I think we all underestimate how much ammo is going to Ukraine and Israel. Millions of rounds a month from what I understand. Imagine how much powder goes into all those tank rounds and artillery shells! Notice how the Biden administration hasn't tried to broker a peace deal? There is a lot of war profiteering going on.
I agree with you fully on this one. You may finally be the first one that didn't dispute the fact that Hornady is making their own primer. Sad reality of the fact is they can sell you the completed cartridge at more of a markup than they can the components. Its not much help that the small shops get sent so few primers that the staff eat them up before they ever see the store shelves.
@jasonweishaupt1828 don't let the cat out of the bag... that's how I know about the goodies going to staff.. I got my last brick of large magnum primers with this great advice. ;)
Hornady and to a lesser extent Speer have been supporters of the reloading community. Starline and Zero have also been great. Support the upstart companies that manufacture primers. All of that said the elephant in the room is the fact that there was so much ammunition loaded during WW2 that I was shooting .45 ACP loaded back then in the late 90’s. The ability of the manufacturers to make product is massive…when they want. The question I ask myself is why this situation exists. Could it be that they have been paid to NOT supply product? It’s not like the U.S. does not have a long history of paying people to not produce things. Think about it.
I had to buy Bosnian lg rifle primers and then found a new company White River Energetics brand, but prior to that any large rifle primers were impossible to find. Thank God I had stocked up on 2-3 thousand of each 25 years ago. Speer bullets are good quality and alot cheaper than the other big brands. I try to stock up when I can on all I can in preparation for what we all know and feel is coming! I used IMR and Hodgdon powders for 30 years till recently the prices are way too high and I recently bought Ramshot Hunter and Big Game, based on price and availability and that they look about perfect for 3006 and 6mm Remington by their burn rates. "They" don't want us reloading , Randy. That gives us independence. They want us under total control eventually and gun owners and especially men of your knowledge and caliber are the enemy to their plans. Americans need to wake up! Look what's been done to Europe with the immigration! It's happening here NOW!! I hope we have enough real men left in this country to save it before it's too late! Get out and Vote like your families life depends on it because it DOES!
@@AmericanNationalist852 Too much is never enough. When the crap hits the fan I hope to have enough to help others too. 10-20 thousand is what I would like to have.
$40.00-$45.00 where I live with a few almost $50.00 per pound ! In my 56 years handloading I’ve never seen it this bad for prices ! $8.90 per 100 for primers was a quote I got this morning from one store ! My gawd !
Last week in Basspro shop, I saw my first one pound bottle at $85!!!!!!!! If I remember correctly, it was IMR 4895. I try to buy online, looking for discounts, sales, and free shipping or no hazmat specials. Most powder is available at the moment, with prices running $45. - $65. / lb. The cost to reload common rounds like 9mm and 223 is still cheaper, but not by much. Most hunting calibers and anything unusual or exotic are definitely still worth reloading right now. I expect prices to continue to rise and the availability of both components and loaded ammo to get worse in the near future.
In my area, I am seeing most primers except large rifle and large pistol pretty regularly. In my situation, I can find the components to load 5.56/.223 ammo, or 9mm ammo, but no .308 or .45acp. And I live within 20 miles of a Federal Cartridge plant. As for bullets, lots of Hornady, some Speer, Nosler, Berry's, and Sierra. Powder is a right place, right time find. I really think someone out there is deliberately keeping components off the shelves for consumers.
Intentionally being shorted.. they've figured out how to manipulate the large rifle primer market. Someone could get rich right now just selling large rifle primers if they could manufacture them here consistently
Since 2008 when things flew off the shelves not to be seen for some years ! That year I ordered 3 boxes of bullets and waited over 4 months ! Primers left and some returned but only few boxes of LR! I called Sportsman’s Warehouse this morning and now they have primers in stock both SP and LP I was told ! I’m going to drive down there and pick up some primers ! No primers is a scary thought in my 56 years of reloading ! Thanks this is good information!
Here in St.Louis County and St. Charles, Missouri--- there are primers. Even bought a case of new Federal 215's a few weeks ago. Only thing I haven't seen are new Winchester Small Rifle Primers.
One major factor in poor ammunition quality I've noticed in the last few years from a reloading standpoint is the inconsistency in brass cases between manufacturers. It was explained to me by a friend that worked in a ballistics lab for a major ammunition manufacturer that over the last four years with the supply chain issues and the war demand, the copper/nickel composition between brands changes based on where they sourced the materials from.
Thank you for the trainset and the orange. Next Christmas I would like a... oh wait. Sorry. Thought you were someone else. Thanks for your channel. Nice video.
I’m in the same boat that you are. I have some components, but not all I need. I’m especially short on some Nosler bullets. The handloader is the last priority.
