What will become of reloading if you can't get primers? The reloading guru at my gun club was telling us the other night that Winchester, Remington, Federal and Hornaday have stopped selling primers to the general public. He has all sorts of sources and gets reloading supplies for everyone in the club who reloads at a substantial discount; and he says that with the exception of CCI, no American company is making primers for sale to shooters.
I just checked the Midway USA website. All of their large Rifle Primers regardless of brand are listed as "Out of stock, No Backorder." Since when has Midway USA not carried primers? They're about the largest shooting supply house in the country, which means in the world. Everyone buys reloading components and equipment from them. Why does Midway USA all of a sudden, like since Obama took office, no longer have rifle primers available for sale?
If you can't get primers, you can't reload ammunition. And if you can't reload, you are absolutely dependent upon manufacturers.
I am not sure if it is simply that the firearms feeding frenzy has just caught up with the reloading market as well as the gun sales market and we now have a components shortage; or if there has been a policy decision by the manufacturerers to produce only for their own ammo production; or if the gummint is regulating; or what. But at least where I live, no one can find primers to buy.
What is the story elsewhere in America? Is this an anomaly? Or is it more back door gun control and restraint of trade by the Obama Administration?
"What is the story elsewhere in America? Is this an anomaly? Or is it more back door gun control and restraint of trade by the Obama Administration?"
Over the past couple of years I've noticed that major sporting goods stores in my area were having an increasingly difficult time in keeping their reloading shelves full...
...so, I'd buy what I could when in stock. Consequently, much of my reloading supplies were purchased over the net.
Now, every sporting goods store in my area is looking like they're going out of business in their reloading sections.
Case in point: I went into town last night looking for reloading supplies, as I've done over the past few months...
...hoping to buy powder and a few other items.
Turned out I was only able to find a few boxes and sleeves of primers...
...so, I bought what I could use from what they had available.
Guys behind the counter told me that when shipments come in they are bought up rapidly. Three shipments of powder came in last week and were purchased the same day.
I live in an area where gun ownership is heavy, and I'm sure that applies to reloaders as well. So, with the political floundering by Obama in appointing anti-gun freaks to his administration, I'm sure folks here aren't going to let opportunity to buy supplies pass them by.
As slippery as these anti-gun folks are, I'm sure they're working their agenda from every angle they can to restrict and remove our gun rights...
...even through back door efforts.
Seems very fishy to me...
...and, large rifle primers were non-existent.
Had they been on the shelves I would have purchased them...
Last edited by LiveToShoot; 02-08-2009 at 10:31 AM.
We dont sell reloading supplies, but we cannot get anything right now...no 45,38,380 etc.. ammo... hardly any guns... and we are factory direct with springfield,Bushmaster...a top gun dealer for smith and wesson...point is.. we sell alot of guns. I don't know wtf is going on but something is.
My local outlet, Sportsman's Warehouse, has NO small rifle primers now - and I have a good many .223Rem and Remington-cased 7.62X39 I'd like to load.
I do still have a few hundred SR primers, but I can't depend on being able to replenish?
I smell a conspiricy at high Goobermint levels - and I'm only half-joking.....
Scouting around for Berdan primers (I'd really like to find a way to reload the brass Bulgarian cartridge cases I have in 7.62x54R), I had an interesting conversation with a lady at Graf & Sons. She tells me that as far as Graf can tell, the situation with the primers is an outgrowth of the we-don't-trust-the-Obamists-to-keep-their-hands-off-our-gun-rights that we've all seen in the form of guns flying out of the stores and common-caliber ammo flying off the shelves for the last three months.
Like us, reloaders across the country are getting primers while the getting is good. At least so far, the Obamists have not tried to regulate the wholesalers of guns and ammunition and reloading components via the Code of Federal Regulations - no "back door gun control" so far, but the term is young.
My correspondent was, however, disturbed to hear about Holder's delegating sole renewal, revocation and appeals authority concerning FFLs to the head of the BATFE. The people at Graf hadn't heard about that yet. You can draw your own conclusions from this datum.
She told me that at her end, this is the story. Because the reloaders are in a feeding frenzy, all the manufacturers Graf works with are backlogged with orders. As fast as primers of any kind arrive at Graf's warehouse and are put up on the website, they are being bought. In effect, she said, the stuff is already sold before it gets to Graf! And she has no idea when things are going to go back to normal.
