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Post by bullseye on Mar 14, 2009 21:12:28 GMT -5
It seems that there is a shortage of basic reloading supplies such as powder, primers, and bullets. While I did not have a powder issue and have lots of primers, the bullets are getting harder to come by.
Has anyone else seen this?
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Post by deputydon on Mar 14, 2009 21:27:46 GMT -5
Yes I have, it's (comments about this ) sprinkled though-out the forum in different threads.......
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Post by dovehunter on Mar 15, 2009 7:57:12 GMT -5
I think there has been a slight but discernible shortage of reloading components here in central Virginia for about a year or so now. Fortunately we now have a Bass Pro Shop and Gander Mountain in addition to our couple of old standbys so this has helped a lot. So far at least, if I can't find exactly what I want at one place I can usually get it at one of the others. When I asked at one place they said they had understood that it was the military's considerable demand had impacted the civilian supply.
In one instance I had to switch from CCI to Winchester large pistol primers (which caused me a lot of problems with punctures). In another instance I had to switch to Speer 9mm swaged bullets because my usual store had run out of the Proofmark (hard cast) bullets that are made right here in Burgess, Va. It seemed like both Gander and Bass Pro were down on powders the last time I checked but I just figured they hadn't had time to restock after Christmas and hunting season.
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Post by bullseye on Mar 15, 2009 8:21:01 GMT -5
I was looking for a particular Speers bullet. Our Gander Mountain carries no reloading supplies. I looked at Shiels in Appleton last weekend when we went up to exchange a diamond necklace I had won at our bass club fundraiser. They had the powder I wanted but not the bullets. The bullet selection in general was pretty slim.
On my drive to Ann Arbor last week I stopped at Bass Pro in Gerney, IL where I had purchased them last. They stopped carrying bullets 3 years ago. The salesman stated it was the space they took up vs the amount of sales. They still had shotgun reloading but no pistol or rifle bullets.
On the way back I stopped at Midwest Shooter's Supply near Fond du Lac. They also had slim pickings and again I came up empty for the Speers 100gr boat tail we have been shooting.
I visited a number of websites and continued to see either not offered or sold out. Even though I don't need them for a while I was down to 8 bullets and only about 15 reloads. I finally decided to give Bridgefarmer (some of you may remember him) a call. He gave me a list of about 20 sites to look at but told me not to be surprised if I couldn't find them. I guess there is a lot of hoarding going on which is why the primers are getting hard to come by. I started visiting the sites he gave me and on the 6th one I found a place that HAD 2 boxes. I say HAD because I purchased them both.
Bridgefarmer said I should say hi to all the "old" guys on the site. Things have been going pretty well for him. I did get a birth announcement in January that his daughter had a baby boy so he is now a grandpa!!!
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Post by jimiowa on Mar 15, 2009 13:17:42 GMT -5
I can't honestly say how short things are here in Iowa.
It's been over a year since I bought anything.
Last I bought was some bullets for the .444.
Spotsmans Warehouse seemed to have plenty of anything I use.
Though for powder they have Dummy Bottles on the rack and you have to ask for the powder you want?
Scheels had some stuff.
And I have not been down to Bob's Shooting Supplies for a couple years.
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Post by longknife12 on Mar 15, 2009 15:51:48 GMT -5
It has totally dried up in Denver area....About 10/12 years ago, a friend of mine closed his shop....I bought quantities of stuff from George. Powder/primers/bullets/ammo.......it is stored in 20MM cans in a controlled heat/humidity area. This stuff will last for the rest of my shooting life........guess I was lucky! No panic buying back then.......I just paid about 25% of the going price!
Dan
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Mar 16, 2009 8:57:39 GMT -5
I was shooting yesterday and a couple guys there reloaded 1000 rounds of 45acp and 1000 rounds of 223.
THEY SHOT THEM ALL IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS !!!
Waste - that's the only word for it.
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Post by bullseye on Mar 16, 2009 11:04:39 GMT -5
I have a son-in-law that likes "black guns"; 9mm 45acp and .223. I went with him to the range a couple of years ago and it took him longer to load the clips that it did to shoot them. Much of his shooting was basically to see how long it DIDN'T take him to empty the clip. Most of the 9mm shots were rapidfire at 25 yards. I would guess that he easily went thru 500 rounds in an hour and a half. I agree Red, a waste. Some people have money to burn I guess.
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Mar 16, 2009 11:26:24 GMT -5
Some people have money to burn I guess. While a waste, I take a slightly different approach. While it's nice they have money to piss away, their actions affect our ability to purchase these items (both availability and price). It's not responcible |
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bounce
Royal Member
Posts: 5,727
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Post by bounce on Mar 16, 2009 13:51:49 GMT -5
You don't learn a hole lot doing that either so usealy it is a total waist. and fireing one at a time is more fun and more relaxing plus your likely to learn a few things along the way, Shooting with friends one at a time is a enjoyable and bonding day at a range. Not saying Ive never done it but it's a rare ocasion I will let lose that way and if I do it's likely a .22 for the cost of it.
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Post by dovehunter on Mar 16, 2009 19:26:06 GMT -5
I have a son-in-law that likes "black guns"; 9mm 45acp and .223. I went with him to the range a couple of years ago and it took him longer to load the clips that it did to shoot them. Much of his shooting was basically to see how long it DIDN'T take him to empty the clip. Most of the 9mm shots were rapidfire at 25 yards. I would guess that he easily went thru 500 rounds in an hour and a half. I agree Red, a waste. Some people have money to burn I guess. I guess I must be the world's slowest shooter. I signed in at my club's range this morning around 9:30 and left around 1:30. I shot 100 rounds of .38 special, 50 rounds of .45 ACP, 50 rounds of .45 Colt (ouch!), and a little over a box of .22 LR. I remember thinking at the time that I was probably shooting too fast. Oh well, there was no one else there to BS with. |
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Post by deputydon on Mar 16, 2009 20:05:30 GMT -5
I was in the outdoors section @ Wally World in Yankton S.D. yesterday. The guy told me they are having trouble keeping handgun and some high powered ammo in stock. While we were visting a guy walked up and the staff person said "No and the next truck won't be in till Wed". The guy left dejected w/o saying a word. The staffer explained that this guy comes in almost everyday looking for .44 mag ammo. So there you go........at least one instance in one Walmart store..........
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Mar 17, 2009 8:22:49 GMT -5
I think the 44 magnum is a tricky round.
It's unpopular enough for stores like Walmart to not get them in on a regular basis AND it's popular enough for them to sell whatever they have on hand.
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Post by jimiowa on Mar 17, 2009 9:35:41 GMT -5
The Walmart I worked in was one of the top 500 stores in the nation for firearms and ammo sales(when I worked there).
We had ammo come in on the nightly truck almost every day.
I was in there a few weeks ago and the shelves were almost bare.
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Post by dovehunter on Mar 17, 2009 9:43:40 GMT -5
jimiowa:
Do you suppose it's possible that ammo and/or reloading supplies are down now normally because maybe the stores have not had a chance to fully restock after last hunting season (parts of which were in through last month here in Virgina). I would think, except for spring turkey season, that this time of year would be a slow time for ammo/component sales and that some general retailers like Wal-Mart, etc. might not consider fully stocked ammo shelves to be essential at this time. I know, at least around here, that (other than dedicated gunshops) general retailers don't seem to put their complete inventories of all hunting/shooting related stuff - not just ammo - out until around August or so before dove season (usually the first season) comes in. Hopefully all this is not just wishful thinking on my part.
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