Cant find powder

J

jojo4711

New member
I am in the Dallas area and cant seem to find a local place with good pistol powder. I wanted some Bullseye or Unique, but after talking to a few local shops, its impossible to get and hasnt been in stock for like 2 years. I am obviously new to reloading and would like to avoid the $30 tax for shipping powder. Anyone in the area know of a place to get some decent pistol powder that is actually in stock?
 
If the powder is not available in local shops, there is hardly any other choice than to place a telephone or on-line order to one of the major providers (if they have what you want) and pay shipping and haz-mat fees. Powder, it seems, is going to be a rare comodity for some time yet. I used to tell myself that I would never be so desperate as to pay haz-mat fees but I recently had a quick change of mind in order to buy some Trail Boss powder. It seems that the only powders available are the less popular ones. You can always check gunbot.net.on a daily basis on the rare possibility that what you want might be available from a particular source.
 
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I used to tell myself that I would never be so desperate as to pay haz-mat fees
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I have had powder for the last couple of years because I WAS willing to buy in a large enough quanity to justify the cost of haz-mat fees. And I trolled the local gun stores enough to pick up a tad more along the way.

I saw both Unique and Bullseye in our Bass Pro in Little Rock around four months ago. Have you checked there in your area?
 
I have pretty much surrendered to the fact that the current situation with powder - the same situation for the last 27 months - is the new normal. It is not going to get better. This is it. If anything, it's going to get worse.

I used to tell myself that I would never be so desperate as to pay haz-mat fees
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Yeah, me too. But I have since made two purchases on line - 8 pounds total. The hazmat isn't so bad when it's amortized over several pounds.

However, it's tough to commit to 4 or 8 pounds of powder when you're a new loader with no experience with said powders. On the other hand, it's almost impossble to go wrong with Bullseye and Unique.
 
I sent Accurate an email a month ago. This is the answer:

"Number 9 is made for us by St. Marks Powder in Florida. They have recently increased their production capacity greatly and have promised us powder by summer.

Rob"
 
I kept enough to where I could wait for whatever I needed. I've stumbled across quite a selection but sure can't go to town expecting to find anything specific.
 
So basically buy online when u find it and in big quantities lol. Any particular online sources that usually carry good 9mm, .45acp and .223 powders? If I am paying hazmat fees, I want to get what I need for all 3 calibers.
 
The reality is, you just need to look for "Pistol Powder" not a specific brand, because you probably won't find exactly what you are looking for.

Look in your reloading manual for what you want to load. Make a list of EVERY powder they have data for.

Now go to Hodgdon's reloading center and add any that are not in your book. Now go to Accurate and Alliant and do the same thing. I wouldn't bother with Vhitavori, you won't find any, and if by some miracle you do, some asshat will be trying to get $60/lb for it. There are probably others I am forgetting, but you can see where this is going.

If you want, you can put them in order of preference, but take your list to your stores that sell powder, hopefully you will find something on your list.

So basically buy online when u find it and in big quantities lol. Any particular online sources that usually carry good 9mm, .45acp and .223 powders? If I am paying hazmat fees, I want to get what I need for all 3 calibers.
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The good news is that you can probably find one powder that will work for both .45 and 9mm, and there lots of options available for .223. I have even seen Varget on the shelf from time to time, which is an excellent choice.

You can also set alerts for www.grafs.com and www.midway.com so you get an email when they have what you want in stock.
 
Just go to the gun show, next good one will be the weekend after Easter. You will find HP 38 and Win 231. Yes, I know they are the same, the dealer has both and Win Autocomp. He has had them for the last month or so.
 
You need to call Basspro EVERYDAY....they are getting powders....but like 22s sell out in a day or two....we have found plenty of bullseye/unique...just by being persistant.
 
There are plenty of good pistol powders other then Bullseye and Unique. You just need to carry one of your reloading manuals with you to look up what is available and learn to use it.
 
But will they FedEx or UPS powder, should they have what you want, but aren't close enough to stop by personally? Mesquite is probably at least 200 miles away from any other town in Texas. Many shops may have certain powders but do not ship.
 
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The OP's original question was for help finding powder in the Dallas area, not who has some and do they ship. I sent him a PM with suggestions (which included the one F Guffey posted) so he should be able to find some. And an FYI for condor bravo, Mesquite is a suburb city of Dallas. Takes about 10 minutes to get there.
 
Southwest Ammo is good.

Gunmaster in Plano is also good.

I have a friend that drives from Dallas to Houston quite often. Whenever I know they are going I will call Buffalo Sporting Goods in Buffalo TX (about half way) and see what they have in stock. They will hold it for my friend to pick up.

Between those three places I have all the powder I can handle.

Also, it helps to patient. You might now find it the first time you look.
 
Re: post #16 from jag2:

Posts often go off on tangents, sometimes for the better, and since we are all victims of the powder shortage, possible powder sources could be beneficial to others and if a particular source would ship powder, so much the better for all concerned. And I'll keep the Texas geography lesson in mind the next time I am passing through Dallas.
 
I never understand it when people complain about Haz Mat fees. True, the fee is $25. But if you buy out of state, there is no sales tax. If you buy enough, the Haz May fee is actually cheaper than a sales tax. Also, powder onome will average around $18-20 per pound. LGS charge $22+ per pound.

Also, I guarantee you that the LGS has to pay Haz Mat fees, too. They just pass it on to you.

Now if you want to buy a single pound of powder, then yea, the Haz Mat fee is a rip off.
 
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