shot it and saved my components for future use.

Well, the future is now.......
 
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The only primers I need to purchase are Shotgun Primers. Shooting over 10,000 rounds a year of Skeet means a stash of 20,000 primers is simply a 1 year reserve.

As for any other centerfire application I learned after Sandy Hook and stocked up when primers were on sale and available. At this point I'll be leaving some primers to my nephew along with all my shotgun presses and my Rockchucker. As for all my powder, I'll have to spend some time with him explaining that having 16 lbs. of Longshot or 410 is simply a 2 year supply.
 
scooter123 said:
The only primers I need to purchase are Shotgun Primers. Shooting over 10,000 rounds a year of Skeet means a stash of 20,000 primers is simply a 1 year reserve.

As for any other centerfire application I learned after Sandy Hook and stocked up when primers were on sale and available. At this point I'll be leaving some primers to my nephew along with all my shotgun presses and my Rockchucker. As for all my powder, I'll have to spend some time with him explaining that having 16 lbs. of Longshot or 410 is simply a 2 year supply.
Click to expand...

That is a lot of rounds per year. I am thinking the shotgun primers will probably go the lowest. I bought 1K last month for $65.00.
 
I've been buying when and where I can. The most I've paid was $129 a brick locally. I've paid as little as $6 a sleeve (limit 2) while traveling. In between I've paid $80 a brick for CCI and $80 a brick for Aguila. My wife even got me a brick for Christmas.

I've been shooting more lately. My son shoots now. I live in the desert and gas is expensive. It costs me more to fish.

Not all of us could stockpile. The Navy moved me every 3-4 years. Movers don't move primers. The most I kept on hand before I retired was 5k of each flavor of pistol primers and 1-2K of rifle primers.
 
Revoman said:
If no one bought any for two weeks they would be under $50.00 a brick.

For two months probably back to $20.00.

As long as people pay they will stay inflated.
Click to expand...

That sounds sensible BUT I don't think primer sales will make or break an ammo company. I wonder how much of their total revenue is from primers?
I believe they make a lot more profit on ammunition.:)

Ed
 
GypsmJim said:
The time between shipments appears to be getting shorter, and the length of time on the counter seems to be getting longer.

When we start to see items on the shelf lasting until the next shipment comes in, then the prices will come down.

This ain't rocket science. We have all seen this before. It's just lasting longer this time than we have been used to. We all need to be patient.
Click to expand...

This, as in the previous primer shortages and the Great 22 Ammo Panic, is driven by political fear. Although I never have understood the Great 22 Ammo Panic. Anyway a conservative controlled House of Representatives pretty well ends any gun control laws being passed before 2025.

The real question for me is how many more the sky is falling primer threads I will keep replying too.
 
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