Reloading Component Availability?

[TheCoyote]

I have not built any hand loads for 16 years.

I got real busy trying to make a career snd moving lots and never had time.

Now I’d like to get back into it I notice that one cannot simply stroll into the sporting goods store and leisurely buy components as we once did.

I was looking for brass; no brass.
I was looking for primers; no primers.
Guess what? No powder either.

Fill me in on the current situation please. Does availability ebb and flow or is everything just sold out always?

If I find powder should I buy it all?

Are CCI large rifle primers extinct???


I was eying a custom 7mm SAUM but after shopping for components I might stick to a 7PRC with factory loads.

 

[Dmoua]

Pretty obtainable now. 2 years ago local gun shops couldn’t keep anything in stock. Prices have skyrocketed. You can find supplies pretty easily online.

 

[waspocrew]

Shop around - brass, powder, primers are out there but just a lot more expensive.

Factory ammo is definitely appealing though!

 

[Dukhtr3]

Sign up for shootingbot. They will email you when components come back in stock that you select. LR primers are still hard to come by but they come up on shootingbot every couple weeks. Brass is pretty easy to come by if you look for it. I have had good luck buying brass from GunBroker if you watch it.

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[TaperPin]

Yes, shooting bot is your friend. Gun Broker often has unfired second hand brass, as does the classified here and in other forums.

LR primers are tough this year and into the forceable future until the craziness in Ukraine comes to a halt - hopefully in this decade, but who knows!?!. As much as I don’t like it, Remington LR primers are often available from Scheels and other places, so I’ve switched from CCI to those.

Sometimes a guy has to get resourceful and form brass from something that’s available, or do without. Some powders are just not available, like the reloader powders.

Bullets are really hit or miss - don’t expect a consistent supply of any of them.

 

[Natebonebusta]

To me large rifle primers have been difficult to obtain for 4-5 years. That’s starting to ease, but they are $.10 each now.

That was followed by powder. Your super popular stuff like Varget was gone for a good while. Now it hits the market in waves and the prices have climbed by the pound $10-$20 each time it’s hit the market.

I bought h4350 in the first wave of price increases for $322/8lbs and I thought that was outrageous!

I miss the days of 1000 primers for $36.95, but I know they are long gone.

 

[Trr15]

Just snagged two bricks of LR primers today. Sickening what they cost, but felt lucky finding them. Those seem to be the unicorn at this point.

 

[magtech]

Found h1000 at the local msrp-only store... luckily for me some were marked 59.99, some 52.99, and 3 1lbs @44.99.

Its almost like they wanted me to buy it.

 

[jfk69]

You can find most things. Bullets in particular weights/types are sporadic. Powders other than Alliant are somewhat available regularly, mostly on line. Large rifle primers are uncommon, but out there. Large rifle magnum primers are truly unicorns. I picked up a 1000 Winchester and a 1000 Federal 215M recently, but the price had me curled up in bed praying this nightmare would go away…

 

[Doc Holliday]

Plenty of LR and Magnum primers, Alliant powders, etc. on gunbroker.com

 

[jfk69]

Plenty of LR and Magnum primers, Alliant powders, etc. on gunbroker.com

Like this? $137 a pound and $55 shipping?

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1062831280

 

[5MilesBack]

I miss the days of 1000 primers for $36.95, but I know they are long gone.

I miss the days of 1000 primers for $25, and powder for under $30/lb like it was before Covid. Heck, I bought Fed 215 match primers in 2019 for under $35.

 

[xsn10s]

Two years ago was much worse than today. Things are much better. But large rifle/ magnum primers are hard to get. I see 7mm SAUM brass available online. I think I'd buy the premium brass at 2 bucks a pop for that. Yes it hurts at first but that brass will last a long time. So then primers will be the hard component to find, but they are out there. The easy button would be a 7 PRC between the two because of ammo. But you'd be in the same boat for primers and powder. Luckily magnum powders of one variety or another seem to be back online. You might have a hard time finding say H1000 every time, but it's available occasionally. Other magnum powders are easier to obtain.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Certain things are still extremely difficult to get but there are substitues. In general figure out what you want, make sure those specifics aren't the unobtanium items, if so pick a substitue, and be prepared to mail order (and pay hazmat) and stock up to span a year or two so you can weather these cycles.

