Time Frame on Primers

A

akinswi

New member
Was wondering when everyone thinks primers will be readily available again. Im talking mainly about CCI and Federal.

Dont get me started on prices…I was just wondering on availability. I work in the furniture industry and the goods are starting to flow again and lead times on orders are almost back to normal.

I noticed that this isn’t the case with primers.

Thoughts
 
I received an email from Brownells that primers are available. The price ranges from $96 to $109 per 1000 if my memory serves me correctly, but I don't know if that includes Hazmat fees.
 
The places with the most primers in stock are the ones with the least reasonable prices, like Bruno Shooter's Supply and Brownells. Places with high, but not such insane prices, have little or no stock, like Powder Valley and Midsouth Shooter's Supply.

At this point it is not material supply lines but the unprecedented demand for loaded ammunition that is still keeping primers scarce and expensive. New ammo facilities that don't make primers have opened to scarf up a lot of what would otherwise have started making it to market by now. There is at least one new domestic primer making facility in the works by Expansion Industries, IIRC, but I don't know when it is due to have product on the market.
 
Unclenick said:
The places with the most primers in stock are the ones with the least reasonable prices, like Bruno Shooter's Supply and Brownells. Places with high, but not such insane prices, have little or no stock, like Powder Valley and Midsouth Shooter's Supply.

At this point it is not material supply lines but the unprecedented demand for loaded ammunition that is still keeping primers scarce and expensive. New ammo facilities that don't make primers have opened to scarf up a lot of what would otherwise have started making it to market by now. There is at least one new domestic primer making facility in the works by Expansion Industries, IIRC, but I don't know when it is due to have product on the market.
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Remington being out of primer production for a year also contributed heavily to the shortage.
 
Wolf/Tula and S&B primers are also no longer and that plays a part too.

I’ve been through droughts, gundemics and one horrendous Barackolypse but this market has by far been the one most driven by the most chaos. Though the drought is not unprecedented, it is certainly the most multi-faceted one I’ve witnessed.
 
Certain flavors are available now if you're willing to pay the price.

The one that appears to be almost non-existent these days is small pistol primers.

Like Jet, I'm down to 40k primers (started with over 100k pre covid) but of those 40k only 2600 of them are small pistol and that has seriously changed my future training outlook and schedule.
 
I gave up on primers showing up in the next few years in AK (impossible to get Haz shipment of them to AK)

I bought a 6.5 CM barrel to replace the 6.5 Lapua barrel for when I run out of small rifle primers.

I have a good stock of large rifle primers. Stupid me I had not realized 6.5 Lapua was small rifle primer only (and only two mfgs that I can find that make brass for it)

I was up in the air on 6.5 Lapua and 6.5 CM, 6.5 Lapua interested me just a bit more. sigh.
 
I really like the CCI No 34s they are impossible to find.
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Been looking for CCI 34's since the great Obama shortage. Never found a one.
Really, primers never did truly fully recover from that last shortage to this latest shortage. At least, that is my experience.

I did pretty well stocking up on primers during the Trump years - or so I thought. But now, I'm am starting to get a little low on small pistols. I can still shoot recreationally for at least another year though.
 
Reasonable primer prices and availability are a thing of the past. Only the well heeled will stockpile in the future. Anybody afraid of 100 bucks for a 1,000 today will gladly get in line and pony up when necessity calls. I say, we will be saying the same thing next year we have said for the last 2 1/2. The future is here now, and it ain't goin' back.
 
I went to Bass Pro Shops yesterday. I bought 500 Large Pistol Primers (CCI brand) at $7.49 per 100. I am not sure what your issue is? They had any size of primer available with a limit of 500 per customer per day.
 
I can buy 9mm for $15/50 all day - $.30 a round seems to be the new norm.
I can buy 223 for $.50/round anytime - another new norm.

So if I'm not shooting that much, I'll hold off buying primers as it appears to me that their price is distorted. I think the new normal for primers should be $60/1k, as opposed to the $100-130/1k I'm seeing now. Btw, I noticed that the price on Ginex primers dropped 20% recently.

We have a strong secondary market where I live and shipping and hazmat are already factored into the prices I'm spouting.
 
akinswi said:
I really like the CCI No 34s they are impossible to find
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I really like the CCI No 34s they are impossible to find.
Click to expand...

I'm lucky insomuch that I have a ton of 34s but I will add this ... if you stumble on any Wolf Small Magnum Rifle primers, they're as good or better than 34s. I picked-up 5000 for $50 bucks per at a pawn shop LGS I stumbled upon here recently (I stop at every one I pass no matter where I am) and, having bought and used them before back when you could get them for $22 per 1000 from Widener's ... they work real good. You will not be able to tell the difference, they're totally milspec.
 
...Except, #34 is a large rifle magnum primer, so the small magnum rifle primers will fall out of the primer pockets that accommodate the #34.
 
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