What is going on with primers???

[DM123]

Why the shortage? My local supplier said it started before the Cincinnati thing. Hard to find online too.

[mr surveyor]

I'm down to about 3k primers, but my gun shop buddy is getting a big bulk order together in the next couple of days for all of us in the little reloading circle. Powders, primers, bullets and brass..... I hope he's successful.

[JFootin]

Sounds like a conspiracy. They want to add punitive taxes to the purchase of bullets and they see reloading as a loophole, a way around it.

[hotpig]

I will let the cat out of the bag because it does not matter now. There was going to be a shortage of small rifle primers in the first half on 2013. It was going to start with Federal then snowball the other brands and other primers. It was going to happen even if Romney won and CT did not happen.

Some of us online retailers were positioning ourselves with large stocks. I was entering a deal for splitting a million rounds of 223. Now this has happened and the ammo and primers are gone. We are all scewed for 2013 if not longer.

[JFootin]

hotpig, do you know what the reason for the primer shortage is? It sounds like it was planned by someone.

[hotpig]

Are you talking about industrial sabotage? Federal would lose millions and have their own security/loss control people. If a person did that I'm sure they would see more jail time than violent criminal.

[Bongo Boy]

...do you know what the reason for the primer shortage is? It sounds like it was planned by someone.

You're joking, right? Folks who normally buy 5,000 primers over the course of a year are now all putting in orders for everything they can afford--all at the same time. It's pretty simple, and little different than after the 2008 election.

What's different this time is that in 2008 everyone suspected restrictions would come--now, we know they will. The only thing we don't know is how pervasive, irrational and arbitrary they'll be.

I'm seeing stocks of bullets and brass run out while it's in my shopping cart. There's no mystery government conspiracy and no artificial shortage created by anyone--prices have not increased prior to supplies being drained, and that would be the only reason to 'create' a shortage.

I think folks, such as me, don't like being told they can only buy 500 primers at a time (as was the case at my LGS in 2008). So, they bought what they could while they could. Folks are likely expecting internet sales of anything gun related to be impacted, especially live ammo--so that's probably going fast, too. While I doubt legislation will impact reloading supplies, that's only because it would be so insane it's hard for me to imagine it. That's naive on my part--yes, it will be more nuts than any of us can imagine, I'm sure.

But it's pretty much too late already--last night I was rationed brass at Midway, and it was out of stock this morning. Bullets are rationed now as well, and most all common handgun powders are out of stock at Midsouth, and they've been out of small pistol primers since the Buffoon opened his mouth about having to take action on our 'gun problem'.

This was as predictable as can be.

[HighLander51]

Keep in mind that primers are the only component that has a manual operation performed by a person, the screeding of the fulminate into the primer cups is done by hand, 1,000 primers per tray. So the primer makers can only go as fast as the screeding lines. Same thing happened in 2008, and it took a year to fill the reservoir back up and primer prices came back in line. Lesson to learn is if you are going to reload, don't let your components get below 2 years worth of shooting, for me, that's about 30,000 rounds.

[BucketBack]

I drop a zero off your total, for now that is.

[Bongo Boy]

I don't remember primer prices climbing much if at all in 2008...my memory stinks, but I really thought they stayed around $30-32 at the shows, $35 at the LGS (roughly). In any case, I did not know there was a manual operation--do you know the reason for that? I'd have assumed the entire process was quite a long way away from any human intervention--especially where it would seem a high level of precision is needed. Very interesting!

Anyway, my 'final' order of primers arrived today, and I feel lucky to have been able to place the order at all. It's a little bizarre each time I see Federal primers come in--the way they choose to lay them on their sides in trays 3 times the thickness of any other manufacturer. With 12,000 arriving today, it looked like I was going to need help with the carton and maybe have to build a shed to put them in.

Naturally it depends for each of us on how much we shoot, but I agree that 2 years' worth seems reasonable based on the impact of 2008. I do plan to change my shooting quite a bit for the foreseeable future though--from faster 'action' practice to far more precision shooting, quite a bit of shooting from the sandbag, and quite a lot of time spent working on loads and load data analysis. My intent is to make what I have now last through this time 2016--replenishing opportunistically.

[Deano]

I guess I picked a bad time to start re-loading. I can't find a single small pistol primer anywhere. All LGSs are out. Every web-site I find is out. I was able to locate some large pistol primers, so I snagged 10,000. I guess I'll shoot .45 for awhile.

[downtownv]

I'm good with my supplies as I got in just before TSHTF.
When Done with the reloading I'll have plenty of ammo until the prices drop....

[Bongo Boy]

Yeah, I'm not sure why small primers disappeared before large--I placed two orders of primers about 3 weeks or so apart and was able to get only large both times. Lucky me I just started loading 10mm, so I at least have the variety of 10 and 45.

Happily, I DO hear voices of reason speaking openly on national broadcast TV, expressing what I consider views that temper some of the reactionary and opportunistic nonsense spewing from the mouths of our politicians like diarrhea from a zoo animal's ass. What I find most repulsive and disturbing are proposals such as those from Feinstein, et al, which purposely make gun ownership more expensive and tedious for everyone--rather than difficult to impossible for the psychopath. If we have it her way, murderous rampage with firearms will be the sole province of the well-to-do psychopath. The less well-off psychopath will have to make do with cheaper, more-efficient weapons such as firebombs, etc.

[Ikeo74]

I guess I picked a bad time to start re-loading. I can't find a single small pistol primer anywhere. All LGSs are out. Every web-site I find is out. I was able to locate some large pistol primers, so I snagged 10,000. I guess I'll shoot .45 for awhile.
I bet you can trade 1000 Large for 1000 small pistal primers locally where ever you live. Just get the word out for a FTF exchange.

[otium]

Yeah, the small pistol primers (and small rifle primers) are real hard to find around here, too.

I kind of think a lot of the small sized primer production was eaten up by all the ammo DHS has ordered... They seemed to be buying a lot. Next add a gun unfriendly election result, the current gun control talk and primers got especially rare again.

Do hope this current primer shortage won't last too long though.

[muggsy]

I got the last box of 1000 small pistol primers from my lgs. I couldn't believe how fast they disappeared. His shelves were full just a week ago. This panic buying and hoarding has got to stop.

[jocko]

I was wasting some timein gander mt lat ight and they had 9mm wwb 100 pak exactly the same box thatI buy at wal mart for $21.00 and they were selling their's for 39.95. Unbelievable. LEGALIZED robbery