So, perhaps we can stop worrying about a conspiracy by the Obamists to leave the guns alone but regulate the ammo and ammunition components to death. At least for now. Perhaps.
Of course, I'd still like to find a steady source of Berdan primers so I can reload my Mosin brass....
I just returned from a small gun shop in Westerville, stocking up on pistol primers, powder and .357 bullets. I bought his last 1K pistol primers, but he had 2 cases of large rifle primers. To echo what's been said, "primers and powder are flying off the shelves."
I do not know what is going on elese where in the country, but hear in mississippi gander mt has been getting primers constantly, but it is hard for them to keep the selfs stocked. I know they can get them because my brother works their and he has said since obama took office reloading supplies have been hard to get simply because of the demand all over the country.
I was able to find two pounds of Varget today but only 100 large pistol primers. There were no .223 bullets, no .308 bullets, no .45 either. The enemy has cut off our supply routes.
Two things going on. The U.S. Military ramped up production due to the war(s) effort and manufacturers are supplying to the military over civilians and China is buying up lead and copper at a much higher rate than in the past for all the power stations being built there. That in turn causes shortages here and when you or I find the ammo we're looking for, we buy up all we can as soon as we find it, thereby adding to the problem.
I was just at my favorite gun shop, and bought 1000 winchester LR primers,and a pound of Varget,and a pound of RL22. They had plenty of reloading components,as usual.Plenty of firearms, As I was paying for my purchase,I asked ,Hows business ?
Her reply was very good ! Obama should be awarded GUN SALESMAN OF THE YEAR !
She and I talked for a few minutes and from what I gathered,she has NO problem getting Guns,or related components ! So maybe this is just a regional fluke.
What has happened to all the large rifle primers? Less See
Just go to the gun auctions sites and you'll find out you can buy all the primers you want. If you are willing to pay a 4 to 5 hundred percent mark-up, we need to just STOP buying at these enfiladed prices and you will see primers back on the shelves at our local gun stores. As long as we keep paying a hundred or more for 30 to 40 dollars worth of primers they will not come down or be available at your favorite shop
I would like to purchase some reloading supplies for my 3 hunting rifles, pistols, etc but they are not readily available......Why? No it is not Obama. It is all of the paranoid gun nut cases hording everything that hits the shelves.
Go ask anyone that sells reloading supplies. How about a reality check????
My local gun dealers tell me that as soon as supplies arrive, people show up and buy everything available. Now I cannot buy primers, etc that I need for my hunting loads.
I just want to buy a package of 100 Federal Mag primers for my elk rifle and I cannot even get that. Read the posts. "Flying off the shelves"? Who is buying them? LOL all you want but I cannot go buy 100 primers!
Maybe Santa is the one buying everything as soon as it hits the shelves???
We all need to stop looking for "conspiracies" and "gummint meddling" . Believe me, free market theories and capitalism are hard at work here. While a lot of our brothers went out and bought up guns fearing a "liberal Obama end-of-the-world" scenario, supply and demand works as well as ever. Although they have sent the price of guns through the roof!! Our greatest enemy in all this is usually NOT the gummint, but OURSELVES. I live close to Lake City and they are working three shifts churning out ammo. Hellooooo we have TWO wars going on . I also have friends in law enforcement, and they have received funds to upgrade their armaments and munitions so they are doing so in record numbers. Sooooo...... look at this realistically...2 wars, law enforcement buying and upgrading, uninformed people buying up whatever they can find because of fear of "gummint meddlin' and cornspirasees" , and China buying up much in the way of raw materials such as copper and lead . Supply is down.....demand is up ! Very simple and straight forward. Relax and chill, folks. Manufacturing will catch up ! But when I go to a gun show and see some good old boy buying ammo by the cases because "bad time's a-comin' 'cause of them fellers in Washington" I want to slap the crap out of him. I've just cut down my trips to the range, and make sure I shoot straight. 5 Missouri deer in the freezer with 3 shots and 2 arrows. I have plenty of ammo left !!!!
But when I go to a gun show and see some good old boy buying ammo by the cases because "bad time's a-comin' 'cause of them fellers in Washington" I want to slap the crap out of him.
No offense, but that is lame. So you want to slap the crap out of somone for excercising their rights and participating in capitalism?
Maybe we should ask Obama to do something about it. I'm sure he would be more than happy to limit the amount of ammo one can buy, so that way nobody can buy cases of ammo and irritate you.
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My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban as soon as I take office.
What has happened to all the large rifle primers? Less See 