Wow! Insane. I'm actually reloading primers now, it takes a bit of work and understanding of chemistry but it's part of the reloading process now. SINOXID is my favorite but FA-70 works very well and is very cheap, i.e. $3 per K
Component cost, particularly powder is outrageous. $60 a pound seems to be about average for more sought after powders, sometimes more. For reloading plinking ammo, it’s the same cost if not cheaper to just buy in bulk. If I want to buy a new rifle and work up a load I’ll be sunk at minimum of $2000 for a quality rifle and scope, more Thant likely I’d spend more than that. If I was to purchase said rifle, it would be in a caliber I don’t currently have. Id be $300+ into dies, and components, just to work up a load. Let alone fine tune and load some rounds for hunting season. I can’t try 3 or 4 bullet types out anymore, id have to narrow it down to 1 or 2. And as mentioned in the video, Hornady is the predominant option, which is fine and dandy, they work, but there are other bullet designs id prefer. Hand loading is went from a niche hobby for both affordability and precision, to nearly unobtainable for the common man.
In Australia we have had primer shortage and powder as our powder made here most of it goes to USA to Hodgson powder for shooters there but majority end up in the military industrial complex which ends up in Ukrain 😵💫
No offense friend, but that’s a line of spoon fed bs; there were no such shortages during the much hotter Viet Nam war, a time of increasing popularity; this is gun control via components.
A lot of stuff seems diverted to war material. That, and perhaps, an effort to keep it out of the public marketplace. There are several places going through a lot of it.
I agree with you Randy. I hand loaded for thirty some odd years and my local hardware store carried everything I ever needed and ralrly ever had to order anything but it has got so that I don’t even hand load anymore. It is a sad situation and it needs to change
I’ve found large rifle primers randomly in stores. Found some fed 215m primers at cal ranch the other day. The problem is having enough money to buy enough to stock up. Still finding the right powder for my 7mm rem mag so I can stock up on what I find that works
I've been very fortunate in my area. In the last 18 months I've been able to purchase enough large rifle primers and large rifle magnum primers to last 3 handloaders 20 years and I load A LOT. Now the shelves are flooded with small rifle primers everywhere I go and multiple brands. I've been purchasing almost all of my favorite powders from Hodgdon, IMR, Alliant, VV, Ramshot. Brass has not been an issue either. At least what I need. Bullets - well, Hornady is everywhere. One of my local stores has a lot of Speer and Sierra and Barnes as well. I only handload hunting rifle cartridges anymore though. I haven't loaded pistol in 25 years. I bought more H4350 today, 1 pound, had one pound of Reloder 15 and 2 pounds of H4831SC also but I ended up putting them back. Could have picked up another 3 pounds of IMR4350 too but I have plenty. Now if I could find IMR4831 I'd be happy
In southwest Virginia we are seeing plenty of bullets, some primers, but powder is hard to find. I have had to use suboptimal recipes due to limited availability. The last pound of IMR4350 was $80.
It's nothing like that around here. It's much better than it's been in 5-6 yrs. Anything I want I can get @ Scheels in Fargo, Last week CCI primers but limit one so have wife along, 2 bricks of SRP & 2 bricks of LPP., $79 a brick, others were 89.00.Hornady bullets, Shooters World powder @ 35a lb. I like it too. good stuff, Match, Tactical, AR plus. 22 ammo anything I wanted, 40 for 525rds no limit. Many brands on the shelves. Midway is loaded with reloading goodies, & ammo.
Supply has actually been better in the last 6 months than it has been in the last 4 years. Alliant doesnt have enough powder to sell to non-OEM but Lovex, Midwest, and Vihta dont seem to be having much trouble. Bullet and brass supply for at least common and slightly-less-than-common cartridges has been pretty good also...to woe is anyone looking for Remington Ultramag though. The key is that you have to be flexible. You might not be able to get Varget and Reloader 15 for some fuggin' reason is $70 a pound but you have to ask yourself do you really need those specifically when Lovex and Midwest have products that do the same thing.
back when i first started handloading a brick of primers was 35 bucks a pop and most all powders was around 24 bucks a pound back then i stocked up wished id put up more powder and small primers now primers around 100 bucks a brick and powders around 70 bucks a pound around this area my bullets i always order on line and when i do order ill buy 500 to 600 bullets for my 308 and 30-06 and then some bullets for my 7mm rem mag and i also know my normal hunting range is under 300 yards
Never paid more than $20 a brick for Federal 210 and 215 primers when I started handloading back in the early 90s. Individual sleeves went for about $1.85 a pop!
I don’t use much factory ammo but I have chrono’ed that copper impact from Winchester (CA has to use copper) and the St Dev spreads are wild, sometimes up to 100 feet per second for each round. It’s ridiculous. Thank god I stocked up in the Obama admin.
The last time I bought brass, starline had plenty. Bought primers last year, $85.00 per thousand, haven't needed any powder lately, have no idea what's in stock. Plenty of factory ammo, just much higher.
@@kerrystanger5324 how much? I bought 4000 of those Remington primers last year at $85.00 per 1000. I have thousands upon thousands of rounds already loaded and buckets of bullets I cast so I have not bought anything since. Those were large pistol primers for 45acp that I have just started loading for, I need to load up a bunch.
I see primers of every type except large rifle on the shelf regularly. And certain powders as well. Alliant powders are gone, but they announced that they were discontinuing sales of canister powders. Costs are ridiculous, but costs for everything are ridiculous now. Biggest issue seems to be the wars raging around the world consuming powder at scales not seen in my lifetime and countries who let their ability to manufacturer anything atrophy to criminal levels.
