Gave up finding primers

C

ciwsguy

New member
Subject line pretty much sums it up. I’ve given up finding centerfire reloading primers. Seems all of the domestic primer manufacturing is going to ammo production, it may be a couple of years before primers are sold to reloaders. What are your thoughts on this issue?
Wondering.....
 
Unfortunately that is correct. You need the proverbial crystal ball, and since I couldn't find one in good working order, my approach for the last 25 years has been to buy primers by the slip about ten years ahead and use them on a first-bought-first-fired basis. The only time that kind of thinking will mess things up is when some dramatically improved design appears that you want to switch to. Same applies to powders. Still, there is always practice to use supplies up with.
 
They come up for sale now and again but you need to do your due diligence and act quickly. Midway USA has an email notification system as an example. I scored some Win 209 shotgun primers that way
 
Since I’ve only started reloading a couple of years ago, procuring supples that far in advance (10 years) wasn’t even on the extreme range radar screen. Guess I’ll just have to ration my LPM primers until they become available, assuming uncle joe or aunt Kamala don’t regulate them out of existence.
 
What industry source has said that all primers are going to commercial ammo and won't be sold to reloaders? Anyone have a link to this source?
 
That is where most of them are going as the profit-margin for loaded ammo is far higher than that for components. And until the ultra-high demand for loaded ammo (especially .380, 9mm, and .223) ends there will be a shortage.
 
74A95,

It's a kind of perfect storm. We have something like 7 million first time gun-owners this year and an ammunition shortage because of COVID-19 disrupting the imports that usually feed a significant portion of both our ammunition and component markets.

The fellow with The Ultimate Reloader channel on YouTube did a video on the primer shortage in which he says his contact at Midsouth Shooters Supply told him that loaded ammunition was getting the priority. Others think that's exaggerated, and Federal and Remington both told Guns and Ammo they are cranking out primers as fast as they possibly can both to keep up with their ammunition manufacturing and for handloaders. However, thinking like a bean counter for a minute will inform you that loaded ammo has to be their priority not only because of the ammunition shortage, but because that activity keeps people employed and gets a return on their investment in their ammunition manufacturing facility. For those reasons, they are not going to idle ammunition manufacturing and lay people off to supply handloaders. That is true even when there is no shortage going on.

Hoarders and scalpers contribute to the problem. Midway had some CCI primers for about an hour last week. Adding that to Federal's and Remington's comments to G&A suggests primer output actually exceeds loaded ammunition production capacity by some amount, though I don't know by how much in the current ammo shortage. CCI, in particular, added a whole new primer line during the last shortage, and it was commissioned around 2012, IIRC. So they should have some amount of extra capacity from that if new demand hasn't consumed it already. I don't know what Winchester's situation is.
 
Unclenick, thanks for that information and the links.

So ciwsguy's statement that "all of the domestic primer manufacturing is going to ammo production" is false.

That's all we need to know.
 
ciwsguy said:
Subject line pretty much sums it up. I’ve given up finding centerfire reloading primers. Seems all of the domestic primer manufacturing is going to ammo production, it may be a couple of years before primers are sold to reloaders. What are your thoughts on this issue?
Wondering.....
Click to expand...

Another member who's profile says he's been a member since 2008 , so you have much experience with past gun panics, yet still asks "how come and why can I not find primers". It's simply your own fault for not learning panic supply and demand lessons from past gun panics and creating a deep reloading component inventory.....
 
Gee some of you guys are so nice. Guess you didn’t read the part of only reloading for a couple of years. Happy new year to you too.
BTW, I never said I was out of primers. I’ve just given up looking for now
 
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Gee some of you guys are so nice. Guess you didn’t read the part of only reloading for a couple of years. Happy new year to you too.
BTW, I never said I was out of primers. I’ve just given up looking for now
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We preach the stock up advice because this is the 4th boom/bust cycle we’ve seen in 12 years, or about once every 3 years. That being said, I have sympathy and empathy for people who cannot afford to stock up, just started our sport (including reloading), or had other reasons (prior military service, it’s hard to trot the globe with a pallet of Personal ammo or reloading equipment and components) that prohibited them from stocking up in the past. I understand the frustration. While I’m not danger low on components, if this continues through this whole year I will have to adjust my shooting habits. And my kids shooting habits since I keep them up on ammo.

