Alliant Powder suspension

D

Deltadart

New member
Got this from another site
This just in..
For General Information: FYI – we have just received the following message from Vista Outdoors (the parent company of Alliant Powders):

“Due to the worldwide shortage of nitrocellulose, the Vista Outdoor supply agreement for the sale of Alliant Powder canisters has been suspended for an unknown period. At this time, we have no timeline for the fulfillment and will be canceling outstanding Alliant orders in our system.

Representatives will provide updates and coordinate new orders based on availability.”
 
Really seems like a lame excuse. Nitrocellulose is fairly simple to make - its not like we lack any of the ingredients.
But, it something only gunpowder manufacturers use - although I've heard there are some nitrocelluloid wood finishes.

Alliant is a very small producer/distributor - they've been hard to find for a lot of years now.
 
Reloder powders are some of my favorites as well, very disappointed to hear this. Monopoly power over the US market IMO by Vista--I suspect other countries have no issues. I've been gradually shifting my loads to Vihtavuori anyway so not all that concerned--for now. Unless there's some preparation for WW3 they are hiding from the public--just another market restriction in the name of profit IMO.
 
It's actually a big mess. Nitrocellulose at lower nitrations than munitions-grade nitrocellulose is sold by Dow (though I don't know where they make it) and is used in everything from wood finishes and nail polish to ping pong balls and printing ink binders. Hex-nitrated munitions-grade nitrocellulose is made in just one facility in the U.S., and that is the U.S. Army's Radford plant. It makes both the nitric and sulfuric acids required, as well as the finished nitrocellulose hexanitrate. While making basic nitrocellulose is a simple YouTube-type process, the commercial process requires the production of stable nitrocellulose with consistent nitration, which is not quite so simple. This paper will give you some idea of what is involved. Then you have the acid production and concentration, and that is another whole complex process. Such plants are expensive to build, and it is hard to get environmental permits to build them.

Radford produces at 100% capacity all the time, as it has for decades, stockpiling when the marketplace didn't want all their production and drawing down the stock during a surge, like a period of rebuilding military ammunition stockpiles. Additionally, they updated and commissioned new nitrocellulose manufacturing in 2021. So, where has that fallen down? It started with the unprecedented growth in the number of US gun owners and shooters during the pandemic and the "defund the police" movement. The US civilian ammunition market is over ten times larger than the government market when the military isn't stockpiling or sending artillery shells to Ukraine. Civilians went from around 15 billion rounds annually to over 20 billion over the last four years. It is producing ammunition for that additional civilian demand that has drawn down the Radford nitrocellulose stock, and the new facility was planned before the new demand appeared, and it looks like Radford can't catch up.

Meanwhile, Europe is also trying to supply ammunition to Ukraine and has its own nitrocellulose shortage. It turns out the Europeans allowed themselves to become dependent on China to supply the grade of cotton used in their processes, and of course, China stopped shipping it a few months ago (though alternatives have now been identified). You can read about it here. They also have problems with their own environmental permitting process, which is getting in the way of constructing new plant capacity.

It's going to be interesting to see how these things play out, but it looks like we are in for shortages lasting some additional years before production can catch up.
 
The description of the process does not link.
Sharpe describes the production of nitrocellulose for smokeless powder as done before and during WWII.

The item on the new NC plant gives me the idea it might have been intended as a replacement, not an expansion.
 
Thanks. That would have made a lot of sense to me back when I was an active chemical engineer, but I am too well retired to dig through the flow charts and equipment descriptions.

One thing Sharpe described not mentioned there, and I don't know if it is necessary any more is adjusting the degree of nitration. He said that nitrocellulose typically came out at either 13.4% nitrogen or 12.6% nitrogen, blended to get 13.15% N for single base and 13.45% for double base powder. I don't recall whether that is because of inexact process control or something in the chemistry that prevented nitrating to the final value wanted.
 
Alliant Powder supplies have varied from scarce to nil. I am thinking this is probably a "going concern" issue. Vista may be offloading product lines. Looks like another candidate for Hodgdon to take over the product line distribution and marketing (and drop Sport Pistol).
 
Met a guy who is the maintenance supervisor at St. Marks powder - he said just about ALL of the 24/7 production is going to military production
 
In light of this info, I went to a couple LGS's here today.

I bought a 4# container of Power Pistol; and two 1# containers of 300-MP.

I was actually getting kind of low on both, so it was a good time to purchase anyway.

Herco was the only other Alliant propellant available and I don't use it. I would have grabbed Bullseye, BE-86, and especially 2400 if anybody had them - no such luck.

There were three #'s of 300-MP, but I left one # for someone else.

On a side note: the DB Supply where I got the 300-MP doesn't rotate stock :p. Almost a year ago, I bought a # of 300-MP there and it had a 2023 manufacture date. The two I bought today were a bit dusty, hiding in the back of the shelf, and have a 2019 manufacture date (same lot #'s).
 
I have been struggling to find Alliant Reloader 15 since the beer virus. Happened to notice on my nearly empty container it is made in Sweden. Color me surprised, I thought Alliant (formerly Hercules) was still an American company.
The nitrocellulose shortage has been looming for some time.
 
Many of the Reloader series are made on contract, I think ALL of them.. I believe the only U.S. made powders are all Ball powders made at St. Marks in Florida and distributed by many. Alliant extruded powders are imported. IMR extruded powders are made in Australia, and Accurates are made in Canada. TAC is made in Belgium. My understanding is that Alliant is a brand name, and not a powder maker. This is a change from when Hercules days.
 
Maybe a rumor or hoax

I found lots of groups talking about it in various forums, even an air gun one.
But, nothing from Alliant, or anyone else's knowledgeable press release. Powder Valley is mentioned (in forums), but ironically, they have lots of Alliant powders in stock.:eek:
 
Alliant is a distributor… they don’t make powder.
Vista Outdoors has jacked-up prices to the point where I’ve stopped buying it altogether.
The good news is that Alliant, Federal, CCI and Speer will soon be under Czech ownership and management. Good riddance to Vista and their Wall Street master.
 
Powder Valley is mentioned (in forums), but ironically, they have lots of Alliant powders in stock.
Click to expand...
Except the ones that are actually useful for most rifle cartridges.
The good news is that Alliant, Federal, CCI and Speer will soon be under Czech ownership and management. Good riddance to Vista and their Wall Street master.
Click to expand...
Huh?
 
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