During the first couple years of the Trump administration, ammunition and components prices were as low as I’ve ever seen. For example, a can of 420 rounds of Federal 5.56, 62gr steel core was $118.99, with free shipping. CCI Mini-Mag was $249.99 for 5,000 rounds with free shipping. I bought 120 pounds of various Hodgdon powder, not because I needed it, but because it was too cheap not to buy. You snooze, ya lose.
I recently had a dilemma of finding brass for my two 270 wsm. rifles. many years ago the Winchester short mags were the rage, sorta like the 6.5 cm. fad. I resisted the temptation but finally drank the cool aid and purchased a tikka, and had a custom Winchester, model 70 super grade built. both rifles performed excellent in Alaska, dall sheep, to moose, they all performed excellent with hand load Nosler partition bullet. the fad was over in very few years and the 270 wsm is almost dead. no body including Hornady (to busy pushing the prc cartages)even Nosler (pushing their new line of calibers) made 270 wsm brass. norma is the only company in the world making brass for 270 wsm, so sell off the two rifles or pay $200. for 100 empty cases. the industry is holding the handloaders hostage!
Norma is the only factory ammo I've seen across the board, in multiple cartridges, different rifles, different bullets that is nearly always subMOA and often Half MOA, especially the Bondstrike and Whitetail ammo. And the brass is good too. Velocity isn't impressive but the deer don't know any better.
I think it's a lot to do with the government. They don't want you to reload. Second, they make a lot of money, limit supply and raise price. I find large rifle primers online, then note in store purchase. That's no good for rual people.
G'day Randy, hearing you loud and clear in my part of the the world. Swift bullets, magnum primers and many different powders are unobtanium. Im looking at getting a 7mm rem magnum but the only primers I've got are White river large rifles, temps rarely get below 0 degrees celcius where I live. Do you think these primers would work or I should pass it up and stick with my 30-06?. Rifle would be a new remington 700 CDL.
I'm not Randy but I have 40 years experience at this game. Standard large rifle primers will work fine in The Big Seven, especially if you are using an extruded powder such as IMR 4350.
Mr. Selby. I have been reloading and handloading gorgeous about 60 years. I rememberi starting out primers were about a penny each. When I can find components they are ridiculous. The gunshop I deal with recently quoted me a price of $147.50 for a thousand primers. It is unacceptable and I will not pay that price. Unfortunately my rifles are staying oiled and cleaner now than ever.
Midway has brass for about everything I have except 7X57 brass. All my favorite powders are available as well as primers. I'll mosey by my local shop and see what they have. They usually have plenty of Hornady Bullets. Norma doesn't have ANY brass at all on their site. Others do. Now is the stuff cheap? Heck no.
I was at the Black Sheep in Coeur d' Alene Idaho yesterday and they were flooded with Hornady, Starline and Norma brass, more money, but available. They even had Remington LRM primers ($94.00)!
I baught a 1000 large rifle magnum primers I just recently got into hand loading they were expensive but first time I have seen the large rifle and magnum in quite sometime it’s a shame the way they do people
I went to South Africa last September. Had to buy ammo for our rifles as I was told I wasn’t allowed to to take hand loads. I didn’t argue but still can’t figure out why. Also wasn’t allowed to take two rifles of same caliber. I took my 7mag and daughter took her 308
@@trapperbobpatriot8288never been to Africa but have wanted to, badly. I thought if I went, I'd put my handloads in factory ammo boxes. My handloads, however, HAVE been to Africa. Loaded 200 rds of practice ammo for two buddies. Turned out it was more accurate than the Federal Premium they had intended to use.
In my area..Primers spotty powder spotty Bullets Hornady n Some Berrys n mostly target bullets. In all if any others. Ammo better but spotty on amount n type ie brand n bullet wanted. Better on line but no where near what it was n No where near what it was locally
Got all my reloading components for all my calibers so I'm set. Don't need to rely on anyone for anything. It's a great feeling for sure. Glad I am not stuck with factory ammo. Feel sorry for those people.
Son-in-law bought a box of 30-06. I recall about 7 rounds where primers were bad to the point he thought the rifle was bad. I said never buy that brand again. That's why I'm a handloader.
Seems like with prices on all this stuff now the manufacturers dont need to stock store shelves. Cut production and raise prices. They still come out the same. I quit Nosler altogether. Too hard to get and way overpriced
It doesn’t help that companies keep bringing new cartridges to market and stop supporting established ones, or bring new ones to market and abandon them altogether shortly after.
I don't go with a favorite load for that or any caliber. I may start with a known work up for a particular caliber, including the 35 Whelen but each and every rifle, even made with the exact same components, may like to digest something the other doesn't and perform differently. So I let each rifle, in every caliber, show me what it will shoot most accurately with. So, while I may have a starting point, I may end up with something totally different from two identical rifles/calibers. That is the long answer to "I don't have a favorite load." Thanks for watching.