 

[WKR]

Yes, shooting bot is your friend. Gun Broker often has unfired second hand brass, as does the classified here and in other forums.

LR primers are tough this year and into the forceable future until the craziness in Ukraine comes to a halt - hopefully in this decade, but who knows!?!. As much as I don’t like it, Remington LR primers are often available from Scheels and other places, so I’ve switched from CCI to those.

Sometimes a guy has to get resourceful and form brass from something that’s available, or do without. Some powders are just not available, like the reloader powders.

Bullets are really hit or miss - don’t expect a consistent supply of any of them.

I keep seeing those rem 9.5's in stock online or on the shelf. Are they any good?

 

[flyfisher117]

Not to fear monger but if you need something i would at least buy some now. With the election coming it will dry up again. All my local shops finally have piles of something on the shelves.

Everything is around short of LR and LRM primers. Those have been tricky to find. Powder is higher that pterodactyl titties but if you watch a lot of the online vendors have been offering free hazmat lately. It's small but it helps.

Make reloading friends. I'm in a group text with a few local guys and we all keep eyes open and help each other source components if we see it. That helps tremendously.

 

[TaperPin]

I keep seeing those rem 9.5's in stock online or on the shelf. Are they any good?

I’ve only shot a limited number of them, so I’m not sure how they will work in variety of loads, but they seem just fine. It just feels funny - like drinking a generic soda, buying a generic car part, or seeing the local bum with a new set of clothes.

 

[RockAndSage]

OP, the first place I check for any ammo or reloading components is AmmoSeek.com - it crawls virtually all online retailers, and finds what's in stock and lists it by price per unit.

When I can't find something there, I'll look on Gunbroker.com to see what people are putting on the market. Between these two, you can usually find anything you need, but it is still subject to market forces.

One final thought - starting after Sandy Hook and the ammo and gun panics triggered during the Obama Administration, I ceased buying anything ammo-related on an "as needed" basis. When I buy anything consumable like that, I buy for at least 1 full year's worth of burn on it, and far more often it's 2-3 years, and never let that stash get below a full year's worth of shooting on any given component or cartridge. I no longer buy 1 or 2 pounds of powder or a brick of primers at a time, unless it's to experiment - it's an 8# jug at a time, and 5k primers at a time. Its annoying to have to do this, but it has also insulated me almost entirely from the last 10-12 years' of shortages.

Powder especially has to be carefully watched for - we're in an era where you might not see some powders on the market for 2+ years. Literally, factories not making a certain type of powder for more than 2 years at a stretch. Fortunately, as someone mentioned above, there are generally suitable alternatives available, but if you have something you like, get as much as you need as though the inherent expectation is that it won't be available again for a year or two, minimum.

 

[TheCoyote]

OP, the first place I check for any ammo or reloading components is AmmoSeek.com - it crawls virtually all online retailers, and finds what's in stock and lists it by price per unit.

When I can't find something there, I'll look on Gunbroker.com to see what people are putting on the market. Between these two, you can usually find anything you need, but it is still subject to market forces.

One final thought - starting after Sandy Hook and the ammo and gun panics triggered during the Obama Administration, I ceased buying anything ammo-related on an "as needed" basis. When I buy anything consumable like that, I buy for at least 1 full year's worth of burn on it, and far more often it's 2-3 years, and never let that stash get below a full year's worth of shooting on any given component or cartridge. I no longer buy 1 or 2 pounds of powder or a brick of primers at a time, unless it's to experiment - it's an 8# jug at a time, and 5k primers at a time. Its annoying to have to do this, but it has also insulated me almost entirely from the last 10-12 years' of shortages.

Powder especially has to be carefully watched for - we're in an era where you might not see some powders on the market for 2+ years. Literally, factories not making a certain type of powder for more than 2 years at a stretch. Fortunately, as someone mentioned above, there are generally suitable alternatives available, but if you have something you like, get as much as you need as though the inherent expectation is that it won't be available again for a year or two, minimum.

This is exactly my concern.

RockAndSage, you are a bit depressing, but I think you are right.

BTW, thanks to all for turning me on to Shootingbot! That is right on. I found powder and primers last night!

 

[5MilesBack]

If anyone wants any Ramshot Big Game or Hunter and some LR primers locally, let me know. I have some to sell. Unopened 8lb'ers of each (less than $30/lb), as well as 5lbs of Accurate 2200.