Where are you finding pistol powder??

T

Taco-XL

New member
Seems like pistol powder in stock is as common as hen's teeth. I can not find Unique, blue dot, or much of any powder anywhere. I tried all the usual suspects...brownells, midway, grafs, bps and cabelas. I was able to
find some Bullseye at cabelas online somehow. I cannot understand for the life of me why firearms industry companies, especially ammo and reloading component companies, havent realized the demand is a permanent shift and there are more people entering into the firearms culture than ever before. Idk why new plants arent opening. If they are truely running "24/7" like they claim, good business sense would tell you you need to expand.

Oh. If it helps, im trying to find powder to load 357/38
 
Add these to your online search:

Recobs Target Shop
Powder Valley
Midsouth shooters supply
Wiedner's
Balistic Products
Gamaliel Supply
Precision Reloading

Check often and when you find it, buy it right away, don't hesitate. Persistence and patience will pay off.
 
I love local to the factory reload company "Georgia Arms", they have almost always had what I need and keep the powder prices between 21-25$ a pound. They only deal in Hodgdon's,IMR and Win, but has always served me well, especially with pistol powders. I know they ship loaded ammuntion and lead bullets etc., so may be worth calling to see of they'll ship powder if your willing to pay the fee.
 
It's out there, just have to look for it. Availability does vary by geographical location. Here in Illinois, I've been able to purchase Bulls Eye, Unique, W231, HP-38, and 4227 at local gun shops, albeit sporadically, for the last 6 months.

Just called two shops this morning, one had 4227, Herco, 700-X, and Tite Group on the shelf, the other shop had HS-6, 748, TiteGroup, and Universal in stock.
Couple weeks ago, local Bass Pro had a couple dozen 1# bottles of Bulls Eye on the shelf, no limit.
 
Im not seeing it. And LGS is not an option. The ones here are few and far between and they suck. They are a joke. And my order of Bullseye i thought i had on the way got cancelled 2 days after placing my order after they said it was in stock while placing the order. I have been lookin online for over a week and i see zero. I picked the wrong time to get into reloading. Now i have the means and time to do so and dropped $$$ on equipment that looks like will just be collecting dust. Add it to the list of stuff ive wasted my money on :mad:
 
I picked the wrong time to get into reloading.
Click to expand...

For whatever it's worth, you have a lot of company. There are a lot of new loaders who have come on line the last 2+ years, and are experiencing the same frustration.

I have all the powder I need, and I'm still frustrated as heck just watching. I've heard all the explanations - explanations from people I trust to be knowledgeable, and respect - and the market situation still doesn't add up in my head.

It seems like the manufacturers are producing boat loads of 50BMG and Elephant gun powder; all while ignoring the demand for pistol and 223 powder. Why aren't they shifting production to where the demand is? Sure seems odd to me.

At any rate, the current demand is the new normal and they don't seem to be responding to it. Now I know that increasing production capacity is a huge risk and capital outlay for these companies - I get that. But it looks to be a sure thing to me. At this point, the decision to increase production capacity should be a no-brainer.

I probably don't know what I'm talking about.
 
I have pretty much switched most of my non Magnum pistol loads to CSB-1.
I have it working well in 32 H&R, 327 mag cast loads, 9mm, 38 special, 45 acp,
Its a similar burn rate to Universal or Unique so just about any loads you would use those powders in CSB-1 will work.

I like it allot.

There is also a version thats a faster burn similar to Red Dot ect. But I have about 15 pounds of Red Dot and Promo so I am good for a long time.

http://hi-techammo.com/collections/new-products/products/csb-1-pistol-shotgun-powder
 
Last edited:
I bought 16lbs of HP-38 from Wiedners when I had the chance because there is zero powder in the town where I live. I figure that will keep me busy for a while but if I were to find some other powders local at a reasonable price I would probably pick it up.

My advise is to use the bot websites and buy in bulk when you find what you want so you can offset the hazmat fee.
 
Check out Expansion Industries. My brother and I just ordered some from here. I've not loaded any yet, but my brother has and says it shoots great. It'll depend on what you're wanting it for.
 
LUCK!!

Well looks like i caught a break. I found powder online..FINALLY! This morning I ordered 2lbs each of HS-6 and CFE Pistol and 1lb of IMR 4227 from Recob's. I checked online later today and saw tons of Alliant on Cabela's thru gunbot search. I thought this has to be a misprint. Went to cabela's site and I bought 8lbs of Unique, then 1Lb each of 2400, Power Pistol, and also True Blue.

I may have went over board but dang it im not making the mistake of not buying it while I have a chance. 16lbs, 7 kinds of powder i should be GTG for a looong time. I feel kinda dumb buyin that much, as Im not a hoarder but they were all good prices and i figured better to strike whilst the iron is hot.

Only beef is Cabelas wont let you ship to store to avoid shipping/hazmat fee..oh well, I can live with that I guess. :D
 
The two LGSs that I frequent here in central New Hampshire seem to be able to get plenty of Hodgdon powders, but other brands, particularly Alliant, are pretty much unobtainable. The vast majority of my pistol powder usage is for bullseye target loads, and the majority of that is .45 ACP. Like just about everyone I shoot with, Bullseye was the standard powder for those loads but my supply is nearly gone and when it runs out I'll be developing a new load with W231 (HP-38), which I can get plenty of. I assume Bullseye will become available again some day, but I'm hoping by then I'll be happy to continue using 231.
 
The regionality of the powder situation is what baffles me the most about the whole situation over the last several years.

Here in NE OH, I can go into pretty much any LGS and see dozens of pounds of Unique, Power Pistol, W231, and any other pistol powder on the shelves, but it took me 6 months of searching to find Varget.

Just saw three pounds of it on Monday, and bought it all, but the 4.5 pounds I now have will only last me through about August if I do no cut back on shooting those calibers.

While I can certainly experiment with other similar powders like IMR-4064, it baffles me how the industry has yet to catch up (or expand production) and how I can see shelves of pistol powder while you guys need to buy 16 pounds of it online (and that is exactly what I would do if I saw Varget on a shelf).
 
Not a Hoarder

You did fine Taco-XL. You're not a hoarder. You just did what you need to do. And believe it or not, 16 Lbs isn't that much powder. I'm just your garden variety handgun loader, and I have about half-again more than that.

You got ahold of some good ones. I have HS-6, Unique, and Power Pistol as "regulars" in my stock. Three great medium burn rate powders (but otherwise very different animals) that will suit you well.

IMR4227 is exceptional for full-on wide-open-thottle magnum loads - particularly with heavy bullets.

2400 is great for potent magnum loads too, but more versatile than 4227. It behaves better with lighter bullets and/or loadings slightly off full-power.

Yeah, you did good.
Soooo . . . what's your first project?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top