LR primers are not avaliable anywhere for the most part. I see SR and pistol primers but not much else. Rifle bullets are a hit or miss. I don't understand how there are none. And I don't ask for much. I know i have enogh of most things to hunt with...but recreational shooting is pretty much a no go. I can load 20 to 50 rounds to find a workable load but to work on accuracy loads would be hard for someone who has no established loads from the past. We need LR primers are basic powders to keep going. They keep bringing out new powders...but how can you test them and see how they work if you cant get primers and bullets? And we don't need all these new whizz bang carridgeres when us as handloaders can't even test them. This is not a good thing. Just give us primers and IRM or regular Hodgden powders and let work our normal load development.
The price of components is absolutely ridiculous. You're paying 2, 3, 4 times the regular price for brass, primers, bullets and powders. I say "you're" because I hoarded enough of ALL components to last me the rest of my life as a hunter. When asked why I was buying so many primers of all brands I would say "what makes everything go boom"? Thank God I hoarded, I hate to think of paying these 'buzzard's prices to be able to hunt!
I’m thinking it’s all about profit. The ammunition companies make more profit selling you a box of whatever you shoot than they do for the components. While the recent pandemic did mess up our supply chains for a bit, the simple truth is that many companies got used to charging more and now they’re simply charging higher prices because they’re use to making the higher profit margins! And that’s not just the firearms industry either! Supply and demand in a free market reaches an equilibrium… unless, sellers work together to create artificial shortages! But if anyone were to say anything about any firearms/ammo related monopoly issues, everyone from the companies to the gun writers and all the video gurus who are supported by the industry would scream about how much of an anti-2A character that person had to be! And try to get anyone in DC to investigate corporate price fixing, these are the companies that donate to reelection campaigns… Well, multiply that by 100 to have an elected Republican official take on the firearms industry for the benefit of their constituents, hand-loaders and reloading folks! Don’t hold your breath! Randy, you hit the nail on the head, again! I’m betting none of the ammo companies are gonna make a point to put you on their Christmas card list this year! So let me be the first, Merry Christmas! 🎁🎄 🎅🏻🎄🎁 Randy, you have a severe case of truthfulness; I wish that were the next virus in the news, lol! Great video, Sir, no punches held!
No conspiracy, just ammo factories wanting to make sure they have all components. They cannot risk missing one component and then running expensive machinery idly. There is ammo in Gun stores. I checked just one Finnish one to prove the point (Oct 17, 2024). There are 28 different .223/5.56 cartridges ready waiting on the shelf, 7 of them even on sale. There are 50 different .308 cartridge offerings on the shelf, 10 of them even on sale. So quit whining now! Yes, bad for the hobby that many primers are of limited supply. But will be fixed when more primer factories are set up. Vihtavuori (=Nammo Lapua) will open their own in 2025-2026. Previous in Finland was closed 2000 due to global surplus production.
Feels like we have been in a shortage for like 4 years.
There has been a shortage since 2008. It never really ended.
Feels longer than that to me!!
SO GLAD TO HEAR SOMEONE SPEAK THE REAL TRUTH.. you are exactly right..ammo companies are getting the bulk of everything.we just here to grab
All by design
To me, it feels like the major ammo & component manufacturers are profoundly manipulating the market.
Not the first time. The U.S. ammunition producers pulled a similar trick, over a century ago.
I think we all underestimate how much ammo is going to Ukraine and Israel. Millions of rounds a month from what I understand. Imagine how much powder goes into all those tank rounds and artillery shells! Notice how the Biden administration hasn't tried to broker a peace deal? There is a lot of war profiteering going on.
Words well spoken! I think it's all intentional!
Thank you Cathy and Randy.
I agree with you fully on this one. You may finally be the first one that didn't dispute the fact that Hornady is making their own primer. Sad reality of the fact is they can sell you the completed cartridge at more of a markup than they can the components. Its not much help that the small shops get sent so few primers that the staff eat them up before they ever see the store shelves.
Get a side hustle at your local shop. I side hustled at a gun shop for 18 years. I soaked up a lot of discounts!
@jasonweishaupt1828 don't let the cat out of the bag... that's how I know about the goodies going to staff.. I got my last brick of large magnum primers with this great advice. ;)
It’s American robbing the American people it’s called greed!!!!!!
There is no shortage, they’re only playing games with us🇺🇸👍
Hornady and to a lesser extent Speer have been supporters of the reloading community. Starline and Zero have also been great. Support the upstart companies that manufacture primers.
All of that said the elephant in the room is the fact that there was so much ammunition loaded during WW2 that I was shooting .45 ACP loaded back then in the late 90’s. The ability of the manufacturers to make product is massive…when they want. The question I ask myself is why this situation exists. Could it be that they have been paid to NOT supply product? It’s not like the U.S. does not have a long history of paying people to not produce things. Think about it.
Your videos are total gold dust. Nice shirt by the way Randy.
Spot on, thinking that for a few years now. Always using extra $$$ to stock up on Handloading/Reloading supplys. Precious Metals = Lead,Brass & Copper
Primers for magnum rifles and large rifle have been damn near impossible to find.
