Component availability

Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Messages
529
Location
Idaho
Well, we are 2 years into the Great Shortage. Call it election, virus, whatever. Is there an end in sight? I know certain items are coming back on line (daily discord monitor here), but man it's still tough.

The big offenders for my personal use are Nosler Accubonds, Reloder powders, and large rifle magnum primers. Why can't the market keep up? Everything is getting way more expensive too. It seems like the market can bear the price increases, so why not produce more? Understand we are talking about manufacturing regulated explosives, but come on.

Before you bring up the supply/demand cycle issue FWIW, I had trouble getting Reloder 26 BEFORE the last election cycle. I would pay just about whatever they want if I could buy it at the time I need it. So why is the only consistency a lack of supply? Do they just not make enough from reloaders? Just lost on why the reloading suppliers can't seem to make any headway at all in two years time.

Take a look at Nosler. Zero product in two years. You're telling me they can't ramp up production on a process that takes copper and plastic and makes it into a specific shape within a two year time period?
 

Rifles And More

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
283
Location
Wyoming
On the bright side, you are in Idaho.

None of it makes sense. I paid more for primers (from GunBroker) than I have ever paid when this all started. I feel like a genius now - they are either not there or a lot more than I paid.

Partitions have been my problem. They are starting to show up now.
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2020
Messages
1,605
Location
CO
Maybe I’m crazy but I believe hoarders are still the primary reason for the ongoing shortage. Once people stop paying double what things should cost on GunBroker, the problem will mostly correct.

I don’t have a good answer why Alliant and Nosler have produced zero product in 2 years.
 

EastMT

WKR
Joined
Dec 19, 2016
Messages
2,872
Location
Eastern Montana
I spoke to my local gun shop that has had a few powder/primer shipments monthly. He said the powder manufacturer told them last month that they would be changing to a quarterly shipment, and that’s all they could do. So I think it’s going to get worse for components I’m afraid.
 

Zappaman

WKR
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
541
Location
Eastern Kansas
The FEW manufacturers who OWN the US market all realized that the demand curve wasn't going to go up-- it was GOING TO (and has) "shifted" (as my econ 201 prof- he taught me this in 1991). WHO might have started the "Obama" and "Clinton" PR campainges... eh?

Major players (you can count on one hand) supply most of what we reloaders buy. Vista's CEO publicly admitted to "limiting" production (Federal, CCI) just a while back.

IF you can keep the price HIGH-- LONG ENOUGH... you get a permanent demand "shift" and then ONLY new mfgs. can come in and drop the price. The COST to produce hasn't gone up 300%, just the price of primers... again, HUM???

I've been waiting for the "next" Wolf primer company to arrive-- for 18 months now. Not looking good.

It's called an "oligopoly"... a few companies own the market (and the Senators) and nobody else can "break in". Like Insurance, banking, Home Depot, Walmart, etc. etc. etc. - and we were afraid of "Communism" while this was happening. Funny world eh?
 
Last edited:

sneaky

"DADDY"
Joined
Feb 1, 2014
Messages
10,113
Location
ID
Well, we are 2 years into the Great Shortage. Call it election, virus, whatever. Is there an end in sight? I know certain items are coming back on line (daily discord monitor here), but man it's still tough.

The big offenders for my personal use are Nosler Accubonds, Reloder powders, and large rifle magnum primers. Why can't the market keep up? Everything is getting way more expensive too. It seems like the market can bear the price increases, so why not produce more? Understand we are talking about manufacturing regulated explosives, but come on.

Before you bring up the supply/demand cycle issue FWIW, I had trouble getting Reloder 26 BEFORE the last election cycle. I would pay just about whatever they want if I could buy it at the time I need it. So why is the only consistency a lack of supply? Do they just not make enough from reloaders? Just lost on why the reloading suppliers can't seem to make any headway at all in two years time.

Take a look at Nosler. Zero product in two years. You're telling me they can't ramp up production on a process that takes copper and plastic and makes it into a specific shape within a two year time period?
Because they only make powders at certain times of the year, take Reloder 26, they make a huge batch, it sells out immediately, then it goes to the back of the production cue until it comes back in to production rotation again. They can't just stop in the middle of making a million pounds of one type of powder and start another one. It's a highly regulated, volatile product they're making. Primers are still going to ammo manufacturers first, that isn't going to change for a while. Guys obviously didn't learn from the last time Democrats were in the white house to stock up on everything.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

sram9102

WKR
Joined
Oct 31, 2018
Messages
1,036
Location
IN
Our local dunhams here had cases of CCI 450s a few months back. 12.99/100. I would rather stalk discord 24/7 than pay more than online prices including hazmat shipping. Went back last week looking around and they has sold every box. Crazy times all around. Popular powders tend to be showing up more and more though. Glad I'm not reloading any magnums currently.
 

wapitibob

WKR
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
5,921
Location
Bend Oregon
It's getting made and shipped, you just have to be on the internet and looking all the time. Since Monday I've bought 18# of powder; h1000, retumbo, and n570. Could have bought h4350, imr 8177, and 7828 ssc as well, along with cci magnum rifle primers.
 

Northpark

WKR
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
1,140
You can get stuff. It just costs more than it used to. I only buy what I need (I don’t buy every primer I can) but it does cost more to shoot these days. I’m not happy about the price increase but what are you going to do? The limited number of companies making these products can so what they want.
 

Laramie

WKR
Joined
Apr 17, 2020
Messages
2,636
I have a friend who works at Hornady. They have added staff, equipment, shifts, etc... The demand is still far exceeding the supply. It has gotten better for many things but specialty stuff, like reloaders need, will likely be the last because people buy everything they can when it's available. People who don't even reload or shoot are making a business out of buying and reselling. It sucks but it isn't going away until our confidence in our government shifts.
 

Harvey_NW

WKR
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
1,956
Location
WA
As a novice reloader never having experienced a shortage I think we're on the downhill side. I was caught off guard and didn't have a big stash of components, so I had to be conservative and overpay for a few things throughout the process. But I can remember a year or so ago when it hit HARD, I couldn't find Bergers or pretty much any decent projectiles for any of my rifles, no powders, no primers, no brass, no dies, nothin. Just yesterday and this morning browsing the usual sites I've seen tons of different powders, small and LRP, and I bought all the components to load for my 25 creed when it shows up. I think things are starting to ease up.
 
Joined
Jul 27, 2021
Messages
1,595
Been looking for IMR 4831 for about 6 months now, it's nowhere I can find same with large rifle primers, especially the magnum ones, also no Hornady SST bullets, shortages yes, hording no someone is blowing smoke up our asses.
 
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