I got into muzzleloader and C&B revolvers a couple of years ago. It truly is as fun as normal shooting if you have the patience to reload every shot. My best off-hand groups with handguns ever are consistently with colt and Remington C&B revolver repros. With my Uberti NMA, it’s not with pussycat loads either. I can stuff cylinders full of holy black and barely have room to seat a ball, still shoots fist sized groups at 25 yards without trying too hard.
 
20 years ago primers cost $125 a case of 5000 and 22s were cheaper than that. Powder could be had for $15 to $20 a pound. My last primer purchase was Remington 7 1/2 primers about six or seven years ago at $30/1000. While I'm running a bit low on several types of primers now I'm not buying anything in this market.
 
ciwsguy said:
Gee some of you guys are so nice. Guess you didn’t read the part of only reloading for a couple of years. Happy new year to you too.
BTW, I never said I was out of primers. I’ve just given up looking for now
Click to expand...

Sorry to seem harsh but in this circumstance i'm not here to offer tissues, i'm here to reiterate the situation of gun panics that we have all experienced many times over. No one offered me condolences and hugs when I had to pay $74 for a brick of crappy 22LR Thunderterds back in 2013 . It's a simple concept that so many gun guys simply don't care to follow and that's "buy one shoot two" . Everyone has different financial situations and money is tight for everyone. There's NO reason people can't buy small disciplined purchases when the political times are a BUYERS MARKET (like it's been for the past 3 years prior to 2020 ) as your funds permit. I will continue to harshly preach until some day I can walk into a gun store and find gun items at normal (or at least obtainable inventories. Here's a pic of a normal blue collar guy with a small house and a giant mortgage can accomplish with years of disciplined bi-weekly reloading component purchases.


You've taken the first steps towards gun panic independence by embarking into reloading and I much respect that.
 
rc:
20 years ago primers cost $125 a case of 5000 and 22s were cheaper than that. Powder could be had for $15 to $20 a pound. My last primer purchase was Remington 7 1/2 primers about six or seven years ago at $30/1000. While I'm running a bit low on several types of primers now I'm not buying anything in this market.
Click to expand...

I have several 5,000 count boxes of CCI primers from the early to mid 90s. I had the CCI bench rest BR primers marked at $75 so if we were selling them at $75 we likely paid about $60 a package.

I feel bad for the new hand loaders who came about between and well after Sandy Hook and now. Those of us with a long memory know just how fast things can happen. Major retailers go from In Stock to Out of Stock in an hour or less.

My heart goes out to the younger people who just got into reloading. Many of whom have priorities like putting beanies and weenies on a table for little mouths and paying a mortgage payment. I have no problem helping them out. Eventually things should settle down hopefully but this one really is The Perfect Storm.

For a manufacturer I have no idea where the larger profit margin lies be it loaded ammunition or components but since reloaders likely make up a small percentage of shooters I can see why manufacturing loaded ammunition would be more advantageous rather than just putting components out the door. Those looking for components like primers, bullets and powder just need to keep a constant watch on what is available. With some retailers be ready to pay the price for ammunition or components.

Keeping a vigilant watch:
22%20LR%20Stock.png


Ron
 
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I think, even if loaded ammo were less profitable, they'd still have to get their shareholders a return on the facility and employee training investment by keeping that operation running. The primer operation, obviously, would keep going either way, at least until the market became saturated.
 
Ya gotta just be sure to stock up on the "boom" cycle, because the "bust" cycle will most assuredly come around (especially lately, i.e, the past 20+ years). I live in Wyoming, and learned about this cyclic, economic phenomena long ago as our state issues go. I treat shooting supplies the same way; lesson learned, magazine in good order.

I stopped in at our nearby Sportsman's Warehouse last week, just to have a looksee at the reloading section. Pretty sad, indeed. Literally nothing available. Always interesting to me, though, no matter what time period of famine to our sport, past or present, there's ALWAYS .17 rimfire ammo available, at least I've always seen that looking for .22 shells. I'm good on .22's also, but I always look to see what's on the shelf.

Happy New Year! Hope you guys can find some primers soon, along with all components needed to make a round!

Oh, and BTW, a shooting buddy of mine who goes to a lot of our local auctions told me that 9 or 10 boxes of regular, non-premium (mixed Rem, Win, Fed) '06 ammo was bought by one bidder at 65 dollars a box! I told him he must be mistaken, but he totally assured me that was the case. My buddy said the man bid on one box, got the bid for 65 bucks, and was then given the opportunity to buy all available boxes, which he did. Wow...
 
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