I had to buy Bosnian lg rifle primers and then found a new company White River Energetics brand, but prior to that any large rifle primers were impossible to find. Thank God I had stocked up on 2-3 thousand of each 25 years ago. Speer bullets are good quality and alot cheaper than the other big brands. I try to stock up when I can on all I can in preparation for what we all know and feel is coming! I used IMR and Hodgdon powders for 30 years till recently the prices are way too high and I recently bought Ramshot Hunter and Big Game, based on price and availability and that they look about perfect for 3006 and 6mm Remington by their burn rates. "They" don't want us reloading , Randy. That gives us independence. They want us under total control eventually and gun owners and especially men of your knowledge and caliber are the enemy to their plans. Americans need to wake up! Look what's been done to Europe with the immigration! It's happening here NOW!! I hope we have enough real men left in this country to save it before it's too late! Get out and Vote like your families life depends on it because it DOES!
2-3k primers is "stocked up"?
@@AmericanNationalist852 Too much is never enough. When the crap hits the fan I hope to have enough to help others too. 10-20 thousand is what I would like to have.
The price of powder is still ridiculous!
And getting worst!
$40.00-$45.00 where I live with a few almost $50.00 per pound !
In my 56 years handloading I’ve never seen it this bad for prices !
$8.90 per 100 for primers was a quote I got this morning from one store ! My gawd !
Paid 64.99 for a pound of H4831 sc . I live in WV. Can only find it in pound bottles.😊
Last week in Basspro shop, I saw my first one pound bottle at $85!!!!!!!! If I remember correctly, it was IMR 4895. I try to buy online, looking for discounts, sales, and free shipping or no hazmat specials. Most powder is available at the moment, with prices running $45. - $65. / lb. The cost to reload common rounds like 9mm and 223 is still cheaper, but not by much. Most hunting calibers and anything unusual or exotic are definitely still worth reloading right now. I expect prices to continue to rise and the availability of both components and loaded ammo to get worse in the near future.
@@floridagunrat1625 Unfortunately I agree with you. I also have rifles that I couldn't shoot if I didn't load for them. I enjoy loading quality ammo.
Good video and comments. Hunters should try and get closer to the game.
In my area, I am seeing most primers except large rifle and large pistol pretty regularly. In my situation, I can find the components to load 5.56/.223 ammo, or 9mm ammo, but no .308 or .45acp. And I live within 20 miles of a Federal Cartridge plant. As for bullets, lots of Hornady, some Speer, Nosler, Berry's, and Sierra. Powder is a right place, right time find. I really think someone out there is deliberately keeping components off the shelves for consumers.
I switched to small primer .45 ACP brass.
Wait until Vista sells to the Czech group. It will be 10 times worse.
Hope I'm wrong but I feel that will be the beginning of the end.
Intentionally being shorted.. they've figured out how to manipulate the large rifle primer market. Someone could get rich right now just selling large rifle primers if they could manufacture them here consistently
You just mentioned my top 3 bullets that I prefer thank you for the video sir
Since 2008 when things flew off the shelves not to be seen for some years ! That year I ordered 3 boxes of bullets and waited over 4 months !
Primers left and some returned but only few boxes of LR!
I called Sportsman’s Warehouse this morning and now they have primers in stock both SP and LP I was told ! I’m going to drive down there and pick up some primers ! No primers is a scary thought in my 56 years of reloading !
Thanks this is good information!
Here in St.Louis County and St. Charles, Missouri--- there are primers. Even bought a case of new Federal 215's a few weeks ago. Only thing I haven't seen are new Winchester Small Rifle Primers.
Wise words as always. The BC doesn’t efect drop much at all at my hunting distances but they do buck the wind better even at 300yds
One major factor in poor ammunition quality I've noticed in the last few years from a reloading standpoint is the inconsistency in brass cases between manufacturers. It was explained to me by a friend that worked in a ballistics lab for a major ammunition manufacturer that over the last four years with the supply chain issues and the war demand, the copper/nickel composition between brands changes based on where they sourced the materials from.
Seems to be a decent supply of reloading components in my area. Problem is they are expensive
Thank you for the trainset and the orange. Next Christmas I would like a... oh wait. Sorry. Thought you were someone else. Thanks for your channel. Nice video.
I’m in the same boat that you are. I have some components, but not all I need. I’m especially short on some Nosler bullets. The handloader is the last priority.
Get your food/water/silver/medical etc stocked up... something big is coming.
The sky is falling guythhhhhhh
🇦🇺😎👍Primers are $750/$1050 per 5000 down here in Australia .Alliant powder is $829 for 5 lb…. Everything is right through the roof in my country
Wow! Insane. I'm actually reloading primers now, it takes a bit of work and understanding of chemistry but it's part of the reloading process now. SINOXID is my favorite but FA-70 works very well and is very cheap, i.e. $3 per K
Here in canada its getting much better and primers are coming out of European countries in large supply but poor variety
Component cost, particularly powder is outrageous. $60 a pound seems to be about average for more sought after powders, sometimes more.
For reloading plinking ammo, it’s the same cost if not cheaper to just buy in bulk.
If I want to buy a new rifle and work up a load I’ll be sunk at minimum of $2000 for a quality rifle and scope, more Thant likely I’d spend more than that.
If I was to purchase said rifle, it would be in a caliber I don’t currently have. Id be $300+ into dies, and components, just to work up a load. Let alone fine tune and load some rounds for hunting season.
I can’t try 3 or 4 bullet types out anymore, id have to narrow it down to 1 or 2. And as mentioned in the video, Hornady is the predominant option, which is fine and dandy, they work, but there are other bullet designs id prefer.
Hand loading is went from a niche hobby for both affordability and precision, to nearly unobtainable for the common man.
In Australia we have had primer shortage and powder as our powder made here most of it goes to USA to Hodgson powder for shooters there but majority end up in the military industrial complex which ends up in Ukrain 😵💫
No offense friend, but that’s a line of spoon fed bs; there were no such shortages during the much hotter Viet Nam war, a time of increasing popularity; this is gun control via components.
A lot of stuff seems diverted to war material.
That, and perhaps, an effort to keep it out of the public marketplace.
There are several places going through a lot of it.
I agree with you Randy. I hand loaded for thirty some odd years and my local hardware store carried everything I ever needed and ralrly ever had to order anything but it has got so that I don’t even hand load anymore. It is a sad situation and it needs to change
I’ve found large rifle primers randomly in stores. Found some fed 215m primers at cal ranch the other day. The problem is having enough money to buy enough to stock up. Still finding the right powder for my 7mm rem mag so I can stock up on what I find that works
I've been very fortunate in my area. In the last 18 months I've been able to purchase enough large rifle primers and large rifle magnum primers to last 3 handloaders 20 years and I load A LOT. Now the shelves are flooded with small rifle primers everywhere I go and multiple brands. I've been purchasing almost all of my favorite powders from Hodgdon, IMR, Alliant, VV, Ramshot. Brass has not been an issue either. At least what I need. Bullets - well, Hornady is everywhere. One of my local stores has a lot of Speer and Sierra and Barnes as well. I only handload hunting rifle cartridges anymore though. I haven't loaded pistol in 25 years. I bought more H4350 today, 1 pound, had one pound of Reloder 15 and 2 pounds of H4831SC also but I ended up putting them back. Could have picked up another 3 pounds of IMR4350 too but I have plenty. Now if I could find IMR4831 I'd be happy
In southwest Virginia we are seeing plenty of bullets, some primers, but powder is hard to find. I have had to use suboptimal recipes due to limited availability. The last pound of IMR4350 was $80.
Nosler bullets are at our local Cabelas in Hazlewood, Mo. Also, at a local reloading store--- FULL CIRCLE RELOADING in St.Charles, Mo.
It's nothing like that around here. It's much better than it's been in 5-6 yrs. Anything I want I can get @ Scheels in Fargo, Last week CCI primers but limit one so have wife along, 2 bricks of SRP & 2 bricks of LPP., $79 a brick, others were 89.00.Hornady bullets, Shooters World powder @ 35a lb. I like it too. good stuff, Match, Tactical, AR plus.
22 ammo anything I wanted, 40 for 525rds no limit. Many brands on the shelves. Midway is loaded with reloading goodies, & ammo.
Supply has actually been better in the last 6 months than it has been in the last 4 years. Alliant doesnt have enough powder to sell to non-OEM but Lovex, Midwest, and Vihta dont seem to be having much trouble. Bullet and brass supply for at least common and slightly-less-than-common cartridges has been pretty good also...to woe is anyone looking for Remington Ultramag though. The key is that you have to be flexible. You might not be able to get Varget and Reloader 15 for some fuggin' reason is $70 a pound but you have to ask yourself do you really need those specifically when Lovex and Midwest have products that do the same thing.
LR magnum primers are mythical creatures at this point.
back when i first started handloading a brick of primers was 35 bucks a pop and most all powders was around 24 bucks a pound back then i stocked up wished id put up more powder and small primers now primers around 100 bucks a brick and powders around 70 bucks a pound around this area my bullets i always order on line and when i do order ill buy 500 to 600 bullets for my 308 and 30-06 and then some bullets for my 7mm rem mag and i also know my normal hunting range is under 300 yards
Never paid more than $20 a brick for Federal 210 and 215 primers when I started handloading back in the early 90s. Individual sleeves went for about $1.85 a pop!
I don’t use much factory ammo but I have chrono’ed that copper impact from Winchester (CA has to use copper) and the St Dev spreads are wild, sometimes up to 100 feet per second for each round. It’s ridiculous.
Thank god I stocked up in the Obama admin.
The last time I bought brass, starline had plenty. Bought primers last year, $85.00 per thousand, haven't needed any powder lately, have no idea what's in stock. Plenty of factory ammo, just much higher.
I found Cci br-2s a couple of days ago at a local gun store. Bought 2000.
@@kerrystanger5324 how much? I bought 4000 of those Remington primers last year at $85.00 per 1000. I have thousands upon thousands of rounds already loaded and buckets of bullets I cast so I have not bought anything since. Those were large pistol primers for 45acp that I have just started loading for, I need to load up a bunch.
@@Thoreau-e4l came out to about 14 cents per primer. Not exactly cheap. But I haven’t seen large rifles anywhere for a while.
I see primers of every type except large rifle on the shelf regularly. And certain powders as well. Alliant powders are gone, but they announced that they were discontinuing sales of canister powders. Costs are ridiculous, but costs for everything are ridiculous now. Biggest issue seems to be the wars raging around the world consuming powder at scales not seen in my lifetime and countries who let their ability to manufacturer anything atrophy to criminal levels.
During the first couple years of the Trump administration, ammunition and components prices were as low as I’ve ever seen. For example, a can of 420 rounds of Federal 5.56, 62gr steel core was $118.99, with free shipping. CCI Mini-Mag was $249.99 for 5,000 rounds with free shipping. I bought 120 pounds of various Hodgdon powder, not because I needed it, but because it was too cheap not to buy. You snooze, ya lose.
I recently had a dilemma of finding brass for my two 270 wsm. rifles. many years ago the Winchester short mags were the rage, sorta like the 6.5 cm. fad. I resisted the temptation but finally drank the cool aid and purchased a tikka, and had a custom Winchester, model 70 super grade built. both rifles performed excellent in Alaska, dall sheep, to moose, they all performed excellent with hand load Nosler partition bullet. the fad was over in very few years and the 270 wsm is almost dead. no body including Hornady (to busy pushing the prc cartages)even Nosler (pushing their new line of calibers) made 270 wsm brass. norma is the only company in the world making brass for 270 wsm, so sell off the two rifles or pay $200. for 100 empty cases. the industry is holding the handloaders hostage!
Norma is the only factory ammo I've seen across the board, in multiple cartridges, different rifles, different bullets that is nearly always subMOA and often Half MOA, especially the Bondstrike and Whitetail ammo. And the brass is good too. Velocity isn't impressive but the deer don't know any better.
I think it's a lot to do with the government. They don't want you to reload. Second, they make a lot of money, limit supply and raise price. I find large rifle primers online, then note in store purchase. That's no good for rual people.
No good for rual people????? What ya talkin?
G'day Randy, hearing you loud and clear in my part of the the world. Swift bullets, magnum primers and many different powders are unobtanium.
Im looking at getting a 7mm rem magnum but the only primers I've got are White river large rifles, temps rarely get below 0 degrees celcius where I live. Do you think these primers would work or I should pass it up and stick with my 30-06?. Rifle would be a new remington 700 CDL.
I'm not Randy but I have 40 years experience at this game. Standard large rifle primers will work fine in The Big Seven, especially if you are using an extruded powder such as IMR 4350.
@@luvtahandload7692 Thanks for the comment much appreciated 👍
Mr. Selby. I have been reloading and handloading gorgeous about 60 years. I rememberi starting out primers were about a penny each. When I can find components they are ridiculous. The gunshop I deal with recently quoted me a price of $147.50 for a thousand primers. It is unacceptable and I will not pay that price. Unfortunately my rifles are staying oiled and cleaner now than ever.
Midway has brass for about everything I have except 7X57 brass. All my favorite powders are available as well as primers. I'll mosey by my local shop and see what they have. They usually have plenty of Hornady Bullets. Norma doesn't have ANY brass at all on their site. Others do. Now is the stuff cheap? Heck no.
I was at the Black Sheep in Coeur d' Alene Idaho yesterday and they were flooded with Hornady, Starline and Norma brass, more money, but available. They even had Remington LRM primers ($94.00)!
I baught a 1000 large rifle magnum primers I just recently got into hand loading they were expensive but first time I have seen the large rifle and magnum in quite sometime it’s a shame the way they do people
I went to South Africa last September. Had to buy ammo for our rifles as I was told I wasn’t allowed to to take hand loads. I didn’t argue but still can’t figure out why. Also wasn’t allowed to take two rifles of same caliber. I took my 7mag and daughter took her 308
That’s quite a surprise! Can’t figure why they wouldn’t allow our own handloads with our own rifles?
@@stephanlopez7640Because South Africa is a ripoff
How would anyone know whether or not your ammo was handloaded or not?
@@Accuracy1st I thought it would be checked
@@trapperbobpatriot8288never been to Africa but have wanted to, badly. I thought if I went, I'd put my handloads in factory ammo boxes. My handloads, however, HAVE been to Africa. Loaded 200 rds of practice ammo for two buddies. Turned out it was more accurate than the Federal Premium they had intended to use.
I'd think the last 16 yrs has been bad to handloaders in US and Canada
Ammo shortage?! There is ammo everywhere, Walmart, Bass Pro, Academy, Midway, etc.
The battle of armageddon is coming Randy and the greed of our gov and those around the world dont want us plinking from the rear😮
In my area..Primers spotty powder spotty Bullets Hornady n Some Berrys n mostly target bullets. In all if any others.
Ammo better but spotty on amount n type ie brand n bullet wanted.
Better on line but no where near what it was n No where near what it was locally
can't remember the time I could buy H1000 or LRP or hell MRP!!
The most rare gem is the ruby and the most common is the diamond.
Got all my reloading components for all my calibers so I'm set. Don't need to rely on anyone for anything. It's a great feeling for sure. Glad I am not stuck with factory ammo. Feel sorry for those people.
Son-in-law bought a box of 30-06. I recall about 7 rounds where primers were bad to the point he thought the rifle was bad. I said never buy that brand again. That's why I'm a handloader.
Seems like with prices on all this stuff now the manufacturers dont need to stock store shelves. Cut production and raise prices. They still come out the same. I quit Nosler altogether. Too hard to get and way overpriced
👍🏻👍🏻
Ain't that the Godawful truth!
This is what we get when Vista bought Federal, CCI, Remington.
It doesn’t help that companies keep bringing new cartridges to market and stop supporting established ones, or bring new ones to market and abandon them altogether shortly after.
I’ve been saying all along we’re being lied too. Check Mate.
👍
I need large rifle primers 🎉🎉Wwwaaagggg!!!!! 🎉
Whats your favorite load for 35 whelen...
I don't go with a favorite load for that or any caliber. I may start with a known work up for a particular caliber, including the 35 Whelen but each and every rifle, even made with the exact same components, may like to digest something the other doesn't and perform differently. So I let each rifle, in every caliber, show me what it will shoot most accurately with. So, while I may have a starting point, I may end up with something totally different from two identical rifles/calibers. That is the long answer to "I don't have a favorite load."
Thanks for watching.
Whats sad is these people reselling primers for 250 a thousand, it has taken me 2 years to get my hands on some wlrm for my 7 rum
Swift bullets are hard to come by
I stopped buying powder and primers i bet if we all stopped prices come down
LR primers are not avaliable anywhere for the most part. I see SR and pistol primers but not much else. Rifle bullets are a hit or miss. I don't understand how there are none. And I don't ask for much. I know i have enogh of most things to hunt with...but recreational shooting is pretty much a no go. I can load 20 to 50 rounds to find a workable load but to work on accuracy loads would be hard for someone who has no established loads from the past. We need LR primers are basic powders to keep going. They keep bringing out new powders...but how can you test them and see how they work if you cant get primers and bullets? And we don't need all these new whizz bang carridgeres when us as handloaders can't even test them. This is not a good thing. Just give us primers and IRM or regular Hodgden powders and let work our normal load development.
All this anti gun flap ain’t helping either!
Glad I bought thousands of rounds yrs ago
One dhortage that i have noticed is---- I CANNOT FIND NEW WINCHESTER BRASS IN .270 Winchester. None!!!!!
The price of components is absolutely ridiculous.
You're paying 2, 3, 4 times the regular price for brass, primers, bullets and powders. I say "you're" because I hoarded enough of ALL components to last me the rest of my life as a hunter.
When asked why I was buying so many primers of all brands I would say "what makes everything go boom"?
Thank God I hoarded, I hate to think of paying these 'buzzard's prices to be able to hunt!
It’s all intentional.
I’m thinking it’s all about profit. The ammunition companies make more profit selling you a box of whatever you shoot than they do for the components.
While the recent pandemic did mess up our supply chains for a bit, the simple truth is that many companies got used to charging more and now they’re simply charging higher prices because they’re use to making the higher profit margins! And that’s not just the firearms industry either!
Supply and demand in a free market reaches an equilibrium… unless, sellers work together to create artificial shortages!
But if anyone were to say anything about any firearms/ammo related monopoly issues, everyone from the companies to the gun writers and all the video gurus who are supported by the industry would scream about how much of an anti-2A character that person had to be! And try to get anyone in DC to investigate corporate price fixing, these are the companies that donate to reelection campaigns… Well, multiply that by 100 to have an elected Republican official take on the firearms industry for the benefit of their constituents, hand-loaders and reloading folks! Don’t hold your breath!
Randy, you hit the nail on the head, again! I’m betting none of the ammo companies are gonna make a point to put you on their Christmas card list this year!
So let me be the first, Merry Christmas!
🎁🎄 🎅🏻🎄🎁
Randy, you have a severe case of truthfulness; I wish that were the next virus in the news, lol!
Great video, Sir, no punches held!
It is like betting against casino
A lot of knowledge, but a bit of Biden
Federal 8mm is probably the worst ammo I've ever fired for accuracy and power. In a mauser k98.
No conspiracy, just ammo factories wanting to make sure they have all components. They cannot risk missing one component and then running expensive machinery idly.
There is ammo in Gun stores. I checked just one Finnish one to prove the point (Oct 17, 2024). There are 28 different .223/5.56 cartridges ready waiting on the shelf, 7 of them even on sale. There are 50 different .308 cartridge offerings on the shelf, 10 of them even on sale. So quit whining now!
Yes, bad for the hobby that many primers are of limited supply. But will be fixed when more primer factories are set up. Vihtavuori (=Nammo Lapua) will open their own in 2025-2026. Previous in Finland was closed 2000 due to global surplus production.
1.75 playback speed
The Industrial Military Complex must be feed and the handloader is just a hobby in the eyes of greed
I blame it on the current administration. After Trump is back in office, supplies will get better, and prices will go down!!!!!!!!!
Looking pretty skookum